Alabama’s Jonathan Sanders

Meet Jonathan Sanders, Alabama Peanut Farmer

Jonathan Sanders and his father have devoted 300-400 acres of their 1000-acre Dothan, Alabama farm to peanuts. His father, J. Carl Sanders, is heavily involved in the peanut industry, serving as the president of the Alabama Farmers Federation State Peanuts Committee. Jonathan began following his father’s footsteps in college when he became active in the young farmer’s community.

“Once you have the farming blood in you, it’s hard to ignore,” Sanders says. “There is nothing like watching a plant grow and mature and harvest into a peanut crop that will be enjoyed by many.”

Jonathan is the third-generation to farm on their current farm, but his family history of farming goes back many generations. His family began adding peanuts into rotation after the cotton crisis in the Southeast in the early 1900s and has been a success ever since.

Jonathan notes that his farm is unique because of their father-son operation, which he explains is “becoming scarcer as fewer young people are returning back to the farm.”

After a long day of farming, both Jonathan and his father enjoy re-energizing with a cold peanut butter shake.