Neighbors

Most people have seen uprooted trees; whether the result of a bulldozer or a spring storm, it is not an uncommon sight. When a tree is uprooted, we miss the shade or the scenery, but we also soon learn that the missing tree leaves a hole. No matter how a landowner tries to fill in the hole, it is always noticeable for years afterward. The same is true when a member of the community passes away.

Why do Jerrod and Julie Ball of Exeter, Mo., raise Boer Meat Goats? “Because someone fell in love with the babies,” said Jerrod as he glanced over to his wife, Julie. But it is evident that the sweet kids are just one reason for using goats in farm diversification. The goats have also become an important 4-H project for their son, Jason, 11, who enjoys training and showing both doelings and meat wethers. Last year Jason and his older sister, Jessica, showed three doelings in several area shows.

Hope comes in many different forms for many different people but probably four-hoofed is not most folks’ first notion when the word is mentioned. Horses of Hope, a therapeutic riding program, located just south of Buffalo, Mo., is working hard to change that perception.

As all farmers know, it’s been hard to stay down on the farm during these past few years of recession. Frank and Christy DePriest of Midway, Ark., have learned that diversification is the key.

A famous writer named Thomas Wolfe once wrote a renowned novel entitled "You Can’t Go Home Again." Greg and Cheryl Satterfield, who currently live in Harrison, Ark., intend to prove him wrong. Greg and Cheryl met in a horticulture class at the University of Arkansas and then lived in Tulsa, Okla., and were later transferred to New Jersey. After three years in New Jersey, the couple decided to move back to the area, partly to get out of the more urban areas and partly to escape the high cost of living. They also had children and felt they needed to provide the children with a better lifestyle.

Unlike so many people who live here, Philip and Connie Swan have no history of family or previous ties to the Ozarks. Phil said, “I had always heard that the Ozarks was a nice place to retire. Plus we were both ‘country’ to start with and didn’t want to be in the city anymore.” With encouragement from some friends who knew about the area, Connie went online and started looking. They decided to check out the Ozarks prior to their retirement. They ended up in Branson, Mo., and started looking around with the help of a real estate agent. The Lead Hill area of Boone County, Ark., caught their eye. The first piece of property they saw was the 33 acres they bought.

Ricky Jenkins believes that you have to sell quality if you are going to sell anything. He won’t sell any of his livestock that he wouldn’t keep for himself. He is quick to cull out of his herds anything that doesn’t quite meet his standards, and they are pretty high for good reasons.

A beautiful herd of Brangus cattle can be seen north of Monett, Mo., at the Vaughn homeplace.  Their home and farmland are positioned next to the original Vaughn homestead and the family business, Vaughn Trucking Company.

A trade 76 years ago laid the foundation for Steve Greene’s new career. In 1936, Bonebrake Herefords was established in Salem, Mo., after Mr. Bonebrake traded his herd of sheep and a shotgun for Herefords from a man in Illinois. Since then, the farm has expanded from it’s original location to include 400-acres in Greene County.

Many people wish to actually retire around age 55. Not so for Lee and Linda Ragains of Sallisaw, Okla. While it’s true that Lee retired from veterinary practice in Nebraska, he and Linda buy ranches and improve them for resale while running their registered Longhorn operation. They have 200 head made up of 120 momma cows and seven bulls with the rest being calves and yearlings. Two previous spreads were a 1,400-acre ranch in Duncan, Okla., and a 1,780-acre ranch in Lynchburg, Mo.