Arkansas Neighbors

Chad Lepley wants to take his new farm in a lot of different directions.

Today, most everybody is concerned about his or her health and the health of their family. Marvin and Linda Jones, owners of AJ Grass Fed Farms in West Fork, Ark., are concerned about the way they eat.

Benjie and Cathy Stalcup, live at the end of a very interesting road, with trees that greet you with smiling faces, as you drive up the lane. At the end of the road it opens up to a very neatly kept, peaceful view of a poultry farm that Benjie runs, while Cathy works in town as plant manager of Hanes Brand, Inc. "We have been farming since 1986,” she stated, "we started with 70 acres in the beginning. Benjie and I decided that instead of moving with the company we both worked for, we would put in a laying house,” said Cathy. “I worked the laying houses for about 2 years for Tyson, while Benjie went to work helping in the start up of the rendering plant,” she replied.

Unlike so many people who live here, Philip and Connie Swan have no history of family or previous ties to the Ozarks. Phil said, “I had always heard that the Ozarks was a nice place to retire. Plus we were both ‘country’ to start with and didn’t want to be in the city anymore.” With encouragement from some friends who knew about the area, Connie went online and started looking. They decided to check out the Ozarks prior to their retirement. They ended up in Branson, Mo., and started looking around with the help of a real estate agent. The Lead Hill area of Boone County, Ark., caught their eye. The first piece of property they saw was the 33 acres they bought.

Monte Shockley Jr. of Poteau, Okla., is one of the new generation of ranchers. At age 29, Monte already oversees a successful herd sire operation specializing in horned Herefords.