Arkansas Neighbors

A popular phrase in the growing sustainable agriculture movement is “farm to table.” Mark Garner and Karen Hill, owners of Garner Hill Farm, are taking that phrase literally. Their goal is to raise naturally grown animals for their own consumption and for the good health and enjoyment of others.

John Paul and Cissie Pendergrass, from Charleston, Ark., met at the University of Arkansas during an Alpha Gamma Rho and Kappa Alpha function. John Paul quipped, “I immediately changed her into my way of thinking, and we’ve gone on from there.” They are avid Razorback fans and consider their attendance at games as their common hobby.

Van Hopkins was raised on an Oklahoma farm in a family where everyone worked together. They had 15 Hereford cows, all of which they milked to get enough milk for the family because grandma always said, “You can’t make any money with milking stock.” The family also tried to take care of most of their protein needs with the addition of hogs and laying chickens.

The farm of Randy and Cheryl West is in a serene section of the Viney Grove area in Prairie Grove, Ark. The tract was originally purchased by Robert West just before the Civil War and has been in West hands ever since. Randy and Cheryl’s twin daughters were the fifth generation to be raised on the farm.

The offices of Gordon Hart’s Romart, Inc., a structural steel erection business covering nearby states, is on Route 62 in Farmington, Ark. The secret, however, is housed in the connected Quonset building behind the offices. Here is the heart of Gordon’s John Deere restoration hobby.

The challenge of operating a successful Dorper sheep breeding herd on only 7 acres of Bentonville, Ark., ground is daunting but highly achievable for Nick and Loraine Venter. They came to the U.S. from South Africa in 1989, and Nick ministered in Bastrop, La., for a non denominational church. Then the Venters relocated to Bentonville 18 years ago. When Nick and Loraine came to this country, they brought with them their family and good sheep experience.

Ray Gack’s experience with cattle started back when he was in high school, “I was milking for a friend, the last three years of high school, says Ray. I would get up at 4:00 a.m. and milk about 70 cows and go home and shower and go to school. After school I got into the dairy business on my own, and milked till 1985.”

For Jeremy Prater, everything depends on good dirt and good grass.

Lori Brown used to teach communications at Greenwood Public Schools. Now she tends her flock so she can spend more time with her family. Lori and her husband, Stan, keep almost 60 wool sheep, along with some goats, a few hair sheep, and a small herd of cattle on 20 acres near Greenwood, Ark.

One continual concern for all farmers is safety. Lori Brown-Whillock from Gentry, Ark., is an Arkansas State Trooper with an extensive background in farm safety both personally and professionally.