He has been known as the Racin’ Reverend and the pastor with the unforgettable name but in recent years, Reverend Jack Daniel has ‘come home’ to El Dorado Springs, Mo., to his roots as a farmer and to once again pastor the local First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) after a near 30-year leave of absence. Even so, so-called retirement for Jack Daniel does not include slowing down.
“It is, without a doubt, one of the best times in our lives,” Jack observed recently while taking a quick tour of one of the tracts of land he farms with the oldest of his three sons, Shannon, Shayne and Chad. Jack and his wife, Ranae, a retired teacher, live nearby as does his oldest son, Shannon, who is also a pilot and a mechanic to both cars and planes.
Together, in Cedar County, they own 230 acres, rent another 150, have haying rights on an additional 35 as well as access to 100 more acres through other family members. Chad lives in nearby El Dorado Springs and Shayne is an award winning drama teacher in Lee’s Summit, Mo.
“I served as the pastor here in El Dorado Springs in the 1980s and then went on to other churches in Bolivar, at Lake of the Ozarks, and Mt. Vernon, Mo. After 11 years at the Mt. Vernon Christian Church, I deliberately took a pay cut and then they were kind enough to allow me a semi-retirement situation, in which I spent four days preaching there and three days farming here, so I was the farming preacher. Here, it’s the reverse – I’m working three days a week as a pastor and farming four days, so now I’m the preaching farmer.”
Jack and family have 40 beef cows and 24 calves which they raise and sell through local sale barns. Their farming activities also include 200 acres in corn, wheat and soybeans and another 130 acres in hay.
“I grew up on a farm,” Jack explained his enthusiastic outlook on the current state of the cattle market for the small farmer, “and I can’t think of another time when the grain market has been good, the market for beef has been this high and the interest on loans this low for farmers. Because of the Texas drought over the last couple of years and the extreme cold up north, the number of cattle in this country is at an all-time low, and that means we’re going to see the cattle market continue to climb in the near future.
“Back in 2000, a 500-pound calf brought $650 and now one sells for $1,000. A 3 to 5-year-old cow brought $650 back then and now sells for $1,800 to $2,000. It is expensive to get started, which it’s always been, but I’d say it’s a great time for those who are wanting to get into farming to do so.”
Once also known as the Racin’ Reverend, Jack was well-known in the 1990s as a race car driver on local tracks, winning four season championships on dirt and asphalt in Bolivar, Lebanon and Monett, Mo. “I did two weddings and two memorial services at the track,” he remembered with a smile. “I loved the speed and the challenge of it, of course, but it also gave me an opportunity to meet people and rub elbows with folks where pastors aren’t normally seen much. Regardless, my goal was to get in and win, just like anyone in competition, but to do it in such a way as to really practice the Golden Rule, treating others the way you want to be treated.”
In past summers, between racing gigs, Jack has also worked as a church camp counselor and this summer he and some other church professionals and para-professionals are once again, spearheading an area-wide church camp event for youth of all ages, from kindergarten through high school to be held near Pomme de Terre lake.
Today, Jack is also happy to be back in the corn fields and cow fields, working with Shannon, keeping their tractors running. “I have four tractors and Shannon has eight and we just bought this combine over here…” He stopped to take a quick cell phone call from someone interested in purchasing one of the machines they have up for sale.
“I always worked as a pastor,” Jack concluded, “in part, because I needed the employment but now I do it just because I love it. I love farming, too but I would miss the ministry if I was not able to do that. Now to be back here with my sons, grandchildren and great-grandsons nearby – it’s the best of all of it. I really feel blessed.”
