Neighbors

For Jeremy Prater, everything depends on good dirt and good grass.

Lori Brown used to teach communications at Greenwood Public Schools. Now she tends her flock so she can spend more time with her family. Lori and her husband, Stan, keep almost 60 wool sheep, along with some goats, a few hair sheep, and a small herd of cattle on 20 acres near Greenwood, Ark.

One continual concern for all farmers is safety. Lori Brown-Whillock from Gentry, Ark., is an Arkansas State Trooper with an extensive background in farm safety both personally and professionally.

Self-sufficiency is the ultimate byword at Pasture Nectar Farm in Lawrence County.

Keith Stevens farms with his brother-in-law, Les Hopkins, on a 170-acre farm in Polk County near Bolivar, Mo. Keith and Les both have jobs off the farm.

Lowline Angus cattle have it all:  perfect size, friendly dispositions and fabulous finished beef. If you want the ‘lowdown’ on this great breed, no one is more knowledgeable than Mark Ramsey of 4R Farms in Republic, Mo. Mark and his wife, Becky, have been raising Lowline Black Angus cattle in Greene County for seven years.

Back in 2002 Silvia Shirley joined 4-H and decided to raise a goat. The next year she acquired one more, then four more, then nine. Now Silvia and her mom, Nancy, by birthing and buying, have a herd of about 45 LaMancha milk goats.

Oldest daughter Sydnie seems well beyond her 14 years, especially when it comes to handling horses.

When Dale Johnston went off to college, he had no plans of returning to his multi-generational ranch. Dale was a business major in college, and didn't have anything to do with the agriculture field. “When I left home for college, my intention was not to come back. Got out in the real world, and found out ranching wasn't so bad after all.”

Paul Sims’ herd of American British White Park Cattle move as a wave of white, trotting up to the fence to greet him on his Dent County farm. Paul claims he rarely feeds the cattle, except necessary hay in the winter, but maintains that the breed’s affection for humans is inherited.