Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative
The American Peanut Council (APC) launched its nationwide sustainability initiative in late 2021, building on a pilot undertaken by the National Peanut Board and the Georgia Peanut Commission. The new initiative will build on this pilot, incorporating the Fieldprint Platform metrics for peanuts from Field to Market, and adding new elements such as a self-assessment questionnaire using a data collection platform for growers. The objectives for the initiative are:
Develop a protocol to verify that peanuts are grown responsibly and by using good agricultural practices accepted by the industry.
Utilize a common data collection platform in collaboration with the cotton industry to make participation as efficient as possible for growers of both crops by avoiding duplication of data entry.
Provide environmental metrics for communication to domestic and international customers, with the assurance that a random sample of growers has been verified.
Communicate best practices and success stories derived from the Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative and other reliable sources to industry stakeholders and their customers.
Drive continuous improvement of farm sustainability and profitability by working collaboratively with shellers, buying points, processors, manufacturers, growers, extension, state grower associations, and other industry groups to find areas of improvement.
Develop the framework proactively so that we can navigate our own course as an industry and avoid having an unfamiliar framework imposed upon the U.S. peanut industry.
Benefits to Manufacturers
The Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative is an industry-led, multi-stakeholder approach that leverages learnings and a foundation established by the cotton industry, which is already in place. This provides a single solution for peanuts and cotton. The data collection platform for both crops makes the platform more accessible, holistic, and less burdensome for growers.
The data collection system is the backbone for a standardized, verifiable, responsible sourcing program that includes metrics and output to improve on-farm practices and validate progress.
Transparency and reporting are expectations; and the Sustainable U.S. Peanuts Initiative provides a credible, reliable data set that is aggregated to address privacy concerns.
The data collected will provide valuable output to many supply chain players – like environmental metrics from the incorporated Fieldprint Platform, outcomes-based practices, and worker well-being concerns in a single system vs. fragmented audits, surveys, and requests.
The industry can learn as we lead. The data collected will provide the ability to evaluate and adjust as we learn.
