The first crop of peanuts in the Portales area was harvested over a century ago. Since that time the legume has sprouted deep in the hearts of Portales-area residents and our name has become synonymous with peanuts.
Local farmer John M. Bradley is credited with planting and harvesting the first peanut crop in the area in 1914 on a plot of ground just east of where Portales High School is today.
Bradley roasted that first crop in his kitchen oven and peddled them off the back of a truck locally and in the Pecos Valley. Those humble beginnings led to a multi-million dollar market over the next 100 years.
Peanut crops in the Portales Valley slowly gained popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. Then when World War II came along the demand skyrocketed when the government added peanuts to the daily rations for the troops overseas.
Local peanut processor Taylor McCasland was hired as a government agent to purchase peanuts for the war effort and the need was evidently quite large. McCasland reported that it took all the buildings at the fairgrounds filled to the ceiling to store the crop. McCasland increased his roasting capacity to 18,000 pounds a day and worked day and night.
In 1945 McCasland sold his operation to a man who had just arrived from San Antonio named John Burroughs. Burroughs renamed it Portales Valley Mills. Burroughs eventually became the 18th governor of New Mexico.
In 1967 the Valencia peanut variety began development in Portales. Joe Randolph brought three seed varieties back from Tangiers that became the variety for which, Portales was known for years.
The Valencia is a smaller, brighter hulled peanut that produces four peas to a hull. The variety is also sweeter than other varieties making it unique both for eating out of the shell or in butters.
Today, Hampton Farms processes both Valencias along with other varieties of peanuts from Portales, including peanuts bound for Major League Baseball parks across the west. The company has a retail store near the fairgrounds where you can sample and purchase a variety of peanut, candies and other local products including freshly ground peanut butter.
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