Neighbors

Any individual who both farms and is heavily involved with farm loans in the banking industry has a unique perspective of the challenges facing both. Such a person is Aaron Holcombe who owns a poultry and hay farm east of Jay, Okla., where he lives with his wife, Tammie, and their two children, Ashley, 13, and Caleb, 9.

Bill and Margaret Davis, owners of Circle D Farms, have a love for farming and raising Angus cattle. Circle D Farms, located near Concord, Ark., in Cleburne County, is approximately 200 acres of pastures, rolling hills and wooded areas. Bill works at clearing acreage and making ponds on the land, mowing hay and building his herd. Margaret had a beautiful garden near the house and works on the farm with Bill. Bill’s son, Asa, lives nearby and also works on the farm helping mow hay, build/repair fences and doing whatever he needs to do.

For Bill Berg and his family, who's farm lies just southwest of Exeter, Mo., raising hogs has been part of their lives for many years. “I was raised here. My parents moved here from Pratt County, Kansas and bought 120 acres.” Bill shared that his dad raised hogs and butchered them as well. Bill's own childhood memories of having pigs on the farm were also echoed in the next two generations. His daughter, Bridget Schreiner, second youngest of four daughters that Bill and Barbara Berg have, recalled late summer nights of sitting near the sows waiting for baby pigs to be born. Bills 18-year-old grandson, Jesse Hinds, who is the son of daughter Becky, has enjoyed helping his grandpa with the pigs since he was a toddler.

For over 58 years registered Angus cattle have grazed the pastures of Baker Angus in Butler, Mo.

Delicately planted near downtown, Springfield, Mo., grows Urban Roots Farm owned and operated by Adam and Melissa Millsap. Daughter, Bela, 6 and son, Owen, 4, love to get their hands dirty along side mom and dad.

Some people get into farming through the back door, that is without ever having lived in the country before beginning. This is the case with Greg Pierson and Janet Tekell of West Fork, Ark.

Straddling the Arkansas/Missouri stateline grows a wealth of tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, turnips, potatoes and much more carefully planted in row after row. Each plant is meticulously groomed by Patrice Gros.

If you were a bird and landed somewhere on Archbury Farms you might think you had landed in heaven. Archbury Farms is just that for Ed and Wanda Currier, a little piece of heaven on earth. The more than 1,600-acre farm is located in the beautiful Ozark Mountains in Van Buren County, with Alread, Ark., being the closest small community.

Operating a laying house has many challenges. Tom Leverich of Pioneer near Wheaton, Mo., who owns and manages his laying house said, “The big thing is that you have to be consistent.” In his house (which is 400' x 40') he keeps and maintains approximately 13,000 hens, that lay, at their peak, as many as 12,600 eggs per day. What are the most important things? Tom, who has owned his laying house since 2004, said, “There are four things you have to be consistent with: Quality of the air in the chicken house, temperature, water and feed. If you manage those four things the birds are going to do well.”

In 33 years as an agriculture education instructor, Sam Lower of Lebanon Technology and Career Center, a part of Lebanon High School, has seen an incredible number of changes and also has great hope for the future.