Missouri Neighbors

Jim and Vali Suddarth of rural Camden County, breeders of gaited Morgan horses, are an extraordinary couple in many ways. Both are self-proclaimed ‘horse nuts’ which they admit is a good thing as a married couple. “We know others where only the man or woman is horse crazy and that makes it hard on the couple as one is often riding and the other is waiting around, trying to understand this strange attraction.” Anyone who has ever known someone afflicted with this particularly delightful compulsion understands.

The average American has an idea of the typical farmer as a man surrounded by cows and crops. The average American would be spot-on with that image when it comes to Darvin Bentlage. Darvin was born and raised on his family farm and he exudes the confidence of a lifetime farmer. He was involved in FFA in high school and soon won the State FFA Farmer Award. Darvin was also on several FFA judging contest teams and was the secretary of his FFA Chapter. He attributes much of his success in the agricultural industry today to those involvements as a young man.

Bonnie and Van Vanderpool are two individuals from divergent backgrounds – hers as a lifelong resident of the Ozarks and the Dallas County farm where she still lives and his as a happy transplant from Chicago – have come together to establish their own micro-dairy farm, with sons, Trenton, age 12, and Will, age 5, in a unique and greatly self-sufficient lifestyle.

Most of the time when people say ‘you’re seeing red,’ it’s a bad thing. But at Reinert Family Farm, seeing red (and black and gold) means you are looking at John and Denise Reinert’s fine herd of Gelbvieh and Red Poll cattle near Billings, Mo.

Mule enthusiasts flock to revanped event SPRINGFIELD, MO. - Missouri Mule Makeover and Ozark Mule Days is a big deal and getting bigger by the...

One phone call turned into a passion for a Liberal, Mo., woman Deanna Kafka, Liberal, Mo., has been rescuing horses for more than 25 years....

A strong work ethic, sense of humor, and a desire to learn the farrier trade are collective traits of the students attending Heartland Horseshoeing...

Jerry and Michelle Sanner’s Hidden Farm, as they call it, in rural Polk County is well-named, tucked in amongst the rolling hills outside Humansville, Mo. “I started with commercial cows,” Jerry explained, “but we’re converting over to registered Angus at this point.  We’re working with Jeff and Shoni Wilson out of Clearwater, Mont. There’s 50 years of research behind the genetics in the herd we have established with top producers here in Missouri. It’s all about raising great-tasting beef. You cook chicken and you have to put  spices on it to make it taste good,” he laughed. “We want to raise beef that when you cook it or put it on the grill, that’s all you need. We want people to eat beef.”

According to Jim Vavruska, “Yes dear. That’s the key to staying married for 50 years.” Jim and his wife, Pat, own a 142-acre dairy farm 4 miles west of Rader, Mo. The couple has been married for over 50 years and they’ve milked cows just as long. If you do the math, the Vavruskas have made over 36,500 trips to the milk barn, and it’s all coming to an end when spring arrives. Four years ago, the couple sold their Holstein bull and bought a registered Angus bull. The result, a very slow transition to a stock-cow operation that has narrowed their herd of Holsteins down to 14 milking cows and 6 dry, in preparation for their retirement. In addition to their dairy cows, the pair has built up a herd of about 50 stock cows through their method of transition.

Scott Hedges and his family strive to breed high-quality show cattle at their Richland, Mo., farm Scott Hedges’ family has been in the cattle business...