Pop Son Farm Peanut Farmer Elisha Barnes

Photo credit: Clay Benjack

Elisha Barnes is a 4th generation peanut farmer in Virginia who is making his own impact in agriculture with his farm, Pop Son Farm.

Since he was a young boy, Elisha always had a connection to the land where his parents taught him and his siblings to plant and harvest from. Taking everything that they taught him, especially when it comes to peanuts, he says, ” I always said that I was going to a farmer because I am that little boy who walked behind my father. And if he would stop walking, I would bump into him.”

In this episode, he shares that although farming was a way of life for the family, academics were also very important to the Barnes. Elisha would grow up and attend college in Tennessee and later work in various industries before coming back to the land, back to farming.

“I love working with my hands,” he says. The farmer and father will turn 69 this year.

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When ask about the impact of climate change on his farming practices, he shares, “I choose to use a lot of the old fashion ways because it keeps me grounded with where I came from, with who I was raised to be. And it is a dying art.”

Four years ago, he approached Hubbard Peanut Company to see if they would buy his peanuts and as luck would have it, the timing was right and as they say the rest is history.

Today, Pop Son Farm and Hubs work together to supply some of the tastiest peanuts for consumers. In addition, Hubs just released the fourth edition of their single origin peanuts thanks to Elisha’s dedication.

This is a heartwarming and informative conversation not to miss. Enjoy this sneek peak below.