Sussex County, Va., is the birthplace of peanuts in the United States. That’s where the first commercial peanut crop was grown in 1842 near the present town of Waverly. The sandy, loamy soil of southeastern Virginia proved ideal for producing peanuts, and soon Virginia would become the top producer of peanuts in America.

Peanuts have been ingrained in the culture and traditions of southeastern Virginia since the 19th century, and the large Virginia-type peanuts grown by farmers in that part of the world are famous for their special crunch and flavor, enjoyed by baseball fans at the ballpark and other peanut connoisseurs worldwide.

And for as long as he’s been farming, Kevin Monahan of Sussex County has successfully grown peanuts, a crop he has always loved producing because of its challenges and rewards. Monahan is a fifth-generation Virgina farmer; he began farming with his uncle and grandfather on his mother’s side in 1983 on land that was farmed by his great-great grandfather. Each generation of Monahan’s family has found success growing the famous Virginia peanut, and the family plans to stay with the crop, as long as a market is there.

Farming partners

Today, Kevin Monahan farms in partnership with his sons Drew and Brad and cousin E.T. Drewry, whose grandfather was the brother of Kevin’s grandfather. They farm under the name Springhill Farms Partnership on land in Surry and Sussex Counties. For the 41 years he has been farming, Kevin Monahan focused on efficiency and attention to detail to succeed.

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Because of their success in efficiently growing peanuts over many years, Springhill Farms Partnership is the 2024 Farm Press Peanut Efficiency Award winner for the Upper Southeast. Kevin said they are humbled by the honor. He and sons Drew and Brad credit teamwork for their success.

Drew joined the family farm full-time in 2011 after graduating in ag sciences from Virginia Tech. Brad came on board full-time in 2012 after completing the ag management program at Virginia Tech. E.T. Drewry joined the farming partnership in 2019. Kevin’s wife Janet is a retired schoolteacher, retiring in 2019 after 31 years of teaching. Drew’s wife Keli is a project manager in the behavioral health field.

In addition to emphasizing a team approach to management, their keys to efficiency are timeliness, a good rotation program, and not planting more peanuts than they can effectively manage. In the days of the federal quota system, Monahan planted as many as 350 acres of peanuts. Today, they are comfortable working 250 to 300 acres of peanuts, which they contract with Wakefield Peanut Company

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“At the end of the quota program, we cut back, but we never got completely out. I think that the lowest we got to was maybe 120 acres. I enjoy growing peanuts. It’s been a good profitable crop at times. Contracts have been good, and we have been blessed with some good yields. These new peanut varieties with the disease resistance that they bred into them has really helped peanut production,” Kevin said.

Last year, they planted 271 acres of peanuts with an average yield of 5,403 pounds per acre.

A good rotation

This year, the family planted 260 acres of the Virginia-type varieties Bailey II, Emery, and Wynne. In addition to peanuts, the family grows cotton, corn, and soybeans on their 3,500 acres. Kevin said a good rotation program is key. For the most part, they rotate peanuts with cotton, but they will include corn in the rotation.

“We stretch our rotation out as far as we can: four years, five years, six years, and sometimes longer than that. That’s helped the production of peanuts and reduce disease issues,” Kevin explains.

All of their peanuts are planted in beds. Kevin notes that peanuts are the only crop where tillage is used. For all of the other crops, no-till is used “We’ve been happy with what we’re doing. We like beds. They warm up good in the spring and the beds help the peanuts on wet land.”

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Drew adds that beds make digger easier in the fall. He said it has proven to be a good system for building their peanut yields. The family likes to start planting peanuts in the first week of May and hope to complete peanut planting in 10 days. Digging normally takes two weeks and they like to wrap up peanut digging by the last week of September.

Kevin points out that since they farm in the northernmost peanut growing area of the U.S., they like to get their peanuts out before any chance of frost. “When we were growing 350 acres of peanuts, we figured a month for harvesting. When we cut back on acres, we did a better job of managing the peanuts and are able to harvest in two weeks.”

Being timely with leafspot and fungicide application is key to the family’s production success. They hire a scout to scout their peanuts for diseases and usually spray for diseases every two weeks, depending on the weather and how much rain they have received since the previous spray.

“Generally, we will start spraying around the first week of July and spray as late as the first week of September, depending on what the fall is looking like. We’re mostly preventing leaf spot and white mold. In our sprays we tank mix boron and manganese on the same trip to produce good kernels,” Kevin said.

Growth regulators are also an important management tool. Drew notes that growth regulators help with disease pressure and pod retention while Kevin notes growth regulators help control the vines which prevents some of the disease pressure and also makes digging easier come fall. He adds the growth regulators keep the rows identifiable as they drive the digger down the field.

As for insects, the family sprays for thrips and leafhoppers. And for weeds, ragweed is their toughest weed worry. Brad said they like to use more residual products rather than straight contact products. “We still pull them; that’s the best way to get rid of them.”

Of all the crops the family grows, peanuts require the lowest fertility investment. They do apply potash, sulfur, boron, and manganese. Brad points out that most of the land they farm is high in phosphorous, so they don’t need to apply much phosphorous each year.

Timeliness for digging is critical for ensuring maximum yield and quality. They rely on the pod blasting services offered by Virginia Cooperative Extension to determine maturity and optimal harvest date. “We are likely to go a little bit early. If you wait until every one of them gets perfectly ripe, you’re going to use some of the better, mature peanuts,” Kevin said.

A 10-day window

“We look for a good window,” Drew said.  “If you’re pretty close to optimal, you’ve got a 10-day window that looks good then it’s time to start digging. Some of it is driven by weather with a lot of time spent scouting. To be as low a percentage of the acres that peanuts are, they take a priority. When it’s time for them to go, they don’t wait around for you so much.”

Brad noted that planting early under good growing conditions so they can harvest early is key to their efficiency strategy. “You need all the heat units you can get so you can get them out before that big frost chance. I think timeliness all year long is where your efficiency comes in. From planting until the peanut combine leaves the field, we try to be timely. Teamwork makes it work.”

Kevin is quick to credit the great improvement in genetics for Virgina-type peanut cultivars for helping their production efficiency, yields, and profitability. He said today’s Virginia-type peanut varieties are the best he’s ever seen.

“Twenty years ago, if somebody made 4,000 pounds of peanuts, they thought they had done something. Now, if we don’t make 5,000 pounds, we’re disappointed. It’s helped that we are able to produce more peanuts on the same acres,” Kevin said.

Kevin emphasizes that peanuts have been good to them over the years while Brad adds they respond well to how well you take care of them. The family likes to grow healthy food that people enjoy.

“How well you take care of peanuts means a lot. I like the old saying, ‘you reap what you sow.’ Treat peanuts well and do it well, do it to the best of your ability,” Kevin said.