Written by: Dell Cotton, PGCMA
It’s been a busy fall, as I’m sure you all can relate. The State Fair is one of our biggest events of the year, with close to 10,000 attendees. As always, we handed out peanuts and shared Virginia peanut information and education with thousands of curious fairgoers. We also sponsor a recipe contest that gets some of the most participation of any recipe contest at the fair. These recipes, along with many others, will be showcased in our upcoming Taste of Virginia Peanuts recipe book, featuring submissions from several members of the community. I want to once again thank the volunteers who helped with the fair. We truly could not do it without our wonderful volunteers.
We also worked on several exciting film opportunities for projects that will air this winter and spring. We had the opportunity to film an episode of Where the Food Comes From, which airs on RFD-TV. It was a special privilege to travel through peanut country and tell the story of Virginia peanuts. Thank you to Billy Gwaltney and Indika Farms, Kirk Jones, and Joey Doyle, along with their families, for allowing us to visit and interview each of you. We also filmed a commercial for National Peanut Month with News Channel 12 in Richmond. Richard Kitchen and Wesley Barnes did an excellent job promoting and highlighting Virginia peanuts. Stay tuned to our social media pages for the airing of these special promotions.
This fall also brought several visitors to Virginia peanut country. The American Peanut Council hosted a reverse trade mission with several Japanese trade partners here in Virginia at the end of October. The visit included tours of Virginia businesses and farms, and the Virginia Peanut Growers Association was delighted to host dinner at Indika Farms for the trade partners. We enjoyed Chesapeake Bay oysters, Carolina-style barbecue, and all the fixings at the homeplace at Indika Farms. We also had the opportunity to meet with VDACS Commissioner Joe Guthrie to discuss potential trade opportunities between Virginia peanuts and Japan. Thank you to the American Peanut Council for hosting the partners and allowing us to contribute.
We also hosted VALOR (Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results) Class VII fellows in November. The group tours different areas of the state as part of a two-year program, and Southeast Virginia was the first stop. We gave the group a quick Peanuts 101 lesson before they headed to Belmont Peanuts and Birdsong’s Southampton Buying Point. The fellows also toured the Commonwealth Cotton Gin and Tidewater AREC before heading to the Eastern Shore to wrap up their first trip.
We are looking forward to receiving the official statistics from this year’s harvest to round out the year, and we’re looking ahead to a busy but exciting spring.
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