Georgia’s ‘Mr. Peanut’ Frank McGill passes away

TIFTON — J. Frank McGill, affectionally known throughout the Georgia agricultural community as “Mr. Peanut,” passed away surrounded by family at age 95 in Tifton.

McGill earned bachelor’s (1951) and master’s (1962) degrees in agronomy from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

He began his career with UGA as a county extension agent in southwest Georgia and later became the state’s extension peanut specialist. McGill worked at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station — now known as the UGA Tifton campus — and helped develop a “package approach” for peanut production, which includes management of land preparation, environmental control, variety selection and harvesting.

From 1954 to 1982, McGill’s expertise helped Georgia’s peanut yields increase from 955 pounds per acre in 1955 to 2,040 pounds in 1967 and 3,220 pounds in 1974.

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