Tifton, GA |
Georgia is one of the most agriculturally diverse states in the country, but when it comes to row crops, cotton and peanuts remain king — with more than six thousand farms combined dedicated to the two. That’s why researchers invest so heavily in both, and why the annual UGA Cotton and Peanut Field Day in Tifton draws growers from across the state looking for an edge heading into harvest.
“We’re very pleased and grateful that we get the support we do from the commodity commissions. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be doing this field day or the research we’re doing,” said Scott Monfort, Peanut Agronomist with UGA Extension. “It’s the growers of the state who help support this — and this is our time to give back, express our gratitude, and talk directly to growers about what’s going on with our research.”
Beyond an up-close look at the newest technologies, the field day gives producers a rare chance to talk face-to-face with the researchers behind the work. And the top issue on everyone’s mind is the same: efficiency.
“This is an opportunity for cotton and peanut farmers to see the research the peanut and cotton teams are conducting each and every year. Our main goal is to improve profitability and sustainability — but it’s a chance to actually see it happening in the field,” said Phillip Roberts, Extension Entomologist with UGA. “At the end of the day, it’s all about making the right decision for a return on that input. A lot of what we do here is try to understand the efficiency of each and every input we make in a cotton crop.”
One of the biggest concerns heading into this season was the cotton jassid — a pest that caught growers and researchers off guard in 2025. This year, the story is considerably more encouraging.
“If we look at cotton jassid 2026 versus 2025, we’re in a much better place. A couple of reasons for that: number one, we learned about the jassid. Growers learned how to manage it — so we were ready,” Roberts said. “Last year we were figuring out management day by day. But the other good news is jassid populations just aren’t as high this year.”
On the peanut side, growers are coming off a record-breaking year for production — but researchers aren’t slowing down. Finding the next standout variety is a process that plays out over years, not seasons, as the team works to identify genetics that can hold up across the wide range of conditions Georgia growers face.
“When you’re doing on-farm testing, you’ve opened the door to a lot of environmental situations and different agronomic practices from grower to grower. Management styles differ. So we’re looking for a variety that can be stable across all those situations,” Monfort said. “That’s one of the reasons we haven’t replaced zero-six-G yet. We’re getting closer — but it’s taken us ten to fifteen years to try and find one.”
For Georgia’s cotton and peanut producers, the field day serves as an annual reminder that the research happening in Tifton’s test plots today is what ends up making a difference in their fields tomorrow.