The Wendland Family, Autauga County

By Marlee Jackson

KERPLUNK.

A smile spreads across Drew Wendland's face as his sons sink another rock into Bear Creek.

"I think my favorite thing about getting to live on the farm is the experiences the boys get to have," said Drew, 30. "They love to throw rocks and jump on hay bales. They also help us check crops and are learning the differences of each. That was an important part of growing up here for me."

"Here" is Autaugaville, a tight-knit farm community in Autauga County. It's where Drew and wife Lauren are tending their most precious crop - Mills, 4, Smith, 3, and Rhett, 3 months.

It's also the hub of Autauga Farming Co. There, Drew works with his father, Andy, and brother, Dan, to maintain a century-long legacy while making measured changes to streamline operations.

"When Drew came back to the farm (in 2016), he came with such an attitude of thankfulness for what generations had done before him," said Lauren, 30. "He has made it his mission to do all he can to make the most of all he's been entrusted."

The Wendlands split farm management roles, with Drew tackling labor and agronomic crops. That includes cotton, corn, oats, soybeans, sesame and wheat, plus pasture and hay fields. He helps with other enterprises, too. The farm includes cattle, a fertilizer business, custom tractor work and a newly expanded market for square bales of straw and hay.

Drew is admittedly competitive, though he's often competing against himself. Detailed budgets and data captured through precision agriculture drive his decisions. Drew documents successes and failures in carefully crafted production manuals, which include step-by-step processes so workers can pick up where others left off.

"I don't mind making a mistake, and I don't mind admitting that I made a mistake, but I do not want to do it twice," said Drew, an Auburn University agronomy graduate. "I'm trying to make something that's repeatable, consistent, uniform and scalable."

Sharing those expectations has become especially important as longtime employees retired. To solve the labor shortage, Drew enrolled the farm in the H-2A program, a step into uncharted territory that continues to pay off four years later.

Managing six guest workers has refined Drew's leadership skills. So has involvement in county Young Farmers, Agricultural Leaders For Alabama and The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers, a national training course.

It's encouraging to see his sons build on the farm's legacy, Andy said.

"Having a younger generation that sees things in a new way has been good for us," he said. "I was afforded that opportunity with my dad (the late Buzz Wendland). As I say, he gave me enough rope to let me get tripped up but not hang myself. I try to give the boys the same opportunity. If it's practical, productive and profitable, we'll give it a shot."

Some recent strategic changes are paying dividends, like expanding their square bale business, updating logistics for handling grain, and marketing calves and cotton as "certified sustainable."

Others are chalked up to learning experiences, like the pumpkin patch Drew and Lauren partnered in during fall 2020. The patch was popular, though timing in the heart of harvest and calving season strained their focus. While the patch is no longer open to the public, the Wendlands still grow pumpkins with their sons and share those adventures on their Swamp Brothers social media account.

Lauren balances home and farm responsibilities while working three days a week as a nurse practitioner in Selma. There, she connects patients to the rural life she's embraced since marrying Drew in 2017.

"It's been eye opening to learn how hard farmers work and how they dabble in a little bit of everything," Lauren said. "Drew is a manager, businessman, agronomist, entomologist, operator and mechanic. Farmers wear a lot of hats."

Drew donned one more this spring when Lauren unexpectedly delivered their son, Rhett, at home.

"Drew stepped up to the plate with his medical knowledge in the bovine category of birth, and he caught the baby," Lauren said with a smile.

The story is already Wendland lore.

It's a testament, too, to their commitment to family.

"Farming really can be family oriented," Lauren said. "We take full advantage of that by involving the boys, and they truly love it. That brings me and Drew joy, too."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.