QUOTA WATCH : Peanut Politics

A bill now before Congress is worth more than peanuts to California.

A proposed amendment to the 1990 Farm Bill would eliminate the last federal quotas on a foodstuff, peanuts, in hopes of rectifying a ridiculous system and lowering the cost of such things as the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches California kids pack for lunch.

Currently only farmers who own federally granted allotments may sell peanuts for domestic consumption. The permits guarantee an artificially high price per ton, this year three times as much as is paid for surplus crops. Peanuts not sold as part of an allotment can only be made into oil or exported--anywhere except Canada or Mexico.

The majority of allotments are concentrated in a handful of owners, with one Georgia county home to 40% (America’s most famous peanut farmer: Jimmy Carter). Meanwhile, California has only two licensed farms.

Permit holders who don’t grow peanuts rent or sell the rights to other farmers, or pass them on to heirs. The system makes peanuts an extremely lucrative crop.

For the last 20 years no crop has enjoyed this kind of government-sponsored monopoly except for peanuts and tobacco. But the powerful growers’ lobby can be defeated if California representatives take notice.

It’s peanuts compared to more immediate problems, but why not go ahead and abolish the antiquated system in fairness to consumers and hopeful farmers alike? California, and others, would benefit.