Maxey Farms, Chatham
Maxey Farms, a family operation near Chatham, began in the mid-1960s as a livestock and grain operation. Today, the operation is a two-generation partnership between Henry and Linda Maxey and Hank and Debbie Maxey. It includes nearly 400 head of fall-calving commercial cows and tobacco and wheat crops.
The Maxey family plants tobacco in early May. The tobacco leaves are harvested throughout summer and fall and flu-cured before being put into bales. |
Purebred Angus bulls are used on the Angus and Angus-based cows. Strict expected progeny difference specifications are used for selection of sires used for both artificial insemination and natural service, emphasizing balance of superior growth, optimum calving ease, moderate mature size, milk production and carcass merit. The Maxeys also use comprehensive recordkeeping to achieve their goals of maximizing percent calf crop weaned, weaning weights and cow carrying capacity while being a low-cost producer.
The Maxeys market their steers and the lower 20% of their heifer calves through the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association Tel-O-Auction in mid-August through the Virginia Quality Assured Feeder Cattle purple-tag program. They keep the rest of their heifers for replacement females or sell them as replacements through private treaty.
The Maxeys are involved in numerous beef cattle and tobacco industry organizations. They received the Outstanding Commercial Producer of the Year award from the Beef Improvement Federation in 2002. The Virginia Angus Association honored the Maxeys as its commercial producer of the year in 2001.
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