Missouri Neighbors

Lifetime Missourians and local cattle ranchers Danny and Teresa McCurry were used to the state’s predictably erratic weather. Like the old saying goes, “If you don’t like the weather, stick around it’ll change in 20 minutes.” They still cringe, however, when recalling the devastation brought on by the not-so-distant drought of 2012.

With names like Southern Comfort and Bourbon on the Rocks, a new client of Stacy and Jerimiah Gan knows from the beginning that Blackberry Ridge Boers is a unique Boer goat undertaking that includes a good bit of fun as well as being a serious family-run livestock operation.

At age 18, Diana Gerdes completed her Trainer B license in Germany, her native land, as a riding instructor and horse trainer, equivalent to an FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale) III level instructor in this country. Little did she know that training would serve her all of her life through a series of adventures and travel to various countries. Today, she and her husband, Wayne reside in Pulaski County, outside Crocker, Mo., where she operates Germania Stables and has for the past 10 years. Previously, her Germania Stables was located wherever Wayne, a retired military man now working privately for the U.S. government, was stationed. Her daughter, Caroline was married earlier this year and her son, 14-year-old Christopher still lives at home.

It is one of those days. The rain pounds the top of his truck, the sky looms dark and dreary and water gushes over the cement bridge he must cross to get to his cattle. Still Beau Davis’ spirits beam bright. People who know Beau will tell you that’s just the way he is, always moving forward with upbeat determination.

At the ripe old age of 9, Scott Bass already had the heart of a cattleman. He mowed yards and earned enough money to buy his first two calves from his grandpa for $100 each. Scott said, “The best thing you can do is teach a kid the value of a dollar.”

For most people the annual Route 66 Days in Strafford, Mo., conjures thoughts of antique cars and fried food. But for 17-year-old Shelby Burns, the festival reminds her of the genesis of her cattle business. Shelby remembers laying eyes on a Dexter calf named Danny Boy at the festival. “I just fell head over heels for him,” said Shelby. There was no turning back. Shelby, then 12-years-old, convinced her mother to buy a Dexter heifer named Rosie. Thus, Wild Rose Ranch in Strafford, Mo., bloomed.

After 27 years, Sharps Antique Tractor Works, Inc., has built an honest and dependable business manufacturing and selling thousands of John Deere 2-Cylinder parts.

Jerry and Barb White of Purdy, Mo., have converged the conventional with the uncommon, in both breed and technology. Though a full-time insurance business owner, Jerry has always taken time to maintain a herd of commercial Angus cattle. Three years ago, Jerry became intrigued with a little known breed, Wagyu, and decided to try something new.

Nestled in the Southwestern corner of Texas County lives a family of more than one generation that is much like all the rest of us in some aspects, but is also different in some very important ways. Bob and Sherry Reed and their daughters along with Bob’s father, Lyle Reed, all work together with many other people to make a living from the land.

“When we first got started in the meat business we could buy a hog at 6 or 7 cents a pound and that first year I hauled 23 head up to the stockyards. They averaged 256 pounds and they didn’t bring $25 a head,” explained Steve Madewell of Madewell Meats. Steve explained that the idea behind his pork business started when that same year he and his wife, Jane, “sold a few Christmas hams for $30 apiece. It just made sense,” recalled Steve.