Neighbors

Entrepreneur Shawn Briggs, of Aurora, Mo., prefers to dabble in multiple types of business. He credits his work ethic to the example his parents set forth. The same example Shawn and his wife, Terri, hope to give to their three sons, Gavin, 14, Spencer, 12 and Larson, 8. “Farming is a great way to install work ethic and it is a really good experience for our boys,” said Shawn.

Greg Lemke of Gentry, Ark., always had a passion for cattle. However a hog hunting accident in 2007 followed by a layoff as a result of downsizing in Latco in Lincoln, Ark., fine-tuned the passion into a livelihood necessity. Greg found himself wheelchair-bound, out of work and unable to use his engineering design degree but not his intelligence and determination.

Charles and Judy Williams own Osage Valley Farms on 197 acres in Berryville, Ark., where they raise registered black and polled Limousins. However, Limousins were not always the animal of choice. Charles has raised feeder pigs and chickens as well as running a dairy while driving a feed truck.

Seniors Clarence and La Joyce Duncan met at a church potluck in 2005 and built a home together before they married in 2007. For La Joyce the home was a fulfillment of a lifetime dream. She had always wanted a home on the family homestead and land which has been in their possession for 68 years. The couple has 220 acres on Heflin-Thomas Farm outside of West Fork, Ark., and runs a 56 head herd of Charolais with 26 mommas and one bull. Though some are registered and all could be, the couple feels that registration is an unnecessary expense for them at this time.

Buck Ridge Limousin, located near Rogersville, Mo., in Greene County, is owned by Mark Haden. He calls his son, Logan, the ranch manager and said he is an integral part of the operation. “Logan has enjoyed it ever since we started. He’s involved in every aspect,” Mark said.

Mark Gronniger grew up in Dallas County but went into farming with a plan, as he put it, while he was still serving with the Marines. Kim, originally a city girl from Iowa, stated she met her husband while living on an Iowa farm, when he was working as a Marine recruiter there. “He recruited me, too,” she laughed. Afterwards, Mark and Kim came home to Dallas County where they raised four children on their 420 acres, outside Long Lane, Mo. Today, all but one has left home. Mark and Kim are raising 110 momma cows, calves and Red Angus bulls.

Bob Redfearn, or “California Bob” as he is known around Polk County was raised on a farm around Ft. Scott, Kan. He enjoyed the farm, but didn’t give it much thought when he left the farm when he was 20 years old to move to California to pursue his career. Bob was a roofing contractor and owned a variety of businesses during the 50 years he was gone.

The story of Cedar Springs Stables is one of adventure and life with horses. Kathleen Gregory did not grow up on a farm or ever lived on a farm until she purchased Cedar Springs Stables. The story really began when her daughter, Kate Marie, was 8 years old. She began riding lessons at Diamond TR, and her son, John, wanted to learn to ride by age 7. Kathleen found herself wanting to groom the horses and then decided to take riding lessons. She found a certain peace when she was with the horses. She knew she wanted a place where she could have horses and quite by accident she found just that.

This is the story of one woman's quest to find the best method for raising her Tamworth hogs. In the process she crafted a natural fit with the highly regarded and strictly regulated Animal Welfare criteria, the gold standard for animal rights.

One way to live the farming life in Arkansas is to own your own place. Another way is to work the farm for someone else and have the pleasure of living on the land. That’s what Nick Dearmore and his family do. The farm, located in Marion County just south of Yellville, Ark., is owned by Dwain Hawkins, but Nick is the day-to-day manager of the place.