Arkansas Neighbors

Herd health is a primary issue for Claire Whiteside and her husband, Jim, when raising Boer meat goats in the Ozarks. The Whiteside’s raise their goats on 25 acres in Boone County, just south of Harrison.

When Tom Leatherman says he is the best thing that ever happened to Kathy Bonneson, she smiles that smile all of us men know means, “Yeah, right.” This must be the reason they have a lively relationship.

Native Arkansans Mark and Kathy Thompson of Pope County are new to farming, but raising Boer goats has proven to be a worthwhile endeavor on several accounts, the couple said.

The perfect name for Larry Thornton’s obsession is found at the top of his monthly column in Working Horse magazine, “The Working Lines.” Devoted to the research and documentation of equine pedigree lines in the world of quarter horses since his first column printed in 1984, Thornton is widely considered an expert in his field. 

Less than a mile from David and Gayla Holcombe’s home near Jay, Okla. is the schoolhouse where David’s grandparents and mother taught. Following in their footsteps, David earned his degree in Agriculture Education, which he taught for 20 years. Although David no longer teaches vocational agriculture, he has dedicated his farm to “educational demonstration”. They have participated in field days and hosted tour groups to observe conservation practices. He also serves on the Oklahoma Board of Agriculture.

It keeps going.

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.

It happens at the worst time. Your horse has thrown another shoe right when you are packing up for a ride. Now, you have to call a farrier. What if there was another option? A barefooted option.

"I was a California girl and I can remember that I always wanted to live like the Walton’s,” recalled Stormy Woods. Stormy and her husband Ed, own a farm just north of Hagarville and have been married for about 4 years. “Ed knew that I loved animals,” said Stormy. “So, he took me to a livestock sale, and that’s where I bought a red goat and it’s just grown from there.”

On a crisp fall day in Wyandotte, Okla., Randy and Jeff Parmley take a break from working cattle to explain why their family farm doesn’t play the ‘trend game.’ “We don’t jump on trends,” said Randy Parmley. “We just breed consistent cattle – simple as that.”