After leaving MANA Nutrition, tour attendees hopped on I-75 and headed south to Tifton Quality Peanuts in Tifton, Georgia. Tifton Quality Peanuts began its shelling operation in 2005 and has been running strong ever since. The company is a grower-owned shelling facility. One of the highlights of the tour was the very large domes where the peanuts are stored. Each of the three domes can hold up to approximately 13,000 tons of peanuts. Between the domes and additional warehouses, the facility can store up to 70,000 tons on site.

Attendees walked through the entire shelling process. It begins with peanuts being moved out of storage and into the plant, where they pass through a series of machines. First, the peanuts go through cleaning equipment to remove dirt, rocks, and other foreign materials. From there, they enter a rotating machine that breaks open the hulls, allowing the kernels to separate. The peanuts then move on to a color sorter, which detects defects in each kernel. Defective peanuts are identified by specific colors and separated from the high-quality kernels. Next, the kernels are sized before being packed into large totes and placed in cold storage.

So where do the peanuts go once they are shelled? Companies like Mars Snackfoods, Hershey, and Tom’s Snacks purchase them to use in some of your favorite treats!

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Tour attendees visiting MANA Nutrition in Fitzgerald, Georgia, received an inside look into Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). RUTF is a dense, nutrient-rich food used to treat severe malnutrition. The purpose of RUTF is to help children gain weight, improve strength, and restore overall health. It is made with milk, multivitamins, and peanut butter. The product is especially effective because it is shelf-stable and requires no preparation.

This stop was highlighted because every package of RUTF begins with peanuts grown in Georgia. MANA purchases approximately 2 million pounds of peanuts each month to produce the product. The Fitzgerald facility spans 135,000 square feet and has the capacity to produce 500,000 pounds of RUTF per day—enough to help feed up to 10 million children each year.

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Attendees had the opportunity to visit a buying point in the heart of Coffee County, Georgia. Douglas Peanut and Grain Company serves as the first point of delivery for freshly harvested peanuts in the county. Once peanuts are harvested from the field, farmers must first tag their load right there in the field before transporting it—either in wagons or semi-trailers—to the buying point.

At the buying point, the peanuts undergo a drying process while still in the wagon. Once they are dried to the required moisture percentage, a sample is pulled, and the grading process begins. Grading is carried out by the Georgia Federal-State Inspection Service. After grading, the peanuts are moved into storage warehouses and eventually hauled to shellers for the next stage of processing.

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In September 2024, a devastating hurricane tore through South Georgia, leaving the state’s agricultural industry with a major blow. Chicken houses were demolished, irrigation pivots overturned, and equipment sheds collapsed. Georgia farmers were unsure how they would move forward. Hurricane Helene tested their faith, but through resilience, determination, and heart, they began to clean up and rebuild. That is exactly what Clay McKinnon did. Tour attendees heard his story on the very farm that was once full of devastation.

Clay McKinnon is a third-generation farmer in Coffee and Atkinson counties. He farms alongside his father, Wayne. The McKinnons grow peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, and blueberries, in addition to raising poultry.

Ashley Smith, Extension agent, and Clay shared in detail the damage his farm sustained. Winds reached 125 mph as Helene tore through the area. The McKinnons lost five poultry houses, grain bins, and equipment sheds; pivots were overturned; debris scattered their fields; and their row crops, timber, and blueberries were heavily damaged. The estimated cost of the destruction was approximately $3 million.

Through it all, Clay pressed forward. Standing on the farm today, tour attendees saw new poultry houses, upright irrigation pivots, and healthy rows of peanuts and cotton. Everything on display stood as a testament to Clay’s resilience and passion for farming.

Additionally, at this stop, Ashley Smith walked attendees through a variety trial she has worked on with Clay. The varieties featured were GA-22MPR, GA-21GR, GA-23RKN, GA-06G, TIFNVHG, DG913, ARNIE, and FLORUN 52N.

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The 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour concluded with dinner hosted at the Quail Branch Lodge. Quail Branch Lodge is the premier wedding destination located in Lake Park, Georgia, offering a complete array of amenities to fulfill every bride’s dream wedding. The lodge is set amongst nature pine forests, vast agriculture expanses and pristine waters.

Nestled deep within this refuge from the business-world, guests enjoy the spoils of privilege, relaxing in their lake front lodge after a long day. Enjoy refreshments in a comfortable rocking chair on the porch, grab some tackle and troll the lake or simply relax by the fireplace joining in on the camaraderie sharing the day’s events with valued friends.  The Quail Branch Lodge staff will make you feel right at home and the memories you create will last a lifetime.

A Georgia Peanut Tour tradition, the Wednesday night meal featured the famous low country boil and peanut-inspired ice cream sponsored by Corteva Agriscience. Corteva has sponsored the low country boil for many years, making it a tradition most all tour attendees look forward to. The boil includes shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn.

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Attendees had the opportunity to watch a combine make its way up the rows of turned peanuts in Cook County, Georgia, today. A combine is used to harvest peanuts. It separates the peanuts from the vine, placing them in a hopper on top of the machine while returning the vines to the field.

Cook County is a hub for Georgia agriculture, producing a wide variety of crops including peanuts, cotton, corn, fruits, and vegetables. Approximately 10,000 acres of peanuts alone are grown in the heart of Cook County. Another unique commodity that many might not expect is persimmons. At one point, Cook County had the most acres of commercial persimmon production in the nation.

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Established in 1983, BCT Gin Company, Inc. handles cotton, peanuts, corn, and small grains with operations in Quitman, Berlin, Pavo, Adel, and Moultrie.

The shareholders and Board of Directors knew this company needed managers who were knowledgeable in farming and would also have the foresight and skills to take this company to new levels of success and growth. The positions were filled with enthusiastic and qualified individuals who were dedicated and determined to meet the needs of the farmers. Forty years later, Steve Bullard is the Executive Manager and Jessica Goodman is the Executive Office Manager over all the divisions. It is with great pride, BCT Gin’s shareholders, managers, staff and employees have looked back at the end of every ginning season and said, “A job well done.” And wondering how they could do it even better the next season.

Dedication and drive like this is what brought BCT Gin Company to the level of success it is today. BCT has expanded over the years with numerous locations. Maintaining three ginning facilities, three peanut buying points, a grain facility and a warehouse for storage. With new upgrades, BCT is always ready to meet the customer’s needs.

BCT can safely and proudly say it has met the demands of existing customers and is prepared to meet the needs of any new customers. The company and its leaders have made their mark in the cotton and peanut industry. From getting cotton and peanuts out of the field, to marketing and selling the crop at the best prices, BCT Gin management is well known and respected throughout the industry for insight, knowledge, and expertise in cotton and peanut production and marketing.

BCT would consider it an honor to assist any farmer with any questions or problems they may have. BCT believes in customer relations and satisfaction. No matter how big or small, BCT’s goal is to work with every farmer with equal effort because every farmer is a valued customer.

While at BCT, tour attendees were treated with homemade ice cream with an array of flowers including peach, blueberry, and strawberry. The ice cream was from a local shop right down the road called Burton Brooks Peach Orchard. Following ice cream, attendees took a walk throught the cotton gin seeing how the process takes place and also recieved insight on current technologies on modern day equipment.

Now you make ask why attendees were brought to a cotton gin while on a peanut tour. Farmers must rotate their crops and peanuts and cotton often go hand in hand. Jessica Goodman stated while on the tour that 100% of their peanut growers also grow cotton.

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Georgia Peanut Tour attendees got to dig even deeper into a day in the life of a farmer nearing harvest. One of the steps a farmer has to take to know if his peanuts are ready to harvest is assessing the maturity of their peanuts. Extension agents Cale Cloud, Tucker Price and Jacob Kalina taught tour attendees how a farmer may go about determining the maturity of their peanuts.

The peanuts are placed in a basket in which they are then pressure washed, exposing the endocarp. After the peanuts are placed on a Peanut Profile Board  by color to determine if the peanuts have reached optimum maturity. If harvested to0 early and peanuts are left immature, the flavor, shelf life, yield, and grade could be affected. Farmers could lose as much as 500 to 700 pounds per acre in fields if not harvested at the correct time.

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Colombo North America is a Brazilian company that is strongly active in the development of machine solutions for the mechanized harvesting of grains and agricultural components. With 50 years of history and a presence in more than 60 countries, Colombo is a solid business group in constant growth. Located in the city of Pindorama, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, Colombo has a structure of 20,000 m2 of built area, divided into four manufacturing units: MIAC, AEMCO, COLOMBO FOUNDRY and COTRAME.

Internationally, Colombo Industries operates two commercial and technical support companies: one in Adel, Georgia, USA, and the other in Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina.

Colombo is a traditional company known for its strength and capacity to innovate. Whoever becomes their client or partner has a company that is highly committed to sustainable development, the daily improvement of service and to social and environmental responsibility.

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The first stop of the 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour highlighted the beginning of the peanut harvesting process—digging. Digging takes place approximately 120 to 150 days after planting. When conditions are just right, farmers take a digger up and down the rows. The digger gently pulls up the plants, shakes off the excess soil, and lays the plants back down with the peanuts facing the sun. This allows the peanuts to dry for a few days before the combine comes back through.

Danny Swilley of Swilley Farms spoke about the legacy of his family’s farm. For over 100 years, the Swilley family has been working the land in Lowndes County. With over 3,000 acres in peanuts and cotton, Danny, his two brothers, and his father work hard to preserve the land for future farming generations.

Lowndes County is a diverse county when it comes to agriculture. Farmers there grow peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, and citrus. With roughly 5,000 acres in peanuts, county Extension agent Joshua Dawson, with Fort Valley State University, works closely with the county’s peanut farmers—like the Swilley family—to ensure a bountiful crop each season.

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