Leslie and Carol Gore’s farm is near Stilwell, Okla., and they were Adair County Farm Bureau’s Family of the Year two years ago. The Gores have been married for four years and have four grown children.
When Leslie was in high school, the family wanted more income but couldn’t afford more land so they began raising hogs. They also raised and custom mixed their own feed. They continued raising hogs until the market dropped below profitability about 20 years ago.
Between their land and the land Leslie and his mother share, the Gores farm 800 acres, 200 hundred of which are wooded. They run an Angus/Charolais cross herd of 100 momma cows and five bulls. The calves are weaned in the fall and spring with the fall group being substantially larger with the purchase of stocker calves.
This last year Leslie purchased a feed box for his truck which saves him considerable time and effort. The feed box has an auger in the bottom which is attached to a power switch in the cab that releases feed after the chute door is opened by a rope pulled from the inside of the cab. The feed then falls into newly purchased feed troughs as Leslie drives slowly forward to distribute the feed evenly within each trough. Leslie said, “Before I was feeding with 5 gallon buckets, but a feed box is cheaper than doctor bills. Also, the fewer trips in and out of the cab, the better.”
Leslie calls his cattle to the feed troughs in various fields and uses his Blue Heeler, Blue, to gather up any stragglers. Blue has been with the family for about seven years. Leslie said, “The main thing about dogs is they have to mind. If they don’t know ‘come here’ from ‘Sic ‘em,’ they’re not worth training. I’ve had good luck with Border Collies and Blue Heelers but not Australian Shepherds.”
Leslie loves and respects the land he uses. Because of the drought last year, he is sacrificing two pastures to allow the remainder to recover and rotates as needed. He fertilizes in spring and fall with a commercial fertilizer and sprays when necessary for weeds. Last year after the August rains, he fertilized again to help the fields recover from the drought. “Honey locust has become a real problem mostly because one year we lost the acorn crop and the deer ate the pods distributing the seeds all over,” Leslie explained.
Leslie plants 100 to 150 acres of mostly no-till wheat and has 25 acres of native grasses. Native grass doesn’t need to be fertilized and can produce seeds for harvest if not overgrazed. Native grassland also makes one good cutting for hay. Leslie said, “We try to produce and combine enough seed for our own use.”
Leslie protects his woodlands and creek by participating in a water conservation project that reserves 35 feet of land on each side of the creek so cow manure and other material cannot enter the water. Leslie said, “I love to hunt deer, and we used to have good populations of turkey and quail. I am hoping this project will help the quail return.”
Most families have interesting histories, and Leslie’s family is no exception. Leslie’s grandfather moved from Missouri to Snyder, Okla., where he raised cotton. He disliked the area and missed fresh produce like squash and strawberries. Then his sister wrote about the fertility in Stilwell and he decided to move there. Next Leslie’s grandfather had a double batch of good luck. He had a bumper crop of cotton and received a good price for his land right before the Depression. The trek from Snyder took three days in three trucks, one of which was driven by his grandmother, Bertha, who learned to drive just for this trip and never drove again. Leslie’s grandfather, according to family oral history, was also a pallbearer at Geronimo’s funeral. At the time Geronimo was not the respected historical figure he is today, and they had to ask for volunteers for pallbearers.
Leslie said, “I love farming because I work outside and am around both livestock and wildlife. I also like being my own boss. While I didn’t encourage my children to come back to the farm because it is such hard work, it’s great if they want to. My son just graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in agribusiness, works in Oklahoma City, Okla., and would like to move closer to home.”
