Roger Atwell
In Town: “I work for my sister and brother-in-law, Karen and Fred Simmons, at the Simmons Quick Stop in Mountainburg, Ark. I help run the store by opening every morning and do some of the ordering and have been doing so for 3 1/2 years after retiring. I used to be one of the coffee drinkers and now provide for them. Debbie, my wife, is an administrator for the Rogers School District and focuses on professional development. We have three children with the last still in college.”
In the Country: “I own and lease 190 acres near Mountainburg. I run a cow/calf operation with 40 commercial mommas and two bulls. One is a Simmental/Angus I use for the heifers in order to keep birth weights low, and the other is a Hereford which produces a black/white face.
I take cattle classes at Oklahoma State and once learned that black/white faced cattle sometimes bring a little more money. I retain one to two dozen heifers that I breed to the Angus bull each year. I put the Hereford bull in with the cows on November 20 until the end of February. Then I pull him out for 45 days. I preg check and take any open cows to the sale barn, which is about the only time I use a sale barn. Then I put the bull back in with the bred cows on the land by the house. The heifers I keep and breed off-site. I sell my calves at 7 months old once they are bucket broke, vaccinated and castrated. When I’m ready to sell, I call two to three people who come to buy the steers and another one or two to buy the heifers.
“The job in town keeps me busy but my heart is here in the country with my cows. My kids love to come home to fish and hunt. We only have 10 acres of timber but have the use of both my neighbors and in-laws property for hunting.”
