Even if you don't live in the south, peanut lovers everywhere may start feeling the pinch.
Seven
of the top 10 peanut producing states in the country are under Extreme
or Exceptional drought category.
In Georgia, another top peanut-producing state, experts estimate that
at least 2.5 percent of peanuts will have to be left in the field. “We
know the peanut supply is going to be terribly short. I don’t think
anybody in the industry knows how short," said Don Koehler, director of
the Georgia Peanut Commission.
Texas
is one of those top peanut-producing states, and this
year's crops are looking to be down by about 48 percent. In south Texas,
this past September tied the one in 2005 for the hottest on record.
Most places in south Texas are also 15" below normal rainfall for the
year. As of September 30th, all but one county in Texas is under either
Extreme or Exceptional drought category."Peanuts require significant amounts of rain, said Brett Slomchinski, a south Texas peanut farmer. He has seen very little of it since he planted his crops in mid-June. "We've gotten about two inches of rain from Mother Nature and probably about 16 inches from irrigation," Slomchinski said.
The
short supplies being caused by this drought will likely command
higher prices at markets in a few weeks, perhaps even record prices.
Smuckers, the maker of Jif peanut butter, has already announced that
their prices will rise 30 percent by November. That means a jar that
costs about $3 right now will soon cost about $4. The Jif company
represents almost half of U.S. peanut butter production. Other
manufacturers are also likely to increase prices.
On
top of all this, peanut butter demand has surged 10 percent since
2008 due to hard times. Peanut butter is a cheaper protein source than
meat, so the demand for it often goes up when the economy goes down.
Food banks also suffer since peanut butter is one of their staples due
to it's long shelf life and high protein.
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