The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says growers broke national records with a yield of 4,350 pounds per acre. That is based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The Virginia yield was several hundred pounds more than the national average yield. Virginia growers credit several factors for their success, including improved seed varieties and longer rotations. The state’s top producers were Walter F. Drake Jr. and his sons, Matt and Jason, from Southampton County. In 2014, Drake Farms yielded 6,058 pounds per acre on 119 acres. Virginia’s peanut crop is grown in the southeastern part of the state.
