By Linda McNatt
William “Bill” Andrews has a past that is planted firmly in the fertile soil of Virginia’s Middle Peninsula, on a 1,500-acre farm not far from the Rappahannock River, about five miles from the small town of Tappahannock. Andrews’ family has been there — producing corn, wheat and soybeans — since well before the Civil War started in 1861.
He works the same fields today that his great-great-grandfather, his great-grandfather and all of the generations before him worked. And his future is planted in the family farm and in his 16-year-old son, William “Walker” Andrews, a high school student, farm intern and a “guitar man.”
Bill Andrews said his son has the same gift for guitar magic that the boy’s grandfather had. Grandpa was known throughout Essex County for his ability, he said.
Walker Andrews has a guitar collection and would rather play the instrument than almost anything, his father said.
“But, if things go the way they’re planned, he’s going to take over the farm,” Bill Andrews said. “He’s not a lazy boy. He’s a hard worker. If I tell him that something needs done on the farm, he pulls on his boots and gets to work.”
Bill Andrews is proud of his heritage and proud of his son, and he also has something else to be proud of. He was recently presented with the Virginia Wheat Yield Contest Award from the Virginia Grain Producers Association for producing more than 100 bushels of red winter wheat per acre. Red winter wheat, commonly planted in Virginia, is used for bread, flour and similar products. Andrews planted his wheat fields with AgriMAXX 438 wheat seed. He received a cash prize of $700 and a plaque welcoming him to the AgriMAXX 100 Bushel Club. AgriMAXX is based in Mascoutah, Ill.
“I guess I’ll use the money to invest in the guitar collection,” Bill Andrews said, with a chuckle. “And I’ll just hope he doesn’t go on the road with the guitar and forget about the farm.”
Bill Andrews said he decided to plant the AgriMAXX seed when his seed provider encouraged him to do so. That was last year. But he didn’t get around to it until this spring, and then he waited.
With 2,100 acres in crop production, this was the first time Bill Andrews planted AgriMAXX wheat.
“The seed was beautiful — large, uniform, plump grains — and every grain evenly treated. It planted extremely well. My dealer gave me a careful management program and I followed it to a T’. I have had good wheat yields in the past, in the 80-bushel-an-acre range, but this was a significant boost to move up to 112 bushel yield. I know the seed gets the credit because my other fields planted to other companies’ varieties were nowhere near that 100-bushel-yield level.”
Keith Balderson, Virginia Tech Extension agent in Essex County, said both he and Bill Andrews knew the crop looked “very good” long before it was harvested. When Bill Andrews started harvesting around June 20, he said he called Balderson to tell him that the crop was exceeding all of their production expectations.
“This was a unique situation,” Balderson said. “Bill always does a good job, but this was a new variety. As soon as I saw it, I told him he should enter the yield contest.”
Bill Andrews said he was still skeptical, but when he got to the next field after the Extension agent had officially measured the first field he harvested, he found that he had produced almost 120 pounds per acre in the second field.
“I was shocked,” he said. “I knew it was good, but I never dreamed it was that good.”
Andrews said he called for the production measurements only because he thought the good number could help Mike Denis, his seed salesman at East Coast Seeds in Essex County, sell more of the AgriMAXX wheat seeds. But he was even more shocked when he got a telephone call from an AgriMAXX company representative who was in Iowa for a grains meeting.
“He told me I was blowing them away with my production out there,” he said laughing. “That’s got to be pretty good.”
Andrews plans on planting all AgriMAXX wheat next year. He said he’s also looking into planting corn and soybean seeds from the same company.
AgriMAXX Wheat Vice President Matt Wehmeyer said Andrews is not alone in breaking the 100-bushel barrier.
“Our customers across the country are experiencing similar results, and not just in contest production,” he said. “This year, AgriMAXX Wheat has welcomed dozens of new producers to the 100 bushel club and has acknowledged many repeat 100-bushel producers.”
Bill Andrews, 47, said his father passed away in 2007 and that he still misses his dad’s farming advice. He’s working hard now, he said, to make sure that his son, Walker, learns everything he can possibly learn about successfully growing crops. Meanwhile, he said, he can look around the farm every day and realize that he made the right choice when he graduated with honors from J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College with a degree in mechanics.
“I knew I always wanted to farm, and that’s what I did,” he said. “I’m glad I made that decision.”
Read full story at www.lancasterfarming.com