Missouri Neighbors

The adage, ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover,’ applies to this year’s Missouri State Fair Queen, Lani Ogle.

On his 170-acre farm, near Seymour, Mo., Randy Jenkins is growing hay in a different way – USDA certified hay.

There has always been something about mules that has drawn Les Clancy to the animal.

The goal of Aschermann Charolais in Carthage, Mo., is to help beef producers raise better feeder cattle. Larry and Peggy Aschermann’s method is to provide purebred Charolais and Charolais hybrids at their semi-annual sales in October and March.

A self-proclaimed Wisconsin “Cheesehead” has found a new home away-from-home in the Missouri Ozarks, complete with rolling hills and plenty of room for cattle to graze, as well as a new agritourism venture.

“I grew up on a dairy farm outside Norwood, Mo., but since I was 6 years old, I’ve known this is what I wanted to do,” Dalene Schober, a petite blonde with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, said as she began explaining the horse training business she operates from her home in rural Douglas County, outside of Mountain Grove, Mo.

Colton Spencer constantly looks for opportunities to tell his story. Whether he knows the person or not – he’s ready to strike up a conversation about agriculture and his life growing up on a farm.

For many cattle producers, their agriculture roots are as deep as the century-old trees that dot the landscape of the Ozarks.

What do you do when you have a dairy with 80 cows and three breeding bulls, work full time, and can’t get everything done? You buy a robotic milking system.

Just north of Walnut Grove, Mo., in rural Polk County, lies Arrow Rock Farm, owned and operated by Rick and Debbie Sappington. On a hot August afternoon in the heartland, Rick pulls up to his rented pasture east of the farm and about 20 majestic Red Poll cattle encircle the truck, expecting a feed treat. Rick obliges with their favorite bag of feed.