A familiar face for Wiregrass farmers has taken on a new role in the Alabama Farmers Federation. Jacob Davis, who spent nearly four years as Alabama Peanut Producers Association (APPA) executive director, became the Federation’s Area 8 Organization director Feb. 6.

“I’ve enjoyed working with and for Alabama peanut farmers,” Davis said. “And that’s not going to change. Now, I’ll just be working with more commodities and more people. Meeting and serving our people well is what I enjoy.”

As Area 8 director, Davis will serve as a liaison between the Federation’s Montgomery home office and farmers in Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Pike counties.

He will join nine counterparts across the state visiting county leaders to build strong relationships; bringing county concerns to the state level; surfacing legislative candidates; strengthening the bond between Alfa Insurance and the Federation; and recruiting leaders for Young Farmers and Women’s Leadership committees.

“Jacob is a longtime friend of the Federation, and his skill set will be invaluable to farmers in Area 8,” said Federation Organization Department Director Matthew Durdin. “He gets our people. We’re excited to have Jacob join our team and continue serving Alabama farmers.”

During his tenure at APPA, an affiliate of the Federation, Davis monitored federal policy impacting peanut farmers; oversaw promotions for Alabama-grown peanuts; worked on research projects with stakeholders; and managed day-to-day operations in APPA’s Dothan office. The association’s retail peanut sales grew by 433% under his leadership.

Davis is a two-time Auburn University graduate in agriscience technology education. He taught agriscience for 10 years before joining the Alabama State Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education Section in 2004, first as an education specialist and then as education administrator, where he worked with the state FFA officer team. He retired in 2019.

Throughout his career, Davis has cultivated experience serving on committees that he’ll now source involvement for, including the Alabama Farm-City Committee, Alabama Ag In The Classroom Steering Committee and other influential statewide entities.

Davis and his wife, Sonna, have one son, Jaken, a freshman at AU. They attend Fairview Baptist Church in Samson.