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-Amer-
ican scientist, inventor, educator, and former slave— 
(1) suggested the planting of peanuts and soybeans 
to restore nitrogen to soil left barren from cotton produc-
tion; 
(2) invented more than 300 products made from 
peanuts; and 
(3) became the first guest speaker in the history of 
the National Peanut Festival; 
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•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 mak-
ing 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 pro-
moting 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; 
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•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 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the National Peanut Festival held in 
Dothan, Alabama, is of remarkable importance to the 
State of Alabama and the peanut industry due to its— 
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•HRES 681 IH 
(1) attendance of 200,000 fairgoers over the 
course of the ten-day event; 
(2) economic impact to the town of Dothan, 
Alabama; and 
(3) celebration of one of America’s most impor-
tant, useful, and well-loved cash crops. 
Æ 
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