AFVGA 

Sweet Grown Alabama, the state marketing program for agricultural products, debuted SweetGrownAlabama.org May 12. The interactive website features member profiles, a “What’s in Season” page and a user-friendly database for consumers to find member growers across the state.

-Hunter McBrayer, division director

Peanuts

Consumers have turned to traditional comfort food such as peanut butter during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Peanut Board reports peanut butter and peanut snack nut sales increased with the stay-at-home orders during March and April. March peanut butter sales were up 75% over 2019, and April sales were up 19.5% over 2019. 

-Jacob Davis, division director

Cotton, Soybean, Wheat & Feed Grain

Landowners are flooded with marketing from “liquid lime” companies, which claim to increase soil pH and improve crop yields with rates of one to five gallons per acre. Visit tinyurl.com/liquidlime to read an article breaking down the science behind liming materials, which will help landowners make smart investments to maintain pH.

-Carla Hornady, divisions director

Dairy

Help Alabama dairy farmers celebrate National Dairy Month in June. Alabama is home to over 4,500 dairy cows that produced 7 million gallons of milk last year. The average dairy cow in Alabama produced 4.6 gallons of milk per day and 1,400 gallons of milk annually.

-Russ Durrance, division director

Wildlife

Alabama’s recreational red snapper season is off to a hot start. A reported 176,782 pounds were harvested opening weekend. Marine Resources can adjust seasons to allow anglers to catch as many fish as possible. Alabama’s private recreational season is set to run Friday-Monday with a tentative closing date of July 19. The closing date may be adjusted to ensure the state’s limit of 1,122,662 pounds.

-William Green, division director

Beef

The Department of Justice has formally demanded information from the largest U.S. beef packers (Tyson, Cargill, JBS and National) regarding potential antitrust violations. Allegations began after a 2019 Tyson plant fire led to dramatic swings in the cattle market, which have continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

-Brady Ragland, division director