Thomas White
In Town: “I was an economist in Washington D.C. and moved back to Arkansas to run the farm when my dad became ill. Ironically, I walked into Edward Jones to buy stock but went to work in a nearby bank when my ultimate Arkansas career ended up being as a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones in Ozark, Ark. My wife. Theresa, is in charge of marketing and training for Friendship Community Care, which has 1,000 employees across Arkansas and serves people with mental, physical and developmental issues. We also have an 19-year-old son named, Tripp, who is a freshman at Arkansas Tech University.”
In the Country: “I have 180 acres outside Ozark for my commercial herd which is made up of 55 mommas and two bulls – one Angus and one Brangus. The Angus is for my cows and the young Brangus for my replacement heifers because he throws lighter weight calves, which are easier on the new mommas. I have both fall and spring calves. I like these combinations because black brings a slightly better price when I sell, usually at the I 40 Livestock Auction, which is nearby. I generally sell my calves at 450 pounds to 650 pounds. The biggest difficulty I have is finding enough free time to take care of the farm with routine chores like cleaning the fence rows and maintaining a careful pasture management system. I raise my own hay and have it custom baled. Right now it makes more economic sense for me to have someone else bale because they’ll be using their time and equipment, things I don’t have at this time.”
The Future: “I have a long term plan in place so that when I retire in about 10 years, farming will become my hobby. Part of that plan is using my own replacement heifers and keeping them as long as they are productive. Consequently my herd will slowly age and will need a major influx of new animals when I am ready to switch to hobby farming. At that time I also plan to increase the herd size to 75 mommas and to pursue better grazing management. I have kept a sawmill for years and plan on custom cutting lumber as well.”
