IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 681 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2019 

Mrs. ROBY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture 

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) suggested 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; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 681 IH 

Whereas peanut cultivation originated from the Incas of Peru 

as early as 1500 B.C., and spread from South America 

to Spain, Asia, and Africa; 

Whereas, in the 1700s, Africans were the first to introduce 

peanuts to North Americans; 

Whereas, in the early 1800s, the steady growth of peanut 

production altered its reputation as food primarily for 

livestock and the poor to a high-protein and well-liked 

food source for Civil War soldiers; 

Whereas, in the early 1900s, demand for peanuts grew due 

to advances in harvesting and production methods making peanuts and peanut products more easily available; 

Whereas Dr. Carver recommended peanuts as a crop to rival 

Southern cotton’s top commercial position, following its 

near destruction due to the boll weevil; 

Whereas thanks to Dr. Carver’s instrumental work in promoting the peanut in the Wiregrass area of Alabama, the 

National Peanut Festival invited him to serve as their 

first guest speaker; 

Whereas, in 1938, the first National Peanut Festival was 

held in Dothan, Alabama; 

Whereas the first National Peanut Festival established— 

(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 festival president, Harry P. Hall, and 

awarded annually since its advent; 

Whereas, during its 81 years, the National Peanut Festival 

became an established nonprofit organization through a 

resolution passed by the Chamber of Commerce in 1952; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 681 IH 

Whereas, in 1996, the George Washington Carver Statue was 

dedicated to honor the famed peanut pioneer and first 

guest speaker at the National Peanut Festival; 

Whereas the National Peanut Festival moved to its current 

home at the fairgrounds on United States Highway 231 

South in Dothan, Alabama, in 2010; 

Whereas peanuts remain a significant and valuable cash crop 

grown in the United States, which are— 

(1) valued at over $1,000,000,000; 

(2) consumed by American children and adults— 

roughly six pounds of peanut products per person each 

year—as both snack nuts and candy; and 

(3) used to create peanut oil, a high-quality cooking 

oil that Americans consume at 133,000,000 metric tons 

annually; 

Whereas approximately half of all peanuts grown in the 

United States originate within a 100-mile radius of 

Dothan, Alabama; and 

Whereas, in 2018, Alabama peanut farmers, of which there 

are close to 900— 

(1) produced runner peanuts, the variety that makes 

up 80 percent of all United States peanut production; 

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

(3) produced 400,000,000 pounds of peanuts valued 

at $118,000,000: Now therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that the National Peanut Festival held in 

3 Dothan, Alabama, is of remarkable importance to the 

4 State of Alabama and the peanut industry due to its— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 681 IH 

1 (1) attendance of 200,000 fairgoers over the 

2 course of the ten-day event; 

3 (2) economic impact to the town of Dothan, 

4 Alabama; and 

5 (3) celebration of one of America’s most impor6 tant, useful, and well-loved cash crops. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS