T Bar W Farms is located in the Barrens Community, near Clinton, Ark., and is owned by Tom and Gayla Whillock. Their passion for farming began in 1975 when they found out about a farm for sale. “We were young and enthusiastic,” said Gayla. They started out as a poultry farm, while growing hay to provide an extra income for the farm. In 1990 a dairy was added to the farm but discontinued in 1996 because of the difficulty of running both types of farms.
The Whillock’s raised three children who learned responsibility, how to work and had a wonderful country life. Now there are four grandchildren who love spending time on the farm.
Until a few years ago the poultry was grown for ConAgra, who then sold to Pilgrim’s Pride. Four years ago Pilgrim’s Pride closed their doors and for two years there were no poultry raised at T Bar W Farms. “It was tough,” said Tom. Two years ago Tyson picked them up and they are running four of the six chicken houses they were previously running.
“Tyson has been good to us and very helpful,” said Gayla. When the Clinton water system was down trucks came with water for the chickens.
Technology has played a big part in improved poultry farming. With the new systems in place the demands of labor is not as high. Tom does most of the work, with the part time help of a neighbor he hires from time to time. Gayla works at a bank in Clinton and isn’t as involved in the poultry farming as much these days, though she is definitely capable in the event she is needed.
Today, the farm produces between 103,000 and 106,000 chickens per batch, weighing approximately 4 pounds each. The chicks are brought to them just after they are hatched, in the first 12 hours, and the first three days are the most crucial time for them. They don’t regulate their own body temperature right away, so the building has to be kept at 90 degrees for that time period. In addition they have to be hand fed until they are around eight days old, then they can go on the automatic feed. There are six batches of chickens on a normal year, with approximately 636,000 raised.
Though there are still factors such as weather or a disease from the hatchery (which rarely happens) that can affect the death rate of the chicks, the survival rate is 98 percent, which is really good odds for raising healthy poultry. There is not as much trouble in raising the chicks today due to the cool cell, climate control. In all the years the Whillocks have been raising poultry they have only experienced a 4 or 5 percent loss.
The high cost of maintenance and utilities are definitely a factor in determining the profit and loss of the business. Tom’s advice to anyone interested in poultry farming is to talk with experienced poultry farmers, and do a lot of research.
Tom and Gayla have had a good life. Gayla said, “It just a regular life, no glitter and tinsel.” Tom, a gentle giant of a man, drives his golf cart around the farm these days. He said his back is bad and he’s getting older but farming still seems to be in his future.
