Brawley’s Bob Wilson Jr. named Farmer of the Year
IMPERIAL — Rock solid. Steady. Immaculate. Perfect.
For Imperial Valley-area farmer Alex Jack, those are just a few of the terms that came to mind about Robert Benton Wilson Jr., better known as “Bob” to his friends and the agriculture community at large.
“Bob Wilson — the first thing you think of is, he’s just a true gentlemen, very solid. … He’s been a mentor of mine for many, many years. I think I’ve done very well, and a lot of my positioning in life is emulating what Bob has done,” Jack said.
“His ranch was spectacular, clean, crops looked perfect, like they were hand-painted,” he added. “From being a good grower to a strong businessman, he clicks on all cylinders.
“He dresses clean; he’s immaculate, and his ranch matches the way he is. He wants everything clean and tidy and wants everything perfect. That’s just the way he is,” Jack said over his cell phone Thursday afternoon as he made his way to the Imperial Valley for a very special occasion.
Jack was to present the 86-year-old Wilson, of Brawley, with the 2018 Farmer of the Year Award on Thursday night at the annual Imperial County Farm Bureau dinner at the Imperial Valley Expo in Imperial.
“After all of these years of him as a mentor, it means the world to me to be the presenter,” Jack added.
Jimmy Abatti, president of the Imperial County Farm Bureau board of directors, said, “I think [Wilson] has played a very important role in promoting and protecting agriculture in the Imperial Valley for many years. … He has operated his own farm operation, and he has been a valuable source of information for other farmers.”
A tireless advocate for local agriculture through his growing operation, R.B. Wilson Co., “Bob Jr.” for several years was an active member of the California Beet Growers Association board, eventually serving as a district president.
He even advocated in Washington, D.C., more than 50 years ago against the federal government’s 160-acre land limitation on the use of water. The Supreme Court eventually overturned the limitation.
Since Bob Jr. joined father, Bob Wilson Sr., in the business in 1954, the family ranch has grown countless acres of cotton, wheat, alfalfa and sugar beets, including a world-record sugar beet yield in 1998.
Family and friends of Wilson say it’s difficult to talk about Wilson the farmer without mentioning his trusted employees, Art Mamer and Stan Wagner. Wagner handled accounting for R.B. Wilson Co. from the 1950s to 2000. Mamer handled irrigation and tractor work from 1964 to 2002.
Wilson is more than a farmer, though, he’s an active member of the community and a philanthropist, whether it’s been serving on the Brawley Elementary School District Board of Trustees, his involvement with the Navy League and Rotary International, or his service as an elder of the First Presbyterian Church in Brawley.
Wilson is quoted as saying, “A good objective for everyone is to share what you have and what you can. Do something to better the lives of future generations. It’s why we’re here.”
For such good works, Wilson and his wife, Carol, were named Imperial Valley Foundation’s Philanthropists of the Year for 2016.
Above all else, Wilson is a dedicated family man. Married to Carol on May 10, 1958, they have three daughters, Dana, Shannon and Laura, and one son, Ben; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
“Bob Wilson can be labeled a farmer, a veteran, a fisherman, a pilot and a philanthropist,” according to a presentation at Thursday’s awards dinner, “but the labels that matter most to him are husband, dad and Grandpa Bob.
“It is his family’s growth and well-being [that] is always his primary love and concern.”