Rush hour traffic, city ordinances and people trying to arrive at the airport on time. Every day hustle and bustle may not concern most Arkansas farmers; however, it is a major concern for Ryan Anglin who owns and operates a 300-cow dairy and runs 150 pairs of beef cattle on 1,100 acres with his family outside of Bentonville. Ryan, who has been in the dairy business for 37 years, has learned how to adapt to the ever-changing Northwest Arkansas.
The Anglins are not newcomers to Northwest Arkansas or the agricultural industry. In fact, Ryan can track his mother’s family history back to John Oliver, who came to the United States from England on the Mayflower. Since that point in history, everyone in the family has been involved in farming.
Ryan started in the dairy business milking 17 cows and has grown to where they are today. They currently milk four herds of primarily Holsteins. The cows are divided into the four herds based on their production and lactation. In efforts to reduce stress on their cows, they try not to calve out cows in January or August.
Embracing Change
The growth of the Bentonville area has caused changes in the Anglins’ operation. However, they have been able to see some of the changes as advantages. While it is virtually impossible to buy land to farm, there are more small tracts of ground available for rent. There are several small tracts people bought as investments but have not developed yet. One benefit is these pieces of land are typically surrounded by subdivisions, so there aren’t any bulls nearby to jump the fence and breed young heifers.
“We try to wean 17-25 calves at a time out of the hutches, so we have lots of small groups. Five- to 10-acre patches work great for them.”
The Anglins are even able to bale two tracts of hay at the airport, which are just a few miles from their farm.
“Change always causes a panic, and you are not always going to be able to do everything you’ve always done the same way you’ve done it. However, we’ve been able to make it work for us,” Ryan said.
The Anglins are always trying new practices to make their operation run more efficiently. They have started putting up grass balage for the milk cows. It has lowered their feed costs and saved on transportation while providing good nutritional value. They are able to cut silage in the early spring and again after the first frost. They have also started using minimal till and no till practices to save fuel.
Staying Involved
Both Ryan and Susan are involved with several dairy and agricultural promotion organizations. Susan is chairman of the Arkansas Farm Bureau women’s committee. Ryan is the past chairman of the Arkansas Farm Bureau dairy committee. He is also the vice chairman of BMI which is the umbrella group for National Dairy Producers.
“We travel quite a bit. This has been my 30-year college education. I’ve been all over the country to farms, and I’ve been to a dairy in nearly every state. I have friends in almost every state, and acquaintances in every continental state.
“We’ll travel to meetings in Madison at the end of this month and New Orleans the end of next month. It really takes the monotony and drudgery out of it. You’re always ready to go and trying to catch up when you get home.”
Ryan and Susan worked closely with Farm Bureau to get the Dairy Stabilization program passed (Act 968) earlier this year. They were part of the 30 dairy farmers who gathered at the state capitol to meet with legislators about the bill. This bill created a payment program for dairy farmers that goes into effect when the price of milk falls below the price of production.
“It shows what happens when you join arms, don’t waiver and you’ve got one common goal. I don’t know anything you can’t do. I just have always believed the word can’t doesn’t exist. If you work hard enough and try hard enough, you can do it.”
The Anglins’ willingness to be involved and speak out for agricultural issues has been rewarding for Arkansas agriculture. Their can-do attitude and adaptability has benefited their long standing farming roots.
