The 12th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference is scheduled for July 22-24, at the Edgewater Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, Fla. As has come to be expected each year, this conference offers an agenda tailored for peanut producers, with opportunities for learning more about legislative issues, peanut research and promotions.

Registration for the meeting will begin on Thursday, July 22, at 1 p.m., lasting until 6:30 p.m. at the Edgewater Beach Resort Conference Center. The hospitality room and refreshments will be compliments of the Peanut Advisory Board with grilled PB&J’s compliments of the National Peanut Buying Points Association. At 6:30 p.m., room registration will move to the Edgewater Beach Resort Information Center.

A welcoming reception hosted by Bayer CropScience will be held beginning at 7 p.m. followed by a Welcoming Dinner from 7:30 until 10 p.m. The theme will be Passport to Flavor. Join your friends in the peanut industry for a special salute to flavors of the world. This will be your opportunity to experience peanut flavors without needing a real passport. Explore fabulous entrees prepared by the Edgewater Beach Resort Chef Phillippe Robles. After dinner, be prepared to laugh it up while Doc Holiday, an accomplished stage hypnotist, proves that “Laughter is the Best Medicine.” His show consistently proves that he is “The Hilarious Hypnotist.”

On Friday, July 23, beginning at 6:45 a.m., Valent will host a prayer breakfast. This will be followed by the Valor Award presentation.

The general sessions, beginning at 8:15 a.m. on Monday will be as follows:

General Session I — The Marketplace: Marketing from the Viewpoint of the Manufacturer; Determining Contract Offerings — Jimmy Dorsett, Golden Peanut Company; and By the Numbers — Richard Barnhill — Mazur & Hockman.

For the Spouse’s Program, beginning at 9:30 a.m., the theme is Passport to Humor. The keynote speaker for the Spouse’s Program and for the luncheon, sponsored by BASF on Friday, is motivational speaker and humorist Jane Jenkins Herlong. Jane’s can-do attitude inspires people to reach for their absolute best. Jane will share down-home principles with uptown humor all the while motivating you to discover your niche in life and bolstering you with the confidence to achieve.

She authored the book, “Bare Feet to High Heels”; “You Don't have to be a Beauty Queen to Be A Beautiful Person”: and frequently writes as a guest newspaper columnist.

General Session II, beginning at 10:15 a.m., will be themed, The Benevolence of Our Industry:

The Haiti Project — Sally Wells, Birdsong Peanut Company; Africa & Government Programs — Stephanie Grunefelder, APC; and Plumpy Nut Updates — Jeff Johnson, Birdsong Peanut Company.

General Session III, Research and Production, begins at 1:30 p.m. with the following topics and speakers: Research on Feral Pigs — Richard Petcher, Auburn University and Steve Ditchkoff, Auburn University; and Production Forum: “What Do You Know.”

The evening will be on your own in Panama City Beach.

The Southern Peanut Growers Conference continues on Saturday, July 24, with registration beginning at 6:45 a.m. and the Farm Press Peanut Profitability Awards Breakfast and Grower Panel sponsored by the National Peanut Board set for 7 a.m. The awards will be presented this year to Al Sudderth, Lower Southeast Region; Rusty Strickland, Southwest Region; and Richard Rentz, Upper Southeast Region.

Sponsors of this year’s awards include Arysta LifeScience, Provost/Temik, Becker Underwood, Enclosure, Golden Peanut Company, John Deere, National Peanut Board, Syngenta, U.S. Borax, Southeast Farm Press, Southwest Farm Press and Delta Farm Press.

Following the breakfast, General Session IV, Peanuts and Politics, will feature the following topics and speakers: Washington Outlook — Congressman Bobby Bright, D-Ala.; The Future in BioEnergy — Tom Buis, Growth Energy; Water Issues Facing Agriculture; and Improving the Loan Program in 2012.

Noon lunch is on your own with the afternoon being free. A golf tournament will be held at the Hombre Golf Course from 12:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. at the Hombre Golf Course.

Beginning at 7 p.m. a reception, dinner and entertainment will be sponsored by Syngenta with the theme, “Your Passport to Memories.” Entertainment will feature the sounds of The Tams. The current members include Charles Pope, his son Li’l Redd, Robert Arnold, Reginald Preston and Greg Gallashaw. Fans clamor to see Charles Pope — Living Legend, and Li’l Redd — Fastest Feet in the South.

Conference Sponsors for 2010 include Southern Peanut Farmers Federation, Alabama Peanut Producers Association, Florida Peanut Producers Association, Georgia Peanut Commission, Mississippi Peanut Growers Association, Southern Peanut Growers, Syngenta, Bayer CropScience, BASF, National Peanut Board, Valent, Farm Press, First South Farm Credit, National Peanut Buying Points Association, MANA Crop Protection, Dow AgroSciences, AMVAC, Becker Underwood, EMD Crop BioScience, Inc., Farm Progress, Golden Peanut Company, Southwest Georgia Farm Credit, Peanut Grower and Southeastern Peanut Farmer.

Room reservations for the Southern Peanut Growers Conference can be made by contacting the Edgewater Beach Resort at 1-800-874-8686. When making hotel reservations, ask for the Southern Peanut Growers Conference rate.

For more information about the conference, contact the Georgia Peanut Commission at 229-386-3470, the Alabama Peanut Producers Association at 334-792-6482, the Florida Peanut Producers Association at 850-526-2590, or the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association at 601-947-4223. You may register online at www.southernpeanutfarmers.org.

email: [email protected]