Hometown: Lebanon, Mo.
Family: Wife, Laura; and children Ryder (16), Alyana (14), Kambrie (9) and Hazel (7)
In Town: Joe Seaman first started welding when he was about 14 years old. He eventually took his skills on the road, but decided it was time to work closer to home after meeting his wife of 10 years, Laura, and became a firefighter for the city of Lebanon. After about a decade, Joe said it was time for a change, and he and Laura began Joker Welding in 2019.
Joe said Joker Welding is a “one-stop-shop” for welding.
“I’ve welded on cars from the “Street Outlaws” TV show, I’ve custom-made a casket for a customer, and we had a gentleman whose tractor literally broke in half as he was baling hay, so we went out there and welded it up.”
Joke Welding also offers welding supplies, equipment and equipment repairs.
In the Country: The Seaman family runs a small cattle operation and raises a few pigs and chickens for eggs on 20 acres near Lebanon, Mo.
“We dabble in a little of everything there too,” he said. “The pigs we raise here and there to butcher for ourselves, and we will be getting a couple more for our little girls to show this year. We were raising some Angus and Angus-mixed cattle, but we just purchased a high-caliber Hereford bull that we are hoping to have as a breeder and are potentially considering selling straws.
“We were buying just about anything we could get our hands on, but we chose to dive into the registered Hereford market. We are learning it’s a little harder to get the bloodlines you are looking for unless you want to travel a little. My wife and her friend, Amber Utter, have been all over trying to pick up pairs and heifers. We want to grow and get bigger, but get the right bloodlines, then you have to wait on the American Hereford Association to get the paperwork back, so we are also learning that. Growing up, we raised black baldies for beef, but not to look pretty. It’s a learning process.”
It’s all hands on deck for the Seaman family on the farm, and everyone has a job to do.
“It’s a good all-around experience for them,” Joe said. “No one likes getting up when it’s 10 degrees outside, but our rule is our animals eat before we do because they don’t have the option to go to the store. Farming teaches lessons, puts food on the table, and is a good life skill. I’m a firm believer in this life shaping young ones.”
