Neighbors

Once upon a time in the West, according to cowboy lore and Hollywood legend, cattlemen and sheep herders didn’t mix, but fortunately for 17-year-old Derek Miller of rural Dallas County, Mo., times have changed.

There is no doubt that times are a changing. Technology is rapidly invading every aspect of daily living. This shift begun to change the face of farming and ranching from manual field monitoring to what one high school student hopes will change once labor-intensive activities to a more cost effective and time efficient process.

John and Cheryl Pickering met 20 years ago at a convenience store when John was working construction in Gentry, Ark.

Although it’s in the middle of the White County town of Searcy, Ark., the sign over the barn reads, “Arkansas Cattle Auction.”

An Ozarks woman is working to preserve the heritage of the American cowboy, one photo at a time.

Mitchell Smith, who operates Mid-State Farrier Services out of Licking, Mo., in Texas County, was born and raised in New York state and attended horseshoeing school at Cornell University, a long way from the Ozarks.

Early mornings in Ozark, Mo., finds J.J. Leak and grandson Ethan picking the blueberries and blackberries she’ll sell later in the day at the Nixa Ozark Area Farmer’s Market.

Leroy and Pat Sellers run both registered Quarter horses and commercial cattle on 450 acres in the Morrow, Ark., area and an additional 300 acres outside of Stilwell, Okla. Leroy’s father was a successful cattleman in Farmington, while Pat came from a tobacco farming family from Kentucky.

Raising racing Quarter horses is not part of production agriculture, but uses the same basic principles to produce the best and most economically advantageous animals.

Two young Marion County, Ark., brothers, Kyle and Bryan Benedict, are combining their efforts and talents to manage three ranches.