Hometown: Winslow, Ark.
Family: Wife Janet; daughters Kendal Grace and Kaylea; and son Eber
In Town: “I started to work for Ozarks Electric right after high school because I liked being outside and knew it would be a solid career with a great company. I have been there for 26 years and began by trimming trees in the right-of-way department. Now I am one of two general foremen in field operations and manage different crews on different projects.”
In the Country: “Ours is a family farm shared between me and my dad Oren, who was born on this land. He continued to buy more land until we now have 600-plus acres. He was instrumental in me choosing farming. When I was very young and in grade school, I boldly claimed all the red heifers, and he allowed me to have them. Those heifers were the beginning of my cattle herd today. Our farm contains 50 mostly black mommas divided into two herds, with one being bred by SimAngus and the other by a new Hereford bull. We shoot for spring calves with calving beginning mid-February. We retain up to 10 heifers as replacements. The whole herd is vaccinated in November when the calves are weaned with calves receiving their second round five weeks later. The land also needs care. We apply a granule commercial fertilizer in the spring but only spot spray for thistles since the pastures are well-established. Another annual routine is brush hogging the rough areas in July, and we have plenty of rough areas due to the topography. We use some rotational grazing and move the cattle from their winter pasture to their summer pasture so that the winter pasture can grow and supply hay. We bale 500 bales in a typical year, usually enough to meet our needs. We are really happy our children were raised on the farm because that lifestyle taught them a sense of responsibility since they had to feed their show animals in the morning before going to school. They also learned a respect for agriculture and where their food comes from, so much so that Kendall Grace is now a junior in college and earning her degree in agribusiness. Kaylea is studying to be a nurse, while our son Eber works in Fayetteville in fiberglass repair.”
Future: “A short-term goal is to begin clearing more land within the next three years since so much is still forested. Janet and I also plan on retiring here and perhaps expanding up to as many as 70 mommas to keep me busy but probably not more than that so we also have time to enjoy our retirement.”
