Talk of Wilson County TX Historic Towns

by Barbara J. Wood
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PEANUT FARMERS

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Birdsong Peanuts in Stockdale Texas closes

January 11, 2006 | Wilson County News
By Bonnie Ramirez


STOCKDALE – While most people spent the holidays rejoicing in the blessings that the season brings, local peanut farmers received a big shock after learning of the news that Birdsong Peanuts was shutting its doors after more than 35 years of operation.
 
Birdsong Peanuts had long been the hub for peanut farmers from the area and surrounding areas. "We were the buying point for local farmers," said Doug Henry, the manager of Birdsong.
 
Birdsong, which employed Doug and his wife, Jeanne, dealt with farmers directly on a day-to-day basis, whether in person or over the phone. Truckloads of peanuts came to Birdsong to get dried and USDA-graded. From there, the peanuts went to the shellers, where they were shelled and packaged. "Some peanuts were also shipped internationally," Doug said.
 
Doug, who had been with the company 27 years, assumed managerial responsibilities after his father, John Henry, retired eight years ago. Jeanne, being the administrative assistant, brought her customer service skills, among other traits, to the office and was "pretty much a jack of all trades," according to Doug.
 
Birdsong Peanuts, which is a corporation headquartered in Suffolk, Va., bought out the Houston-based Ho-Tex Peanuts' Stockdale location over 35 years ago.They began operations with John managing the facility and Doug helping out while attending high school.The news of the closing of Birdsong came to the Henrys right before Christmas.
 
"It was a corporate decision to shut the plant down due to a lack of business," Doug stated. He attributed the lack of business to the 2002 Farm Bill, which affected several agriculture entities. 'The peanut farmers were hit the worst," Doug said.
 
The Farm Bill hit home hard. According to Doug and John, "the bottom line" is the 2002 Farm Bill, that's why the dryer is shutting down. "That's where the lack of business stems from," Doug said. After the passing of the bill, peanut prices went from $610 a ton to $350 a ton.
 
"Peanut prices were cut 40 percent," Doug said. "Farmers can't grow peanuts anymore, there's just no revenue in it." When the bill was proposed, it caused a panic to the agriculture community. Local peanut farmers were among the concerned parties.
 
"Once it was passed, we knew it was headed in this direction. It was just a matter of time," Doug said. Though all farmers were affected by the bill, peanut farmers got the worst of it, according to the Henrys. "When prices were at $610 a ton, the peanuts were subsidized by the shellers; now the industry is run by the government, the taxpayers," Doug said.
 
Doug mentioned that at one point in time Birdsong dealt with farmers from seven surrounding counties and roughly 75 farmers with about 300 farms. Over the past three years, those statistics have diminished drastically.
 
"Now we deal with about 12 farmers with 30-35 farms from only three counties," Doug said. The current drought and significant fuel increase also added "to the fire."
 
"Yes, the drought and fuel prices have also added to the lack of business," Doug said.These matters combined with the already bad situation made it worse. Local farmers are in a frenzy about the situation.
 
"Many of our clients have come in and said 'What are we going to do? You can't close this,'" Doug said. Now that Birdsong is closed, farmers will have to travel to Pleasanton, which is the nearest town with a peanut dryer to Wilson County. Devine, Charlotte, and Pearsall are the other South Texas locations where Birdsong owns and operates peanut dryers.
 
"Many [farmers] have said that they will have to cease operations with Birdsong closing because they do not have the equipment to haul their peanut crop to Pleasanton or elsewhere," Doug said. The Henrys are just as saddened and disappointed by the corporation's decision to close the dryer.
 
"We didn't have good holidays," Doug said. "It's a big shock. We've been here for so long and we just expected to finish our careers here."
 
All in all, the 2002 Farm Bill indirectly influenced the decision to close Birdsong, but the drought and spike in fuel prices were the final straws and added to the lack of business.
 
Business operations at Birdsong Peanuts' Stockdale location ceased on Jan. 6.
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CAMP RANCH COMMUNITY

.... Viola Henke shares this timeless photo from an old family album.  The photo shows how workers worked in the fields 86 years ago in Camp Ranch Wilson County Texas.  Take a good look and see what the captured moments tells you about 1936. 
 
 [ Owen Lowak explains that back in those days peanut harvesting was a lot of hard work. First they had to plow the peanuts out of the ground, then with a pitchfork shake then loose from the sand and turn them nuts up to dry for a couple days. After they were dry, they came along with a trailer and loaded them up with the pitchfork and hauled them to the stationary peanut thresher. Once again using the pitchfork they fed them into the thresher, which separated the peanuts from the plants. The peanuts came out of a spout where another man was sacking them. Them loaded the sacks onto the trailer and hauled them to town to sell.]
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Peanut Farmers in the 1930s

There were 152 peanut farmers in Wilson County   ...    in the 1930s. In 2019, only two farmers are actively farming peanuts. Joe T. Sheehy of Sutherland Springs Texas introduced the Spanish peanut crop to the area and farming took off throughout the county.
 
Some of the names of families include Lothringer, McCloskey, Pavliska, Pfeil, Roemer, Rodriguez, Schellhase, and Sheehy.
 
In 2019, to celebrate Wilson County's roots and honor farmers, the Floresville Peanut Festival chose "Peanut Farmers Past and Present" as the grand marshal of the 75th anniversary parade.
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Farmers in the Labatt community

Farmers in the Labatt community....  in Wilson County Texas harvest peanuts in the late 1940s, in this photo shared by Peggy Rodriguez. Note the lack of tractors or vehicles to haul the wagons. Can you identify any of the men pictured? Peanuts were a major crop in the county in the first half of the 20th century; the crop's prominence sparked an annual celebration — ultimately becoming the Floresville Peanut Festival! Wilson County families connected to the peanut industry include Roemer, McCloskey, Rodriguez, Schellhase, Freeman, Pfeil, and Pavliska, among others.

COURTESY/ Wilson County News September 17, 2019
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Peanut farming, 1940

COURTESY/ Wilson County News October 08, 2019

Peanuts: The rise and fall of the goober in Wilson County

At the height of the peanut industry in Wilson County, Floresville was known as the "Peanut Capital of Texas."
 
The peanut — also known as the goober or groundnut — is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. In the early years, it was also used for hay, and peanut oil, for its "medicinal" virtues.
 
The first commercial production of peanuts began in Texas about 1906, and, according to written records, in Wilson County in 1909.
 
At that time, only one peanut-oil mill existed in the county, the Floresville Oil and Manufacturing Co.
 
Soon, peanuts came into prominence as a food source.
 
In the early 1900s, the yield was estimated at 50 to 100 bushels per acre, or an average of 1,150 to 2,300 pounds per acre.
 
Two types of peanut farmers emerged in the peanut industry from 1910 through 1914: those who baled the peanuts and vines for hay for livestock, and those who plowed the crop, sending only the nuts to the factory.
 
Yes, peanuts are legumes ... freshly dug Florunner peanuts will be ready for harvest later this month.
 
Yes, peanuts are legumes ... freshly dug Florunner peanuts will be ready for harvest later this month.
 
In 1972, about 12,500 growers in 117 Texas counties planted 300,000 acres of peanuts, making Texas the No. 2 state in the nation for peanut production. Wilson and Atascosa counties were among the 10 leading counties, with the peanut industry valued in excess of $65.5 million.
 
In 2017, Texas producers planted 275,000 acres and produced 936 million pounds of peanuts — an average of 3,600 pounds per acre.
 
Wilson County farmers in 1978 planted 15,000 acres. In 2008, that number had dwindled to just 1,000 acres. This was due to several factors — including drought, the 2002 Farm Bill, and fuel and other overhead costs.
 
Farmers battled droughts in 1996 and 1998. The dry period returned in 2005, followed by the droughts of 2008-09 and 2010-15.
 
The 2002 Farm Bill ended the two-tiered price system for peanut quotas and introduced the new market/loan system. No distinction between peanuts for the domestic and export markets existed.
 
Prior to the 2002 changes, peanut producers once received $610 a ton for those with peanut quotas; now the marketing loan rate is set at $350 a ton, or a 40-percent reduction in prices.
 
Since 2002, the national posted price has been above the marketing loan rate, with prices peaking at $1,200 per ton in 2011, but that price was short-lived.
 
The current estimated price is comparable to the prices paid in the 1960s and 1970s.
 
Another factor that contributed to the local decline in peanut production was the closing of Birdsong Peanuts — a peanut-drying business in Stockdale. The business closed its doors in January 2006.
 
A fourth factor contributing to the decline in the peanut industry was the increasing price of fuel. As the nation struggled with high fuel prices last year, farmers had already felt the increase in fuel prices. In 2002, farmers paid 91 cents per gallon for offroad diesel fuel. By 2005, the price of off-road diesel fuel had increased to $2.75 per gallon.
 
To survive, farmers had to change their methods of planting and growing peanuts. Meet one of the families who survived the decline and remains in production on page 1D.
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COURTESY/Wilson County News (written by Pat Kopecki)
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Harvesting peanuts – Labatt community

... In years past, mules and wagons with wheels of wood were used for farming peanuts in Wilson County Texas during harvest time. After five months of hard work and worry, a good harvest was celebrated. This is why the Floresville Peanut Festival is held. ...

... Farmers in the Labatt community in Wilson County Texas ... harvest peanuts in the late 1940s, in this photo shared by Peggy Rodriguez.

Note the lack of tractors or vehicles to haul the wagons. Can you identify any of the men pictured? Peanuts were a major crop in the county in the first half of the 20th century; the crop's prominence sparked an annual celebration — ultimately becoming the Floresville Peanut Festival!

Wilson County families connected to the peanut industry include Roemer, McCloskey, Rodriguez, Schellhase, Zook, Freeman, Pfeil, Pavliska, Lothringer, Lowak, Richardson, Janek,  Yeager, Tackitt and Sheehy among others. 
 
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COURTESY / Wilson County News
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Peanut farmer Frank Gaertner

Wilson County Peanut farmer Frank Gaertner with a wagon of peanuts, circa 1940.
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COURTESY/ Wilson County News 
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PEGGY RODRIGUEZ
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1940 peanut farmers

Wilson County Texas farmers bagging the peanuts, circa 1940. 
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COURTESY/ Wilson County News
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Thrashing and bagging peanuts

Thrashing and bagging peanuts were only part of the hard labor that was required of Wilson County Texas  farmers that depended on peanuts for an income. Can you identify the peanut farmer pictured?
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Courtesy/ Wilson County News /Terrell Schellhase