Barber Fertilizer in Bainbridge has been honored as the Peanut Buying Point of the Year by the National Peanut Buying Points Association.  The award was recently made at the Summer Conference of the Association at the Lake Blackshear Resort.

According to Tyron Spearman, Executive Director, “It has been a tradition to honor one buying point of the year that does a good job buying peanuts and serving their farmers, but also involved as a family in the local community and the industry and association.”  Spearman says there are 130 peanut buying points in Georgia and 400 nationwide from New Mexico to Virginia across the peanut belt.

Barber Fertilizer has 3 buying points; their main office is in Bainbridge, GA, one in Campbellton, FL and another in Madrid, AL.  All together, these buying points handle over 33,000 tons of peanuts for OLAM. Barber Fertilizer blends fertilizer, sells seed and chemicals.  The company was started in 1976 by Mr. Harold Barber and is now managed by his two boys, Donald and Ronald Barber.  

On innovation, they have just converted to semis at two locations and constructed a 10,000 ton warehouse to a 27,000 ton warehouse and it is the biggest thing in Bainbridge.  Donald Barber has previously served on the Board of Directors of the National Peanut Buying Points Association.

In the community, Donald is on the Board of the First National Bank of Decatur County.  He is a member of the Decatur County Hospital Authority.  He and his wife Elizabeth are active in the First Baptist Church and have two kids and 3 grandkids, all in Tallahassee. Donald’s hobbies are tennis, golf and riding his bike.