[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 398 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 398

   Recognizing the National Peanut Festival held annually in Dothan, 
  Alabama, and the importance of the peanut industry in the State of 
                     Alabama and the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 31, 2019

Mr. Jones submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
           Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Recognizing the National Peanut Festival held annually in Dothan, 
  Alabama, and the importance of the peanut industry in the State of 
                     Alabama and the United States.

Whereas Dr. George Washington Carver, an African-American scientist, inventor, 
        educator, and former slave--

    (1) proposed the planting of peanuts and soybeans to restore nitrogen 
to soil left barren from cotton production;

    (2) invented more than 300 products made from peanuts; and

    (3) became the first guest speaker in the history of the National 
Peanut Festival;

Whereas the Incas of Peru began cultivating peanuts as early as 1500 B.C., and 
        peanuts were spread from South America to Spain, Asia, and Africa;
Whereas, in the 1700s, Africans were the first to introduce peanuts to North 
        Americans;
Whereas, beginning in the early 1800s, the steady growth of peanut production 
        allowed peanuts to transition from being a food primarily for livestock 
        and the poor to a high-protein and well-liked source of food for 
        soldiers during the Civil War;
Whereas, in the early 1900s, demand for peanuts grew due to advances in 
        harvesting and production methods that made peanuts and peanut products 
        more easily available;
Whereas Dr. Carver recommended peanuts as a crop to rival the top commercial 
        position of Southern cotton, following the near destruction of the 
        cotton crop due to the boll weevil;
Whereas, in 1938, the first National Peanut Festival was held in Dothan, 
        Alabama;
Whereas, as a result of his instrumental work in promoting the peanut in the 
        Wiregrass area of the State of Alabama, Dr. Carver was invited to serve 
        as the first guest speaker at the National Peanut Festival;
Whereas 2 awards were established at the first National Peanut Festival--

    (1) the Miss Peanut Award, first won by Elizabeth Johnson from 
Headland, Alabama; and

    (2) the Volunteer of the Year Award, named in honor of the first 
president of the National Peanut Festival, Harry P. Hall, and awarded 
annually since its establishment;

Whereas the National Peanut Festival has become an established event over the 
        past 81 years and became a nonprofit organization in 1952 through a 
        resolution passed by the local chamber of commerce;
Whereas, in 1996, the statue of Dr. Carver in Dothan, Alabama, was dedicated to 
        honor the famed peanut pioneer and first guest speaker at the National 
        Peanut Festival;
Whereas, in 2010, the National Peanut Festival moved to its current location at 
        the fairgrounds on US Highway 231 South in Dothan, Alabama;
Whereas peanuts remain a significant cash crop grown in the United States that 
        is valued at more than $1,000,000,000 per year;
Whereas children and adults in the United States consume an average of 6 pounds 
        of peanut products, including snack nuts and candy, per person each 
        year;
Whereas, each year, individuals in the United States consume approximately 
        133,000,000 metric tons of peanut oil, a high-quality cooking oil;
Whereas approximately half of all peanuts grown in the United States originate 
        within a 100-mile radius of Dothan, Alabama; and
Whereas, in 2018, peanut farmers in Alabama, of which there are close to 900--

    (1) produced runner peanuts, the variety of peanut that makes up 80 
percent of all peanut production in the United States;

    (2) harvested 189,000 acres of peanuts; and

    (3) produced 400,000,000 pounds of peanuts valued at approximately 
$118,000,000: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the National 
Peanut Festival held in Dothan, Alabama, is of remarkable importance to 
the State of Alabama, the United States, and the peanut industry due 
to--
            (1) the attendance of approximately 200,000 fairgoers over 
        the course of a 10-day event;
            (2) the economic impact of the National Peanut Festival to 
        the town of Dothan, Alabama; and
            (3) the celebration in the National Peanut Festival of one 
        of the most important, useful, and well-loved cash crops in the 
        United States.
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