How Peanuts Are Grown, Harvested and Roasted in Virginia

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peanuts

, so sit back and join us here at Made in Virginia. Made in Virginia is brought to you by At Union Bank and Trust we salute the dreamers, the thinkers, the doers, the believers, the builders and the creators: through your vision, hard work and innovation, you make Virginia shine - Union Bank and Trust a Virginia business partner and a proud supporter of Made in Virginia and Virginia Public Broadcasting.

When you buy a home, you're not only investing in your future, you're also giving your memories a place to call home. Old Dominion Realty is a proud supporter of Made in Virginia. TMEiC Honors Virginia's Manufacturing Heritage and Proudly Supports Made in Virginia TMEiC, We Power the Industry...and a Very Special Thank You to Made in Virginia Supporters: The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton Virginia, a Made in Experience Truly unique Virginia. The Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce is a partner for success and the Law Offices of Allen and Carwile. The Virginia peanut, truly the gourmet peanut, is valued for its size, texture and, above all, its magnificent flavor, but the Virginia peanut is not a nut at all.

Ask ten people how

peanuts

grow and what peanuts actually are and you will probably get ten different answers. First, what peanuts are and how they grow to become the world's most popular treat: They don't grow on trees like walnuts. or nuts and is not the root of the plant, but the Virginia peanut is a legume that likes peas and beans taxonomically classified as Arrakis hypogea. It is

grown

using an extremely rare and mysterious medium in which the peanut is formed by injecting the ovary of the plant into the soil of the pegs that grow down into the soil from the flowers of the peanut plant that become the delicious, nutritious and highly sought after Virginia peanuts.

The peanut grows underground and many people think that the peanut is like a potato where the potato is part of the roof while the peanut is not like that the peanut comes from the peanut in the peanut plant the plant of course is above ground, From the branches of the plant comes a flower, from the flower comes a stake, for the peg it goes underground and the peanut is formed at the end of the peg, so the peanut does not form on that peg until it reaches underground earth, so if you were to take a picture and look at it from a distance, all the peanuts are hanging. of the plant, but they are all underground, that is how the peanut plant grows.

Peanuts are

grown

in 11 southern states, stretching east from Virginia to Florida and west to New Mexico, but it is here, in the light, calcium-rich sandy loam soil of southeastern Virginia, that the finest peanuts are grown, crunchy and tasty in the world. Well, first of all, Virginia is the oldest and prettiest nut. We first grew peanuts commercially in 1842, so we're the oldest state that has grown peanuts commercially, but as far as this area goes, they just produce one very good peanut, they always have, eight. or nine counties in Virginia Grumpy Nuts and they're all in the southeast corner of the state, all contiguous with each other because that's where the sand is and our climate is the best in the state for peanuts too because we're in the far north.

Status for growing peanuts: We have to be very careful because in May we have to plant them in the ground, but we have to wait until the ground warms up, so we are a little blocked in the front, but They are particularly blocked in the back since this year we are in the safe. We have to get them out of the ground as best we can before it freezes or we've dodged a frost and get them out of the ground so that our growing season is much shorter than many of the other states because we have to plant them on time, we have to get them out of the ground because we are very well known for our stadium peanuts, which are eaten at the ball game or the big ones that are put in the cans that we are so famous for with the many processes in our area, so wherever you go and expose peanuts, people want to know where they can buy Virginia peanuts: Virginia is home to about 175 peanut farmers: together they have over eighteen thousand acres and produced 67 million pounds of Virginia peanuts.

This peanut crop now being

harvested

is generally planted between April and May; The planting process begins when the soil temperature reaches between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit; The goal is to generate high quality seed to replant for next year's crop here in Virginia or exported to other growers out of state. A portion of the best

harvested

peanuts are selected for cooking and commercial consumption. Virginia peanut farmers take their cultivation very seriously; It is not easy to maintain the legacy year after year as the best in the world. But the final product is well worth the effort: quality control in the product.

In Virginia peanuts are never compromised. All the peanuts that we grow or grow for seed: we start with foundation seed, which from this part of the Virginia Crop Improvement Association and every person that is in the seed business, buys a certain number of pounds of seed from base on each variety each year and from the base seed, the plants and what you get from the back are considered registered seeds, they have to go through a field inspection process: they will inspect them while they are growing to make sure they are not mixed varieties or a There are too many weeds and things in the field to be able to get a certificate from each farmer indicating whether their peanuts have passed or not and I can't use them to certify seeds if they fail, but all the farmers here do. a great job and it's rare that you ever get one that doesn't pass field inspection first;

Now we don't use all of them as seeds; We select some of the largest peanuts to sell to people who cook peanuts and we also cook and process the peanuts ourselves. Peanut seed kernels are planted two inches deep every four inches or so in rows about three feet apart. Then, if conditions are right, keeping warm and with enough water, nature takes its course: the seeds germinate and sprout within two weeks of sowing. Over the next 30 to 40 days, the peanut plant matures and blooms; at that moment the almost magical but certainly rare form of geo Carvey plant reproduction occurs.

The pod forms and over the next 60 to 70 days becomes the peanut shell and the coveted kernels of the Virginia peanut. The total time from planting to harvest is between 120 to 160 days depending on the variety. The first step to bringing the world's best peanuts to market is digging. The peanuts are dug in several rows on each pass. The excavator reverses the planes to remove soil and expose the peanuts to the sun for better drying in the field. Dry digging, like the cultivation process, is also dependent on weather and conditions. The soil should not be too wet or too dry for digging and the weather should remain dry for at least two days after the peanut plants have been dug and turned over before harvesting them in the initial field - the first of a drying process.

Two steps must be completed before the farmer can begin harvesting the peanuts. Harvesting is done with a combination machine commonly called a peanut harvester: the peanut harvester separates the peanuts from the vines; The peanuts still in their shells go into a large hopper at the top of the machine while the vines are expelled out the back. The vines left in the field due to the combining process: the combine pushes out the vines and leaves them in the field, or the farmer can leave them there to add nitrogen to the soil because they are full of nitrogen or they can bale them and use them as food for the cattle, who love them because they are full of protein, so peanuts are added to the soil rather than removed.

Once the hopper is full, the peanuts are transferred to a drying trailer. The drying trailer has a perforated floor for circulation and will be connected to a forced drying air supply. The peanuts will continue to dry in the trailer until the moisture content is reduced to the required 10%. This usually occurs within two or three days and is essential so that the peanuts can be stored without spoiling. Once dry, the peanuts are taken to the purchasing station. where they are sampled and classified by the federal state inspection service. When the peanuts arrive, they have to go through this scale right here and they are weighed.

We have peanut sorters that are provided by the Virginia State Inspection Service. We paid seven hundred and seven dollars and 95 cents per ton of feed to have them. qualified. They are independent of us, we are not their bosses; we provide them with a sorting room, a bathroom and a place to take peanut samples and they do the rest and they have qualified staff, they receive training to do this job and they are very good they are very good people. Here the peanuts are weighed and identified by variety and farm number. The peanuts are then taken to the sampling machine, which draws a random sample by vacuum from various locations within the load.

This ensures that a fair and accurate sample is obtained. From this large sample a 1700 gram or three pound sample is obtained and passed through a foreign materials machine. This separates the peanuts from any foreign material and loose kernels; This smaller sample may still need to be cleaned by hand. The cleaned peanuts are then weighed and a 500 gram or 1.6 pound sample is obtained. The peanuts are then sorted by size and then loaded into the sheller, which removes the shells from the kernel; The beans are then sorted to identify the percentage of mature beans. splits and extra large grains;

The moisture content is then determined. The peanuts are now ready for the final sample. The total of these must weigh 500 grams, which must coincide with the weight of the original sample. And they determine the percentage of whole shells, you know, the percentage of smk, they call the grains Salma and then they have something called "other grains." "that some shriveled peanuts and then they open them up, they shell them, they open them up and determine the percentage of splits and the damage and all that and all those factors are entered into a computer and it is a graph of prices that are paid for and that all of those factors determine the price they will receive for the peanuts - of course that price is considered the loan rate, I think $359 and 95 cents, but of course they are not growing them for that amount - we use the contract for 535 or more for some varieties we pay more because they have to be watered.

Once sorted, the peanuts are stored or taken to the shelling plant, loaded by conveyor into a peanut cleaning machine: rocks, dirt stalks, sticks are removed and vines. Next, the peanuts go to the sheller, where they are separated into three sizes and moved to one of three different shelling chambers, where they are stored. The size of the peanuts for peeling minimizes splitting, thus keeping the best peanut kernels in the world intact. Once shelled, the peanuts go to a vacuum separator that removes the shelled peanuts from the shelled ones. From here they go to the collection room, where electric eyes identify and remove unwanted peanuts;

This is achieved with a precise jet of air down to the individual grain in the batch. No detail is overlooked in the quality control of these high-demand Made in Virginia gourmet peanuts, as they are then inspected and hand-picked by a person to remove any unwanted foreign material or inferior product. After manual harvesting, the peanuts go to a grader. - the grading machine is crucial as it determines which peanuts become the final product - only the super extra large kernels become gourmet peanuts Made in Virginia From there, quality peanuts are cooked - the cooking process begins by weighing first the extra peanuts -Large peanut kernels (the keepers) in 12 pound batches.

The peanuts are then soaked in almost boiling water for 30 minutes. From there, the water is drained and the peanuts are cooked in peanut oil at 325 degrees for 6 minutes; After cooking, they are poured onto flat metal trays lined with several layers of absorbent paper towels. Salt is sprinkled on the peanuts and then allowed to cool before being sent to be packaged. Once cooled, the salted peanuts are loaded into the hopper for precise portioning and various sized packages and containers. The cans are filled and vacuum sealed and then sealed with the best used. by date The cans are then labeled and packed into cardboard boxes ready for shipment.

Then, finally, Made in Virginia peanuts, the pride of Virginia farmers, are sent to cold storage ready for distribution, sale and consumption. Well, we've always had competition when it comes to almondsand pistachios and some of these higher dollar value products or higher dollar value nuts, but when it comes to peanuts, they are much more sustainable than some of these other nuts. a fraction of water to grow a peanut versus growing an almond or a pistachio. Peanuts grow underground; There are many people who think that peanuts grow on trees like almonds and pistachios, but they do not. They grow underground, so we also have a lot going for us in the area of ​​sustainability and I think that's actually the peanuts that American baseball fans enjoy at the stadium are the variety known as Virginia peanuts: delicious and with a Nice crunchy texture, nothing beats the taste of a real peanut.

Virginia Peanuts. Although not the largest producer in the U.S., Virginia peanut farmers take pride in knowing that the peanuts they produce are the best and most sought after in the world. We ship nationwide and, you know, throughout the United States and abroad; Well, we have considered the Virginia Peanut to be the best peanut you can get. We have the best climate to grow peanuts, you know, in some areas they get too hot and I think they have a flavor problem in some areas that have extremely hot weather when they are digging and the peanuts are on top of the ground and they get to extreme heat. .

I've heard people talk about the taste problems in those areas, but we just think we have the biggest peanuts and the best peanuts in the country. There are 130 farms in Sussex County, Virginia, with an average size of 571 acres; 25% of the county's land is dedicated to agricultural production. The main crops are cotton, corn, open-cured tobacco, small grains, soybeans and, of course, peanuts. I am very proud to be a processor; I've done this for so long that I feel like the farmers I deal with are part of a family here. We try to do everything we can to help the farmer and the farmer does everything they can do to try to deliver me a good product, so I try to work with them, especially this time of year when the weather is critical and you know that You can expect a frost any day and you need to harvest the crop and we work on weekends to be able to do all this, no matter what it takes.

We need the consumer for something we have and I feel like you. I need the infrastructure and I feel like we have the infrastructure and of course we need the farmers and the farmers couldn't exist without infrastructure so I think we now have a group of farmers in our state who are committed to peanut farming. and they want to continue growing peanuts and once farmers grow peanuts, they will need a place to deliver them, like this facility here and many others in the southeastern part of the state, as long as we have the infrastructure and the processors to process those peanuts, then the Peanuts should be around as long as they have been around, look, there's a lot of pride in that crop.

Southeastern Virginia is known for peanuts, that's just how it is and these farmers want to carry on the tradition of those who came before them - now, once again, I'll mention to you that we no longer grow what we used to - the program change came when The federal price support program changed in 2002 and that's when we went from 75,000 acres to about 20,000 acres; in one of those years we went down to 12,000 acres, but we have recovered back to 20 and I think we will stay around 20,000 acres, but even those 20,000 acres pale in comparison to the 700 and a few thousand. acres farmed in Georgia, those 20,000 acres are very important to us and the farmers who farm those 20,000 acres take as much pride in those 20,000 as they do in the 75,000 acres, so it continues the tradition and what people expect to come out of it. of peanuts. produced in our area.

Wakefield Virginia has long been known as the peanut capital of the world. The area's average summer temperature is 78 degrees with an annual rainfall of 44 inches, perfect for peanuts. Incorporated in 1902, Wakefield features the famous Virginia Diner with peanut pie and other homemade Southern delicacies, but the real draw here is and always will be the best peanuts in the world. You must remember that there is no peanut farmer, there are farmers who grow peanuts. , corn, cotton, soybeans and wheat, so these are farmers who grow several crops and they rotate each year and in some years in this field there are peanuts, but next year they are not going to have peanuts in that field, so we have farmers who grow various crops, including peanuts, obtained from the field.

Now you have the processors that are involved and the shellers that are involved in Suffolk. There used to be seven or eight shellers; Now there is one and that hurts a little. They are a huge company, but they are still the only ones left in Suffolk; then we come to the processors. You've got planters in Suffolk who've been here for a hundred years, you've got all these processes that we're known for and they put it on the can, so when you add all that up between the farmers, the equipment dealers and the Plaza fertilizer dealers and the processors: there are a good portion of people who are involved with peanuts in this area.

It's very important, very important. The farmers are doing well, they have various crops that they grow here, but peanuts are a good profitable crop. They know they are now getting exceptional returns; You know some of the new varieties that we have, they are generating 5,000 pounds per acre and more and more years ago, say 10 or 15 years ago, 30 bags per acre and 3000 pounds per acre was considered a good crop, so they need to produce more because the prices are not as good as when they had the support. program: a government support program. You know, like I said, Southeast Virginia since 1842 has been known for peanuts, so we have the history behind us, there are processors, planters for one who works for another who has been here for over a hundred years: the Hubert Peanut oldest.

The company to put them in Kansas has been here for over 60 years, so we have the traditions behind us: the peanut is sold only because people ask for it because they know what to expect when they eat a Virginia peanut, so again we tried . to stand out a little, but it's not really necessary because people already know that. Virginia farmers have been growing peanuts for almost 200 years; Although they are not the largest producers of peanuts in the United States, the sandy soil and climate of southeastern Virginia produces a peanut of impeccable flavor and texture with more than two dozen varieties; the Virginia peanut has endured and is distinguished as the best in the world The Virginia peanut valued for its large size, beauty and excellent flavor is also known as "A" The Dude, "B" the stadium peanut, "C" The Kings Peanut or "D" The New World Peanut - the answer when we return to Made in Virginia is presented to you.....

At Union Bank and Trust we salute the dreamers, the thinkers, the doers, the believers, the builders and the creators thank you to your vision. Hard work and innovation make Virginia Union Bank and Trust shine: a partner to Virginia businesses and a proud supporter of Made in Virginia and Virginia Public Broadcasting. This is the place we call home. This place right here...this is our place...This is the place we call home When you buy a home, you are not only investing in your future, you are also giving your memories a place to call home . Old Dominion Realty proud supporter of Made in Virginia - TMEiC, honoring Virginia's manufacturing heritage and proudly supporting Made in Virginia TMEiC - we drive the industry... and a very special thank you to supporters of Made in Virginia...

The Library and Woodrow Wilson Presidential Museum in Staunton Virginia, a truly unique experience Made in Virginia The Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce a partner for success.....and the law offices of Allen and Carwile So...what is it known Also the Virginia Peanuts?...the answer "B" - The Ballpark Peanut and with over 70 million major league baseball tickets sold annually, the Virginiapeanuts are a home run. Next time in Virginia it will be about guitars and the people who make them, they are called lute ears. and make the world's finest flat steel string guitars right here in Staunton, in the heart of Virginia's beautiful Shenandoah Valley, where deep musical roots and elegant craftsmanship meet.

Don't miss this next time on Made in Virginia if you want to learn more. about today's episode or to suggest a Virginia manufacturer for the show, you can visit us at MadeinVirginia.tv and WVPT.net