Lyle Rowland
Hometown: Cedar Creek, Mo.
Family: Wife, Glenda Rowland; daughters, Holly and Laura; and seven grandchildren, ages 7 through 26
In Town: “I am the state representative for the 155th district in Missouri, which includes Douglas, Ozark and eastern Taney counties, and am in my senior term with two more years to go. We are in session from January to mid May. Because both my wife Glenda and I are retired educators, one area of particular interest to me is education, which is currently focused on improving educational opportunities in the state. Another area of special interest is agriculture. We just overrode the governor on farmers paying taxes for emergency disaster assistance. I love helping my constituents solve problems much more quickly than they can sometimes do on their own because I know who to call and because of my position.”
In the Country: “We have 480 owned and leased acres in Cedar Creek, Mo. We buy bred Show-Me-Select Heifers for our commercial herd because they are good mommas and we can access their EPDs. We breed with performance tested Angus bulls from performance sales in Springfield, Mo. We currently have 40 mommas and two bulls with 38 calves on the ground, the best birth ratio we have had so far. Part of our program includes retaining heifers. Because of being in session, I have only a fall calving season, and market in August and September after weaning June 1. In addition, I sell some calves to repeat customers for personal consumption. The calves are bunk broke and fed a pelletized gluten at a 20-plus protein level. I have only 30 acres dedicated to hay and keep 100 round bales in the barn, growing only what I need because I want to use my pastures. I use rotational grazing with five paddocks here and another four in other locations. I over seed clover when I fertilize in the spring with fertilizer spread according to needs discovered through annual soil testing. The animals are a great break from reality, especially since the Show-Me Select system provides such quality animals.”
Future: “After I finish my House term, I plan to be more intensely involved in the farm. I may add some purebred stock to supply heifers and bulls for people in my Taney County area.”
