Mr. WHITTEN. How long has this work been going on, and what are you doing there? Dr. HERRMANN. It has been going on for 3 years. It has been quite helpful in developing methods and equipment for drying peanuts properly so they will have the characteristics that the manufacturers and users wish them to have. The problem is oftentimes overheating, which destroys the desirable characteristics present in the peanut. Another line of work, Mr. Chairman, that we mentioned to you last year, was that we were in the process of setting up a small experimental peanut shelling plant. The equipment is now in place. It is located in a rented structure, an old vacated brick gin building, in Dawson, Ga. It is now being operated in connection with a program of experimental shelling of peanuts developed cooperatively by our engineers and sheller representatives of two producing areas. Before moving into this project, we invited representatives of the three sheller associations, that is, from the Texas-Oklahoma, the southeast, and the Virginia-Carolina areas, to meet with our engineers to work out a program which they jointly believe is sound, and useful, so far as each of the producing areas is concerned. So we will be working there not only on peanuts of the Southeast, but we will also be working on the Spanish and Virginia types of peanuts which are being trucked to the experimental facility. Mr. WHITTEN. When I get through here, I am going to ask you to put the same type of information in the record on cotton, tobacco, and various other basic commodities. I am trying to make the record now on peanuts, to show what the full situation is. OTHER RESEARCH ON PEANUTS What other research are you doing with regard to peanuts and where is that work located? I am talking about the entire Depart ment now. Dr. HERRMANN. Well, we have some other more basic work-a very little going on at Beltsville in which we are trying to work out methods of determining the maturity of peanuts, by light absorption, in pretty much the same way we have done and are doing with other commodities, such as apples, eggs, plums, potatoes, oranges, etc. You recall we have talked about apples in this connection in the past, and about detecting blood spots in eggs. This is a question of passing light through a product in order to determine what its characteristics are. And this may develop into something that might be useful in connection with our properly sorting the mature and immature peanuts. Mr. WHITTEN. I am asking about all of the Department. You can confer with the proper officials later and extend what you may give us. You have been with the Department long enough to know what work is going on, whether it comes under your surveillance or not. What other research work in connection with peanuts is going on? Dr. HERRMANN. I do know that, in the Southern Regional Utilization Research and Development Laboratory at New Orleans, the last time we checked, $69,000 was allocated to finance the research in fiscal year 1962 and three professional men were working on developing new and expanded industrial and other uses for peanuts. Their research is confined to this particular area. Mr. WHITTEN. How is it possible at New Orleans to study how to better utilize peanuts without in turn dealing with quality? Dr. HERRMANN. Well, they are dealing with quality in terms of trying to develop new industrial and other uses for peanuts. Mr. WHITTEN. Improving the quality-isn't that the first start toward using something? They are not interested in quality? Dr. HERRMANN. Yes, utilization is interested in quality but not from the viewpoint of improving grades and standards and methods and equipment for measuring market quality objectively. They are interested in quality as related to the development of a new product or an extended use. Marketing research in pursuing its responsibility for improving market quality is concerned with the effect on quality of variety, cultural practices, maturity, curing, shelling, storage conditions, handling, and residues from treatments to prevent insect damage in storage. Mr. WHITTEN. Yet I have had a good deal of correspondence lately from cottonseed people who are very much upset. They say the Department of Agriculture stopped them from using the cottonseed oils or vegetable oils in peanut butter. I checked and found out that it was a case of labeling. The peanut butter people were told by the Food and Drug people to show a proper label. Further, in talking to the peanut folks, they said they needed the cottonseed oil because peanut oil would tend to separate from the peanut butter, whereas the vegetable oils would keep it from separating or stabilize it I believe is the word they would use. LOCATIONS OF PEANUT RESEARCH Now you are not doing any work in Texas or in the southwestern region on peanuts at all? Dr. HERRMANN. We have had one contract in Texas for a couple of years. That contract-entered into in 1961-has to do with an attempt to determine the causes of a bitter flavor in products processed from peanuts produced in the southwest area. This is a contract that is financed jointly by AMS and the Southwestern Peanut Shellers Association on a 50-50 basis. Mr. WHITTEN. Who is doing it? Dr. HERRMANN. The Agricultural Experiment Station at Texas A. & M. is doing the work. The production research of ARS is rather widely scattered. As you probably heard last year, the Agricultural Research Service has a small amount of peanut harvesting work at Holland, Va. They also have some scientists there working in other lines, such as production entomology and improved varieties and cultural practices. I understand that there are also a number of ARS scientists stationed in North Carolina and at Tifton, Ga., working on production problems. I have no information regarding ARS peanut research in Texas or Oklahoma. Mr. WHITTEN. I would like you to supply the various places where research work is going on for peanuts, either in production, quality or utilization. Also provide a description of the work at the New Orleans Laboratory. (The information is as follows:) Estimated obligations for USDA research on peanuts, fiscal year 1963 1 Production research: Agricultural Research Service: SUMMARY Crops-production, breeding, quality, and disease investiga- Entomology-entomological studies of peanut insects; insect $161, 350 20, 090 21, 900 Total, Agricultural Research Service... 203, 340 Economic Research Service: Farm economics research....... 6, 600 Total, production research.. 209, 940 Utilization research and development: Agricultural Research Service: 173, 300 Marketing research: Agricultural Marketing Service: Marketing quality research.. Economic Research Service: Marketing economics and economic and statistical analysis 305, 700 Farmer Cooperative Service: To strengthen farmer cooperatives__ Total, marketing research. 79, 800 5,000 Nutrition and consumer use: Agricultural Research Service: Composition and household use of peanuts and peanut oils.. 390, 500 32, 000 Total, peanut research... DETAIL BY LOCATION Production research: 805, 740 Alabama, Auburn: Production, disease, and quality investigations ($15,200); and control of nematodes in peanuts ($4,000)_ Georgia: Experiment: Peanut disease investigations, particularly stem Total, Georgia_ Maryland: Beltsville: Evaluation of peanut germ plasm and physiology of the peanut plant ($31,100); evaluation of herbicides for control of weeds in peanuts ($1,430); nematology ($4,060); taxonomy of fungi attacking peanuts ($1,230); and pesticides in plants and soil related to peanuts ($3,000); plant introduction ($4,450); and new crop development ($1,370); executive direction, printing, biometrics, and other central services located at Beltsville, Md., Washington, D.C.; and the 4 field administrative divisions ($28,540) 19, 200 9, 600 56, 900 66, 500 75, 180 New Jersey, Moorestown: Taxonomy studies of insects having 100 860 500 Texas, Stephensville: Peanut variety evaluation studies. 200 1 Excludes obligations under Federal grant funds administered by the USDA's Cooperative State Experiment Station Service. For such obligations, see the table "Estimated obligations for State research on Peanuts," Federal grant and non-Federal funds, fiscal year 1963" which appears below. Estimated obligations for USDA research on peanuts, fiscal year 19631-Continued Virginia, Holland: Reseach on peanut disease, particularly stem Washington, D.C.: Taxonomic studies of insects having actual or Total, production research____ Utilization research and development: Washington, D.C.: Executive direction, printing, biometrics, and Total, utilization research and development_-- Marketing research: Bainbridge (employees stationed at Albany): Development $37, 100 10, 300 209, 940 157, 500 15, 800 173, 300 13, 200 Dawson (employees stationed at Albany): Development of 48, 450 Savannah: Insecticide evaluations specifically related to pea- 50, 000 Tifton: Practical methods to protect farmers' stock peanuts 46, 270 Total, Georgia. Maryland, Beltsville: Market quality evaluation research, including development of instruments to improve grading of peanuts.. North Carolina, Raleigh: Curing studies on Virginia peanuts, methods and equipment for grading all types of peanuts, and development of sample cleaner ($49,000); economic evaluation of commercial utilization patterns for peanuts at the sheller level ($14,700) Washington, D.C.: Design new and improved layouts and structures for conditioning, handling, and storing farmers' stock and shelled peanuts, including administrative costs ($73,780); sheller margins and market patterns for peanuts; marketing margins and costs for peanuts and peanut butter; costs and practices of peanut shellers; situation and outlook on supplies, demands, prices, marketing, and utilization of peanuts; and related administrative costs ($65,100); and strengthening of farmer cooperatives ($5,000) – Total, marketing research Nutrition and consumer use: Maryland, Beltsville: Investigations on composition and household use of peanuts and peanut oil, including applicable executive direction, printing, biometrics, and other central services... Total, peanut research.. 157, 920 25,000 63, 700 143, 880 390, 500 32, 000 805, 740 RESEARCH ON PEANUTS-CONDUCTED BY INDUSTRY AND BY USDA AGENCIES IN COOPERATION WITH INDUSTRY Cooperative research work with industry Some of the Department's research work is conducted in cooperation with industry. Most industry support is given in the form of material and facilities and personnel assistance rather than cash contributions. For example, the peanut mechanization research at Holland, Va., is conducted by the Agricultural Research Service with equipment furnished by the peanut industry; and, in some instances, chemicals are supplied by industry to supplement our research on the control of insects. Utilization research on peanuts at the Southern Utilization Research Laboratory at New Orleans, La., includes cooperative work with industry as follows: Last year a 2-day industry conference was held at the Southern Utilization Research and Development Division to discuss problems in the peanut industry and opportunities afforded by utilization research to aid the industry. In attendance were 48 representatives of peanut growers, shellers, and manufacturers. With increased funds provided in fiscal year 1963, a new project has been initiated to determine the influence of processing methods on the properties of peanut products, an area of research recommended by the industry. Also, a contract is being negotiated on another project recommended by the industry to isolate, identify, and characterize constituents of processed peanut products to form the basis for producing improved peanut products of greater consumer acceptability. A considerable amount of consulting work on the production of peanut butter is provided, particularly from small processors. The Southern Laboratory has cooperated with the medical profession in New Orleans, La., on the preparation of a peanut flour for treatment of hemophilia. Cooperation was extended to a peanut processor in the preparation of 20,00030,000 pounds for this purpose. Similarly, the Agricultural Marketing Service conducts some of its research on peanuts in cooperation with industry, as follows: The Southwestern Peanut Shellers Association is contributing $30,000 (one-half the total cost) of a contract between Agricultural Marketing Service and Texas Agricultural Experiment Station for research to determine the influence of variety, stage of maturity, and curing practices of raw peanuts on the market quality of processed peanut products. The Georgia-Florida Peanut Association made available to Agricultural Marketing Service a peanut facility at Bainbridge, Ga., for use in conducting tests and experiments in developing improved methods, techniques, and equipment for handling, cleaning, and drying farmers' stock peanuts at commercial storages and other off-farm facilities. The Columbian Peanut Co. furnishes cleaned farmers' stock peanuts and common labor for use in carrying out handling and drying studies. The Tom Huston Peanut Co. provides space for Agricultural Marketing Service to install, operate, and demonstrate experimental aeration systems. The company also provides labor, electric power, electric wiring, and related equipment, and predetermined types and quantities of farmers' stock peanuts. Under an agreement with the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Stevens Industries, Inc., furnishes experienced labor for use in carrying out peanut shelling and handling studies, for which the Agricultural Marketing Service reimburses the cooperator in an amount not to exceed $5,000. Research conducted by industry There is no information available as to the extent of research on peanuts that industry is conducting. It has been roughly estimated that industry devotes approximately 30 man-years to research on peanuts, mostly on harvesting equipment and peanut processing and processing equipment. Using $25,000-$30,000 per man-year, this would amount to approximately $750,000-$900,000 invested in peanut research. In addition to amounts invested in research directly by industry, some portion of the non-Federal funds used at State agricultural experiment stations is contributed by industry. Information as to how much of such non-Federal funds from industry is devoted for research on peanuts is not available. 95910-63-pt. 3—15 |