Joe Burns
Hometown: Phillipsburg, Mo.
Family: Wife, Penny; and sons, Robert, Chris and Zach
In Town: “I’ve worked as a resource technician in fisheries for the Missouri Department of Conservation for the past 23 years,” Joe Burns shared recently while sitting in his office at the MDC Forestry office in Lebanon, Mo. “We target fish populations on rivers, streams, and lakes in 13 counties in southwest Missouri. We monitor those populations by sampling through electro-shocking and netting.
“My favorite part of the job is being outdoors and not being tied to a desk. Every day is a new day. I’m constantly doing something different and of course, I enjoy working with individual landowners with their farm ponds, although sometimes working with the public can be interesting. Dispelling rumors and straightening out people’s ideas that come from old wives’ tales can be something else but really, there is no down side to this job. I started working for the Conservation Department at the Bennett Spring Trout Hatchery and 23 years later, here I am.”
In the Country: “I grew up on a farm in the Phillipsburg area and I haven’t moved too far,” Joe said.
Today, he owns a farm outside Phillipsburg where he keeps 30 head of momma cows on 100 acres.
“I just have commercial cows with a diversity of colors. I find crossbred cows do about as well as anything else so I don’t follow any registered breed.”
Joe markets his cattle through local livestock markets.
In past years, he also raised horses on his farm.
“I kept two stud horses and five to 10 mares,” he explained. “I also did some custom-breeding, all paint Quarter horses. Nowadays, it’s just the cows.”
Joe admitted that he still misses his horses but that when the bottom fell out of the horse market, there simply was no other choice.
In addition to supporting his cattle herd, Joe is also able to harvest hay from his property.
“I raise my own hay, some round bales and some square and of course, I feed some and sell some. Just an Ozarks boy trying to make an honest living,” he concluded with a shy, quiet smile.
