Farmers Feeling Effects of Salmonella Outbreak
By: Kristen Kennedy
Updated: March 11, 2009
South Plains peanut farmers are in DC, showing legislators just how deeply the salmonella scare has affected their industry. Consumers haven't been buying as many peanut products since the salmonella outbreak, so demand for peanut butter and peanut production has dropped significantly. So much so, that manufacturers aren't offering contracts to Texas peanut growers. And without any contracts, growers plan to plant less - and earn less - this year from their peanut farms.
"2008 was a really rough year. So when you have that combined with another year on top of it, it's put peanut farmers in a really tough spot. So without contracts we don't have a crop this year, it could provide for an interesting situation in the years following," says Lindsay West with the Texas Peanut Producers Board.
Experts are optimistic that the peanut industry will rebound just as soon as they're able to restore consumer confidence in their products.
