{"id":301055,"date":"2026-05-20T08:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/301055\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T08:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T08:09:32","slug":"how-texas-is-perfecting-the-peanut-texas-am-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/301055\/","title":{"rendered":"How Texas is perfecting the peanut \u2013 Texas A&M Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peanuts may be a familiar snack across the United States, but behind every jar of peanut butter or bag of roasted peanuts are decades of research focused on health, flavor and reliability.<\/p>\n

At Texas A&M AgriLife<\/a>, breeders, growers and industry partners are working to develop peanut varieties with better nutrition, longer shelf life and stronger performance under Texas growing conditions.<\/p>\n

That work matters well beyond the farm. The whole peanut plant is usable, with value for food, fuel and animal feed, and it is becoming a more important protein source for people around the world.<\/p>\n

Texas has a niche in the peanut market. It is uniquely positioned because it can grow all four types of peanuts \u2014 runner, Virginia, Spanish and Valencia; raise them all both organically and conventionally; and most significantly, specializes in high oleic varieties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the only state in the nation that brings that combination together, and because of that, we can specialize our research to meet those markets,\u201d said Dr. Stephen Cisneros<\/a>, Texas A&M AgriLife Research<\/a> executive associate director.<\/p>\n

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\t\tDr. John Cason, Texas A&M AgriLife Research peanut breeder, and Jaime Shumaker, research technician and greenhouse manager, look at hundreds of peanut plants growing in the greenhouse of the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center in Stephenville, Texas.
Michael Miller\/Texas A&M AgriLifeResearch built around real-world demand<\/p>\n

The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Stephenville<\/a> has the largest peanut breeding program in the state, working from South Texas to the Panhandle to develop new cultivars adapted to all our different growing regions, said Dr. Jo\u00e3o Vendramini<\/a>, center director and an AgriLife Research forage expert.<\/p>\n

Researchers evaluate traits important to farmers while responding to demands from processors and consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with a lot of agronomic characteristics for the producer, but we also listen to stakeholders concerned with the nutritional content of this peanut \u2014 the protein, the amino acid profile, oil concentration and other variables,\u201d Vendramini said. \u201cWe need that information to be able to make better decisions in our breeding program.\u201d<\/p>\n

These decisions are often driven by customer input to processors and shellers, who encourage farmers to grow specific varieties to meet specific needs. AgriLife Research peanut breeders are tasked with making sure the varieties meet those parameters.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeanuts are a very interesting commodity because they are versatile,\u201d Vendramini said. \u201cThey can be bred for oil production for bioenergy, selected for oil production for cooking or the cultivar may be more focused on the protein concentration and amino acid profile to be included in protein bars, where oil content is less important. All those needs are answered by breeding decisions that create different cultivars and fulfill different requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a win-win for the consumer, the producer and industry as a whole,\u201d Cisneros said. \u201cOur role is to always have the customer in mind. Here, our customer is both the producer and the consumer \u2014 economically to benefit the producer, and taste and health to benefit the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breeding a \u2018complete protein\u2019 for health and oil content<\/p>\n

Protein is becoming a higher industry priority, said Dr. Johnny Cason<\/a>,\u00a0AgriLife Research peanut breeder and associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences<\/a>. Peanuts are nutrient-dense and commonly used in ready\u2011to\u2011use therapeutic foods, a shelf\u2011stable peanut paste and in protein bars.<\/p>\n

High oleic peanuts are high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, making the nut and the oil a choice for candymakers and cooks alike. And the high oleic acid also gives the nut an extended shelf life, ensuring products stay fresh longer in homes, restaurants and stores.<\/p>\n

However, peanuts are not considered a \u201ccomplete protein\u201d because they are low in two essential amino acids: lysine and methionine. And that\u2019s one of the breeding challenges Cason faces.<\/p>\n

The lack of lysine and methionine affects not only the protein in human foods, but peanuts crushed for oil leave a meal that can be sold as livestock feed. However, peanut meal currently sells at a discount to soybean meal because it lacks those two amino acids.<\/p>\n

Utilizing one of the largest collections of wild peanut species<\/a> in the country, gathered and maintained by longtime AgriLife Research peanut breeder Dr. Charles Simpson<\/a>, AgriLife Research breeders have found natural variations of the two amino acids in wild peanut species.<\/p>\n

They are beginning the process to transfer those traits into high-oleic varieties to improve the amino acid profile. They are starting the process of finding genes and markers to introduce, but so far, the cultivated accession levels are not as high as needed, so there is more work to be done, Cason said.<\/p>\n

The team of researchers is also focused on high oil content<\/a> \u2014 while there is no renewable fuel market yet for peanuts, the cooking market is operational \u2014 along with drought tolerance, both priorities expected to grow as Texas water supplies become more limited.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re running both research programs side by side with a lot of overlap,\u201d Cason said. \u201cOil content and drought resistance will keep Texas in the peanut business, but the improved essential amino acid content can help feed the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collaboration necessary to stay competitive<\/p>\n

The collaborative nature of the peanut industry in Texas allows a continual flow of information to solve issues. AgriLife Research\u2019s peanut program strives to disclose new varieties to shellers to get them into variety trials and evaluated in the field, where producers can determine their adaptability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shellers come to us with a problem, and we have the expertise to find solutions,\u201d Cisneros said. \u201cThey are the voice of industry; we are the voice of science, research and innovation. When those two work together, we can address the issues that impact our producers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis close collaboration allows producers to see where their research dollars are going and researchers talk to producers about issues,\u201d said Shelly Nutt, Texas Peanut Producers Board<\/a> executive director. \u201cIt\u2019s a two-way street.\u201d<\/p>\n

For instance, it was a conversation between a researcher and grower that proved valuable to producing nematode resistance, Nutt said. Simpson introduced resistance genes from wild species collected in east-central Bolivia in 1980 to create the first cultivar that addressed root-knot nematode, a serious threat to peanut production in parts of Texas.<\/p>\n

The same can be said for shellers and manufacturers: Collaborating with researchers allows them to address issues such as hard seed, and in turn there is a willingness to pay a premium for high oleic peanuts, knowing valued traits such as oleic acid can reduce the producer\u2019s yields.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\"Researchers<\/p>\n

\t\tResearchers at Texas A&M AgriLife are consistently striving to breed a better peanut at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Stephenville. For example, resistance genes from a wild peanut species from east-central Bolivia helped create the first cultivated variety to address root-knot nematode, a serious threat to peanut production in parts of Texas.
Michael Miller\/Texas A&M AgriLifeLinks in the field-to-fork chain<\/p>\n

Grower Otis Johnson of Seminole said the value of the high oleic peanuts is much more than an extended shelf life \u2014 it\u2019s the key to the industry\u2019s survival in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only grow about 10%-20% of the U.S. peanuts in Texas, but having a niche market, a market we are good at, high oleic peanuts, is super important because it helps us maintain our place in the peanut market,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

Also, growers depend on AgriLife Research to provide agronomic answers to issues such as pod rot and declining water tables that require disease-tolerant, drought-resistant and shorter-season varieties.<\/p>\n

Working with Cason and Simpson for over 20 years, Johnson allows testing on his land because there\u2019s no better way to develop varieties or test chemicals than in commercial grower fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only do I get the results, but I can see for myself what\u2019s working and which varieties look good under my actual conditions \u2014 whether it\u2019s a hot, dry year or a wet year, it\u2019s treated exactly as my fields,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Michael Franke, vice president and general manager of Birdsong Peanuts in Brownfield, echoed the importance of the relationship between the producers, the sheller and Texas A&M AgriLife. He has been working with Texas A&M AgriLife since he was at Tarleton State University, where he worked with Simpson during his undergraduate work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all in the same boat,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything is important, from the field to the fork. The varieties AgriLife Research develops are beneficial for the producer from an agronomic and economic standpoint. And as shellers, we make sure those peanuts process efficiently and their characteristics meet the specifications of the end user.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Peanuts may be a familiar snack across the United States, but behind every jar of peanut butter or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-301055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}