Living the Ranch Life
A Cherished Tradition
Handing Down History
Gene and Barbara Crowder continue to pass down a long family farm history through four generations. With the help of their daughter, Melanie McNeil, their grandchildren, Jeff and Tia Samuelson and Mat Meins, they operate eight broiler houses and raise Charolais cattle in Gentry, Ark.
A Love of the Land
A Passion for Family and Farm
The Queen of Quality
K-BAR Predestined #167 is her name and producing eggs is her game. Oh yes, a quarter million dollar cow. Now that is enough information to make any cattle producer’s eyebrows raise. Every cattle producer would love to have a cow like #167, but there is only one, and the Kirkes K-Bar Black Angus Ranch owns her.
A Sustainable Retirement
Planning for retirement entails a financial or lifestyle plan; or it contains both. The desired choice is one that does not involve more years of hard work. The hopeful aspect of retirement is that there will be enough funds to continue the current lifestyle or to make a better one. Retirement takes preparation whether it is through an employment plan or years of saving, reaped of hard work. Most farmers and ranchers know the hard labor and countless hours involved in maintaining a successful operation. Choosing farming or ranching as a retirement choice can be lucrative or ultimately just hard work, or again – it can be both.
Arabians and Angus
Breeding Better Cows
Mark Sexton was raised on a small commercial Hereford farm but gained most of his early knowledge and interest from his cousins, the Wilkins Brothers, of Bluejacket, Okla., where he worked at their 500-head club calf cowherd.