Missouri Neighbors

Say ‘float’ and many southwest Missourians think a canoe and maybe Bennett Spring. But to a horse owner or a vet it means only one thing:

Morning Glory Farm located in northwest Springfield, Mo., has found a niche market. With Morning Glory Farm Paul Tinlin has found a good use of limited space.

As a boy, Darrell W. Hamlet was nicknamed "Tuff" by his uncle. The name stuck, and through the past 80 or so years, he's lived up to that name. Tuff owns 500 acres near Louisburg, Mo. He grew up working on his dad's dairy farm just west of Louisburg. "My dad made a living milkin' cows by hand," said Tuff, who spent much of his time as a youngster milking cows. He worked on a farm all throughout high school and joined the U.S. Army shortly thereafter. "They sent me to Germany for two years during the Vietnam War. I don't know why I didn't go to Vietnam but I still really enjoyed my time in the army," Tuff added.

Simply watching Jackie Moore work is a strenuous task, yet he appears to have an infinite amount of energy when it comes to cattle marketing. Jackie works hard to make himself available; he reports market information on the radio, writes newspaper columns and spends hours a day talking to individuals about cattle. However, he is remarkably eager to start in all over again the next day in his efforts to make Joplin Regional Stockyards the best place for producers to bring their cattle.

Reduce, reuse, recycle – the three R’s – is the motto for Larry and Linda Warner’s farming operation in Bucyrus, Mo.

Steve Stamate remembers when Everton, Mo., was a thriving little town in eastern Dade County.

According to an old 18th century saying, ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.' Doug and Deanna Horinek of rural Dallas County, owners of D & D Quail Farm a few miles from Long Lane, Mo., know something about having a few birds on hand. They run 1,700 ringneck pheasants and over 2,000 quail, Georgia giants and northern bob whites, at any given moment.

For Dave and Pam White, the farm is their place to be in life, but they didn’t always know it. 

In today’s America, more and more children of farmers are taking jobs in the city and less and less are returning to the farm. Matt and Amanda Crutcher both grew up on family farms. Matt’s dad was an AI tech with a commercial herd of cattle and Matt grew up showing cattle at the fairs. Amanda was raised by her parents alongside cattle, horses, sheep and pigs. Matt went to college at Fort Scott where he judged livestock and claimed the National Championship title. Amanda went to college at Fort Scott where she claimed the heart of her soon to be husband, Matt.

Robin Childs may not have the most experience, or the most cattle, but he knows a few things that many people miss. “I am a firm believer in listening,” Robin said. When he started his cow/calf operation about six years ago, he listened to friends and older producers in the area, but he also did his own research. What he learned led him to purchase his first registered Gelbvieh cows at a seed stock sale. Robin wanted Gelbviehs because “they are good producers and good milkers.”