With both irrigated and non-irrigated crops including corn, both yellow and white, soybeans for feed and seed, tofu, wheat, barley and canola, Engel Family Farms operates in 16 Virginia counties. With a little more than 1.2 million bushels of grain storage, all crops come to our granaries at harvest. The grain is then delivered throughout the year according to demand, adding value with just-in-tim
e inventory. Soil types range from very sandy and sandy loam to deep red soils with high clay content. Members of the family include Kevin and Denise Engel and their 3 children Chris, Savannah, and Casey - as well as Kevin's parents Bud and Marie Engel. Chris, 36, is very active on the farm, with responsibility for managing a planting and harvesting crew as well as having a major role in the irrigation operation and equipment updates/repairs throughout the year. Savannah, 25, works in the office; her duties include payroll, record keeping of soil tests and crop yields, landlord communications, and many other day-to-day office tasks. Casey is presently at Va. Tech where he is a student of Agriculture Economics and International Development. During summer and other breaks from Tech, Casey travels or helps with planting. Kevin and Denise have responsibility for all other aspects of the business, including marketing, financing, managing the staff and, most of all, logistics. Kevin's father and mother, now 85 and 84 respectively, came to Virginia in 1949 to manage some Virginia farms using their southern Illinois technique. After raising three children (with Kevin being the youngest), Bud retired but went right back to work seven days a week to help create Engel Family Farms from scratch in 1991. Today we do continuous no-till as much as possible, all our own trucking in and out, all our own fertilizer and chemical application work and, of course, and all our field work. We also have a crew clearing trees from land for crops where possible; this is done on an ongoing basis. Emphasis is put on good stewardship of the land, dealing with issues related to the Chesapeake Bay, and keeping farms clean and neat, making them a source of pride for the owners. We also focus on working with the buyers of our grain to satisfy their needs which can change from day to day. Virginia is a diverse state; while it has a severe grain deficit, it is also blessed with a grain export terminal. With this in mind, we plan for Engel Family Farms to grow and evolve with the mix of talents and interests that Chris, Savannah, and Casey bring to our family farm operation.
