Ozarks Farm & Neighbor Newspaper – written for, by & about farmers

Born and raised in Gentry, Ark., Larry Curran grew up going to the feed store his family ran for fun. The Curran family had bought the store in 1946.  It's been run by the same family ever since.  Larry started working at the feed store when he was in high school.  Larry’s brothers and sister would eat every meal at the table together while growing up and are still close to this day.  Larry said he feels blessed to have been able to work in and run the feed store for the last 36 years.  Today, Larry and his wife of over 30 years, Lou Ann, have feed stores in Gentry and Elm Springs, Ark., and all Larry’s children live close by.

As Madison County residents gear up for the county fair this September, there will be a familiar sight on the sidelines of the showmanship ring: Jeff Williams instructing a child on how to handle an animal in order to win.

Some farmers will be keeping steers and heifers around longer this year. Whether they are to be sold in the spring, returned to the herd or sold at closer to 900 pounds doesn’t really change the care they need to thrive through the fall and winter. The first need would be for sufficient feed to provide maximum growth without fattening.

While traditional southern tree farming calls to mind long lines of pine trees, closely spaced together, Ozarks farmers can also find ways to make money off the trees on their land, Steven LaVal, Resource Forester for the Department of Conservation, said.  “Most of the land in this part of the nation was clear cut by the railroads and then after that, people burned, overgrazed, and the dust bowl era came. It was the 1920’s when most of our stands of black and red oaks were established. They mature at about 80 years and that makes most of those stands in this area, to be the same age, mature, and ready for harvest. If people have those on their property or particularly valuable trees, like walnuts, then they have an extra source of income available. You usually need to have at least 20 acres in a stand to get a professional logger interested, but it’s definitely something to look into.  To ignore it or neglect it means that stand of timber will begin to die off. The choice is to harvest it or it’ll die. You can take it or nature will and that’s an income source that will be lost to disease, insects or age.”

Successful producers have always tried to raise high-quality, high-performing cattle, but may have felt compelled to choose one ideal over the other. That’s not necessary, according to a recent analysis of data from the Iowa Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity (TCSCF).

Creep feeding beef calves is a topic often addressed by Dan Faulkner, Extension Specialist in the Beef Department of Animal Science at the University of Illinois.