Verell Farms in Tennessee: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Verell Farms in Madison County, near Jackson, Tennessee, is a third-generation row crop operation of 5,050 acres that UT Extension named Tennessee Farmer of the Year under Johnny Verell. The farm reports irrigated corn above 300 bushels per acre and full-season soybeans at 65 bushels per acre.
| Location | Near Jackson, Madison County, Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Founded | Started by Johnny Verell's grandfather about 40 years before Johnny began farming in 2005 |
| Sectors | Wheat; corn; soybeans (shifted from cotton) |
| Scale | 5,050 acres of row crops, including about 3,000 rented acres |
| Why it is elite | Named Tennessee Farmer of the Year by UT Extension |
| Ownership | Third-generation family partnership with John Verell Sr., John Verell Jr. and Johnny Verell |
| Official website | Tennessee Farm Bureau announcement naming Johnny Verell Tennessee Farmer of the Year |
History of Verell Farms
The Tennessee Farm Bureau reports that Johnny Verell is a third-generation farmer from Jackson. He began farming in 2005, about 40 years after his grandfather founded the business. In 2008 a tornado destroyed much of the farm's equipment, storage sheds and the homes of his father and grandfather, with debris covering about 1,000 acres. The family recovered with help from relatives, friends and their church.
Verell's father, John Verell Jr., and grandfather, John Verell Sr., are partners and give daily input. Johnny has served on the Madison County Farm Bureau board since 2006.
What Verell Farms Grows and Raises
The operation started with 50 acres of the family's 2,000 acres and added about 3,000 acres of rented cropland, reaching 5,050 acres. Verell shifted from cotton to wheat, corn and soybeans. Irrigated corn has exceeded 300 bushels per acre and full-season soybeans have reached 65 bushels per acre, both above the 2017 U.S. averages cited in the report.
Sustainability is part of management. Verell uses precision agriculture, plants wildlife food plots and stream buffer strips, reduces fertilizer and pesticide use, and planted 20 acres of pollinator habitat. The farm employs skilled tradesmen, whom Verell considers critical to its success.
How Verell Farms Makes Money
Corn
Irrigated corn is a high-yield cash crop, with yields above 300 bushels per acre reported.
Soybeans and wheat
Full-season soybeans at 65 bushels per acre and wheat complete a rotation of three commodities.
Land base
About 3,000 acres of rented cropland expand revenue beyond the family's owned ground.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Verell Farms
The first lesson is to scale with rented land. Verell Farms added about 3,000 acres of cropland on top of family ground. The second lesson is to shift crops when the economics change: the farm moved from cotton to wheat, corn and soybeans.
Finally, recovering from a 2008 tornado shows the value of community and family networks, and precision agriculture and buffer practices show how stewardship can sit alongside high yields.
Few farms can say they rebuilt after a tornado and went on to win the state's top farmer title, and the Verell family deserves its applause. Readers who like farm satire that celebrates the same kind of grit can visit farm.FM for farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes that never take aim at the people rebuilding barns. We suspect West Tennessee's corn has stood a little taller since.
For context, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site and the home of Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Its contributors each keep an archive, and this one is a good sampler of ranch humor and farm jokes.
How to Contact Verell Farms
Website: https://tnfarmbureau.org/?p=335461
No official farm homepage appeared in our research, so this page links to the Tennessee Farm Bureau announcement. Contact the Madison County UT Extension office for local introductions, November 2026.
Verell Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Tennessee Farm Bureau announcement - UT Extension names Madison County farmer as Tennessee Farmer of the Year
- UT Institute of Agriculture: Farmer of the Year honor - Background on the Tennessee Farmer of the Year program
- Tennessee Farmer of the Year program - Farm Bureau page on the annual competition
- Farms.com: regional winners - News on Tennessee Farmer of the Year regional winners
- USDA NASS Tennessee profile - 2022 Census of Agriculture figures for Tennessee crops and cotton
Verell Farms FAQ
Where is Verell Farms?
Verell Farms is near Jackson in Madison County, Tennessee.
How big is the farm?
5,050 acres of row crops, including about 3,000 rented acres.
What does it grow?
Wheat, corn and soybeans, after shifting away from cotton.
What happened in 2008?
A tornado destroyed much of the farm's equipment, storage sheds and family homes; the family recovered with community support.
Verell Farms shows how a third-generation West Tennessee family can recover from disaster and scale to 5,050 acres with rented land and strong yields. See the Tennessee farms guide and the other profiles in this directory for more.