Neighbors

LeAnna and Bob Hall met at a rodeo 22 years ago. Bob team roped professionally. LeAnna primarily competed in barrel racing and later in team roping. They still attend rodeos today, now with their younger son Brenten. Dylan, their oldest son, just graduated from high school and is attending NEO in Miami, Okla., with a full scholarship earned by judging horses. Brenten is just in the fourth grade, but has already completed his third year of junior rodeos, winning a number of trophies, buckles, cash prizes and two saddles. "We never even thought about it. Nothing else was an option. We just always had land and cattle," she added. "We are really blessed."

In December 2005, when Ron Scott retired as ranch manager from Wildwood Ranch and the ranch's gate closed for good, he started his own ranch. A friend asked him what he was going to name his new place. The friend suggested that he didn’t need a catchy name on a flashy sign; all he needed to do was to let people know who raised the cattle. So today, the sign on Ron’s gate simply states “Ron and Linda Scott, Registered Herefords, Quality Breeding Stock.” And that says it all.

"I like a good challenge,” said Gary Brown, about why he bought the Mo-Ark Livestock facility, formerly Barry County Livestock Auction, in Exeter, Mo. “Also, I don’t believe this market has ever reached its full potential and I’d like the chance to get it there.”

Say ‘float’ and many southwest Missourians think a canoe and maybe Bennett Spring. But to a horse owner or a vet it means only one thing:

Walking through a pasture of Texas Longhorns could be quite intimidating. Whether straight or curved, the horns are long and threatening, and the animals are huge. But then the owner calls them by their names and scratches their heads, and suddenly they’re not as unapproachable. It’s hard to be afraid of a cow named Nancy Jane, Little John, Get ‘er Done, Deadeye Dick – and the best one – Princess Margaret.

A lot of farmers don’t look forward to the times that they have to work their cattle. That’s not the case for Randal Bonds of Cecil, Ark. In fact, he even does it for other farmers all over the Franklin County area. He uses his team of Catahoula dogs and a horse to quickly accomplish a task that takes hours for some. Often, it only takes Randal 10 to 20 minutes to gather a herd that is used to being driven by horses and around an hour for those that aren’t. “My dogs gather the cattle up, and then I use the horses to drive them to where they need to be, he explained.”

The fourth generation in the cattle business, Lane Pruitt who lives at Clinton, Ark., has worked with cattle as far back as he can remember. He grew up on a dairy farm, working with his grandfather, Larry Pruitt, who lives at Beebe, Ark. Larry, a veteran cattleman, has worked in the livestock industry his whole life. Lane continued working with Larry on the family farm through his college years at Arkansas State at Beebe, where he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Agricultural Business.

Morning Glory Farm located in northwest Springfield, Mo., has found a niche market. With Morning Glory Farm Paul Tinlin has found a good use of limited space.

As a boy, Darrell W. Hamlet was nicknamed "Tuff" by his uncle. The name stuck, and through the past 80 or so years, he's lived up to that name. Tuff owns 500 acres near Louisburg, Mo. He grew up working on his dad's dairy farm just west of Louisburg. "My dad made a living milkin' cows by hand," said Tuff, who spent much of his time as a youngster milking cows. He worked on a farm all throughout high school and joined the U.S. Army shortly thereafter. "They sent me to Germany for two years during the Vietnam War. I don't know why I didn't go to Vietnam but I still really enjoyed my time in the army," Tuff added.

Simply watching Jackie Moore work is a strenuous task, yet he appears to have an infinite amount of energy when it comes to cattle marketing. Jackie works hard to make himself available; he reports market information on the radio, writes newspaper columns and spends hours a day talking to individuals about cattle. However, he is remarkably eager to start in all over again the next day in his efforts to make Joplin Regional Stockyards the best place for producers to bring their cattle.