Welcome Michael Kule, New Director of the South Carolina Peanut Board

Written by: Michael Kule

Hello everyone, I’m Michael Kule, the new Director of the South Carolina Peanut Board. I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and share a little about my vision for the future.

As a child growing up on a livestock “hobby” farm outside Aiken, South Carolina, I was always drawn to all things farming. Later, at the age of 14, I began working part time for our neighbor who commercially produced cattle, corn, cotton, hay, and soybeans. No peanuts though!

Since I’d been passionate about farming since I could remember, the next logical step was to go to Clemson University, where I ultimately attended and earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Mechanization and Business.

Following graduation, I went to work as a Sales Manager for Blanchard Equipment in St. Matthews, South Carolina. In my work for Blanchard Equipment, we sold mostly John Deere equipment, but we were also the primary dealer for peanut equipment in the area. I learned about Amadas and KMC peanut equipment and wound up selling quite a bit of it, both new and used.

I worked in this role for six years, and during the transition from equipment sales I worked directly for Gregg Covington Farms in Cope, South Carolina. He produces peanuts commercially, and during my time there I was hands on in peanut production and harvest.

Now, in my role at the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, I’m a Marketing Specialist for Peanuts and Cotton as well as the Director for both of those boards. I’m excited to contribute to agriculture in South Carolina by applying my extensive agriculture background in a new-to-me way. I look forward to meeting more of the folks within our state and beyond who make the wheels turn in the peanut business.

My vision for promoting South Carolina’s peanut industry includes increasing awareness in two primary areas. The first is to increase public awareness of what it takes for South Carolina’s peanut growers to produce peanuts. The second is to increase public awareness that peanuts are grown here, in our state, and are a high-quality food that can be enjoyed in many ways.

With my background and passion for agriculture, I’ll be bringing a slightly new perspective to this role. Furthermore, I’m excited to get out and meet folks in the peanut industry. I hope to see some of you to talk farming, peanuts, and maybe even tractors and peanut combines!