Neighbors

Just short of being a century farm, Crystal Springs Limousin, knows cattle with great quality and has been raising such cattle, for some time. Bill Burch’s family started not in the beef cattle business, but the dairy industry when they moved to the Neosho, Mo., area in 1919.

A major concern for anyone living in rural areas is fire. Fire hazard potential determines safe burning, hay storage and insurance rates. Paying attention to wisps of smoke, especially during burn bans is critical for everyone's safety, and when fires do occur, dealing with them is often a multi-community effort.

Like many families in northwest Arkansas, the Stettmeier’s came from elsewhere, in this case Maryland. Ken and Debbie met at a resort in Ocean City, Md. On that day he was jumping rope for football when five girls walked by. Ken said, “I was instantly done so I could meet the girls.” Later the whole group went to a beach party. Ken said, “As soon as they arrived, I sorted out the show cattle to find the one I wanted.” Debbie laughed and added, “I knew he had sorted correctly, but it took him longer to figure it out.” The couple married with Ken following in his father’s footsteps in the meat industry and Debbie becoming a grade school teacher. Ken’s career opportunities took their growing family from Maryland to Seattle.

Rob Long has been a high school teacher for 21 years, first as a physical science teacher and for the last 11 years, as a vocational agriculture educator. “I liked teaching science but I like teaching agriculture even better and particularly, being an FFA advisor. I enjoyed FFA as a student but once one of my daughters was in FFA, I realized the impact it really has on students, in important areas, like public speaking, leadership training and exposure to parliamentary procedure. It’s easy to overlook extracurricular high school activities as relatively unimportant but the truth is some of them are as important as the academic process and I really think FFA is one of those.”

Vance and Gloria Mattson started with 10 Angus cows when they first moved to Everton, Mo., in 1999. But that just wasn't really cutting it for them. "Gloria wasn't really comfortable with them, so we started looking for something smaller," Vance said.

Ed Cahoj, a cattle farmer in Polk County near Halfway, Mo., remembers the day he became aware of soil fertility. He was 7 or 8 years old on his dad’s farm in Kansas. The land had just been plowed, and like any good farmer, his dad picked up a handful of the freshly turned sod and smelled it.

For the past 32 years, Terry Halleran has been an agriculture educator in southwest Missouri – beginning in Pleasant Hope and in classes at University of Missouri-Columbia, Missouri State University, Ozarks Technical Community College and for the last many years, as the ag teacher at Buffalo High School.

Leslie and Carol Gore's farm is near Stilwell, Okla., and they were Adair County Farm Bureau’s Family of the Year two years ago. The Gores have been married for four years and have four grown children.

In this day and age of “charge now, pay later,” Drew and Katie Wood have decided that their lifestyle will be “pay as we go.” Their 20-acre farm in north Arkansas near Berryville came complete with an old run-down 1920s farmhouse. Instead of tearing it down and building a home they would be making payments on for many years, they’ve been remodeling it. Drew uses recycled wood and reclaimed building materials. This young married couple, with their baby boy, Dakota, are living in a vintage motor home. Katie said, “I like it so well, I don’t even want to sell it when the house is complete.”

A small operation with a plan can be both rewarding and satisfying. When Doug and Elaine Mills moved onto their 5 acres just north of Harrison, Ark., they knew then that they wanted animals that would provide pleasure, keep the grass down and pay for themselves. They’ve basically achieved that goal.