Hometown: Sallisaw, Okla.
Family: Wife Jessika; son Jenson (also pictured) and a baby on the way
In Town: “I began working for the Corps of Engineers after graduating from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. When my wife Jessika and I moved back to Sallisaw, where I was raised, I became a farm loan officer for the Farm Service Agency division of the USDA and have been in this position for five years. I work out of Tahlequah, covering five counties: Sequoyah, Cherokee, Adair, Muskogee and Wagoner. My wife Jessika graduated from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. Jessika worked as a registered nurse at Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith, but decided to switch to teaching when we began our family so she could spend more time at home. She currently teaches biology and physical science at Sallisaw High School.”
In the Country: “We live in the Brent Community south of Sallisaw. We have 700 owned and leased acres on which we raise commercial cattle. Our 110 cows are Brahman and Hereford F1s. Currently, I am transitioning my herd so that the females cows have a bit more ear because those mommas seem to produce a little more milk and the calves seem to handle fescue better. I use terminal Hereford and Charolais bulls to add bulk and to eliminate the extra ear in the calves for better marketability. My goal is always to produce the best cattle I can with my current focus on uniformity and tightening the birthing period. Though I have both fall and spring calving now, I am moving toward spring only because I keep my calves and background them to sell at the Benton County Sale Barn in Siloam Springs. I sell my calves at 600 pounds after 90 days of backgrounding. They are fed a 15-percent, three-way mix made of distillers grain, corn chop and soybean hulls, and have had two rounds of shots and been wormed before going to market. I also share a black baldie operation of 70 momma cows with my brother Landen. Working off the ranch pays the bills so I can afford to come home and work more with cattle. Although I have about all I can handle right now, we may expand our operation in the future.”
