Lonnie Fortner, Port Gibson, Mississippi, was recently appointed to serve as the alternate member for Mississippi on the National Peanut Board. Fortner’s term begins immediately and ends on Dec. 31, 2016.
Fortner operates Rock Lake Planting Company and grows runner peanuts in addition to cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Fortner is a third generation farmer who earned his Ag Economics degree from Mississippi State University. Fortner is a 2012 graduate of the Peanut Leadership Academy. He is a board member of the Mississippi Peanut Growers Association and the Farmers Coop. Fortner is also vice president of the Claiborne County Farm Bureau, chairman of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Peanut Advisory Board and chairman of the Mississippi Peanut Promotion Board.
Fortner is glad to join the National Peanut Board. “It’s good to be involved on the frontline to ensure that the grower’s investment is going to the right place,” he says.