Hometown: Prairie Grove, Ark.
Family: Wife Jordyn and daughter Blythe (2)
In Town: Walker Gragg is a superintendent for Kinco Constructors LLC, a position he has held for about a year.
“I’m currently building a smart-farm poultry house for the University (of Arkansas). We are a commercial construction company.”
In the Country: Walker grew up on his family’s farm, so the cattle industry is something he knows well.
“Jordyn and I started with four heifers from my grandparents,” Walker recalled. “We just kept adding to our herd, and we have about 39 or 40 cows now. Our herd is a mixed commercial herd, and we have a Red Angus bull and a Hereford bull.”
Ideally, the Graggs prefer to have spring and fall calving seasons, but time restrictions have caused them to run the bulls with their herd year-round.
“I just wasn’t able to get everything accomplished that I wanted,” Walker said, adding a new child, a busy work schedule, as well as other farming responsibilities, limit his time. “It’s a struggle to get everything done sometimes and still have family time when you also have a job that is 8 to 5, or in my case, 6 to 5.”
Walker and Jordyn own 60 acres of farmland and rent an additional 100. All land is utilized for grazing and hay production.
“We drill wheat in the fall and winter, so we aren’t feeding as much hay,” Walker explained. “We don’t feed any grain, unless we pull the bulls out and give them some grain to keep them happy and coming into the corral.”
Calves are weaned at about 7 months of age, and are typically sold at that time because of the availably of pasture and other resources. The couple retains only a few females for their breeding operation.
“The ones my wife thinks are pretty are the ones that usually stay,” Walker said with a laugh. “As soon as they are born, she will pick one or two. We haven’t kept any back for about two years now, again, because we just don’t have the space.”
Cattle are fully vaccinated each spring and fall, and if an animal needs treatment for illness, LA-300 or Draxxin is administered.
Future plans: “I wish I had more time for the farm,” Walker said. “I wish didn’t have to have another job. We would like to get more land, eventually. One of these day, maybe when I retire, we would like to have more cows, but what we have now is almost too much with a regular job, too. We will just stay where we are for now, but if we acquire more land, maybe we can a few more cows – one of these days.”
