Donald Barber of Barber Fertilizer Company talked about the history and services of his company during a Wednesday address to the Bainbridge Lions Club.

“Our company, located at 1011 Airport Rd., was established by my father, Harold Barber, in 1976,” Barber said in his opening comments. “He passed away last September and we miss him every day. We have two other companies, one in Cambellton, Florida, which my twin brother Ronald operates, and one in Madris, Alabama.

Barber said his company handles fertilizers mixes for food plots and farm chemicals. Peanuts are a big part of what they do as well, spreading fertilizer on peanut fields. The company has a retail fertilizer store.

“We also buy peanuts at all three of our companies,” Barber said.

Barber said that, while Decatur County is one of the top three peanut producing counties in the state, Midwest states like Nebraska and Kansas produce much more peanuts than Georgia does.

“As far as peanut production in Georgia is concerned, Worth County is number one, Mitchell County is number two and Decatur County is number three,” Barber said.

Barber, a former Bainbridge High School Bearcats basketball player along with his brother Ronald, also pointed out that soybeans is one of the most lucrative crops in the county.

“Corn is also a big county crop but it takes a lot of fertilizer,” he said. “There is also quite a bit of cotton grown here. We are dedicated to serving the needs of the farmers in Decatur County.”