The Litty brothers of Gassville, Ark., are two young farmers that march to a different drummer. Steve Litty, a senior loan officer at a local bank, and his brother, Kevin, a sergeant on the Mountain Home, Ark., police department, have farmed together since 1995.
The men run a stocker cattle operation on 1,200 acres of well-maintained pasture. Steve said, “When we first started, we rented ground and we couldn’t even walk across it. Then we cleaned it up and used it. Now we have good ground.”
Steve and Kevin’s family moved to north-central Arkansas when they were 11 and seven, respectively. They didn’t grow up on a farm, but developed an interest later in life. Kevin’s former father-in-law helped him develop an interest in farming. Kevin stated, “I do it because I like it.”
Steve just had a natural inclination toward farming. He said, “I always wanted to buy this piece of land. The guy who owned it told me he’d sell it to me when I came back some day. So when I came back (after college), I bought it.”
The Litty brothers have several unique aspects to their business. First of all, they bring their cattle in from South Carolina. Steve said, “We like cattle out of the south, the way they’re put together and the way they put on weight. Also, the numbers – we can call and get a whole truckload at one time.”
Steve explained that an added advantage to bringing them in by the truckload is that they can work all the cattle at the same time, which enables them to process them more efficiently. It also helps in regard to the medicines they use. Steve said, “Some of the medicine is mixable, and once you mix it, you have to throw away what’s left over. It just makes sense to do larger amounts at one time. You use everything the best you can.”
Steve and Kevin’s operation is called 2L Cattle Company, LLC. Not only do they bring in cattle for themselves, but they broker them for others. Steve said, “We buy them, and transport them here, work them with our protocol we’ve come up with and then turn them out in the field, feed and watch them close for 30 days. We make sure no one is sick, then we get them eating good, and once we feel they’re to that point, we’ll haul them to the owner.”
Not only do they run stocker cattle, but they keep a few cows as well. Steve recalled that’s how they started, so they keep them.
The Litty brothers’ operation is also different in the way they sell their cattle. Steve said, “We hedge our cattle against the Chicago Board of Trade.” Steve explained that they agree to a set price that they will sell the cattle for, on a certain date, at a specified weight. That enables them to manage their operation efficiently, knowing exactly what they’re going to receive for the product at the end.
In addition to hedging, they also retain ownership of some of their cattle and send them directly to the feedlots. Steve and Kevin spend a lot of time studying the markets, both feed and cattle prices, in order to stay on top of things.
Another unique thing about the 2L Cattle Company is that it is the only licensed commercial sprayer in this part of the country. They service a large area, even going into Missouri and towards central Arkansas. There may be other people who spray, but the Littys are the only licensed company.
The Litty brothers grow and cut their own hay. They usually cut around 1,500 round bales of grass hay. They also have 10 acres in Bermuda grass that they cut for square bales for horses.
There is one final thing about the Littys that makes them distinctive from most farmers in the area. Steve said it best: “We wear shorts, T-shirts and drive 4-wheelers. That makes us different from most.”
We couldn’t agree more.
