Arkansas Neighbors

Steve and Karen Hamm own 777 acres just five miles west of Alpena, Ark.  When they first visited the area, they were living in Phoenix and were on a short vacation. Little did they know that northern Arkansas was destined to become their new home.

'Good food' is the slogan of the 65-acre DH Farms of West Fork, Ark. Located on a picturesque hilltop in the Boston Mountains, near West Fork, the DenHerder family farm is a sprawling mixture of pasture and wooded land. The DenHerders work to make the farm sustainable and to operate as a team. The farm is a diverse mixture of livestock and produce, to meet the needs of the local farmer’s market and the interests of the DenHerder family.

Twenty-five LaMancha and Nigerian Dwarf doe goats, 22 bottle-fed kids, four adult bucks, three Great Pyrenees guardian dogs, an Australian Shepherd and a donkey named Nellie roam Simple Pleasures Farm on Nubbin Hill near Leslie, Ark., owned by Phil and Dawn Hurd. 

"I just love my goats,” chuckled Patty Horner from Rockin’ Rock Ranch in Salem, Ark. “I could just spend hours out with them and the babies. They are all jumping and hopping around the field and me. They are just fun to be around,” she added.

When it comes to shooting trap, brother and sister duo, Cord and Brooke Riley are right on target. The siblings are members of the Huntsville FFA Chapter’s shooting sports team. Huntsville’s FFA team has won the state trap shooting tournament for two consecutive years, and they are hoping for their third win in April.

Focused on efficiency and profit, Coy and Charlotte England raise Brangus/Angus cross cattle on their 250-acre farm making up the England Cattle Company. They currently have 50 cow/calf pairs and three registered Angus bulls, and have 40 acres of their land for hay cutting. Their goal is to promote beef animals that will meet market demands. The Brangus was developed by crossing Brahman and Angus cattle.

Just off highway 82 in northeastern Oklahoma, there is a green metal barn housing one innovative poultry business. The flock of chickens cared for there is among the healthiest possible, and is produced with several all-natural methods.

John Ely has been in the grass business for more than 40 years.

Jimmy Stephens was born into a family that gave him two dreams. One of those dreams, or passions, as Jimmy called it, stemmed from riding around in the pickup truck with his grandfather when he was a young boy, while he checked cattle. The other dream stemmed from an uncle that worked in law enforcement. Jimmy started working in law enforcement first, by becoming an Arkansas State Trooper, but he still had a longing to have a ranch of his own. So, in 1995, Jimmy bought a ranch just off of I-40 Interstate, with a creek running through it. He raises registered Black Angus and Brangus cattle, and has built a working barn and pens along with a dog kennel for his Catahoula cow dogs.

The Talihina, Okla., area – talk about scenic beauty. Some of the best scenery in the world can be found right in the backyard of Gerald and Jana Knapp, owners of  Knapp Ranch. The Knapps raise Charolais bulls, even though with the wet and snowy weather of late, those bulls have been more brownish-gray in color.