For King Thomas, farming is more than a job. It is a way of life he learned from his father nearly 40 years ago.
Thomas, 53, grew up around agriculture in the Wiregrass, watching his father work and learning the value of a long day in the field. Today, he continues that tradition in the Kinsey, Alabama, area, where he is also a member of the Kinsey Town Council.
“Our daddy taught us how to work, and we always loved to see him out there on the tractor,” Thomas said. “Me and one of my brothers, my baby brother, proceeded to do it, and that’s what we’ve been doing this whole time.”
While Thomas has spent most of his life around farming, he said he has been farming on his own for about six years. Throughout his career, he has also worked alongside and helped other farmers in the area.
Today, he helps Shipes Farm, continuing to spend his days doing the work he has known for most of his life. Over the years, Thomas has gained experience with both peanuts and cotton. But if you ask him which crop he prefers, the answer comes easily.
“I love farming peanuts,” he said. “I farm a little cotton, but I’m more of a peanut farmer.”
Part of that love comes from the experience of peanut harvest itself.
“I love the smell of them, and I love to eat them,” Thomas said with a laugh. “I can’t eat that cotton.”
Of all the work that goes into producing the crop, Thomas especially enjoys plowing up peanuts during harvest.
“This is my passion right here because I love plowing up,” he said.
That passion is important because farming does not come with an eight-to-five schedule. During the busiest times of the year, days can stretch long after the sun begins to set.
“You’ve got to have a passion for it,” Thomas said. “You’ve got to have a passion for long hours. You barely have time to sit down to eat at night, and when you do, it’s time to go to bed and start it all over again.”
Despite the demanding schedule, Thomas said the work is worth it.
“It all pays off in the end,” he said.
Thomas’ story also reflects a question facing agriculture across the Wiregrass: who will be there to take over when today’s farmers are ready to step away?
Thomas has a stepson and a daughter, but neither has expressed an interest in continuing the farming operation. He said he sees similar situations around him, with children of farmers sometimes choosing careers outside of production agriculture.
For Thomas, that means the operation currently comes back to him and his wife, Katrina.
After nearly four decades around agriculture, however, his enthusiasm for farming, and especially peanut farming, remains.
The lessons that began with watching his father on a tractor have followed Thomas throughout his life. From working alongside other farmers, including his current work with Shipes Farm, to building an operation of his own, he understands firsthand that farming requires sacrifice, long hours and, above all else, a genuine love for the work.
“You’ve got to have a good heart for it. You’ve got to have passion,” Thomas said. “Because if you don’t, you won’t ever be able to put in all these hours.”
For Thomas, that passion can be found each harvest season in a freshly plowed peanut field, a crop he has spent much of his life growing and one he still loves just as much today.
By: Peyton Woods