Neighbors

"I never knew I was an outdoors-type person,” Jamie Haase said, smiling from the seat of her beat-up Ford farm truck. After years in the Extension office in McDonald County, Jamie realized that a full-time job at the farm was the ideal place for her.

It’s been a balance between a life called to ministry, a business in buildings and construction and a love-affair with the family farm that’s kept John Wilkins busy all his years.

Limousin cattle are the focus of Pinegar Limousin. Make no mistake about that. But when it comes to improving the breed, Ty Heavin, ranch manager at Pinegar is quick to point out the advantages and benefits of the increasingly popular LimFlex. LimFlex can be a cross between anywhere from a 75 percent Limousin and a 25 percent Angus to 25 percent Limousin and 75 percent Angus.

In the middle of the second cutting and baling at the end of July, D.A. Dahlke worked hard to get his hay in before another rain. He partners with his brother, Doin; they bale hay from 40 acres, with half belonging to D.A., about 150 round bales each year.

Cattle are in Lawson Hembree's blood. Actively ranching for the last 15 years, Lawson is the sixth generation of his family to raise cattle on the same plot of land near Ozark, Ark., since before Arkansas was a state.

Chastain Farms is the classical depiction of how cattle farmers have evolved the past 80 years from expansive pasture-based operations focused on natural selection to small-scale farms focused on introducing technology to create high-quality cattle.

Ted Anderson grew up around cattle on a farm in Osage County, Kansas but was unfamiliar with the obscure Dexter breed. Even through his studies at Kansas State University and upon graduation with a degree in Zoology, Ted never encountered the small breed. It wasn’t until his retirement from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), after 30 years of inspecting overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers that he discovered a charming variety of miniature cattle and knew it was just right for his small farm in Strafford, Mo.

"Longhorn cattle are more than horns and hides,” stated Greg Brown of Lucky Falling Star Ranch in southern Howell County. “People used to think of Longhorns and think of crazy rodeo cattle raised for horns. There are many other options for Texas Longhorns these days,” he explained.

Michelle Wilson's passion for horses began at age 13. Until then, she had been a city girl before her mother bought her riding lessons for her birthday. Michelle recalled, “I spent every day riding,” after her first ride.

What began as a retirement pastime has grown into something a bit larger. “It’s a hobby that got carried away,” said Larry Hacker. After 28 years of military life, Larry and Nelda Hacker of Lincoln, Ark., have traded a life of  travel with the United States Army for “done roving” roots raising Beefalo cattle. In 1986 they were presented with an opportunity to purchase two heifers as a start in the Beefalo business. Since then their operation has grown to over 100 head of cows, providing breeding stock to buyers from Minnesota to  Texas and Colorado to West Virginia.