Missouri Neighbors

In Wright County, near Norwood, Mo., Eugene Ussery raises Beefalo cattle on his 322-acre farm. At the present time he has 150 head of Beefalo.

When it comes to Fox Trotters, southwest Missouri is the hub of the universe. In recent years, Dallas County, where Alice and Vic Rowden live, has been home for as many Fox Trotter champions as any other county in the country.

The Taylor family has been involved in the cattle business in various ways in Texas County for many years. Dr. Bernard Taylor has operated a veterinary clinic in Houston, Mo., since 1981. Carla Hollenbeck Taylor grew up on a large farm in this area. Their son, Logan is responsible for bringing registered Angus into the family.

For some rodeo may be a thing of folklore, country songs and television sports highlights but for Seth Barclay of Camdenton, Mo., professional rodeo is living in the Ozarks. “I’ve raised cattle all my life,” Seth explained recently, standing outside the corral on a part of his land in rural Camden County. “Right now I’ve got 30 big bulls and 30 young bulls as well as about 50 rodeo bred cows. The bulls are a mix of White Park and Long Horns.” White Park, an English breed with roots that trace back over centuries that looks like its American counterpart, the legendary Texas Long Horns, only all white. “We raise them on about 5,000 acres, on several parcels of land, throughout Camden County.”

On a 364-acre farm near Fordland, Mo., in Webster County, Richard Ewing and wife, Susan, are busy. They are operating a dairy, raising beef cattle and teaching their children the value of hard work and responsibility.

When Sandy Fiorini moved to Missouri three years ago, it was like she was moving home. She is surrounded by family here with her dad, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. It does give them a lot of room to trail ride and that makes Sandy and her son Christopher pretty happy. They have several horses on their property near Bolivar, Mo., that they train and ride.

Agriculture education takes a different approach at Lake Career and Technical Center, a part of the Camdenton School system, located in the midst of the tourism community of Lake of the Ozarks in Camden County. Jeff Kitchen has been the Camdenton agriculture instructor and FFA advisor for the past 20 years.

Cedar Springs Beefmasters Farm encompasses around 1,000 acres in Webster County near Marshfield, Mo. The farm is owned by Dr. Roger Holden. Dr. Holden lives in Springfield, Mo.

In 1995, Nick and Pam Console gave up city life for farm living in the Missouri Ozarks. These days, spending quality time with their 13-year-old son Casey is priority one, and tending to their herd of Dexter Cattle; It’s clear, the family has found their little slice of heaven, their own piece of the American Dream.  Pam, a self-confessed “California Girl” who’s first love was spending summers with her grandparents on the family farm in Lake Ontario, N.Y., just couldn’t get country living out of her blood. Pam earned a bachelors degree in art; then fate stepped in and she met a tall, dark and handsome Cajun gentleman, with a syrupy-sweet southern drawl from Lake Charles, La. Soon, Casey made three, and the rest is history. The Consoles’ knew country life was for them, so they packed up and moved lock, stock and barrel to the Heartland of America-Ash Grove, Mo.

Collecting is a hobby for Neil Breshears. Initially it didn’t seem to matter what he collected guns, knives or pocket watches. He can tell you with lots of pride when and where he acquired each piece. Neil is very sentimental and almost everything is symbolic of a piece of his past. Walking on his farm he will tell you that this came from his dairy farm, or that his dad had a tractor just like that one. The memories they give him are important to Neil.