Letter from the Editor

The month of thankfulness, family and food has finally arrived! It’s hard to believe the holidays are here already, but I’m thankful for how far we’ve come from this time last year and look forward to spending them with family.

In this issue, Jade, Jessie, Mary and I are happy to share more of our favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you. We hope you will try them out at your Thanksgiving meal, along with an Alabama sweet potato. This year the sweet potato was officially named Alabama’s State Vegetable and we’re highlighting Penry Farms, an operation that has been farming sweet potatoes in Alabama since 1953. We’re also proud to share stories from our regulars and highlight a few new additions on the next page! This is the first issue without Tony Glover and Magic of Gardening. Tony has retired and we wish him nothing but the best! We’re happy to say that the column is sticking around with a new writer – Bethany O’Rear.

We are excited to announce that in 2022, Cooperative Farming News will become a 6-issue publication. Over the years, our goal has been to bring you the best down to earth news and we feel this change is the next step in continuing that goal. As Alabama Farmers Cooperative grows, we strive to do the same – to tell our story and fulfill our vision to be a relationship driven partner integrating vital resources to ensure our members/farmers success. We are proud to host new contributors bringing a wealth of information on different sectors of the agriculture industry, along with those from within our own company. We hope you’ll share in our excitement as we make this change and remain your source for quality information. We look forward to the future of this publication with you soon. Thank you for being a loyal reader, customer, and part of the AFC family.

Samantha Hendricks

Editor-in-Chief

DIRECTORY OF MEMBER COOPERATIVES

ALTHA FARMERS COOPERATIVE

James Lynn, Mgr. Phone 850-674-8194

ANDALUSIA FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Russell Lassiter, Gen. Mgr. Phone 334-222-1851 FLORALA - Pete Blackwell, Mgr. Phone 334-858-6142 OPP - Brandon Bledsoe, Mgr.Phone 334-493-7715

ATMORE FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Todd Booker, Gen. Mgr. Phone 251-368-2191

BLOUNT COUNTY FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Eric Sanders, Mgr. Phone 205-274-2185

CENTRAL ALABAMA FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Tim Wood, Gen. Mgr. SELMA - Thomas Reeves, Mgr. Phone 334-874-9083 FAUNSDALE - Bryan Monk, Mgr. Phone 334-628-2681 DEMOPOLIS - Tom Eunice, Mgr. Phone 334-289-0155

CHEROKEE FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Seth Eubanks, Gen. Mgr. CENTRE Phone 256-927-3135 JACKSONVILLE - Tommy Thomas, Mgr. Phone 256-435-3430 PIEDMONT - Kevin Bobbitt, Mgr. Phone 256-447-6560

CLAY COUNTY EXCHANGE

Jeff Kinder, Mgr. Phone 256-396-2097

COLBERT FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Daniel Waldrep, Gen. Mgr. LEIGHTON - Tommy Sockwell, Mgr. Phone 256-446-8328 TUSCUMBIA - Chuck Hellums, Mgr. Phone 256-383-6462

DEKALB FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Lance Ezelle, Gen. Mgr. RAINSVILLE - Andrea Crain, Mgr. Phone 256-638-2569 CROSSVILLE - David Tierce, Mgr. Phone 256-528-7188 ALBERTVILLE - Nicholas Byars, Mgr. Phone 256-878-3261

ELBERTA FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Justin Brown, Gen. Mgr. Phone 251-986-8103

FARMERS COOPERATIVE MARKET

Doug Smith, Gen. Mgr. FRISCO CITY - William Womack, Mgr. Phone 251-267-3175 Fertilizer / Phone 251-267-3173 LEROY - Jeff Hughston, Mgr. Phone 251-246-3512

FARMERS CO-OP OF ASHFORD

Timothy Tolar, Mgr. Phone 334-899-3263

FARMERS COOPERATIVE, INC.

Todd Lawrence, Gen. Mgr. LIVE OAK, FL - Barry Long, Ag Div. Mgr. Phone 386-362-1459 MADISON, FL - Jerry Owens, Operations Mgr.Phone 850-973-2269

GENCO FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Ricky Wilks, Gen. Mgr. HARTFORD - Todd Smith, Mgr. Phone 334-588-2992 WEST GENEVA - Robert Pittman, Mgr.Phone 334-898-7932 ENTERPRISE Phone 334-347-9007 ELBA - Colin Morris, Mgr. Phone 334-897-6972

HEADLAND PEANUT WAREHOUSE CO-OP

Jay Jones, Mgr. Chris Hix, Store Mgr. Phone 334-693-3313

JAY PEANUT FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Ryan Williams, Mgr. Phone 850-675-4597

LUVERNE COOPERATIVE SERVICES

Perry Catrett, Mgr. Phone 334-335-5082

MADISON COUNTY COOPERATIVE

Keith Griffin, Gen. Mgr. HAZEL GREEN - Phone 256-828-2010 MERIDIANVILLE - Matt Dunbar, Mgr. Phone 256-828-5360 NEW MARKET - Phone 256-379-2553 Ramsey Prince, Mgr. SCOTTSBORO - Phone 256-574-1688 Patricia Rorex, Mgr. STEVENSON - Phone 256-437-8829

MARION COUNTY COOPERATIVE

Steve Lann, Gen. Mgr. HAMILTON - Phone 205-921-2631 FAYETTE - Kellie Trull, Mgr. Phone 205-932-5901 HALEYVILLE - Jessica Steward, Mgr. Phone 205-486-3794

MARSHALL FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Brian Keith, Gen. Mgr. HOLLY POND - Phone 256-796-5337 ARAB - Mark Upton Phone 256-586-5515

MORGAN FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Bradley Hopkins, Gen. Mgr. HARTSELLE - Phone 256-773-6832

PIKE COUNTY COOPERATIVE

Danny Dewrell, Gen. Mgr. GOSHEN - Phone 334-484-3441 TROY - Jeff Baron, Mgr. Phone 334-566-3882

QUALITY COOPERATIVE, INC.

Daniel Salter, Mgr. Phone 334-382-6548

TALEECON FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Scott Hartley, Gen. Mgr. Phone 334-257-3930 WETUMPKA - Timothy Richardson, Mgr. Phone 334-567-4321

TALLADEGA COUNTY EXCHANGE

Chris Elliott, Gen. Mgr. Phone 256-362-2716 ASHVILLE - Allen Bice, Mgr. Phone 205-594-7042 PELL CITY - Joseph Taylor, Mgr. Phone 205-338-2821 COLUMBIANA - Barry Keller, Mgr. Phone 205-669-7082 RANDOLPH - Tim Brown, Mgr.Phone 256-357-4743

TENNESSEE VALLEY COOPERATIVE, LLC

John Curtis, President ATHENS – Britt Christopher, Mgr.Phone 256-232-5500 LYNNVILLE, TN - Kyle Doggett, Mgr. Phone 931-527-3923 PULASKI, TN – Celena Williams, Mgr.Phone 931-363-2563 Reggie Shook, Vice Pres. FLORENCE - Robbie Neal, Mgr. Phone 256-764-8441 ELGIN - Wendell Walker, Mgr. Phone 256-247-3453 John Holley, Vice Pres. MOULTON - Greg McCannon, Mgr. Phone 256-974-9213 COURTLAND Phone 256-637-2939

TUSCALOOSA FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Wayne Gilliam, Mgr. Phone 205-339-8181

WALKER FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Cody King, Mgr. Phone 205-387-1142