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A GROWER-OWNED SOLUTION
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The American Peanut Growers Group project is an exemplary model of a community growing from within, and has gained support and attention from both state and national levels. Realizing the potential opportunities created by the 2002 farm bill and the need to sustain the number one industry in the  region, our growers organized in late 2001 and began seeking support for a cooperative peanut handling and shelling project. Funding for the project came from the growers' private investment, state and federal grant/loan programs, and taxable revenue bonds.
In 2003, American Peanut Growers Group, LLC (APGG) built a grower-owned shelling plant, the first new plant contructed in the Southeastern United States. It is also the first FIFTH GENERATION LMC-DESIGNED SHELLING PLANT SINCE 1991.
INNOVATIVE AND QUALITY-ORIENTED
Some of the unique features of the APGG organization include:
- 85-95% of the peanuts produced by APGG's grower-owners are irrigated.
- All of APGG's (11) Buying points, which includes (15) farmer stock warehouses are owned by members of the shelling plant.
- APGG stresses consistency, quality, food safety and traceability.
- APGG's growing region consists of contiguous counties in Southwest Georgia, Northwest Florida, and Southeast Alabama.
- APGG's ambition is to be considered a Premium Peanut Processor.
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American Peanut Growers Group, LLC constructed a state-of-the-art peanut shelling plant to process the peanuts we produce, making us vertically integrated and more connected to the actual market we currently supply. The plant was constructed on a 45-acre site, obtained from the Development Authority of Seminole County and Donalsonville, located in the Donalsonville/Seminole County Industrial Park.
APGG's business structure is a Limited Liability Company, not a co-op. APGG's growers basically remain the same each year. Our business structure matches the idea that true quality is a journey, not an achievement, and requires continual training and improvement. Growers were invited to become members of APGG based on their character and quality, and are some of the very best peanut growers in the Southeastern U.S., an area already known for a consistent supply of high quality peanut production.
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Beginning in September 2001, several Southwest Georgia and Northwest Florida peanut growers began discussions concerning low crop prices, proposed farm bill changes, and the potential opportunities that might be created with the new legislation. These discussions grew to include peanut growers from (13) Southwest Georgia counties (1) Northwest Florida county, and (1) Southeast Alabama county. The Southwest Georgia counties represented are Seminole, Miller, Decatur, Early, Baker, Dougherty, Calhoun, Randolph, Terrell, Colquitt, Lee, Mitchell, and Clay, in addition to Jackson County, Florida, and Houston County, Alabama.. Several of APGG's peanut growers were already involved together as grower-owners of four different cotton gins also spread over the area.
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