Neighbors

Sometimes challenges create opportunities, and Eddie and Lorraine Kinzer of Kinzer Polled Herefords in Hogeye, Ark., this year took advantage of a challenging situation to improve the farm.

Billie Warm lives on a small farm, which was originally a stage stop on old Cabin Mill Road near Mountain Home, Ark. When she and her husband, Tim, moved from Ava, Mo., she began by raising cows and horses. She now raises smaller animals, including sheep, goats and chickens. The sheep and goats are sold for meat and the chickens are raised for egg production.

The word retirement means different things to different people. When Russ and Doris Breitenstein retired from Kansas City, Kansas to northern Arkansas, they probably never thought they’d be raising African Boer goats. But after they bought 16 acres just north of Green Forest, Ark., they decided to do something special with the land.

The tales that Jerry Crownover documents in his column Life is Simple have brought Ozarks farmers laughs throughout the years and stories to be passed on at local coffee shops in every small town. Friends getting their tractors stuck in frozen ponds, dead cows sliding down the hill or even memories of what he learned as an agriculture teacher about the real way to farm – Jerry has shared much insight about rural life and the changes in the industry. But, what about the man behind Life is Simple?

Kenneth Gossard’s Texas County sheep wasn’t something that he thought would stick around, after moving to Princeton, N.J. “I am a manager on a dairy, sheep and hog farm there, working with the dairy and consulting for possible dairy goats they are looking at.” But, even though he lives in New Jersey the majority of the time, he still manages his flock near Willow Springs, Mo. “Basically I come back a couple times of year, specifically for the sheep,” Kenneth said. He raises the sheep for the wool and as freezer lambs.

Across the Ozarks, many producers are working hard studying the newest technology and the latest trends, doing whatever they can to get the most out of their herds, and they reap the benefits. However, there are also producers pursuing a different path, and they are also richly rewarded for their efforts. Ron and Shirley Peckman of Prairie Creek Ranch fall into this category.

A sign reading “Poultry – Past, Present and Future” should be displayed over the entrance to Hugh McClain’s office. Hugh, founder of McClain Farms, began working in the poultry business straight out of the armed services in 1959, in Marshall, Ark. From 1960 to 1964, he was a district manager for Cargill in northern Missouri, and in Iowa from 1965 to 1969. Then, Hugh moved back home to Mountain Home, Ark. With just a pickup truck, $4,000 and his furniture, he began his lifetime career as a poultry farmer. He rented two old chicken houses, converted them to turkey barns and got a loan from Purina to buy his first batch of poults and feed.

The low inputs and the growing market for goat meat initially attracted Laurie Foucault and Clint Place of Ozone, Ark. to raise Boer goats. After researching the hardiness and market, Laurie decided that American Fullblood Boer and Boer crosses would be the best fit. “If you mix does as a dairy cross, your milk production is better which grows off your kids better,” Laurie explained. “Feed conversion was also a main reason,” she added later, “You can feed 10 head of goats to 1 head of cattle.”

Twenty-five cows, 205 acres of land and a vegetable garden – That’s how the King family got by in the old days. Gerald King, patriarch of the King family of Green Forest, Ark., said, “I don’t know how they (his dad and mom) raised five kids here, but they did.” They just managed to get by with less back then. Gerald said he milked 25 dairy cows a day with “milking machines” – then looked down at his hands.

Married 40 years, Rob and Peggy Appleby have lived on their 120-acre farm near Conway, Mo., for the past 12 years. Around 80 head of Simmental and Gelbvieh cattle roam the family farm.