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RALEIGH – A Northampton County native whose family business has grown into a nationally recognized brand has been honored by his college alma mater.

Dallas Barnes was named one of two recipients of the 2024-25 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at NC State University. Barnes and fellow winner Dr. Giles Shih were honored Sept. 13 at the annual CALS Alumni Awards for their outstanding career achievements and commitment to the land-grant principle of service to community, state and nation.

Barnes graduated from NC State in 1978 with a bachelor’s in agronomy and is the president of Meherrin Agricultural & Chemical Company, headquartered in Severn. Following graduation, Barnes returned to his family’s farm, where they have farmed peanuts in northeastern North Carolina since 1917. He went on to work with farmer’s stock peanut procurement in 1980 and in peanut sales from 1987-90 before being named CEO of Meherrin in 1992.

Meherrin is the parent company of his family’s original business, Severn Peanuts. It now includes Meherrin Fertilizer and Hampton Farms, the leading roaster of in-shell peanuts in the United States and the largest peanut processor in North Carolina.

Barnes has carried his purpose forward as he now serves with Meherrin on Mission, the company’s 501(c)(3), which serves local communities and employees in the areas of disaster relief, scholarships and mission projects.

In addition, the college presented its Outstanding Alumni and Outstanding Young Alumni awards at the ceremony, which recognize significant contributions to CALS, NC State and their profession and community.

“The alumni we recognize today represent the fulfillment of the promise of our land-grant mission in academics, research and Extension,” Dr. Garey Fox, dean of CALS, said at the ceremony. “This year’s recipients were carefully selected out of more than 36,000 college alumni in total. Their exceptional contributions and service to NC State and their respective communities exemplify the extraordinary possibility of achievement to our current students, who are the future alumni and leaders of tomorrow.”

The Distinguished Alumni Award was established in 1974 to honor individuals who have displayed excellence in implementing progressive state, national or international programs; development of improved technology or science; or other outstanding achievements in the field of agriculture and life sciences.

The CALS Alumni Awards were held in conjunction with NC State’s’ 32nd annual CALS Tailgate, the university’s largest annual alumni gathering, and the 11th annual Ag Day football game during NC State’s game against Louisiana Tech.