953 nut 55,189 #1 Posted March 28 Why Georga went nuts? For several generations cotton had been king in the south. In 1915, the boll weevil reached Georga. Many cotton crops were destroyed, and the local farmers struggled financially. The whole area fell into a slump. H.M. Sessions, an Enterprise, GA businessman, decided something needed to be done about the boll weevil problem. He felt that peanuts would fare well in the region. Enterprise farmer, C.W. Baston, planted peanuts for one year at the request of Mr. Sessions. Mr. Sessions offered Mr. Baston the peanuts to plant, someone to harvest them, and $1 per bushel. Mr. Baston, whose cotton had been severely damaged by the boll weevil, took him up on his offer. Mr. Baston's crop of peanuts did well in its first year. He was able to pay off his debts and still have some money in the bank. He produced 8,000 bushels of peanuts in his first year. His great success caused many other struggling farmers to become interested in peanuts. Mr. Baston's harvest was used as seed for other local farmers who were eager to get into the peanut business. Many farmers grew nothing except peanuts. The great success of the peanuts proved beneficial to the state. Many farmers diversified even further and planted other crops. Cotton was still planted, but was not the sole focus of Georga’s farming efforts. According to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the U.S. peanut crop in 2022 was estimated at 5.57 billion pounds. Georga accounting for more than 50 percent of all U.S. peanut production. Once viewed primarily as a cotton state, Georgia now consistently ranks first in the nation’s production of poultry and eggs and is also a top producer of peanuts, pecans, tobacco, blueberries, and peaches. Overall, the state accounts for 2 percent of total U.S. agricultural sales. 8 3 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,315 #2 Posted March 28 Love peanuts! 2 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sailman 1,291 #4 Posted March 28 And of course that bit of history gave way to our southern specialty...."boiled peanuts". A true southern delicacy! Years ago my mom was visiting from up in Iowa and we took a road trip to the Florida beaches. On the way we stopped in south GA and picked up some fresh "boiled peanuts". I handed the bag to my mom and told her to try them while I visited the mens room. When I came back I asked her what she thought. She had an unpleasant look on her face but tried to be optimistic.....well she said they are kind of a strange crunchy thing....I had to clarify....we still remove the peanuts from the shell 1 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ANTPER 207 #5 Posted March 28 Is this where and how the old saying was born....He is working for peanuts. IDK 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 7,305 #6 Posted March 28 1 hour ago, Sailman said: And of course that bit of history gave way to our southern specialty...."boiled peanuts". A true southern delicacy! Years ago my mom was visiting from up in Iowa and we took a road trip to the Florida beaches. On the way we stopped in south GA and picked up some fresh "boiled peanuts". I handed the bag to my mom and told her to try them while I visited the mens room. When I came back I asked her what she thought. She had an unpleasant look on her face but tried to be optimistic.....well she said they are kind of a strange crunchy thing....I had to clarify....we still remove the peanuts from the shell Years ago I stopped at one of those boiled peanuts roadside stands, NEVER AGAIN! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297 #7 Posted March 28 Okay have any of you guys had REAL SMITHFIELD HAM ? Guess what the hogs eat. Peanuts , hogs glean the fields after the peanuts are harvested. My ex wife's grandfather smoked his own Smithfield hams ,tasted better than the hams smoked by the local company. There is a small restaurant in the area that serves peanut soup . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,424 #8 Posted March 28 And once again we've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that this website has..... Gone nuts. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites