Mike Parkinson
In Town: Mike Parkinson is district technician for Crooked Creek Conservation Office in Yellville, Ark. Mike is the water quality and soil erosion specialist.
Mike and his clerk, Karla Axel, administer the Arkansas 319 Project, which is designed to prevent erosion and improve water quality in the Crooked Creek Watershed District. They will go out to farms and make recommendations on pasture management, take soil samples and give advice about cross-fencing and water sources. The office also sells pasture seed and rents no-till drills, sprayers, pasture rollers and aerators to area farmers.
In the Country: Mike raises Black Angus cattle on a 200-acre farm in Boone County, which has been in his family since 1904. Mike said there is a barn that has been on the property since the 1870s and is still in use today. The majority of his cattle are registered, with some commercial mix. His is a cow/calf operation. Mike puts up his own hay – 250 round bales and 2,000 square bales each year.
How do town and country complement each other?
“I learn something every day. When I go to peoples’ places to make recommendations, I see what they are doing and it helps me and I can pass it on to others. People trust my advice and know that I’ve ‘been there, done that.’ If I recommend a freeze-proof watering system and say ‘fence in the pond,’ it’s because I know it works.”
Story and Photo by Jack and Pam Fortner
