Howell receives Outstanding Georgia Peanut Farmer of the Year Award
Bruce Howell, Adel, Ga., accepts the Outstanding Georgia Peanut of the Year Award for District 2 on behalf of his father, LeRoy Howell. The award was presented by the Georgia Peanut Commission during the 45th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference, Jan. 20, 2022, at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center, Tifton, Ga. Pictured left to right: Armond Morris, Georgia Peanut Commission chairman and board member representing District 2, Bruce Howell and Matt Cato, Agri Supply representative
LeRoy Howell, Adel, Georgia, received the Outstanding Georgia Peanut Farmer of the Year Award for District 2 at the 45th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference, Jan. 20, 2022, at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center, Tifton, Georgia.
The award is sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission and Agri Supply.
The Georgia Peanut Commission presents the Outstanding Georgia Peanut Farmer of the Year awards to one farmer in each of the commission’s five districts. This award is designed to honor farmers who have given life-long devotion to peanut farming and who have the passion, diligence, leadership and desire to see that the peanut industry in the state of Georgia continues to represent the highest quality possible.
Howell is a third-generation farmer who has been farming for over 50 years after serving three years in the U.S. Navy. In 1985, Howell moved his farm to Cook County from the original farm his father purchased in 1927. He has farmed cotton, corn, peanuts and cattle in his many years of farming. Currently, Howell has over 500 pecan trees.
Howell has been involved in a variety of agribusinesses and organizations through the years. He has served on the Alapaha Soil Conservation and Water Board and the Georgia Farm Bureau Grains Committee and Peanut Committee. He also served as chairman of the Georgia Farm Bureau Tobacco Committee for two terms.
In addition to his service to these boards, Howell served as the Cook County Farm Bureau President for 30 years. Howell was active in 4-H and FFA and is an Honorary Georgia Young Farmers Member.
After Howell’s service in the Navy, he went to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. He then married his wife of 61 years, Irma Lee. Howell and Irma have a son, Bruce, who helps him with the pecan trees, and a daughter, Teresa.
Additional district winners include: District 1 – Bob McLendon, Leary; District 3 – Ralph Sandeford, Midville; District 4 – James and Dean McCranie, Eastman; and District 5 – Ronnie Lee, Bronwood. These farmers received a sign to display at their farm and a gift card from Agri Supply and the Georgia Peanut Commission.
