Located in the rich, highly organic, blue gumbo clay soil or ‘terroir’ of the Mississippi Delta is Two Brooks Farm, owned by Michael L. Wagner. His family can count an unbroken line of ten generations of farmers back to 1742. Their prodigious, consistent labor has produced a whopping 281 consecutive harvests of rice and other crops.
“While ours is primarily a rice farm, we also grow Non-GMO soybeans and manage several acres of woodlands, lakes, bayou, and river frontage for the benefit of wildlife and plants growing there,” said Wagner. “Our main goal is to strike a balance between the long-term needs of a healthy natural habitat and the daily caloric needs of consumers.
“It’s ingrained in me and my two children, Lawrence and Abbey, to work with and through nature to produce the highest quality food for those who rely on us,” he added.
Two Brooks Farm has seven full-time and three part-time employees.
It has grown from 400 acres from its inception to 3100 acres currently operated, with 1700 acres of rice yielding 140 bushels/acre and 100 acres of soybeans yielding 60 bushels/acre.
Part of the rice is marketed through normal channels such as Farmer’s Grain marketing pool and direct sales. The Rice Company buys a large amount as well.
Through Two Brooks Rice, Wagner markets his on-farm milled rice directly to consumers, to food services, and through second party channels for national distributions. The farm reserves about 80,000 pounds of milled rice for food banks annually.
Laura Jane Giaccaglia, Bolivar Extension Coordinator/Agent IV, nominated Michael Wagner for the Mississippi Farmer of the Year award.
“Mike has a unique farming operation, and I have gotten to know him through our Mississippi rice promoting activities in conjunction with the Delta Rice Promotions Board,” said Giaccaglia. “Mike will be the first one to tell you that his main focus is the quality, not quantity, of his product.
“It’s what distinguishes his operation from others,” she said. “He is a steward of the earth and works to bring awareness to the public of building ecological systems and promoting sustainability and healthy agricultural environments.”
A distinguished panel of judges will visit Michael Wagner, along with the other nine state winners via zoom at a later date this summer.
The judges include John McKissick, long-time University of Georgia agricultural economist at Athens, Georgia; David Wildy, Manila, Arkansas, the overall winner of the award in 2016; and Joe West, Tifton, Georgia, retired dairy scientist and assistant Dean of the University of Georgia Tifton Campus.
