One Year with the Virginia Peanut Growers

Written by: Caitlyn Joyner

It is hard to believe that I am approaching the one-year mark working with the Virginia Peanut Growers Association. This year has absolutely flown by, and personally I don’t think it could have been much better. I have truly enjoyed meeting people, learning, and promoting Virginia peanuts.

The summer has been off to a very busy start for VPGA. I attended the American Peanut Council’s USA Peanut Congress in Amelia Island, Florida, at the beginning of June. These conferences bring together people from all sectors of the peanut industry, so it was a great opportunity for me to meet others and hear updates from across the industry.

We also held our board meeting in June, and I would like to congratulate our newly elected officers: President Randy Everett (Dinwiddie), Vice President Eric Bailey (Sussex County), and Treasurer Wesley Barnes (Southampton County). Wayne Barnes was also re-elected as Chairman of the Virginia Peanut Board. Mr. Barnes has served in that capacity for 38 years. Congratulations again, and thank you to all of the board members who give their time and effort to serve this Association.

I also had the distinct privilege of serving on the nominating committee for the 2024–2025 Virginia FFA State Officer Team during the Virginia FFA State Convention in Blacksburg. This three-day, multi-round interview process selected seven state officers from a group of 19 outstanding candidates. It was a pleasure to be part of the process, and I wish the new State FFA Officers the very best this year.

Virginia FFA also packed more than 2,000 care packages for seniors at the Culpeper Senior Center during FFA Camp, and our peanut packs were included in those packages. I look forward to more partnership opportunities with Virginia FFA in the future.

Another event I had the opportunity to attend was the Virginia Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers summer professional development conference in Harrisonburg. I spent time at our booth talking with teachers and sharing educational materials, while Leslie Wagner from Southern Peanut Growers presented information on peanut nutrition and allergy prevention. Several Virginia commodity boards participated in the conference, and the information was very well received. It was a valuable learning experience, and I came away with several ideas on how we can better serve teachers moving forward.

I spent a great deal of time in Richmond at the end of July and beginning of August working on our baseball game promotion with the Richmond Flying Squirrels. This year we added television promotions to help increase attendance and encourage peanut butter donations. We filmed a commercial with WWBT News 12 in Richmond, appeared on the 12 About Town lunch show, and Fox Richmond also interviewed me at the stadium.

Those interviews, combined with social media promotion, helped create a great response. Although Tropical Storm Debby threatened the event, the rain held off, the breeze cooled things down, and more than 7,200 fans attended the game. We also asked fans to bring jars of peanut butter to donate to Feed More in Richmond. While I am still waiting on the final donation numbers, the collection bins certainly looked full, and I believe we made a meaningful impact.

I also want to sincerely thank all of the growers and industry friends who volunteered. We simply could not pull off these events without your help, and I think the evening was an overall success.

Looking ahead, the schedule remains full with the State Fair, a special television promotion, and a Japanese Reverse Trade Mission hosted by the American Peanut Council here in Virginia this October. The excitement around Virginia peanuts never really slows down. If you are interested in volunteering at the State Fair or future events, please reach out. I am hoping for another great crop and a successful harvest season, and I know all of you are as well.