Neighbors

Paul Vaughn returned to Oklahoma after serving in the Army to start his cattle legacy. “I am sure my grandfather had some cattle but, it wasn’t at a large scale until dad,” Paul’s youngest son, Cody said. Paul started buying land and cattle raising strawberries to help pay for land, clearing it and buying cattle. During that time, Paul married Cammela and they raised five children. “There are five of us kids, four boys and one girl. Randy is the oldest. Marty and Olin were next. Then came Cammy and me,” Cody said. “I was an accident they tell me.

Lavern Madison of Cassville, Mo., has handled horses his whole life, and is a native of southwest Missouri. “I was born and raised in Galena Hollow, went to Haley School until seventh grade. Then we moved to Oak Ridge and me, my two brothers and sister went to Oak Ridge School where I graduated at 16,” said Lavern.

In the early 1980s, the Keller family traveled to Missouri from eastern Colorado to check out the farming industry in this area. This family consisted of Tony and Rita and their four children Mark, Sherry and twin boys, Keith and Kevin.

Selling Beef with Taste
“Our beef is not your conventional beef from the grocery or restaurant. It’s beef you will remember. It’s got a taste to it.”

Now that the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm to School Month in October has come to a close, school districts throughout the United States still have an opportunity to participate. The program benefits the schools, nonprofit entities and the local farmer, rancher and/or grower. The grant provides assistance to eligible entities who want to implement farm-to-school programs to improve access to local food sources. The USDA awards up to $5 million in competitive grants annually for training, support, planning, equipment purchases, school gardens, partnerships and the implementation of farm to school programs.

Ron and Shelley Terrell have been married for 14 years and have a son, Damien, who is 10. Ron was raised on a farm in Stilwell, Okla. Shelley is from Chouteau, Okla.

Austin and Kayla Pratt live outside of Harrison, Ark., and are starting a new farm, a daunting task in this day and age. They rent 200 acres on a family farm dating back to 1845 when the land was first purchased by Kayla’s great, great, great grandfather David Trotter.

Tucked away in a far corner of Laclede county is a small farm, maybe it’s not a farm (you’ll have to be the judge,) bearing the name Falcon Ridge Farm and owned by Wendy Lombardi.

Question: What do you get when you combine an Angus herd and a Simmental herd? Answer: A happy marriage, of course. Just ask Devin and Bailey Keltner. When the two wed three years ago they merged their herds. Devin brought his registered Angus herd to the marriage and Bailey contributed her purebred Simmentals.

Ask Wes and Ame Hunter of Providence Farm in Seymour, Mo., how they ended up farming for a living, and they will tell you that “it just kind of came together.” The Hunters have always had a longtime interest in alternative farming and knowing where their food came from, and the quality of their food; around the time they started their family, they decided to make the jump to begin pursuing the lifestyle they dreamed of. Today, Wes, Ame, and their three children, Addison, Benjamin and Nathaniel, are proud to make their living off of their family farm. “We do this because we think it’s the right thing to do,” said Wes.