EARLY COUNTY — Mike Newberry can’t help but feel proud when he spots peanut butter on store shelves.

“It’s very likely that those peanuts came from somewhere in Southwest Georgia,” Newberry said.

Those peanuts likely came from Hillside Farms, where Newberry grows peanuts along with corn, cotton and cattle. Newberry said he loves how each season brings new opportunities for growth.

“We almost get to start over every year. That springtime, it’s funny how God made springtime after winter. Winter, dreary nasty and all of a sudden, in March, we see the weather begin to turn and those of us who have been raised in this environment, it brings a new life to us,” he said.

Experience teaches adaptability

Farming requires patience, and Newberry’s years of experience have taught him adaptability.

“Sometimes the outcome when that challenge comes up is not defined by how bad the challenge was. It’s defined by how quickly we react to that challenge and react in a proper manner,” he said.

Newberry’s roots in farming run deep. He’s a fourth-plus generation farmer.

Challenging summer yields average crop

Newberry said he’s satisfied with his 2025 peanut crop following a summer that brought weather challenges.

“I am pleased with our crop, for the irrigated person like we are. I would just call it an average crop, but it was a difficult summer. It was hot, as you well know. It was dry, as you well know. The wind seemed like it blew every day. That just dried out our world even faster. We had to irrigate an awful lot, and then we finally started getting some rains very late in the season. But it was a difficult season, a difficult summer, to say the least,” he said.

Newberry said no matter the season, he keeps himself grounded through his faith.

“But what I know that I forget to do is say thanks. So many times. I do. You know, we look around us—look at the blue sky today—we look around us and I just think we forget that God gave us all this,” he said.

Early passion for agriculture

Newberry knew from an early age he wanted to carry on his family’s agriculture legacy.

“As a kid, all I really wanted to do is play in the dirt or be in something like that. I remember staying in trouble with my grandparents—my grandmother who lived right down here-- because I would take the dried peas out of the bag and plant them somewhere and water them – and she didn’t know what happened to her dried peas, but I had planted them somewhere. I didn’t care anything about harvesting them. I just wanted to see them come out of the ground. I wanted to see something grow,” he said.

Newberry said it’s an honor to be a Georgia farmer, particularly in South Georgia.

“We live in an area that is extremely diversified in agriculture. The Midwestern farmer cannot say that. He does not have the growing opportunities that we have,” he said.

He said he’s filled with gratitude that Georgia invests in agriculture.

“We get an opportunity also to know very well all the researchers and specialists that provide us with the knowledge that we have to have. Just yesterday, we picked a University of Georgia Variety Test Plot here,” Newberry said. “And you know, the Peanut Commission works every day tirelessly and you just kind of take all that for granted as to what they do all the time. And we can’t do that. You’ve got to remember that they work hard.”

Whether he’s harvesting peanuts or planting cover crops, Newberry said he’s proud to do it all at home, providing for his neighbors and the world.

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