11-year-old John ‘L.J.” Isbell enjoys life on the farm and showing livestock
FALCON, MO. – Eleven-year-old John Isbell is one of many young people in the Ozarks who were busy showing livestock this summer at various county fairs. The young showman, however, does things a little differently.
L.J., short for Little John, was born with a malformed left leg that developed cancerous tumors while he was still an infant. He spent a year and a half in several hospitals, including facilities in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the extensive treatments included chemo. Doctors, however, did not expect L.J. to survive. A decade later, the young Laclede County, Mo., resident is making strides his own way.
At the 2021 Laclede County Fair, L.J. showed a crossbred SimAngus steer he named Beau Duke, moving up from the market hog he showed the year before.
“He weighed 1,240 pounds at one year and sold for $3,200,” L.J. shared proudly. “I had to share the money with my brother, Zander.”
Zander came to L.J.’s rescue after L.J. tripped, fell and broke his left leg in 2020. L.J. had to endure a couple of corrective surgeries, keeping him away from home and away from Beau Duke. Zander helped out with daily care of L.J.’s steer while L.J., recovered. Zander had his own steer at the beginning of the season, but it proved to be too wild for the show ring and resulted in a quick trip to the sale barn.
“I got to come home from the hospital and rehab on the day before Christmas Eve,” L.J. recalled with a smile.
L.J. said raising and showing a steer was considerably more involved than he initially thought.
“It’s complicated,” he added. “You have to know a lot of stuff, like the weight, age, what kind of feed you give him. There is also work to do like training the steer to walk and be led in the show ring.”
He added his father John Isbell, his grandfather George Inman and his uncle Tommy Inman helped him develop the feed ration used and developed through MFA, one of L.J.’s sponsors.
The young showman managed his steer in the show ring by balancing on one crutch and “the scratcher” (his show stick).
“I hop,” L.J. said referring to his balancing act. “I haven’t been able to use my prosthetic leg since breaking my leg, so right now, I just hop.”
“L.J. was fortunate his steer was so gentle and easy-going. The kids, including L.J., his brothers and his cousins could all be out here, climbing on that steer while it was laying on the ground, and that was just fine with the steer,” grandmother Teresa Inman added with a laugh.
His family has been involved in farming for six generations. His grandparents, George and Teresa Inman, own the family’s 180-acre Century Farm near Falcon, Mo., where they keep 60 head of commercial cattle. Beau Duke, L.J.’s steer, came from their herd. John Isbell, L.J.’s father is a Farm Bureau insurance agent and his mother Michelle works at Fort Leonard Wood. The two families, which also includes L.J.’s youngest brother, 2-year-old Gabrie, together have The River I Farms.
L.J. is in the sixth grade this year and is home schooling for the first time.
“I’m taking piano lessons right now, too. My mom plays the piano at church. There is a clarinet teacher who works with the home schoolers, too so I might like to try that later,” he said.
L.J. is an active member of the Happy Hill Church Youth Group and gives God all the praise for the strength to overcome the hard times he has seen over the years.
In addition to helping with livestock on the farms, L.J. enjoys hunting and fishing. At age 11, he hasn’t really decided what he might like to do later in life, but “maybe being a farmer would be all right.” He said he would gladly consider raising another show steer for upcoming fairs.
He shyly admitted the best part of showing his steer this past year was meeting so many others and the inspiration it seemed to give to others.
“One lady even said, she just had to buy that steer,” L.J. recalled. “There really wasn’t any bad part to it, except saying goodbye at the end.”
