PEANUT MARKETING NEWS – October 26, 2020 – Tyron Spearman, Editor (146)

NATIONAL PEANUT BOARD MEMBERS APPOINTED - The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the
appointment of six members and seven alternates to serve on the National Peanut Board. The appointees will serve three-year
terms, from Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2023, with the exceptions of the Missouri appointees whose terms will begin immediately and
will end Dec. 31, 2022, and the At-Large alternate appointee whose term will begin immediately and will end Dec. 31, 2021.
Members appointed are:
Alabama: Tom Corcoran (Member) and Thomas Adams (Alternate)
Florida: William T. Carte (Member) and Nick Marshall (Alternate)
Mississippi: Lonnie Fortner (Member) and Alan Atkins (Alternate)
Missouri: Clay Deane (Member) and Russ Hoggard (Alternate)
North Carolina: Ray Garner (Member) and Julie M. Ward (Alternate)
Virginia: Paul Rogers (Member) and Westley Barnes Drake (Alternate)
At-Large: Lucy Lacey Shackelford (Alternate)
The board is comprised of 13 producer members and their alternates. Twelve members and alternates are from the primary peanut
producing states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, Texas and Virginia. An at-large member and alternate represent the minor peanut producing states.
More information about the National Peanut Board, including a roster of members, is available on the Agricultural
Marketing Service (AMS) National Peanut Board webpage and at the National Peanut Board website.
Since 1966, Congress has authorized the development of industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a
framework for agricultural industries to pool their resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing
markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight of 21 boards, paid for by industry
assessments, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
SAFELY INTRODUCE ALLERGIC FOODS TO INFANTS – APC & TODAY’S PARENT TEAM TOGETHER –
In late summer, the APC, in collaboration with Today’s Parent, Canada’s primary source for parenting content, launched
an informative digital campaign on how to safely introduce allergenic foods to infants. The centerpiece of the initiative was an
animated video which shared allergy awareness research from the Canadian Pediatric Society. The short video can be seen with the
link below. Other elements of the campaign included digital video and banner ads, an email distribution to new and expecting
moms, and social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In total, nearly 1 million impressions were generated as a
result of this partnership.
Today’s Parent was chosen as the outlet because they resonate well with one of the APC’s primary target audiences:
millennial moms, aged 25‐39. Research shows this key audience spends roughly 24 hours per week online, with 17 hours a week
on mobile devices and 15.5 hours per week on social media. This insight led the APC to utilize a completely digital campaign to
provide information which helps parents decide how and when to introduce allergenic foods to their babies
U.S.- CHINA PHASE ONE ECONOMIC & TRADE AGREEMENT – In a report released Friday, USTR & USDA says this
agreement will deliver historic results to American agriculture. A multitude of structural barriers in China have been changed. To
date, China has implemented at least 50 of the 57 technical commitments under the Phase One Agreement. China also has
substantially ramped up its purchases of U.S. agricultural products. To date, China has purchased over $23 billion in agricultural
products, approximately 71% of its target under the Phase One Agreement. Highlights outlined in the report include:
• Corn: Outstanding sales of U.S. corn to China are at an all-time high of 8.7 million tons.
• Soybeans: U.S. soybeans sales for marketing year 2021 are off to the strongest start in history, with outstanding sales to
China double 2017 levels.
• Sorghum: U.S. exports of sorghum to China from January to August 2020 totaled $617 million, up from $561 million for
the same period in 2017.
• Pork: U.S. pork exports to China hit an all-time record in just the first five months of 2020.
• Beef: U.S. beef and beef products exports to China through August 2020 are already more than triple the total for 2017.
In addition to these products, USDA expects 2020 sales to China to hit record or near-record levels for numerous other U.S.
agricultural products including pet food, alfalfa hay, pecans, peanuts, and prepared foods.
WELCOMED RAIN IN SOUTHEAST – With the Southeast peanut harvest about 70% complete, a weather system swept across
the tri-state Friday evening bringing some areas up to 1 inch of rain. First, buying points needed a break from 5 weeks of
continuous harvest activities, plus some dryland peanuts needed moisture to loosen the soil and settle the dust. Harvesting will
continue today as another Hurricane moves into the Gulf of Mexico bringing showers to the region by Thursday. Buying points
report average yields overall with little or no aflatoxin and good grades. High moisture weather and then dry or hot caused an
increase in LSK’s (loose shelled kernels) in some areas.