During peanut harvest season, which runs in October and November, the NCDA&CS Marketing Division operates 43 peanut-buying stations in eastern North Carolina. At these stations, peanuts are graded for quality before entering commerce. This year, the stations graded a record 290,000 tons of peanuts.
“North Carolina is ranked third nationally in peanuts,” said Greg Hoggard, assistant director, Marketing Division. “Federal law required that domestic and imported peanuts be inspected by federal or federal-state inspectors and meet minimum quality standards. The peanut buying stations are an important puzzle piece for peanut farmers in getting their product to market.” North Carolina is one of 13 states that have peanut buying stations.
Peanuts are graded by percentage of foreign material like dirt or sticks, loose-shelled kernels (peanuts that are not in the shell), moisture, size, percentage of extra-large kernels, percentage of meat content (percentage of kernels removed from the shell), amount of damage and percentage of splits. “Growers get a premium for extra-large kernels,” Hoggard said. “Peanuts are graded as segregation one, two or three. In North Carolina, most peanuts are graded at a segregation one, which means less than 3.5 % are damaged. Peanuts graded at a segregation three means that A. flavus mold was present and these cannot be used for human consumption.”
Most of the peanuts grown in North Carolina are the Virginia-type peanut, which is the kind commonly found at sporting events such as Major League Baseball.
“No other commodity is graded quite like peanuts,” Hoggard said. “The grading service means that a non-biased third party is evaluating the quality of the peanuts, which means that the grower and the sheller are getting a fair price for their product.”
It takes around 275 temporary employees to operate the buying stations. Each year the division holds a one-day refresher course for returning graders or a week-long training for new graders. An online training video offers step-by-step instructions on how peanuts are graded. “Our busiest stations are Coastal Agro in Kinston and Williamston Peanut in Martin County. During the height of the season there are 50 to 75 trailers a day at the buying stations. Each trailer takes about 30 minutes to grade.
Applications are accepted mid-July through mid-August at job fairs and they are held in or near the grading station locations and training classes are held late August into September. Graders must pass a basic math aptitude test. “Grading positions are perfect part-time seasonal opportunities for retirees or others that are looking for temporary work,” Hoggard said. “We have many graders returning each year but are always looking to train more.” More information about grading services is available online at https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/marketing/marketing-grading-services