A passion for a different kind of livestock
LAMAR, ARK. – 2011 was the year to buy a camel. Right? Well, it was for Chris Bacchus.
Bacchus grew up on a traditional farm in Lamar, Arkansas, with his family raising poultry and cattle. From an early age, he was active within the livestock industry.
“I’ve always loved livestock and being around livestock. I grew up showing cattle and raising market lambs,” said Bacchus. “I’ve always enjoyed thinking about the end goal of an animal and selecting goals along the way to get to that desired outcome.”
In 2011, though, Bacchus would purchase and bring a camel back to his family’s traditional livestock farm that would change their involvement in the industry entirely.
Now, the Bacchus Family Adventure Farm serves the Lamar, Arkansas, community as a unique spot to expose the public to animals not normally seen in everyday life. From lemurs to camels to kangaroo, the adventure farm is packed with unusual animals.
“I have always enjoyed different types of animals,” Bacchus said. “So, I got a camel, then a zebra, and now I have a diverse set of exotics.”
Following the purchase of the initial exotic animals, Bacchus had consistent inquiries about bringing these animals to birthday parties and other gatherings.
Around this time, the Bacchus family were making farming decisions and considering upgrading the chicken houses. With the inquiries and interest from the public, the family decided to quit growing broilers to transform the chicken houses into agritourism barns.
“The tool shed was converted into a party barn, and now we have three separate exotic animal barns,” said Bacchus.
Outside of the adventure farm, Bachhus works as the agricultural educator for Lamar High School as did his father.
As an agricultural educator, he can connect his passion project – the adventure farm – with his love for teaching younger generations about the agriculture industry.
In class, students are able to learn about different aspects of the industry that broadens perspectives and potential career opportunities. Students are also required to have a hands-on agriculture related project throughout their years in an agriculture classroom.
“I am huge proponent of Supervised Agriculture Experiences (SAE) as required for agriculture students,” said Bachhus. “With any project, students gain a better appreciation for the animal industry.”
Part of this connection between the farm and classroom comes with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules and regulations. As an exotic farm, USDA licensing is required to allow public interactions with the farm.
Bachhus said there is opportunity to allow students to be exposed to these processes through the farm and it is one of the coolest aspects of it all.
“The cool thing about the farm is being able to teach in the community that the farm is in and that I have a lot of students to have an interest in that as well,” said Bachhus. “When we have school field trips, we hire students, and that can become their SAE project. Helping allows them to understand the USDA licenses and what it takes to run the school field trips in a petting zoo.”
From SAEs, Lamar High School FFA Chapter has seen great success. Students have earned state titles in FFA proficiency awards in the area of outdoor recreation just from adventure farm involvement.
Seeing students – especially those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to work with different types of livestock – become involved is special to Bacchus.
“Nothing is quite like being able to provide that experience to students from something that started out of a random passion,” said Bacchus.
“Follow your passion, don’t be afraid to do something different, find mentors and other people who have the same passion,” said Bacchus. “Building a network of people that are like-minded is what allows you to be successful.”
Not only is it important to find that network, but Bacchus also believes it is just as equally important to be that network for others as he is for his students.
“People who are wanting to get into the industry, regardless of whether that is exhibiting livestock, small animals or even exotic animals, keep trying to help be that support system and connect people with other like-minded people,” said Bacchus.
