Hometown: Bolivar, Mo.
Family: Wife, Susan; son, Derek and daughter-in-law, Sundi; daughter, Ashley and son-in-law, Brandon Moore; and grandchildren Kennedy (5), Bentley (5) and Blake (3).
In Town: Leslie Payne has worked for MFA in Bolivar for 37 years. For 25 years, he ran the MFA elevator and did custom feed mixes for area dairy farmers and livestock owners.
“I did nutrition work, custom mixes and of course, unloaded the incoming semi-trucks filled with grain. I also drove a bulk feed truck and made deliveries to area dairy farmers.”
In 2017, he moved from the elevator to the MFA office.
His wife, Susan, works as a beautician at Visible Changes in Bolivar. The couple’s son Derek is a special education teacher and, daughter Ashley is a registered nurse at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar.
In the Country: Leslie and Susan live on 200 acres in rural Polk County, about 10 miles outside of Bolivar, Mo., and lease another 200 acres. They own 140 head of Gelbvieh cows. Leslie uses Beefmaster bulls with his cows and has been working with cattle, one way or another, all of his life.
“The Beefmaster bulls increase the body depth from the brisket to the rear and provide more muscle,” Leslie said. That is what I was looking for. The Gelbviehs are excellent cows. The half-blood Beefmasters grow bigger, producing an excellent animal.
“I have six Beefmaster bulls and keep my replacement heifers. All my cows are now half-blood Beefmaster crossbreds. I’m not into the purebred or registered cattle. I sell mine at the sale barns at Joplin or Osceola. I also sell a lot of seed stock. After all these years in this business, I have a lot of connections so I also sell right off the farm. I’ve been to several nutrition schools and background my own calves, selling them as feeders I just bought another place that joins mine. I’ve had to slow down a bit in recent years, but my son, Derek, and my son-in-law, Brandon, help out. I have a few friends I can hire when needed. Even the grandkids help out. They may be little but they like to contribute, too by filling stock tanks and such.”
