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

I have played a round of golf once in my entire lifetime.  It was the final class requirement for an eight-week golf class I took as a physical education elective my freshman year in college. I enjoyed it so much that I vowed never to pick up a golf club again. You see, I really did enjoy it, but after watching so many of my friends become addicted to the sport resulting in spending hundreds of dollars each year on equipment, fees and memberships, not to mention all the time they spend away from their families and jobs, I decided I might become “hooked” as well—and at that stage of my life, I could not afford the commitment of either money or time.

In the first two installments of our “Three Cs of Credit” series we discussed how character and capacity are essential in obtaining a favorable loan or line of credit.

We are almost to the start of summer and it is time to turn out the bulls for spring calves next year.  Generally, the most expensive animal on the farm is the bull.  And he should be.  The bull is the most efficient way to change genetics in your herd and the fastest.  You can pay anywhere from butcher price to above $10,000.00. You are taking a big chance on buying a herd bull by paying butcher price at the sale barn.  There is generally a good reason for bulls to be at the sale barn.  I have tested several at the barn and generally I have more than 50 percent fail a breeding soundness exam. They have also been exposed to all of the diseases at the sale barns.  You could also be buying a bull with other problems, like not staying home, mean or not enough libido.

While watching Paul Ahrens gently and efficiently shear sheep and patiently answer questions about what he is doing, a person would never guess he was formerly a National Guard First Sergeant serving in Iraq. In 2003 he was injured by shrapnel in the back of his legs and spent almost two years recovering. He gives credit to his physical therapists. “Those folks are hard on you but it is worth it to be able to walk again.” Ahrens was not able to shear at all in 2004, but has been back to the job he loves for three years now – shearing sheep around the nation.

It is 6:30 a.m. on Saturday with the sun peeking up over the mountains and the cattle peacefully grazing in the green pastures. It is mornings like these, when Donnie Willis can take time to enjoy the scenery and thank God for what he has, and why Donnie, of Deer, Ark., chose to live and raise a family in his native Newton County.
“When I graduated from school I didn’t want to leave Newton County.  I had my mind made up that I wanted to stay here.  I’m gonna stay here,” said Donnie.

Hard work and old-fashioned ways are important and are proving to be profitable for Kenny and Pam Underdown of Alpena, Ark.  They have taken their love for work horses and horse-drawn equipment and incorporated them into their farming operation.  The Underdowns own and operate Still Springs Farm, a 920-acre beef cattle and haying operation on the banks of the Osage Creek. They have 120 commercial mama cows and handle some 200 feeder calves per year and harvest approximately 70 acres of bermuda grass that normally yields 10,000 to 12,000 square bales of hay per year.