Welcome to the Georgia Organic Peanut Association

Organic peanut farmers and researchers meet for the first time at the 2019 Georgia Organics Conference in Tifton, Georgia.

Forever, this seemed impossible. A vain hope. People said growing organic peanuts in Georgia was like going back in time, like turning away from all of the technological advancements over the past 50 years. They said even if you could grow them, where would you sell them? None of those big peanut processors would put up with the hassle of having their facilities certified organic for a little run of special peanuts. And none of the big growers would ever jump in with no place that would pay fair prices for organic.

Yet somehow here we are: the Georgia Organic Peanut Association. A group of small farmers located across Georgia working to grow and sell USDA certified organic peanuts together. Seventeen years after the implementation of the National Organic Program, this is finally the realization of an organic peanut industry in Georgia, the nation’s largest peanut-producing state.

Beginning farmer Sed Rowe of Rowe Organic Farms with Shirley Daughtry, the first Certified Organic producer in Georgia, at a Georgia Organics-sponsored field day in August 2018.

It took more trials and frustrations, more crop failures and more fields choked out by coffeeweed and nutsedge than anyone could count. But getting here also took limitless amount of stubbornness and belief: belief that a system for growing peanuts organically in Georgia is possible, that it is important to create and preserve an agricultural knowledge base not completely dependent on agribusiness and chemicals, that there are still people who care enough to support family farms willing to take a chance. All of the hard work and risk would have been fruitless without the help of numerous friends along the way — Shirley Daughtry and Relinda Walker, pioneering organic farmers outside of Savannah; Georgia Organics, which has been beating the drum for organic food from the start; the University of Georgia Peanut Team and Dr. Albert Culbreath, who work tirelessly to breed a better, more productive and resilient peanut; Dr. Carroll Johnson, former weed scientist with USDA Agricultural Research Service, who pushed the frontiers of non-chemical weed control; and, of course, the farmers who put their sweat and dollars and love into the earth to bring us to this moment.

We’ll tell their stories and more as the journey continues. We’re glad to have you join us.