Farm Press celebrates 27th class of Peanut Efficiency Award winners

Thu July 16 2026

In the July/August issue of Farm Press, we introduce you to our 2026 Peanut Efficiency Award winners, which will be our 27th class of top farmers who serve this vital industry for our country.

All the winners will tell you they are not the top or the best. But they are, and they are examples of what U.S. peanut farmers do for their communities, regions and the world. They provide healthy, responsibly grown food while facing various challenges every year.

Making high yields and grades are always important factors for farmers, if not the most important for their economic survival, but they also produce peanuts in environmentally responsible ways.

Farm Press established this program to spotlight and reward farmers who use both tried-and-true practices and innovative methods to bolster efficiencies. The award is based on the farmer’s entire peanut operation rather than individual farmers or fields.

Farm Press is honored to continue our partnership with the Southern Peanut Growers Conference. We bring the winners to the conference each year from each region of the U.S. Peanut Belt: the Upper Southeast, the Lower Southeast, the Delta and the Southwest.

Pam Caraway, executive editor of Farm Futures, chipped in and visited the Babb family in Virginia. I had the honor to visit with the Barksdale family in southwest Georgia. Brent Murphree, our Farm Press editor in the Delta, will tell you about Lonnie Fortner in Mississippi. And Shelley E. Huguley, our Southwest editor, will introduce you to Henry Froese, who farms in Texas.

Speaking for my fellow colleagues who visited each winner this spring on their respective farms, such visits are the highlights of our jobs each year. Each Peanut Efficiency Award winner approaches their production differently. Still, they do have much in common with other farmers. When you visit their farms, the fellowship rings familiar, and the camaraderie is welcoming. They care about their operations, sure, but they also champion the well-being of the peanut industry’s future.

Thank you to our sponsors Ag Technologies, John Deere, Greenpoint Ag and the National Peanut Board. We also thank you, all the farmers throughout the Sunbelt and beyond.

Source: https://www.farmprogress.com/