The Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative is by and for U.S. peanut growers.
The U.S.-wide initiative grew out of a regional peanut industry pilot project.
Led and managed by American Peanut Council, the initiative is directed by professional staff and a task force of volunteer leaders who hail from across the peanut supply chain.
Initially the initiative will enlist growers who participated in a pilot sustainability data collection program but is open immediately to all growers. Over the coming years, it will add as many participants as possible to benchmark growers’ sustainability practices.
Building the grower data-collection platform is being financed with federal funds the industry received in 2019, to aid U.S. agricultural producers impacted by retaliatory trade tariffs. Every sector of the U.S. peanut supply chain has stepped forward to fund the rest of the project: maintaining the data entry platform, staffing the initiative, and managing outreach and communications.
The Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative is APC’s first major sustainability initiative, but it won’t be our last. APC will be advancing the topic of sustainability more broadly, looking at ways to tell the great story of peanuts and to add value to our members’ sustainability conversation.
Allie Randell, Director of Sustainability arandell@peanutsusa.com