Father and son, Mac and Wade Hampton, of Westville, Okla., have been working together since Wade’s early childhood. Wade remembers driving a ’47 blue Chevy truck when he was 4 years old and barely able to see through the steering wheel while his dad was cutting and unloading square bales for cattle. Wade said, “My dad always told me that if it looked like I was going to hit a tree or something, just turn off the key. The problem was one day I was distracted by some nuts and bolts in the glove box and my dad had to hit on the cab of the truck to get my attention. I turned off the key and luckily stopped just in time.”
The Hamptons own over 3,000 acres where they run a dairy with 150 cows, raise and sell registered Quarter Horses with 50 broodmares and three studs and manage a commercial herd of 1,000 momma cows. Six generations of Hamptons have lived within 4 miles of where the ranch is now. The large operation requires five hired hands in addition to Wade and Mac who work side-by-side on a daily basis. Mac said, “Wade was a good boy, and never caused us any trouble. He liked ranching, and I was real glad of that.”
The expansion from Mac’s original 270 acres with 19 cows just after he married his wife, Pauline, to the much larger spread today is the result of long and relentless work. The land contains large pastures, which were originally timber covered. Seeding new land usually started with Bermuda, adding Fescue and legumes later after pastures were well established. Because of the long and ongoing process of clearing land, they bought a dozer. Wade said, “I’m not sure we saved any money by doing all the work ourselves, but we know the land and how it needs to be worked. This way it will get done exactly how we want.”
Because of the large acreage, the Hamptons raised their own hay until the drought of the last two years forced them to buy some. Wade said, “With the way things are now, somebody could give you $1 million to farm and you couldn’t make enough money on it to support your family without an off-farm income. Input costs, overhead and the economy cannot be made up through the current high price of cattle.” Then Mac added, “I remember when I thought if I could run 100 cows, I’d be happy. Times change, and you just can’t make it on that anymore.” Mac continued by explaining that the biggest change since he began ranching is technology. He said that today you have a better grade of cattle along with better feed and fertilizers, which results in higher quality beef and milk.
Mac runs the dairy side of the operation. Mac prefers to use Holstein bulls except for first-time heifers when he prefers Jersey bulls for easier birthing. Breeding is controlled so that no calves are born in December, January or February and June, July or August. One reason Mac prefers the dairy side is that money comes in on a steady basis rather than twice a year as in the beef cattle business.
Wade focuses on the commercial herd and runs 1,000 mommas. He prefers 1/2 to 3/4 Beefmaster with Charolais bulls believing the combination produces the best animal with the best meat regardless of color.
While Mac is the one that really loves Quarter Horses, most of the responsibility falls on Wade’s shoulders. Wade smiled and said, “Dad wants ’em, so I do the horses.”
Mac became involved with horses while his dad worked for the Skelly Ranch, (as in Skelly Oil) which at one time had as many as 45,000 acres. Mac said, “I liked working with Quarter Horses, and it stayed with me.” The horses are sold as foals with a bloodline that contains Two Eyed Jack, Blondy’s Dude and Zan Par Bar. The herd used to be larger but as demand decreased so has the size of the herd. Nonetheless, Quarter Horses are an integral part of the Hampton operation.
Wade also owns H-5 Feed and Fertilizer, taking after his father who also owned a feed store in Westville for 25 years. Wade sells Pro Energy Feed liquid feed, bulk dairy feed, custom mix feeds and dry bulk fertilizer. To support the fertilizing side of his business he rents out stainless steel fertilizer buggies. In addition Wade sells and uses Cannonball bale beds.
The next generation is in the wings. Wade and Wendy’s daughters Keina (and husband, Brett), Krysti and Kenzie along with grandchildren Rayliegh and Kase will someday have the spread for themselves. Until then Mac and Wade are holding down the fort.
