When Allen Whitehead, a proud peanut farmer from Ashburn, Georgia, talks about the freshly dug peanuts he grows, he can almost smell them. The rich, peanutty aroma is “the best smell ever!” he explains, “maybe that’s why it’s one of my favorite crops.”

Growing up, Whitehead says he always worked on other people’s farms, but he never thought he’d have one of his own. He and his brother Jerry started farming in 1980 which was a rough year for peanuts, but even though Whitehead started out with a few glitches, everything seems to be going well right now.

Like many other farmers, the Whitehead’s have a family operation. Whitehead, Jerry and his son Walt, and the most experienced of them all, Allen and Jerry’s father, 79-year-old Walter, all help out in the farming business. Aside from runner peanuts, they also grow cotton, corn and wheat.

Whitehead is dedicated to peanuts and he personally does all he can to increase consumption. He eats a spoonful of peanut butter every night as a late night snack in addition to eating roasted and salted peanuts throughout the day. He also adds peanuts to his sodas. “Peanuts give it a unique malt-like flavor.” Whitehead’s wife Judy, a fifth-grade teacher, also does her share by cooking with peanut oil for Whitehead and their two daughters, Allison and Rebecca.

Whitehead also sits as an Advisory Board Member of the Georgia Peanut Commission. “I’m committed to peanuts because they are nutritious and can be good for your heart,” Whitehead says.

He also believes in the importance of the National Peanut Board. “I think it’s very essential to this industry. It’s a fact that peanut consumption has increased since the National Peanut Board has funded various research and advertising programs about the positive benefits of peanuts and I’m proud to stand side by side with the National Peanut Board.”

As a farmer, Whitehead takes pride in growing a crop that is good for people and the soil.