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.

View the 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour Photo Album

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.

View the 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour Photo Album

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.

View the 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour Photo Album

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.

View the 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour Photo Album

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.

View the 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour Photo Album.

We would like to welcome you to the 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour. Whether this is your first time with us, or you are a “Peanut Tour Veteran,” we are very happy to host you on our 37^th tour. As in previous years, you will be immersed in the production efforts of one of Georgia’s most important agricultural crops, and we hope this gives you better insight not only into the challenges our farmers face, but also reasons why we say that the world’s best peanuts are produced in Georgia. It is our hope that you will come to better understand and appreciate the heritage of peanut production in our state. Those engaged in the peanut industry, including farmers, buyers, processors, researchers, Extension personnel, and Georgia Peanut Commission representatives, are proud that Georgia is the leading peanut-producing state in the United States, and we are excited to share this year’s crop with you.

The 2025 Georgia Peanut Tour is staged in the south-central region of our state’s production area and begins on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 16, with a “Hot Topics” symposium. Expert speakers will address the status of our peanut crop and provide a special focus on enhancing the resilience of the peanut industry.

The next two days of the tour provide you an opportunity to learn more about production, research, processing and more. Field visits will provide you with a glimpse of peanut production, digging, and harvest. In addition, you will learn about the importance of on-farm research collaborations between the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State University, and commercial peanut farmers. The tour also includes visits down the supply chain to Tifton Quality Peanut’s shelling plant and Douglas Peanut’s buying point. Attendees will also tour Columbo, MANA, BCT Gin, and more!

Again, on behalf of the Peanut Tour Committee, with members from the USDA-ARS Peanut Lab, the Georgia Peanut Commission, and the University of Georgia, I warmly welcome you to the 37^th Georgia Peanut Tour! We hope that over the next few days you will better appreciate the complexity of the peanut industry in Georgia and the personal commitments from all involved in producing the world’s finest peanuts! We hope our events will allow for fellowship and that you enjoy Georgia’s hospitality exploring a beautiful, rural part of our state. We offer our sincere thanks to all the sponsors, who through their generosity, help make this tour possible. Please do not hesitate to let us know how we can help you as we travel the highways and byways of our state’s production area. We are proud of our peanut farmers and our peanut industry, and we are happy that we can share them with you.

The thirty-seventh annual Georgia Peanut Tour will be held September 16-18, 2025, in Valdosta, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The tour brings the latest information on peanuts while giving a first-hand view of industry infrastructure from production and handling to processing and utilization. Tour stops will be made in several peanut producing counties in South Georgia.

Attendees can expect to see first-hand nearly every aspect of peanut production in the state. This year’s tour hosts many exciting stops including on-farm harvest demonstrations and clinics, as well as, research projects through the University of Georgia Extension Service.

For attendees flying, the closest airport is the Valdosta Regional Airport in Valdosta, Georgia. Hotel accommodations can be made at the Hampton Inn & Suites, 2 Meeting Place Drive, Valdosta, Ga. 31601 by calling 229-241-1234 or Fairfield Inn & Suites at 2010 W. Hill Ave., Valdosta, Ga. 31601 by calling 229-242-1225. Reservations can also be made online. The room block deadline is Aug. 18, 2025.

For specific tour info or details, contact David West at 229-386-3470.

The Georgia Peanut Commission, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the USDA-ARS National Peanut Laboratory coordinate the tour.

Online registration is closed. Individuals can register on-site.
Tour Schedule
Map & Driving Directions: Wednesday, Sept. 17 & Thursday, Sept. 18
Download Sponsorship Packet