Country Woman Close-up

Working for Peanuts

Farm life is nuttin’ but the best for our cover gal!

Growing peanuts may be an “underground operation,” but Rosemary Corte is doing all she can to bring up the benefits of her family’s flavorful farm crop.

“Americans eat about 700 million pounds of peanut butter every year, Rosemary says from her Daphne, Alabama farmstead. “And our family does its part to support that statistic.”

It was only recently that she and husband Jay began mixing peanuts into their production.

“When Jay’s great-grandparents came here from Italy, they raised produce and cattle—cotton was added later,” she says. “To diversify even more, Jay tried planting peanuts 7 years ago. Since they grow underground, they’re less vulnerable to hurricane damage. Our farm is just 15 miles from the Gulf Coast.”

During harvest, Rosemary and husband Jay push to get peanuts into consumers’ hands and mouths by fall and early winter.

To raise peanuts worth their salt, the Cortes get busy planting in May. Summer months are spent maintaining the 700-acre crop, and October brings the hubbub of harvest.

“The fast-spreading peanut vines make the fields look like a solid-green carpet,” Rosemary says. “They’re so thick, it’s not easy to see where the peanut rows are located. That’s why our tractors are equipped with a satellite guidance system. Coordinates showing where the peanuts were planted are programmed into our harvester so we can dig at precisely the right spot.”

Rosemary checks newly planted peanuts breaking ground last spring in a field that’s rotated with cotton.

After the peanut plants are dug out of the ground, they’re left to dry for 5 days in windrows. Next, combines pick up the peanuts, separate them from the vine and dump them into wagons. The peanuts are then delivered to buying stations where they’re cleaned and graded.

“Part of our crop is used as seed for the next growing season,” Rosemary says. “We sell them to farmers all over the South. The highest-quality peanuts go to the edible market. Those end up in candy, snack products, peanut butter and other spreads.”

Cooks Go Nuts

Fortunately, peanuts pack a serious nutritional punch, too. “They contain a fat that’s primarily unsaturated, so they’re naturally cholesterol-free,” Rosemary points out. “Plus, peanuts are a protein powerhouse and provide vitamins, minerals and fiber that curbs hunger and helps control blood sugar levels.

“Actually, I usually carry a pack of peanuts with me at all times. I call it my ‘secret fuel.’ Right now, I’m preparing to run a half-marathon. My training route takes me around our fields and back to the house. At the end of a run, I refuel with a handful of peanuts.”

They’re present in her kitchen as well.

Legume legacy keeps Rosemary Corte’s family roots planted deep in peanut farming. She spreads nutrition on thick for her children, Hallie and Jay.

“I use peanuts in everything from Thai dishes to simple desserts,” she says. “Of course, whenever our 5-year-old, Hallie, requests her favorite meal, it’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“If I’m looking for our son, Jay, 10, I can usually find him beside his daddy on the tractor. It wouldn’t surprise us if he carried our farming tradition into a fifth generation.

“When it comes to eating peanuts, it’s hard to stop at just one,” Rosemary says with a smile. “For our family, that must apply to growing them, too. We can’t imagine giving up this wonderful way of life.”

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