For Andy and Ann Sumblin, agriculture is more than a career. It has shaped their marriage, raised their family and created a life rooted in hard work and a love for farming.
Andy grew up around agriculture in Kinston, Alabama, and has been connected to farming nearly his entire life. After graduating from Auburn University, he worked for Production Credit before entering the agricultural chemical industry. He eventually returned home to farm but quickly learned that making a living in agriculture often requires more than one source of income.
“I went back home to make a fortune farming and had to get back in the chemical business to make a living,” Andy joked.
Since then, he has balanced farming with a career in agricultural sales,a demanding combination that often means early mornings, late nights and countless hours on the phone or in his truck.
Ann’s path to agriculture looked a little different. An attorney herself, she did not grow up on a farm, although agriculture was familiar through her father, who was also an attorney and represented farmers. Andy was the first farmer she had ever met, and she admitted she never imagined she would one day be married to one.
Their story began unexpectedly on a Southwest Airlines flight. Andy was traveling to an Auburn football game while Ann, an Alabama fan, was headed to Chicago with friends. Open seating brought the two together, and the rest became part of their family story.
Together, they raised three daughters, and agriculture continues to be part of the next generation. Two of their daughters live on farms, while one previously worked with the family operation. They also have a granddaughter studying agriculture at Mississippi State University.
Over the years, the Sumblins’ operation has diversified to include peanuts, cotton, pecans, cattle and sod. Andy has grown peanuts for nearly his entire farming career, and when asked to choose between peanuts and cotton, his answer was simple: “Peanuts to grow, cotton to harvest.”
His connection to peanuts goes back to childhood. His father grew a small amount of the crop, and Andy still enjoys watching peanuts develop more than cotton. “I grew up with that,” he said. “The crop is protected in the dirt. Cotton is sitting out there vulnerable to anything.”
About 20 years ago, the family added sod to the operation to create another source of income. Because row-crop farmers typically receive the majority of their income around harvest, sod provided cash flow throughout the summer. Today, they primarily grow centipede and 419 Bermuda, along with some zoysia, serving customers throughout southeast Alabama and northwest Florida.
Decades in agriculture have also given Andy perspective on the challenges facing young farmers. His advice is to remain realistic, communicate when problems arise and, most importantly, keep going.
“Deal with the hand you’re dealt,” he said. “The ostrich principle does not work.”
Andy’s own experience taught him the value of having an outside career while building a farm. He and Ann remember years when his schedule kept him working from before daylight until well after dark. He also encourages young people interested in agriculture to learn from experienced farmers before jumping headfirst into an operation of their own.
Andy believes the future of peanuts also depends on finding new ways to reach consumers, particularly younger generations and people outside traditional peanut-growing states. “We need more consumption,” he said, emphasizing the importance of promoting peanuts in areas with larger populations.
Through changing markets, demanding careers and countless growing seasons, Andy and Ann have built a life centered around agriculture. What began as a chance meeting on an airplane became a family deeply connected to farming—and especially to peanuts.
For the Sumblins, being a peanut family is not simply about the crop they grow. It is about the perseverance, relationships and way of life that have grown alongside it.