Steve Bolain
Family: Sons: Lane, 22, and Tate, 16; and daughter, Callie, 20
In Town: “I just moved here and work as a meat cutter at GoodMan Meat Shop and Processing in Goodman, Mo., after 16 years with my own meat processing business on my farm in Arkansas. Right now my son is finishing school this year in Bentonville, Ark., and will join me as soon as school is out and attend Neosho High School.”
In The Country: “I recently purchased 97 acres in Anderson, Mo., and plan on adding leased land with further land purchases possible in the future. I just got here, so I’m settling in rather than looking that far down the road. I have always appreciated bottomland with water because that kind of land has good soil. I found the perfect piece here in Anderson with two springs that flow all the time as well as a Creek that grows watercress in the spring, something my grandmother loves for salads. My mother and grandmother love to come, sit on the porch and just look at the beautiful land. Since I arrived, I have spent most of my time building fence and clearing brush. This land was logged several years ago and had never been cleaned up properly. However, it had an old milk barn, a new hay barn and an old house I have completely refurbished. Very close by is a cement pad where the original home stood and the location of an excellent storm cellar. I have 60 Sim/Angus black baldie cows with two registered Sim/Angus bulls. I like the Sim/Angus because they have good muscle and grow into a good market carcasses with enough fat and marbling for steaks. I have both fall and spring calves in order to hit the markets more than once a year. I generally wean at six months and background until they are yearlings at 700 to 800 pounds. To promote health I use a vaccine program and an injectable wormer supported by a pour-on twice a year when I work the whole herd. Salt and mineral are free choice supported by protein tubs in the winter. I feed first calf heifers 14 percent protein feed once a day and creep feed the calves so weaning transition is easier and they go straight on feed. My herd includes 31 first time heifers, and I am now at the maximum my current land can support.”
Future: “Next on my to-do-list is working with the land by spraying and seeding and fertilizing. I will try to get poultry litter because I’ve had hen houses before and prefer the quality of fertilization it provides though soil testing is obviously part of the process because I want to protect the land and never over fertilize. My son Tate is a member of FFA and will become part of the Neosho FFA when he arrives.”
