Neighbors

With the familiar economic downturn, rising gas prices and a steady increase in food and energy costs, what, if anything, is to blame?  Could one of the main contributors of these problems be something so cleverly disguised as corn based ethanol?  According to BJ Neill of Bolivar, Mo., the answer is “yes.” 

It is a love for cattle and the country that brought Calvin and Laura Harris together and keeps their marriage strong after 26 years.
The couple, originally from Fresno, Calf., started raising Limousin cattle in 1979. They moved Harris Cattle Company to Tontitown, Ark., in 1987 to expand the operation and now have 65 cows and two herd bulls they use to raise Limousin, Angus and LimFlex cattle.
LimFlex cattle are a combination of Limousin and Angus, and flex is an acronym for flexible Limousin efficiency cross.
In 2004, the Harrises bought a national reserve champion Limousin bull to breed to their cows. In 2007, they decided to

At the age of 10 years old, Michael Economopoulos walked race horses at a New York track, and dreamed that someday he would have his own race horses. The dream started to become reality in 1979, when he purchased 120 acres at Witts Springs, Ark., and began raising Arabian race horses.

"To see a kid walking out of the show ring with a smile on his face – that’s what it’s all about,” explained Blake Morrison of Morrison Show Cattle near Mountain Home, Ark., in Baxter County. “To know the amount of work they have put into their animals and know that it has paid off. That’s the best part of this life.”

Breed an average cow to an average bull and no matter what color or breed, the end product is beef and it can be sold at the sale barn or put on the table.

Two important points make Beefmaster the breed of choice for Ray Bohannon. To him, they are easy calvers and they are low-maintenance.

With corn at $5.50 a bushel, probably not too many people are throwing it into a furnace.
Lawrence County poultry producer Roger Schnake is one of the exceptions.

Karen Haralson, who owns and operates Griffin Flat Cow Co., knows well the challenges that face cattle farmers today.
Still, there is no other life she would rather lead.

Years ago a lot of corn was planted on Pigeon Roost Mountain located about 10 miles north of Morrilton, Ark., on Highway 95. In part that’s how the mountain got its name. There was a lot of corn, and a lot of pigeons came there to roost. The corn is not planted anymore and you won’t find many pigeons but you will find Birkner Brother Limousin, home of Carl, Linda, Cody and Eric Birkner. This 80-plus acre farm has been in the family for two generations. Once row cropped, now the Birkners are “raising bulls on the roost."

Joe Bob Staton grew up in the shadow of Mt. Magazine. He always knew that he wanted to farm. When he married Carrie Isaacs almost 11 years ago, they started out on their own with 17 cows on a few rented acres. Since then, the commercial beef herd has grown to 120 cows on over 400 acres that they own and lease a mile or two from his dad’s Lazy S Ranch.