Missouri Neighbors

Danny Fanning of Joplin, Mo., is a man with a busy mind and restless spirit. The one constant thing in his life has always been his love for livestock, more yet the love for purebred cattle. Danny said, “Showing my first heifer when I was 6 started my whole life’s career. I remember it just like it was yesterday, caring for my first heifer project and showing her for the first time. Our three children were all raised in the 4-H program and now 60 years later some of my grandkids are heading down that path. I love it and it’s what keeps me going.”

Reggie Terry has lived on a farm all his life. His dad was a dairy farmer, but Reggie didn’t go into that. Around 1984, he started buying and raising bottle calves. He came across some crossbred heifers and decided to start a beef cow herd.

Education, grazing systems and records are important tools on Reisner Ranch in Rolla, Mo., owned and operated by Craig and Susan Reisner and their two children Renee and Keith.

Ask Fred and Linda Schupbach of Ozark, Mo., what they think of their Dorper cross sheep and they’ll tell you that Dorpers make better mothers, sell at a better price and have minimal birth problems. Six years ago, Fred and Linda began their journey with meat sheep as a bit of an experiment; today, what started out as a group of nine sheep has grown into a healthy flock of 140 head that Fred and Linda are very proud of. “We really like the sheep,” Linda said. The sheep flock shares the Schupbach’s Lone Pine Ranch with 40 head of Boer goats, three cows, four Missouri Foxtrotters and one pony, a flock of guineas, two guard dogs and two female Border Collies, Kempee and Cricket, who are trained to herd the sheep.

Profitable farming may soon be an oxymoron like the phrase ‘honest politicians,’ but for Kevin and Toni Beatty of Thousand Oaks Ranch in Carl Junction, Mo., agriculture has turned into a booming business. In what some would say is a daring total conversion from bovines to ovines, the Beattys dumped their Limousin cattle for the greener pastures afforded to them by Katahdin sheep.

As the bitter cold of winter descends upon farmlands, dread creeps into the minds of some farmers. The cost of extra feed and hay, the worry of calving in frigid temperatures or the trouble of breaking ice on frozen ponds can all add stress to cattlemen this time of year. But Dave Loftin skates through winter with relative ease. He attributes his less-stressful winters to his Beefmaster cattle and his low-input farming philosophy.

A rare warm day in December is a welcome reprieve for anyone from the frigid grey clouds of winter. Yet, for a cattle rancher like Steve Parker warm weather is a blessing. Standing in the field overlooking part of his 1,200-acre farm in Aurora, Mo., there is no question how much Steve enjoys being a cattle rancher.

Sometimes, finding ways to market your beef is the best way to increase profits to an otherwise common beef cow/calf operation. This is what Amie’e King, daughter of Jane and Ken Prier of Eagle Rock, Mo., is working to achieve. “My dad is getting ready to retire, and I want my parents to be able to make more money from their herd by capitalizing on what they already do,” said Amie’e. “We grew up on grassfed beef, and it’s popular now with the organic craze, so why not make more money by getting certified to sell it as grassfed?”

Livestock agriculture has many niches. One of these is the smaller scale operations that provide supplementary retirement income and, as importantly, significant daily activity. Danny Frye, a two-year railroad retiree and current small-scale farmer said, “I am busy all of the time because there is always something to do. Farming keeps me constantly moving.” In response, Danny’s wife Lois, who is the Southwest City, Mo., court and city clerk quipped, “Yes, but sometimes he’s asleep when I leave for work and that’s just wrong.”

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.