He's Growing Peanuts In Kansas

He's Growing Peanuts In Kansas 34-3-6 With 130 acres of peanuts in the ground, Clark Schmidt is hoping for a typical hot Kansas summer. The Sterling, Kan., farmer wants to prove that peanuts are a viable crop in his state. He gave the crop a trial run on 65 acres last year and they yielded a modest 2 tons/acre. "Last year was an exceptionally cool summer," Schmidt says. All the crops were way behind, and it adversely affected the heat-seeking peanut crop. But he appreciated the side crop of 150 big round bales of peanut residue that he fed to his cattle. Though it rained a few times before he baled it, the cattle ate it all up. Schmidt can't do anything about the weather, but he learned lessons in 2009. This year he planted peanuts before May 1st, and hopes the weather will cooperate. Schmidt decided to try peanuts because his sandy soil is similar to soil where peanuts are grown in West Texas. Plus he has irrigation. "Peanuts do well in an environment where you control the water," he says. Peanuts have potential to be more profitable than corn and soybeans. Although there is no history of the crop in Kansas, Schmidt estimates peanuts could yield 2 1/2 tons/acre. Peanuts could bring in about $500/ton this year. Cost inputs are a little more than soybeans. He'll use the same herbicides that were used on beans before Roundup Ready beans came along. "This being new ground, there's zero disease and we had good plant health," Schmidt says, which is an advantage over areas that have always grown peanuts and have disease problems. Harvesting the peanuts requires three specialized pieces of equipment to cut, combine and transport the crop. Instead of investing in equipment, Schmidt hired a custom harvester. He marketed the peanuts to a West Texas company that hauled the crop right from the field. Schmidt admits that growing peanuts is a gamble - he can't get crop insurance because there's no history of past crops in his area. But he's willing to give peanuts another try and hopefully find a new crop for his rotation that will bring in a good profit. If nothing else, he'll have good cattle feed and plenty of peanuts for family and friends. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clark Schmidt, 1710 Ave. Y, Sterling, Kan. 67579 (ph 620 278-6292).

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