Neighbors

A close look at Robert Stobaugh’s family tree will find farmers in every direction.

It's amazing to step out onto the very green, lush, peaceful farm that’s been in the Frost family for 105 years, and five generations. “Since 1903,” said Bob Frost, a third generation farmer in the mountains of Johnson County, Arkansas. "My granddad, John Frost, bought 80 acres in 1903, and added 40 more at a later date. He built a small house they later named the weaning house. His son Hall Frost was born in 1906; they then built the big white farm house, which sits across from the smaller home. When Hall got married they moved into the weaning house. They both spent their whole lives on this farm," Bob said.

North of Lebanon, Mo., on a tract of land bordered by the rich Niangua River, and adjacent to regal bluffs and hillsides lies an 800-acre farm with a long, rich history.

When Earnest Smith, 78, of Summersville, Mo., steps up into his climate controlled cab tractor, his thoughts must often go back to a different time and a different way of doing things.  After all, his farming experience spans eight decades and a lifetime of change.

Seth Cooper never planned on being a full time farmer, even though his parent's commercial herd was home to over 400 cows. But time does have a way of changing things. He went to college on a football scholarship and got a degree in biology. Seth's dad, Randy, owned the general store, Longview Grocery and Lumber Supply, in the small town of Rocky Comfort, Mo., for about 20 years before Seth came home from college and became his dad's partner in both the farm and the store.

A new generation of farmers is coming about these days. Whereas years ago most farms were family operated and knowledge was passed from father to son, many of today's livestock producers don't have the advantage of growing up on a farm. Shirley Williams is a case in point. She said, "I grew up in the city in a family that wouldn't even let me have a dog in the house." Luckily, her maternal grandfather had agrarian roots, and could see the makings of a good  stock woman in Shirley. She inherited his passion for stock while spending family vacations at his horse ranch in Louisiana.

Stevie Haller is passionate and knowledgeable about livestock farming. The owner of 350 head of purebred Gelbvieh and another 100 crosses, 48 of them the promising Gelbvieh/Angus Balancer cross, Stevie, his wife Brenda, a registered nurse, and their two sons’ families operate Haller Farms. They also recently opened Haller Motorworx, a Branson Tractor farm equipment business.  Stevie modestly claims that the secret to his many successes is “to always try to listen to people who know more than I do.” At this point in his career, though, most people are keen on listening to what Stevie has to say.

When Jerry Hunton was nine years old his family got their first chicken barns. His mom, Jessie, and dad, Floyd, met during  World War II, and then married and  moved back to Arkansas to make a life farming in the Arkansas Ozarks. Jessie, who was an integral part of the farm up until the past few years, was simply grateful to not be in the cotton fields of her native Oklahoma anymore. A life tending chickens and cows seemed to suit her better. What started for the Huntons on 220 acres grew as the family was able to purchase neighboring land. With the addition of Jerry and his wife Karen’s six children, (“five of the six still in arms reach,” Jerry smiled,) and 12 grandchildren, the family has kept the 600-acre farm up and running over the years.

Dr. McDonald Bonebrake has had a long relationship with Hereford cattle. His early days were spent at the family farm in Salem, Mo., working with the Herefords his dad traded for sheep in the 30s. Even after “Mac” left home for medical school he still had a desire to settle at a place in the country, with a few cows of his own. Mac began practicing medicine as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Springfield, Mo., in 1952. He bought a farm east of town, and his dad got him started with a few Hereford cows. That was in 1953.

What does a retired mail carrier and a busy teenager have in common? Other than being a grandfather and granddaughter and wanting to stay busy, Polled Herefords seem to be the perfect answer. Over the years Lendell Voris and his kin have developed a high quality Hereford herd through dedication and hard work.