Missouri Neighbors

To say that Bill Mousadakos and his father-in-law, Lazos Makridis enjoy the best of both worlds is no understatement. Not only do both operate restaurants in the Rolla, Mo., area while running a farming operation on the side, they also raise Katahdin sheep and Black Angus cattle. Born in Greece, Lazos and his wife, Ellie, live a long way from their original Greek roots but Bill and his wife, Christina, both were born in the United States. All, along with Bill and Christina’s children, Vasili age 3 and Mari age 6, speak fluent Greek.

Dan Corman’s association with Charolais cattle began when he was 5 years old. “In the fall of 1958, I traveled with mom and dad, C.R. and Joanna, to Chillicothe, Mo., where we purchased a 7/8 Charolais bull,” Dan recalled. “Dad wanted to increase the frame size of our basic commercial cow herd.”

Where can you find a good quality forage that is drought tolerable, protein rich, good to wean calves on, grows thick and can be baled every 30 days during the growing season? Taney County farmer Rob Dalton’s alfalfa field, that’s where. Rob has always been a longtime fan of alfalfa. “I don’t know where you’d find a better quality feed,” he said. With quality in mind, Rob and his wife, Anita, have been working closely with their area extension office in order to develop a good, solid alfalfa program that fits their area and their needs.

Driving any of southern Missouri’s or northern Arkansas’ two-lane highways on Tuesday morning, heading to West Plains, can be a lesson in patience for many. Why you ask? Everyone knows Tuesday is “trailer” day and it has been for the last 30 years.

Don and Mary Deffenbaugh of Neosho, Mo., live on the farm where they raise and breed purebred, registered Black Angus cattle and bulls. Don's father started the herd in the 1950s on his farm near Newtonia on Highway 86. Don partnered with his dad a few years later, and now, Don's son John partners with his dad in the Angus business.

Married 37 years, Bill and Cathy Dalton have lived on their 80-acre ranch in Douglas County, near Ava, Mo., for 16 years.

For a semi-retired woman, Linda Shaddy of Grovespring, Mo., in Wright County stays mighty busy on Tri-Mi Stables with her 18 Fox Trotters and 25 miniature dachshunds. The ‘Tri’ in the original name came from the fact that when she founded the business in 1983, she did so with two partners. Today she and her business partner, Janet Cunningham, operate the business that has produced over 50 World Grand Champions at Ava Missouri’s yearly Missouri Fox Trotters Horse Breeders Association (MFTHBA) Show and Celebration.

Over 140 people from 11 states gathered this spring at the MO-ARK Livestock Marketing Center in Exeter, Mo., for a chance to purchase bulls that were bred and developed in Fescue Country. The idea was to purchase low-input bulls.

Robert “Bob” M. White, a fourth generation farmer, cattleman and owner of White’s Bar-W Ranch in Ozark, Mo., has a love of history that is almost as great as his love of farming. Owned by Bob’s family since the 1850s, White’s Bar-W Ranch has a long and well documented history – starting with the original land grant signed by Ulysses S. Grant hanging in Bob’s office. In 1931, Bob’s parents began a dairy operation, known as White’s Dairy, with Guernsey cows; White’s Dairy bottled, sold and delivered milk to Ozark. In 1966, Hereford cattle joined the Guernsey cows at White’s Bar-W and today Bob raises crossbred beef cow/calf pairs with a Hereford base. “They’re crossed with a little bit of everything,” he laughed.

"Kids need to learn about farming and animals. They need to touch the dirt. There are so many lessons to be learned and so many kids are missing these lessons,” said Bob Brandon, director of Runnymede School for Boys and Runnymede Farm.