DOUGLAS — Clayton “Wayne” McKinnon of Douglas, Ga., runs a farm that embodies hard work, agricultural diversity and family farming. A farmer for the past 36 years, the hard work McKinnon and his family have put in is paying off. His operation now includes 600 acres of rented land and 800 acres of owned land.

His crops include cotton on 800 acres, peanuts on 500 acres, tobacco on 100 acres, wheat on 200 acres and blueberries on 47 acres. In addition he raises pullets and roosters on contract, and maintains a 150-head cow-calf herd. Per acre crop yields are 900 pounds for cotton, 3,400 pounds for peanuts, 2,600 pounds for tobacco, 60 bushels for wheat, 14,000 pounds for highbush blueberries and 2,500 pounds for rabbiteye blueberries

As a result of his success as a diversified crop farmer, McKinnon has been selected as the 2008 Georgia winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. McKinnon now joins nine other state winners from the Southeast as finalists for the award. The overall winner will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie.

Family members are involved in all phases of the operation. McKinnon’s wife, Lynn left a teaching career to help out on the farm. Early in their marriage, she was in charge of vegetable harvesting crews. She hauled gooseneck trailers full of produce to markets in Thomasville and still takes pride in her ability to back a trailer. Later, she specialized in building cotton modules and hauling peanut trailers. Currently, she supervises tobacco suckering and blueberry harvesting crews.

McKinnon counts on his 15-year-old son Clay to drive tractors, a job he has done since he was 8. Clay plans to become a medical doctor and farm part-time when he’s older.

“Clay is a real contributor and he has first-hand experience with what farming is all about,” McKinnon said. The McKinnons also have two daughters who both contributed to the farm. Their older daughter, Amanda, is a teacher in local schools and their younger daughter, Monica, is starting on an educational program that will lead to a career in working with troubled children.

McKinnon also relies on 18-year employee Guadalupe Rodriguez for help in managing the farm. He says Rodriguez is “a huge contributor to the success of our farm.”

McKinnon started farming with his father, who bought 100 acres from his granddad in 1957.

“The 1958 crop was our first one, and last year we grew our 50th crop,” says McKinnon.

His father continued to buy farms, and McKinnon bought the first of four farms on his own in 1977. In addition, he is currently developing some marginal land close to town for subdivisions, and he owns a commercial building close to town leased out to a poultry supply company.

Irrigation is an important contributor to his yields. He notes that 25 percent of his cotton, 20 percent of his peanuts, 100 percent of his tobacco, 100 percent of his blueberries and 100 percent of his wheat is irrigated. He started irrigating with his dad using traveling guns. In 1980, McKinnon bought his first center pivot irrigation and now has 10 pivots.

Over the years, flue cured tobacco has been a mainstay crop. He built his first bulk barn for curing tobacco in 1974, and then phased out the use of old stick barns.

“Now, tobacco harvesting is fully mechanized, and we don’t physically handle the tobacco,” he says.

After tobacco poundage quota was phased out several years ago, he more than doubled tobacco acreage. Like most tobacco farmers today, McKinnon grows his on contract. His contract is with Philip Morris USA. From 1996 through 1998, he took part in a tobacco farmer leadership program sponsored by Philip Morris. His tobacco prices this year will be $1.70 to $1.75 per pound, depending on the grade of the tobacco.

His latest innovation is the addition of a $200,000 boiler system to slash the energy costs of tobacco curing. The boiler will heat water in a closed system with radiators heating the air in the bulk barns.