Arkansas Neighbors

Mark and Jerri Weathers may never have met if Jerri's dad hadn't gone elk hunting in Colorado so that Jerri accompanied her mom to a poultry grower’s dinner. Now the Weathers family raises Cornish and egg laying hens for Tyson as well as a small commercial cattle herd on 70 acres in Gentry, Ark. Though both Mark and Jerri came from poultry families, they had to start their own farm from scratch. Mark said, "First-time farmers have a hard time getting started. People have to be able to look you in the eye and see you are worth the risk. Rex and Shirley Harper provided that opportunity for us and now we are trying to do the same for a family that works for us."

Brian and Stephanie Reynolds of Wharton, Ark., met on a school bus when they were 11 and married almost 15 years ago. They built their first two chicken houses in 2001 on a farm they bought in 2000 at a reasonable rate from his grandfather and their last three in 2010. They have been witnessed to and partnered with the great strides made in the poultry industry towards increasing profitability by becoming more green. Substantial differences between the two sets of buildings demonstrate this trend and its importance.

Paul and Colleen Thornton together with their partners Carl and Sue Riccelli farm the acreage whose produce and product line are quickly becoming the hallmark of sustainable family farming, providing multiple products available from their website, at the Cherry Street Farmers Market in Tulsa, Okla., as well as the Farmers Market in Tahlequah, Okla., and via the Oklahoma Food Coop.

Bob and Geneice McCall run cattle on 800 acres in Eureka Springs, Ark., with 90 Brangus and Angus cows and 4 Angus bulls. Part of the land was homesteaded by Bob's grandparents in 1908. He then purchased additional land and worked in town as a Forest Ranger for Arkansas Forestry for 36 years. Geneice has held a number of positions including being an administrative assistant for a judge, the county tax collector and working in medical administration.

The story of Duane Coatney is the story of cattle, land and family. Before moving to Eureka Springs, Ark., Duane worked in Bentonville, Ark., for Carroll Electric. Bella Vista was beginning, and Duane didn't want to be part of the "rat race," so he accepted a job with Bell Telephone in the small town of Eureka Springs, Ark. Ironically, three months later the Holiday Island project began changing the area forever into a tourist and cultural center.

Today's economy makes it very difficult for a young couple to start farming from scratch, but that is exactly what Dustin and Kaylee Youngman of Westville, Okla., are doing. Kaylee said, "We really appreciate the Farm Service Agency out of Tahlequah, Okla., without them farming would be impossible for us."

Pin Oak Club Lambs Farm is a 115-acre farm in Faulkner County, near Greenbrier, Ark., and a work in progress. Mike and Karon Reynolds met a few years ago and both had teen daughters, and a love for raising lambs. They started dating four years ago and married three years ago. It was both their daughters’ involvement in showing lambs that attracted them to raising and selling show lambs. They started their farm three years ago and it has grown by leaps and bounds.

Greg Lemke of Gentry, Ark., always had a passion for cattle. However a hog hunting accident in 2007 followed by a layoff as a result of downsizing in Latco in Lincoln, Ark., fine-tuned the passion into a livelihood necessity. Greg found himself wheelchair-bound, out of work and unable to use his engineering design degree but not his intelligence and determination.

Charles and Judy Williams own Osage Valley Farms on 197 acres in Berryville, Ark., where they raise registered black and polled Limousins. However, Limousins were not always the animal of choice. Charles has raised feeder pigs and chickens as well as running a dairy while driving a feed truck.

Seniors Clarence and La Joyce Duncan met at a church potluck in 2005 and built a home together before they married in 2007. For La Joyce the home was a fulfillment of a lifetime dream. She had always wanted a home on the family homestead and land which has been in their possession for 68 years. The couple has 220 acres on Heflin-Thomas Farm outside of West Fork, Ark., and runs a 56 head herd of Charolais with 26 mommas and one bull. Though some are registered and all could be, the couple feels that registration is an unnecessary expense for them at this time.