Farmer reports on initial trials with peanut cultivation

Daring into the niche Farmer Steffen Meyer has been growing peanuts for three years and reports on seed shortages, high weed pressure, and other challenges. "I started growing peanuts from a whim," says farmer Steffen Meyer, who came up with the idea after a party. Together with the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, the conventional asparagus farm in Böhme near Walsrode, Lower Saxony, then started a project to grow peanuts. He presented the initial results of the trial at an online event of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture in early March, which the bioland specialist magazine attended and reported on. In addition to asparagus, Meyer also grows other specialty crops such as sweet potatoes, lavender, and quinoa, and likes to try out new things. However, the peanut poses special challenges for him because it needs a lot of warmth, is sensitive, and requires a lot of patience. "The peanut actually has nothing to do with nuts," Meyer explained to the ...