Autauga County family wins national recognition for farming
An Autauga County family has been honored as the top farming family in the United States.
Drew and Lauren Wendland were named the Achievement Award winners during the Farm Bureau’s Annual Convention in Anaheim, California. The farm has been in Autaugaville since 1919, their 107th year.
Third-generation, Drew and his family are in their 10th year operating the farm. It’s an achievement Drew first dreamed of more than a decade ago.
“I think that it’s a real honor for the whole family, the whole operation, and the whole team that we have here. I know that our name is on the award, and we are the people who go stand on the stage, but the farm doesn’t work without everybody who shows up every day. The more people who sent me a ‘congratulations,’ and I think about the relationship that they have with the work that we do,” said Drew Wendland, winner of America’s Top Young Farm Family.
“Like Drew said, even though our names are listed on the awards, we represent so many hard-working families and farm families across the state who work sunup to sundown. I just want to say thank you to them, and I appreciate them for all that they do. We are thankfully not alone in this along with many hard-working farm families across our state,” said Lauren Wendland, winner of America’s Top Young Farm Family.
The Wendlands’ family farm includes row crops, cattle and hay, timber, a fertilizer business, and custom work for neighboring farms.
