Freddie Worley
Family: Wife, Mitzi Worley; daughter, Ashley; son, Brad; and grandchildren Sadie, 9, Sophia, 6, and Ada, 18 months
Hometown: Berryville, Ark.
Town Life: “I began my career by working in auto parts and moving on to the wholesale-retail tire business before I opened Worley Tire here on Trimble Street in Berryville, Ark., 28 years ago. We now have two locations with my son Brad running the Harrison side and tire service trucks. I also have Worley’s Equipment Rental also in Berryville where we rent smaller construction equipment such as backhoes and excavators mostly to farmers. My wife Mitzi has worked for 36 years at Mercy Hospital as an office manager for Dr. Flake.”
Country Life: “Mitzi and I own 90 acres and lease an additional 900 for our 130 cow/calf operation. Our mommas are black and bred by eight registered black Angus bulls. I like the breed because of calving ease and pay attention to EPDs, especially birth weights and weaning weights when selecting a bull. My bulls usually come from Jack’s in Pea Ridge, Ark., because past good experiences I’ve had with his bulls or from Smith Registered Angus because he has high quality animals and is local. I like spring calves best because I get better weaning weights though I do have a smaller number of calves in the fall. I run groups of 30 or less and work the calves twice, giving shots, worming and castrating while the mommas and bulls receive lepto once a year. I typically keep bulls for five years to maintain productivity and genetic diversity. I keep 30 heifers a year now that the prices are down but sell the steers and remaining heifers at North Arkansas Livestock Auction in Green Forest, Ark., or at Joe Pat Youngblood’s, a local buyer at the edge of town. I fertilize in the spring with ammonia nitrate and use mixed fertilizer and a bit of chicken litter as determined by routine soil testing and broadcast spray for weeds in the spring brush hogging what remains. I hay 2,300 round bales a year off of 300 acres and sell the surplus.”
Future: “We had six sets of twins this year and two of those calves are in my daughter’s backyard where granddaughters Sadie and Sophia are in charge of bottle-feeding. In the future, I hope to turn the tire shops over to Brad so I can farm full-time, which I will do as long as I can.”
