Peanut Farmers Harvest U.S. Federal Checks as Glut Persists

  • Too much supply even with record peanut butter, snack demand
  • Price-support triggered in seven of 12 years, may last to 2027
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While Americans can’t seem to get enough of Tim McMillan’s peanuts, it’s the government checks he receives that keep his Georgia farm from losing money.

These should be the best of times for growers like McMillan. You could coat the floor of the Grand Canyon with all the peanut butter eaten every year in the U.S., and the peanut is considered the king of the nation’s snack nuts, even though it’s actually a legume and not a nut. Domestic demand has never been higher, and exports are at a record.