Just east of Tchula, Mississippi, where the Mississippi Delta nestles into the hill country of Holmes County, peanuts have found a niche on traditional cotton, corn and soybean farmland.

“Everywhere we grow peanuts is next to the bluff line,” Holmes County peanut farmer, Drew Parrish said. “Mainly due to that's the best soil we have to grow peanuts. The creeks have washed out the sand and it’s really the most suitable peanut ground we have - everything following the bluff line.”

Drew’s father Milton agrees.

“Basically, it’s the same soil in the creek bottoms up in the hills,” he said. “It’s sandy dirt and highly erodible.”

The lighter soil is best for growing peanuts and is the most reliable commodity in their rotation.

“At the end of the year, when we put everything in a budget, the first thing I do when planning the next year’s crop is to figure out where I'm going to put my peanuts, and then I fill in the rest with corn and soybeans,” Drew said.

The model appears to be working, because Drew and Milton have been awarded the 2024 Peanut Efficiency Award for the Delta region.

Drew Parrish, far left, and his father, Milton, farm 5,000 acres of peanuts, corn and soybeans in Holmes County, Miss. (Brent Murphree)

The award honors producers for sustainable peanut farming, focusing on high yields through wise input use. It is presented to growers in the four regions of the peanut producing U.S. - the Lower Southeast, the Upper Southeast, the Delta and the Southwest.

Related:Farm Press announces 2024 Peanut Efficiency Award winners

This season, the Parrishes are growing about 685 acres of peanuts on their 5,000 acre farm where they also grow corn and soybeans.

Farm heritage

They have been on the original farm for four generations.

“My dad grew up right here,” Milton said. “There were three boys, he was the youngest and there wasn’t enough land to go around, so he went to the hills and started farming in the hills.”

Up on the bluff the dirt was good in the creek bottoms, but the fields were small and scattered.

“You just couldn’t be efficient out there,” he said. “Equipment was getting larger and you couldn’t even cross some bridges. It was a nightmare.”

Following his graduation from Mississippi State University, Milton began farming in the hills in 1975. He noted that if a hill farmer could make it on the bluff, it would be a piece of cake down in the Delta.

So, in 1986 Milton rented a place in the Delta and began accumulating land and growing cotton, soybeans and corn. The farm shop they use today sits on the original land his grandfather owned and farmed, but the Parrishes farm land as far away as Cruger, 15 miles to the north.

Milton grew his first crop of peanuts in 2008. Drew joined him on the farm in 2015 after working in tech development at Monsanto for seven years.

Related:Florida’s Nixon is lower Southeast Peanut Efficiency Award winner

All of their peanut ground lies adjacent to the bluffs in the light soil washed out from the hills, which is much lighter than the soils deeper in the Delta.

They have found continued success with the Georgia-06G peanut variety, which is a high-yielding, large-seeded, runner-type peanut variety. It has a high level of resistance to spotted wilt disease.

They plant with a twin-row planter to plant higher seed populations per acre and still have proper seed spacing to increase yield. Another benefit to twin row planting is we canopy quicker which is great for weed control.  This year they converted to a new twin-row precision planter with one large hopper. They found that they spent less time loading the planter when they went to a large hopper loaded with bulk bags.

The Parrishes plant with a two-row precision planter to get more seed in per acre and increase their yield. (Brent Murphree)

“It’s early, but everything looks like we got a pretty good stand and a little better spacing,” Drew said.

Irrigation

About 80% of their land is irrigated and the majority of their peanuts – 585 acres - are watered by center pivots or furrow irrigation.

Irrigation technology helps them put water where they need it, when they need it. It also improves their efficiency. Their pivots have flow meters and drop nozzles, while their furrow irrigation makes use of surge valves. Moisture probes help to time irrigation.

Much of the irrigation system can be managed via cell phone apps, which is useful when farming land that is scattered from Tchula to Cruger.

“I like pivot irrigation better than furrow irrigation with peanuts because it gives us so much opportunity to water in fungicides,” Drew said.

That irrigation helped them a great deal in 2023. According to Milton, other peanut producers further south in Mississippi were devastated because of the lack of moisture.

“We were able to get by last year when it was extremely dry,” Drew said.  “We only had three fungicide applications. In a typical year, I would say you're going to have at least four applications. We just didn't have the disease pressure.”

Plant disease

To combat plant disease, they typically begin with a tebu-conazole fungicide application and follow that up with at least two or three Convoy plus azoxystrobin applications, depending on need, to target white mold.

Leafspot, is a potential problem in the area, but they haven’t had a huge problem with the disease in the last couple of years. They have applied Bravo, if they start to see a problem, which has worked well on the farm.

Crop rotation

Both Drew and Milton agree that their biggest tool against disease is crop rotation.

“Sticking to that three-year rotation is big,” he said. “It is the key to disease control.”

They have had to make adjustments due to weather, but they are usually able to stick to their corn-corn-peanut rotation.

They like to stay clean in the weed department by starting with a clean base.

“We usually use Gramoxone to kill whatever is out there,” Drew said.  “Our pre-emergents are Strongarm, Valor and Dual. Then we come back with a Clethodim and Zidua, and then we usually have a 24DB or Cadre application as needed.”

Drew’s children Ann Cooper and Jonathan in one of the Parrishes peanut fields. (Brent Murphree)

The Parrishes are not opposed to trying new technology and innovation to help move their crop along.

They began using plant growth regulators about three years ago.

“We're using kudos,” Drew said. “It really helps. We have such a dense vine if we don't put it out. When we apply a PGR there is more sunlight and air getting through the plant, so it helps from a disease standpoint.” 

He said it also helps with harvestability. The harvesters don’t choke up as often with the smaller vines.

“One of our biggest issues (at harvest) is dirt,” he said. “If we have a dry summer digging can be a problem. And, the less vine we have to flow through the machine with the dirt, the better we are.”

This year they are also trying a new Helena product, Resgenix, to help increase water retention and prevent soil crusting.

“It’s supposed to make soil more mellow and should help with digging, especially during a dry fall,” Drew said. “This is the first year to use it.”

Cover crops

Drew has also taken a run at cover crops in peanuts.

“It has its struggles, mainly with plantability,” he said.  “I think early termination and choosing the right blend for the intended crop is key. I think the combination of strip tillage and cover crops are reaping several benefits to the soil.”

But, he notes, trying to get the cover in when peanuts are harvested in mid October could be a problem. So, this year he is going to broadcast the cover seed with a Kuhn spreader in front of the digger to get the biomass going early.

Aside from the help they have from their local employees, Ronnie and Bryan Smith, a father and son team, they have used H2A workers from South Africa for the last five years.

It turned out to be much more reliable for the operation and the process has been a good fit for them.

The main farm sits between the Morgan Brake and Hillside National Wildlife Refuges – prime breeding grounds for destructive wild hogs. They have tried several methods to rid the farm of the invasive pests – trapping, electric fences, and human interaction.

“The most critical time is the 7-10 days from planting to emergence,” Drew said. “It's just a combination of everything, trying to do everything you can to keep them out.”

During the winter and during planting, the Parrishes hire someone to patrol the areas where the hogs tend to be most destructive.

The succession plan for the operation may not be in written form, but a fifth generation of Parrishes are being raised alongside the operation. Drew and his wife, Madeline, have two small children, Ann Cooper and Jonathan.