Mike and Dawn Verkler
In Town: Mike and Dawn Verkler is busy couple from the small community of Woodlawn, Ark., near Lonoke. Mike is retired from the Little Rock Police Department and Dawn is a principle with the Cabot School District.
In the Country: Mike and Dawn have owned their farm for 26 years this October. The Woodlawn Ranch consists of 206 acres and over the years they have leased up to 1,200 acres. At full capacity the ranch runs 150 to 200 momma cows.
In addition to cattle they raise horses and own an arena. Mike said, “Up until about seven or eight years ago, we had 50 mares with a 100 percent foal crop, so you can imagine halter breaking 50 colts a year and trying to teach them to lead.” Mike and Dawn allow their horse arena and facilities to be used by the local community. They also allow their land to be used for Saturday night horse shows. Mike said, “One of the reasons I built this arena is to let the community use it. We have anywhere from 15 to 20 people that come over and ride and sometimes they are strangers. We figure if kids are here riding then they aren’t out getting into trouble.”
Making it work: Like most rural families Mike and Dawn have had to work off the farm to support their dream of running this farm. Mike’s family recently went on vacation to Florida but he stayed home to work on the farm. Mike said, “In order to supplement our farm and build up our ranch we’ve both had to work off the farm.”
Story and Photo by Benjamin Dyson
