Neighbors

The actions of a kind uncle many years ago set in motion what has become a lifelong pursuit for David Kidd of Lincoln, Ark.

John Robinson did not grow up in the country, but he has found his niche on the 450-acre farm he and his brothers inherited from his grandfather in Valley Springs, Ark. He has tried everything from custom combining and hay baling to running a large herd of cow/calf pairs.  However, four years ago John implemented a MIG (Managed Intensive Grazing) program. He now runs around 250 head of stocker cattle and 40 Red Angus/Saler cross mama cows. “I have learned cows can pick up grass more efficiently than I can.  This is the most profitable for me at this time,” said John. 

Larry Deffenbaugh looked for several things when he was getting back into the cattle business in 1990. "I wanted something no one else had. I had grown up around white-faces and Angus. I looked at different trade magazines, and then I found three years of a feedlot test.” What he found was the Salers. “Salers responded to feed and their weight conversions were good," Larry recalled. With their stats showing for good conversions, his desire for a good-gaining animal was met. Upon further investigation, Larry found the Salers to be a breed with wide pelvic openings, calving ease and a great disposition.

With the average age of the American farmer around 65, it’s evident that not too many children are coming back home to continue the family farm. But the statistic doesn't hold true for Doug Fare in Jenkins, Mo. His farm has been in the Fare family well over 100 years.

Input costs keep going up. The three big “F” words (feed, fuel, fertilizer) are still on everybody’s lips. But what if there was a way to reduce those costs and bring a premium price for your product to boot?
Coscia Limousin Manager Ben Bennett is on to something.

"I try to treat my animals the way I want to be treated and in doing so I really haven’t faced many challenges concerning their care over the past two years,” explained Linda Sanchez of Lou-Lin Valley Ranch just north of Mountain Home, Ark.

How many big radio names credit their start to The Future Farmers of America? 

Thirty years ago Ed Martsolf began his bid to change the sheep industry. At the time, most sheep in the state of Arkansas were raised for the purpose of providing wool. Mr. Martsolf knew the market for wool was diminishing, but, he also knew a sheep market still remained largely untapped.  If Ed could build a flock of sheep with the single purpose of becoming seed stock to produce a mild tasting meat, he could tap the meat market for lamb. However, Ed knew that this flock could not be just another flock of wool producing sheep; his flock must be chemical free, hair sheep; Katahdin Hair sheep. 

The average American has an idea of the typical farmer as a man surrounded by cows and crops. The average American would be spot-on with that image when it comes to Darvin Bentlage. Darvin was born and raised on his family farm and he exudes the confidence of a lifetime farmer. He was involved in FFA in high school and soon won the State FFA Farmer Award. Darvin was also on several FFA judging contest teams and was the secretary of his FFA Chapter. He attributes much of his success in the agricultural industry today to those involvements as a young man.

They make great pets, and a little bit of money too.