By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) has a new executive director. It announced the hiring of Taylor Arnold on Monday, as he succeeds Don Koehler, who is retiring after more than four decades of service to Georgia’s peanut industry.
“I grew up on a farm in Calhoun County on my parent’s farm, and some of my earliest memories of actually working on the farm was shoveling peanut trailers and keeping a log. I can remember the first day where I was actually allowed to run a peanut picker on my own,” Arnold said.
“Just growing up in the ag community, I know what this commission means to the community, and working in the industry the last eight years, times are hard right now. It’s going to take vision, and I’m excited that they picked me, and I look forward to hopefully continuing the message that we’ve been doing here.”
Arnold has served as the county executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency in Worth County where he managed county office operations, supervised staff and oversaw the implementation of key federal programs that support farmers.
Changing of the Guard
It’s a changing of the guard for the commission and the peanut industry in Georgia. Koehler had served as the commission’s executive director since 1986. Arnold will begin as executive director starting on Jan. 1, 2026, while Koehler will serve as senior executive director until his retirement on July 31, 2026.
“Certainly it’s an indication of change,” said Joe Boddiford, board chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission. “We hope it’s positive change to help move things forward. It’s a big wealth of knowledge that Don’s got, and he needs to transfer much of that he can to Taylor.
“We’re counting on real good things out of Taylor and think he can do it. We look forward to this transition.”