You have reached our free-content limit. If you are a current subscriber, please log in to continue viewing content or purchase a subscription by clicking the Subscribe button below. Thank you for supporting independent Journalism.

Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.

Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.

You have reached our free-content limit. If you are a current subscriber, please log in to continue viewing content or purchase a subscription by clicking the Subscribe button below. Thank you for supporting independent Journalism.

You have reached our free-content limit. If you are a current subscriber, please log in to continue viewing content or purchase a subscription by clicking the Subscribe button below. Thank you for supporting independent Journalism.

Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.

Sunny. High 62F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Clear skies. Low 41F. Winds light and variable.

Interest in peanuts is growing, along with the harvest, across the Missouri Bootheel.

University of Missouri Extension soils and cropping systems specialist Justin Calhoun estimates there may be more than 15,000 acres of peanuts in the region.

Some of the new interest comes from the formation of the Missouri Peanut Growers Association, which has funded multiple projects this year to promote the state as a major peanut producer. Checkoff dollars fund research, including three projects Calhoun oversees at MU’s Fisher Delta Research Center in Portageville.

After the state maintained a three-year average peanut production of more than 10,000 tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2020 designated Missouri a primary peanut-growing state under the Peanut Promotion, Research and Information Order administered by the National Peanut Board.

Traditionally, peanuts grow in the sandy soils of southern states of Georgia, Florida, the Carolinas and Texas, but Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri also raise the crop, with most of Missouri’s peanuts ending up in peanut butter jars.

Peanuts can be a profitable cash crop in diversified operations, Calhoun said. As much as 8,000 pounds of peanuts can grow in one acre, but most fields average around 5,000 pounds.

Peanuts grow in a unique way, called pegging, according to the National Peanut Board.

The plant’s budding ovary is called a “peg.” The peg enlarges and grows down and away from the plant, forming a small stem. The peanut embryo is in the tip of the peg, which penetrates the soil. The plant continues to grow and flower, eventually producing some 40 or more pods.

Because peanuts grow in the soil, they require less water to produce than tree nuts.

Bootheel farmers say they also get a soil health benefit from peanuts, especially with cotton, another Bootheel region crop, because peanuts add nitrogen to the soil in rotation with other crops and require little in the way of inputs.

Peanuts have a relatively long growing season, taking 140 to 150 days to mature, and harvesting is a two-step process.

A farmer first drives a machine, called a digger, that pulls up the peanut plant, flips it upside down and sets it back down on the row to dry for several days. Another machine, called a shaker or picker, separates the peanut pods from the rest of the plant.

USDA has expanded its post-application coverage endorsement insurance option for corn farmers who “split-apply” nitrogen to include most counties in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin where non-irrigated corn is insurable.

USDA’s Risk Management Agency rolled out PACE earlier this year to support stewardship of fertilizer, and it will continue to be offered in select counties of Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota.

To “split-apply” nitrogen, growers make multiple fertilizer applications during the growing season rather than providing all the crop’s nitrogen requirements with a single treatment before or during planting. The practice can lead to lower input costs and helps prevent runoff and leaching into waterways and groundwater.

PACE provides payments for the projected yield lost when producers are unable to apply the post nitrogen application during the V3 through V10 corn growth stages (from plant with three visible collared leaves to five weeks after plant emerges) due to field conditions created by weather.

PACE is available as supplemental coverage for Yield Protection, Revenue Protection and Revenue Protection with Harvest Price Exclusion policies. The next sales closing date to buy insurance is March 15, 2023.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.