The Great Peanut Harvest of 2012

The Georgia Farm Bureau Farm Monitor reported that there are twice as many peanuts growing in Georgia this year than the last. Now, last year was the smallest crop ever, but we still have a lot of peanuts around here right now.

And these peanuts are causing a small problem in our small town – a wagon shortage.

This old thing is in high demand right now.

This is the parking lot of the local peanut company. All of those trucks are waiting to get a wagon. ONE wagon. And what good does one wagon do? As Brad said, “It’s enough to tick us off.” Meaning: not much!

Farmers dig the peanuts, let them dry out for a few days in the field (unless they are to be used as green peanuts for boiling), and then “pick” them. The wagons are used to transport the picked peanuts from the field to the peanut house. Many farmers (like us) don’t have their own peanut wagons. Some farmers use semis as well, but many still use wagons. And this year, because there are so many peanuts, farmers are waiting in line for wagons.

That’s Leroy, one of our employees, standing up there waiting. He arrived at 5:30am and said that folks were already there asleep in their trucks. This picture was taken at 9am. Wagons (in the background) were just beginning to be taken back to be emptied. Brad said he’s never seen anything like this. Leroy had to put his name on a list for a wagon, and he was sure to tell me that he knew who he was behind – he was going to be ready when it was his turn!

Wagons waiting on peanut testing. They test the moisture, among other things (this is not my area of expertise!).

A farmer bringing peanuts in from the field. Many wagons are needed to transport all the peanuts from just one field to the peanut house.

We’ve still got the majority of our peanuts either on or in the ground, so we’ll have to see what happens with these wagons – there sure are peanuts EVERYWHERE!