Meeting the Needs of Mississippi Peanut Producers

Challenges

• Peanut farmers across Mississippi face continually changing production-related challenges and economic risks.
• These farmers planted 25,000 acres of peanuts with a production of 92.5 million pounds in 2024.
• Researchers have developed peanut management strategies to improve efficiency, decrease risk, and increase profitability; the challenge is disseminating this information to producers.
• Sustainable peanut production depends on the profitability of the farming enterprise, and profitability requires increased revenue and/or reduced costs.

Extension Response

Extension programming helps producers address these challenges in many ways that depend on their specific situation.

• Extension faculty and professional staff develop and deliver targeted educational programs and technical assistance activities for peanut producers.
• These programs and activities address the issues of variety evaluation and development, pest management strategies, and cultural practices such as harvest timing.
• Scientific, research-based knowledge gathered through 30 research demonstrations was disseminated through 25 educational activities, various publications, and individual producer encounters in FY2024.
• Partnerships with industry and other entities resulted in grants and contracts totaling $171,538 to support Extension educational efforts.
• A large portion of this money was provided either directly or indirectly by peanut producers, demonstrating the importance of Extension educational programming to the state’s producers.

Economic Impacts

• Extension programming could increase producers’ estimated revenues. Variety testing could increase revenues by about $108 per acre, disease management recommendations by about $153 per acre, and harvest timing recommendations by about $131 per acre.
• Total revenue could increase by $7.5 million for 2024 given a conservative 75 percent recommendation adoption rate.
• The increase in revenue could generate 281 additional jobs, earning $2.7 million, an additional $5.3 million in value-added, and an additional $12.1 million in output for the state.
• Local taxes could increase as a result by an estimated $14,899 for municipalities, $37,179 for local special districts (e.g., school districts), and $30,150 for county governments.
• State taxes could increase by an estimated $219,370 and federal taxes by an estimated $578,560.
• Increases in tax revenues are based solely on increased output by producers. This analysis assumes no increase in tax rates or change in the current tax structure.

M2480-03 (10-25)

Brendan Zurweller, PhD, Associate Professor, Plant and Soil Sciences