The 2024 American Peanut Research and Education Society’s 56^th annual meeting, scheduled for July 9-11 at the Omni, Oklahoma City, will explore "Beyond the Dust Bowl: Peanut Production Challenges from the Ground Up."

The general session will delve into critical topics such as soil conservation, climate resources, and aquifer health.

Mark Burrow, left, past APRES president, with current president, Bob Kemerait. The 2024 conference is scheduled for July 9-11 in Oklahoma City. (Photo by Ron Smith)

The 2024 APRES conference will also feature a Flavor Symposium, where researchers and industry representatives will discuss the intricacies of peanut flavor, the complexities of enhancing flavor, and strategies for maintaining the exceptional taste for which the U.S. peanut industry is known.

“I am extremely excited about the upcoming APRES meeting,” says APRES President Bob Kemerait, University of Georgia Extension plant pathologist, Tifton. “The 2024 conference will take us into a unique area of the peanut production region.”

Kemerait says the meeting site offers a good perspective for this year’s theme of resource conservation. “Oklahoma has a rich history of agriculture and also the tragedy of the Dust Bowl and migration out of Oklahoma.

“I'm also very excited about a newly named session acknowledging the work of Dr. Charles Simpson (Texas A&M AgriLife Research) and recognition of his tremendous efforts and accomplishments in integrating wild species into our current peanut varieties.”

APRES poster competitions will be held again at the 2024 meeting. Pictured is Morgan Sysskind, University of Georgia, who placed first in the 2023 National Peanut Board Graduate Student Poster Competition, (M.S.).(Photo by Ron Smith)

Kemerait said the Joe Sugg student competitions offer opportunities for masters and doctoral candidates to present research and interact with other students, scientists and industry professionals.

“I look forward to being in Oklahoma or anywhere with APRES in the summertime with folks from the United States as well as international participants,” Kemerait says. “Our hope is that through these sessions, we can share research that will move peanut production and processing forward.”

Kemerait adds that the annual APRES meeting is more than a technical conference. “The fellowship that comes from this meeting is unequalled in any other meeting I go to,” he says. “APRES 2024 will be science, Extension, research, international and domestic. It will recognize some of the giants in our field like Charles Simpson. And it is going to be an opportunity for the fellowship that comes from being a part of the peanut community in the United States.”

The APRES annual meeting is more than a technical conference, it's also about fellowship within the peanut community. (Photo by Ron Smith)

For more information and to register, please check out 2024 APRES Annual Meeting.

Early Bird Registration for significant savings is available through 11:59 pm., May 31.

Also, for those unable to attend in person, an International Virtual registration (2024 APRES Annual Meeting International) option offers exclusive access to live streams of key presentations.

Discounted room rates at the Omni Oklahoma City hotel are available exclusively for meeting attendees.