Dwight Hoyle is what you might call a jack-of-all-trades kind of man. He and his wife, Robin, started out in Zwolle, La., with a forestry business, along with a saw shop.
When they sold out of that venture, they moved to Clarksville Ark., and bought Douglas Saw Sales out, the same year their son Drifton was born. They purchased a farm in Coal Hill Ark., in 1990, and Dwight bought his cattle immediately after. Also during this time he bought West Side Feeds, making it a saw and feed store.
In 1993 the Hoyles added western wear to the store. Dwight and Robin knew that to continue being successful with their store they needed to be close to the Interstate, so they bought a couple of acres right next to I-40, on the west side of Clarksville.
In 1995 they built Hoyle’s Walkin’ Western, with not only clothes, but furniture, some custom made by Dwight himself. Dwight also has a welding shop and works as a heat and air specialist. This is all in addition to the cattle.
Drifton was 3 years old when Dwight and Robin bought the farm in Coal Hill, Ark. Dwight would check the cattle every evening, and Drifton would faithfully ask his dad if he could go. Dwight would ask him, ‘can you walk?’ Dwight smiled at the memory. “Drifton would reply, ‘yeah, I can walk.'” They would get down the hill, and look the cattle over, then they would start back to the house, and Drifton would say, ‘my legs are killing me Daddy, I don’t think I can make it.’ So, Dwight would pick him up and put him on his shoulders, and they would finish the trek back to the house. It was a routine they did every night, Dwight recalled.
Drifton went on to get involved with team roping with his dad, and he also calf roped. He then started bulldogging, and was very good at it. He went to Gillette, Wyo., to the national high school finals. “That’s also how he won his scholarship to rodeo for Northwestern Oklahoma State,” Dwight tells of his son. Dfriton then graduated from college in three years, with a degree in Ag Business.
Drifton was also one of two young men in the United States to be invited to Washington D.C. on an internship for the National Cattlemen’s Association after his senior year in college. The pride Dwight and Robin feel for their son’s accomplishments is tangible.
Back home, on the farm, the Hoyles utilize their roping and riding skills to manage the cattle herd. They gather and work their cattle in the spring and in the fall. Dwight explained they calve their herds once a year, from about January through March.
The herd is kept on salt and mineral the year around, and they also utilize controlled grazing, “because the grass only needs to be grazed down about 3 to 5 inches,” Dwight said. Then, every two days, keeping up with the controlled grazing system, the Hoyles move the cattle to another paddock.
“Forages lose nutrients when you cut them, but when you put the cattle on it, it increases the nutrients,” said Dwight. The Hoyles worked with their local Extension office to determine what grazing practices were best suited for their farm.
Dwight buys hay from farmers that have their hay tested. “It’s very important to buy good hay, because that will keep down the cost of supplemental feed. However if we did need the feed, we used range cubes,” Dwight said.
Dwight is now running for an Arkansas State Representative seat. With his eye on winning the election, he decided to sell his cattle to a friend of his who wanted to get started in the cattle business. “I don’t feel like I can represent the people if elected, and have cattle at home in the winter having trouble,” he said. Dwight is basically letting his friend use his farm now, but that hasn’t rid himself of all responsibility. The Hoyles still must maintain the pastures, keep them sprayed, and keep the fences up.
Until the election is over, Dwight is helping his friend learn the business of managing cattle.
