Missouri Neighbors

Seven years ago Rick Kelley, of Mansfield, Mo., stepped into a volunteer role that would have a huge impact on the production of his farm.

Mark and Kathy Windsor learned the business side of buying, selling and marketing in their original enterprise, National TV Sales and Rental in Lebanon, Mo. This past January, they turned that business over to two of their grown children, son, Aaron Windsor and his wife, and daughter, Michelle Jackson and her husband. Now they are working on applying those same lessons to their cattle business in eastern Laclede County.

Lavern Madison of Cassville, Mo., has handled horses his whole life, and is a native of southwest Missouri. “I was born and raised in Galena Hollow, went to Haley School until seventh grade. Then we moved to Oak Ridge and me, my two brothers and sister went to Oak Ridge School where I graduated at 16,” said Lavern.

In the early 1980s, the Keller family traveled to Missouri from eastern Colorado to check out the farming industry in this area. This family consisted of Tony and Rita and their four children Mark, Sherry and twin boys, Keith and Kevin.

Selling Beef with Taste
“Our beef is not your conventional beef from the grocery or restaurant. It’s beef you will remember. It’s got a taste to it.”

Tucked away in a far corner of Laclede county is a small farm, maybe it’s not a farm (you’ll have to be the judge,) bearing the name Falcon Ridge Farm and owned by Wendy Lombardi.

Question: What do you get when you combine an Angus herd and a Simmental herd? Answer: A happy marriage, of course. Just ask Devin and Bailey Keltner. When the two wed three years ago they merged their herds. Devin brought his registered Angus herd to the marriage and Bailey contributed her purebred Simmentals.

Ask Wes and Ame Hunter of Providence Farm in Seymour, Mo., how they ended up farming for a living, and they will tell you that “it just kind of came together.” The Hunters have always had a longtime interest in alternative farming and knowing where their food came from, and the quality of their food; around the time they started their family, they decided to make the jump to begin pursuing the lifestyle they dreamed of. Today, Wes, Ame, and their three children, Addison, Benjamin and Nathaniel, are proud to make their living off of their family farm. “We do this because we think it’s the right thing to do,” said Wes.

Jim Nichols was raised around Missouri Fox Trotters in the Mansfield, Mo., area and his father was on the original Missouri Fox Trotters Horse Breed Association Board of Directors. Likewise, he brought up his daughters, Mitzi and Monica around the breed as well and they have all spent years in the show ring at various horse shows in Ava, Mo., the Fox Trotter capital of the world. In the past three decades, however, Jim has discovered a new passion, involving his beloved horses. “I went on my first elk hunt with the horses when a friend invited me and I’ve been going back ever since, for 25 years in a row now. My daughters, Mitzi and Monica go, too, as do their husbands and we have a great time,” Jim Nichols explained recently standing beside one of his horse trailers at his home in Laclede County, just south of Lebanon, Mo. “I have a few horses here, one in training, some others at Mitzi’s and at Monica’s. We just have 14 acres here for the horses.”

Owned by Lesley and Barry Million, Terrell Creek Farm is located in Webster County near Fordland, Mo. They got their first goats in 2007 for their own personal use. Lesley stated, “We started the business in 2011. It was kind of a justification for me to be able to have goats.”