Name: Jimmy Dickerson
Family: Wife Debra, son Matthew, 11, James, 18 months
In the Country: The Dickersons ranch started out with 40 acres that was bought by Jimmy’s dad about 30 years ago, in the 1970’s. He added to it, and now they own 175 acres, in Woodland, Ark.
"We have a cow-calf operation, Angus and Simmental, cattle. We have about 50 head of cows and three Simmental bulls. We do a lot of AI. Matt, my son helps me feed and work on the place, especially when I work late at the store. We have two horses they belong to my wife. We feed grain in the winter for the cows, and I put creep feed out for the calves. We rotate the cattle to the pasture around the house for about a month, and cut hay off the back forty’s. Then we rotate the cattle back where the hay has been cut. Farming is what we love doing, and we hope to expand to more horses at a later date,” said Jimmy.
In Town: Jimmy owns Harvest Food grocery store with two partners, located in Clarksville, Ark.
"We run it together; we have a drug store and a bakery, and a first security branch bank. We still bag your groceries, and carry them out to your car which nobody does any more, and we deliver your groceries which isn’t common nowadays. My grandfather started the store years ago. I don’t really remember him very well, he died when I was real little. My dad, Jim, came back from the second World War and went in business with granddad in 1953. Then dad’s brother Bill came back, and he joined them, and it was the three of them after that. Then dad and my uncle Bill had it, after granddad got out, and they ran it for years. Then they let me and my cousin Billy and Herman, who might as well be brothers, run it, we bought into it while I was still in college, we bought them out in the 90s. Then about eight years ago we opened the new store. So there’s a little bit of history there."
What would you have to say to the young people trying both farm and work in town?
"I would tell them to find a partner to work with; it’s a lot more fun and easier. Furthermore, I would tell them to go for their dream. To never be afraid to dream, and it’s a lot more meaningful if you have someone to share it with."
By Donna Parker
