Neighbors

Rush hour traffic, city ordinances and people trying to arrive at the airport on time. Every day hustle and bustle may not concern most Arkansas farmers; however, it is a major concern for Ryan Anglin who owns and operates a 300-cow dairy and runs 150 pairs of beef cattle on 1,100 acres with his family outside of Bentonville. Ryan, who has been in the dairy business for 37 years, has learned how to adapt to the ever-changing Northwest Arkansas.

Dave Umfleet has a passion for producing seedstock Simmentals. He spends hours studying pedigrees and learning as much as he can about Simmental genetics. Dave and his wife, Debbie, focus on producing the best cattle possible for other producers to use for donor cows and bulls.

What do Limousin bulls, a school teacher and a recording artist have in common? The answer is Freddie Edwards of Rock Island, Okla.

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.

4R Farms began in 1878 and has grown to more than 1,500 acres SARCOXIE, MO. - Rodney and Christine Lewis, are the fourth generation to live...

With the idea of living on the land like generations of self-reliant people in the past lived, Tina Marie Wilcox moved onto her 28 acres of wooded ridge-top near Leslie, Ark. She’s one of the back-to-the-landers who stayed, keeping a connection to her roots. In 2009 she co-authored and published a book with Susan Belsinger, titled "The Creative Herbal Home," a guide for both beginners and more experienced home herbalists. She raises a vegetable and herb garden.

Seven years ago Rick Kelley, of Mansfield, Mo., stepped into a volunteer role that would have a huge impact on the production of his farm.

DeeDee and Ron Haynes started raising registered Red Angus cattle because their youngest son, Jordan wanted to show Red Angus cattle. They visited the Orys at their Circle 7 Red Angus Ranch in Missouri at the suggestion of a friend to see what the breed was all about. They had raised commercial cattle and at the time registered Beefmaster. “Registered Beefmaster didn’t work out too well with our kids showing so we switched to Red Angus and started showing those. That is how we built this herd,” Ron said. “Whatever breed you have is what you think is the best,” DeeDee said. “We like a color, red. I know most people like the black but, we just like red.” DeeDee believes Red Angus cattle have good dispositions, have a better coat, are more heat tolerant and marble out just as well as Black Angus cattle. “They are just a good breed,” DeeDee said.

Jimmy Stephens was born into a family that gave him two dreams. One of those dreams, or passions, as Jimmy called it, stemmed from riding around in the pickup truck with his grandfather when he was a young boy, while he checked cattle. The other dream stemmed from an uncle that worked in law enforcement. Jimmy started working in law enforcement first, by becoming an Arkansas State Trooper, but he still had a longing to have a ranch of his own. So, in 1995, Jimmy bought a ranch just off of I-40 Interstate, with a creek running through it. He raises registered Black Angus and Brangus cattle, and has built a working barn and pens along with a dog kennel for his Catahoula cow dogs.

Semper Fidelis Ranch at the apex of Laclede, Dallas and Camden counties, actually lies in rural Camden County along the southern county line.