Neighbors

With names like Southern Comfort and Bourbon on the Rocks, a new client of Stacy and Jerimiah Gan knows from the beginning that Blackberry Ridge Boers is a unique Boer goat undertaking that includes a good bit of fun as well as being a serious family-run livestock operation.

Arnold Ahrens and his wife Bernice farmed in Fredericksburg, Texas during the mid 1940’s during an extended drought. Some acquaintances that were from the same area of Texas had moved over to Arkansas, and when they came back to visit, they were talking about how grassy it was here. Liking the sound of grass aplenty, Arnold decided to look around at some land in Arkansas. Not long after, he and Bernice settled down around the Sands Springs area, in Lamar, Ark. In 1949, Arnold hired a truck to bring in about 100 head of Angora goats from Texas, along with some sheep and cattle he had. It was the beginning of a long, rich Arkansas farming story for Arnold and Bernice. Through the years they have acquired close to 1,000 acres between Clover Creek all the way to Big Piney.

Joe Powell has a rich agricultural heritage, ranching in the river bottoms in Franklin County. “I have ranched all my life really,” said Joe. “As a kid, I loved cattle. My grandfather Willis Powell started here with a parcel of land that was given to them by the U.S. Government to homestead." The deed to that land is framed in Joe’s home today. “My dad, Grant Powell, farmed, and he had a few cattle and land down in the bottoms near the river,” explained Joe. “When they put the locke and dam in, they had to sell their land to the Corp. of Engineers. Of course that was back in the horse and buggy days,” joked Joe.

The Howard family offers not only raw milk, but farm-raised beef, pork, produce and more ELKINS, ARK. - Change is constant, even in multi-generational farms....

After his retirement from banking, Ted Koontz began raising cattle and a custom hay baling business When reflecting on his 74 years on earth, Ted...

Family moves production from dairy goats to Jersey and Ayrshire cows Evaporating markets prompted the Vantassel family to shift the focus of their dairy farm...

Jasper County, Mo., couple turns a hobby into growing pollinator business CASSVILLE, MO. - Anna Buckley-Schoelzel, of rural Cassville, Mo., has been fascinated by bees...

While watching Paul Ahrens gently and efficiently shear sheep and patiently answer questions about what he is doing, a person would never guess he was formerly a National Guard First Sergeant serving in Iraq. In 2003 he was injured by shrapnel in the back of his legs and spent almost two years recovering. He gives credit to his physical therapists. “Those folks are hard on you but it is worth it to be able to walk again.” Ahrens was not able to shear at all in 2004, but has been back to the job he loves for three years now – shearing sheep around the nation.

In the cattle business there are big rewards for finding a niche that develops into a national interest.  Rodney Lowrance of Pleasant Hope, Mo. is taking his investment in Gelbvieh cattle and possibly venturing into one of these niches; grass-fed meat production.

For Steve Guthrie near Miller, Mo., in Lawrence County, Boer goats are no laughing matter. They are what he hopes may provide a full-time income some day, but there are still funny things that happen on the farm.