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Peanut growers worry about unintended impact of farm bill
0608BIZ FARMBILL-PEANUTS 6 MCT
Roy Davis, left, prepares seed as Greg Calhoun looks on during peanut planting in April outside Bainbridge. Peanut farmers in the South are scrambling to figure out how to best take advantage of the recently passed farm bill, which, depending on where they live, may have a major impact on their livelihoods. - photo by Chris Adams
BAINBRIDGE — In the heart of the nation’s peanut zone, farmers are putting substantially more runners into the ground than they did last year. And in the eyes of some industry experts, that boom might spell doom. “Runner peanuts” are used to make peanut butter — not the bigger nuts you’ll find at the ballpark — and they’re the most prevalent of the types of peanuts grown in the United States.