Ofn dummy 2 1 16

A Balancing Act Student athlete finds retuning to agriculture a bigger draw than the football field

FEBRUARY 1, 2016 • 32 PAGES

VOLUME 9, NUMBER 17 • WWW.OZARKSFN.COM

Reuniting the Land

Lew Thompson has begun an Angus operation after buying the land that once belonged to his grandfather

Farm Fin Animal Hance, and Prod ealth u Sale Issuction e

Helping People Feel Their Best Southern Kell, LLC., helps those with disabilities through interaction with farm animals

Do You Have a Budget?

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FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

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rumor mill

Farmers to enter Hall of Fame: Six Arkansas leaders in agriculture, including three from the Ozarks, will be inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame on March 4 in Little Rock, Ark., at the 28th annual induction luncheon. John Frank Pendergrass of Charleston, Ark., is a fifth-generation cattle farmer on Pendergrass Ranch in Franklin County, who is the president of Pendergrass Cattle Company; the late W.H. “Bill” Caldwell of Rose Bud, Ark., who operated Caldwell Milling, Caldwell & Sons Eggs and Sidon Mountain Brangus Ranch; and Gary C. George of Springdale, board chairman and former CEO of George’s Inc., a family poultry business started in the 1920s by his late grandfather, C.L. George, are among those being inducted.

Students receive research funding: Three Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas who call the Ozarks home have been awarded research funding for their respective projects. Sarah Hallett, an environmental, soil and water science major from Prairie Grove, Ark., received a $1,000 grant for her research project, “Estimating Nitrogen Fixation in Lakes with Cyanobacteria Densities.” Elliott Pruett, a student in crop, soil and environmental science, is researching “Efficiency of ISCEI Nuclease in Excising DNA Fragments from the Arabidopsis Genome.” Pruett, who is from Summers, Ark., received $1,000 in support. Steven Thao, a crop, soil and environmental sciences student, is from Gentry, Ark., is part of a colorabortion with two other students on “A Streambank Restoration at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks: Aiming to Improve Hydrology and Habitat, while Promoting Public Education on Riparian Zones.”

The trio received a $750 grant.

Oklahoma FFA chapters receive grants: The Oaks and Quapaw FFA chapters in Oklahoma are among eight FFA chapters in the state that will receive a $200 grant from the Oklahoma Pork Council to conduct their Food For America “Pork as a Food Product” promotional program. The chapters will be required to submit their program at the state level for additional cash awards.

The Ozarks Most Read Farm Newspaper

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

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VOL. 9, NO. 17

JUST A THOUGHT

8 10

3 4 5

Jerry Crownover – Fat squirrels Jody Harris – Kids and ponies Julie Turner-Crawford – Misconceptions in agriculture

MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS

7 Lew Thompson purchased land that once

belonged to his grandfather and began an Angus operation

8

Student athlete finds returning to agriculture a bigger draw than the football field

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Five historic sites are found at a single location in Sebastian County, Ark.

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Eye on Agribusiness features Huntsville Veterinary Clinic

12 21

Town & Country spotlights Jacob Hudson Southern Kell helps those with disabilities through interactions with farm animals

23 Youth in Ag features Alyssa Miller FARM FINANCE 13 Don’t forget the trust 14 Being prepared for the worst can preserve the family farm for the future

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15

Federal estate tax hurdles that can impact small producers

18 Preventing fraud 19 Understanding tax changes and deductions FARM HELP 24 The Jurisdiction of the Tax Court 26 Keeping records of pastures, livestock helps producers develop a game plan

OzarksFarm

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@OzarksFarm

Know a Good Rumor? Do you have a rumor you would like to share with our reader? Mail them to: PO Box 6, Prairie Grove, AR 72753; fax them to: 417-532-4721; or email them to: editor@ozarksfn.com

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Developing a whole-farm budget can help farmers get a handle on fixed costs

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Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can suppress growth, reduce conception rates

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

just a

thought

PO Box 6, Prairie Grove, AR 72753

Toll Free: 1-866-532-1960

479-846-1002 • Fax: 479-846-1003 E-mail: Member: editor@ozarksfn.com

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assumed there would come a time when I, based on a lifetime of experiences, revonworC would yrreJ yB fail to be surprised by something I would see or hear. Not yet.

Jerry Crownover is Last week, while riding in the car with my a farmer and former wife, she tuned the radio to her favorite chanprofessor of Agriculture nel. I never listen to that station, but we were Education at Missouri operating under the “my car – my radio” rules, State University. He is a so I endured the tedious topics with a pleasant native of Baxter County, demeanor until one particular segment was deArkansas, and an voted to a 10-minute interview with an Ameriauthor and professional can veterinarian. Since I have many good friends speaker. To contact Jerry, who are veterinarians, and I have a profound go to ozarksfn.com and respect for their profession, I was relieved that click on ‘Contact Us.’ there would now be a topic that interested ME. Or not. It seems that this particular veterinarian spent his free time finding and caring for sick or injures ... squirrels.

Most of my veterinarian friends are general practitioners who tend to center their practice on farm animals, horses, or pets such as dogs and cats. I even have a friend who once specialized in elephants and traveled around the world to treat the pachyderms, and was instrumental in refining the science of artificial insemination for the beasts. But, squirrels?

As the vet began the interview, I expected him to talk about the misfortune of so many of the rodents being struck by vehicles due to their indecisiveness when crossing the road. Should they keep going, or does that split-second decision to turn back lead to their demise? But, no, he was a guest on the program to talk about something much more serious – an epidemic of obesity that is occurring amongst the population of long-tailed scurriers throughout the country; fat squirrels.

The learned doctor had concluded, based on his years of experience, that humans were responsible for this troubling epidemic. Squirrels around parks and nature areas

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Administrative Eric Tietze, Vice-President Operations Kathy Myers, Marketing Manager Sandra Coffman, Accounting Advertising Pete Boaz, Display & Classified Sales Kathy Myers, Production Sales Circulation Stan Coffman, Circulation Editorial Julie Turner-Crawford, Managing Editor Jerry Crownover, Columnist Jody Harris, Columnist Production Amanda Newell, Production Contributors Jessica Bailey, John Alan Cohan, Gary Digiuseppe, Steve Kamienski, Pam and Terry Lamb, Randy Lyons, Whitney Morrow, Terry Ropp and Adam Wolfe

About the Cover Logan Genz, a senior at Arkansas Tech University, earns a football scholarship, but now has a future in agriculture. See the story on page 8.

Photo by Terry Ropp Ozarks Farm & Neighbor accepts story suggestions from readers. Story information appears as gathered from interviewees. Ozarks Farm & Neighbor assumes no responsibility for the credibility of statements made by interviewees. © Copyright Ozarks Farm & Neighbor, Inc., 2016.

All rights reserved. Printed in USA.

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Freshly Picked

By Jody Harris

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orses make farm life fun and can also prove to be quite useful. We’ve Jody Harris is a freelance used them to pen cattle and run communications specialist, cows back across the river when gardener, ranch wife and we know flood rains are on their mother of four. She and way. Nathan and I grew up riding horses. Mostly, her family raise Angus beef my family rode them for pleasure, shows and jucattle and other critters on nior rodeo. In Nathan’s family, riding horses was their northwest Arkansas mostly about competition – rodeos and racing. ranch. She is a graduate My brother-in-law is a retired jockey and won of Missouri State University. the 1983 All American Quarter Horse Futurity To contact Jody, go to in his race days. We have siblings, cousins, nieces ozarksfn.com and click on and nephews who still enjoy riding.

‘Contact Us.’ It was inevitable with four kids on a farm, they were bound to take an interest in riding. The first horses Nathan brought home were some “free” ponies. They had been outgrown by their owners and were anxious for kid riders. I am not a horse expert by any stretch of the imagination.

Our girls were little then. One pony was broke to ride with a few stubborn quirks.

The other one, not so much. We fiddled with these ponies for the kids for a year or so. Nathan sought help from his family to get them broke. During this time the unbroken pony was bred without our knowledge. Suddenly we had three horses and only one the kids could “sort of” ride. We made the decision these probably weren’t the horses for us. They were sold.

We decided stubborn ponies were probably not the best way to build up our kids’ confidence in learning to ride. We set about looking for an older, gentle, kid-broke horse for them. It took a long time. We asked every horse person we knew to help us look. We finally found her last summer. Her name is Gracie and she is a gem! She’s 26-years-old and has raised more kids than I have. She has been a perfect addition to our family. The kids love her, I love her and all the neighbor kids love her too.

Things are never simple though. My husband decided we needed a second horse for our older daughters to ride together. Someone he knows from the horse business contacted him about a kid-broke horse that had been abandoned. He stated the horse was broke, starving and needed a new home quickly. They wanted a small price for her and it included a saddle. Has anyone else seen any RED FLAGS yet?

This new nameless horse came to the farm and we’ve been fattening her up. She’s been named Merida and has a very strong will. We have been riding her for a few months, but I’m not sure how long she’ll stay if her manners do not improve. Did I mention things at our farm are never simple?

Soon after Merida’s arrival, my husband brought home another stubborn pony.

By this point I was exasperated from “trying out” new horses!! This pony got off the trailer one evening around dusk. Nathan was the only one willing to ride him.

The first night he got on him, he was promptly bucked off and kicked in the quad.

Nathan walked with a limp for a week but I believe his pride is still a bit wounded.

The next time we got him up, Nathan worked for 20 minutes trying to catch him and finally used a lariat to rope him. Long story, short – the pony went back to his original home.

Finding quality horses for kids to ride hasn’t been easy but well worth a few bumps and bruises. Happy trails, neighbor.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

just a thought

Across the Fence

By Julie Turner-Crawford

I

am a member of an online group made up of women in agriculture who network and talk about life, both good and bad, on the farm.

The group is very diverse, reaching out to Julie Turner-Crawford farmwomen from around the world, and I is a native of Dallas have really enjoyed reading the posts, and postCounty, Mo., where she ing a few things myself. grew up on her family’s I’ve watched a video of carrots being harvestfarm. She is a graduate ed, “chatted” with women who raises sheep and of Missouri State dairy cattle in Australia, learned about the wheat University. To contact harvest, and even gave a little advice on raising Julie, call 1-866-532-1960 bottle calves to a first-timer. or by email at editor@ Recently, a young woman posted a question ozarksfn.com. about dairy cattle. She wanted to know if she bought a dairy cow if she would have to milk it each and everyday, and if it would produce milk without having a calf. The ladies, without criticism, explained the whole “a heifer has to have a calf before she’s a cow process,” and that an Angus cow wasn’t an ideal dairy animal. They also explained the lactation cycle better than an animal science Ph.D. could.

The young woman said she was a little embarrassed to ask the question, but since she had no experience with cattle, she simply didn’t know and felt “ignorant” for asking.

My response to her was that the only ignorant question was the one left unasked.

What if every single person who had a question about agriculture simply asked?

I think we would have most, if not all, of the misconceptions surrounding agriculture nipped in the bud.

I recently asked my social media buddies what they thought were some of the biggest misconceptions about agriculture and farming. Many of those who responded, which included friends who have never lived on a farm, said there continues to be a “gap” between production agriculture and consumers – and that gap continues to grow.

One friend said, in her opinion, the average American thinks farmers couldn’t “cut it” in the real world, so they turned to farming as a last resort.

“If people could see everything a farmer has to do, like doctor animals, figure out what cross will give the best yield, how to repair a piece of machinery, etc. … I’ve never — Continued on Next Page

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FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

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just a thought Across the Fence Continued from Previous Page farmed, or lived on a farm, however, I honestly believe farmers are unappreciated, and most of us couldn’t do a farmers job for a week,” my friend wrote.

A friend, who is an agriculture education instructor, said agriculture classes are looked at as an “easy A,” and some students don’t think the classes are “hard enough” to prepare them for college.

“The successful farmers have to possess knowledge to run a business, wisdom for proper management, and the grit to get it done,” she wrote. “Farmers from my generation have been encouraged to get a college degree to learn ways to become more productive and still provide a safe, reliable product.”

Others stated that farmers are thought of as uneducated and simple people, despite advances in agriculture technology that have increased production and made food safer.

The biggest concern voiced, and perhaps the biggest misconception of all, was that the public thinks farmers and ranchers simply don’t care.

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There are a few bad apples in the sack that make us all look bad, and those are the ones that the anti-agriculture activists always seem to find and film abusing animals, but it is a misconception that we are all following the same practices.

I see the same videos and news stories, and they really upset me as well, but I know the people being filmed are the exception. I also know that many of these videos are faked or taken out of context, but they make the media rounds a lot more than the videos of the good guys.

In 2016, let’s all try to dispel some of the misconceptions surrounding our way of life.

Show your non-farm friends and neighbors that we aren’t always what people think.

Life Is Simple Continued from Page 3

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were being fed treats by well-meaning people and the animals were gaining too much weight and becoming lazy.

He went on to add that the proliferation of bird feeders over the past couple of decades were also contributing to the problem, as most of the feeders were not squirrel-proof and were making it too easy for the furry friends to find plentiful, high-calorie, bird seed.

The veterinarian also weighed in about the possibility that global climate change could possibly be adding to the squirrel’s obesity as well, since the acorn crop seemed to be increasing with these changes; providing an over-abundance of the rodent’s preferred diet. He concluded his guest appearance by repri-

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

manding the public to refrain from feeding squirrels in the wild and encouraging everyone to make their bird feeders squirrel-proof. He never addressed the potential problem of obese wild birds.

Probably fodder (no pun intended) for the next installment of the program.

Now, I’m sure the good doctor had his statements backed up by years of scientific data, but it seemed to me that he should have consulted with older people who had been around squirrels their entire life. Had he done that, and asked me about “obese squirrels,” I could have assured him that fat squirrels have been around longer than he has been alive. As a matter of fact, we even had a name for fat squirrels when I was a kid. We called them “dumplings.”

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

meet your

Reuniting the Land

By Terry Ropp

Lew Thompson began an Angus operation after buying the land that once belonged to his grandfather

neighbors Lew Thompson, pictured at left, owns a registered Angus herd in Huntsville, Ark. His brother, Ronnie Thompson, pictured below, helps at the farm.

Lew and Jackie Thompson are just beginning to develop a registered Angus herd on family land in Huntsville, Ark. When Lew’s grandfather died, the land was divided amongst the sons. Several years ago Lew finished purchasing back the divided parcels to re-create the old family farm. The total farm contains additional acreage in Clifty, Ark., and Hinesville, Ark., making up more than 1,000 acres.

“I made my career in the poultry trucking industry even though I was raised on a farm,” Lew said. “One of my goals, however, was to reunite the land. I had all this land and wanted to do something with it. Going back to my agricultural roots just made sense. Fortunately, my brother Ronnie and son Josh are knowledgeable farmers and Photo by Terry Ropp manage the development of the cattle operation.”

The Thompsons started their herd three years ago after buying their starter herd rotational basis and as determined by soil testing. Weed control is handled through during a special Angus sale at a nearby livestock market. The new herd consisted of broadcast or spot spraying with thistles being the most persistent problem.

The Thompson family farm is rich with natural spring water; enough, according to 75 bred heifers in their third term from the same herd, and all were virtually identical.

Only three of the new mommas lost calves during birth, two because they had Lew, to “supply a whole town.”

Both Ronnie and Lew attribute part of their success with their young herd to hightwins. The Thompson’s kept 25 heifers and chose not to breed them until they were 22 months old to ensure the best possible calves. Those calves not retained were quality water.

“Cattle thrive on good water just the way people do, and this is the water I grew sold when they were about 500 pounds, weaned, castrated and vaccinated.

The herd currently contains 160 mommas with an end goal of 250 to 300 within up with,” Ronnie said.

Currently, Lew works 12 to 16 hours a day at the trucking company. The business the next few years.

Because time is a critical issue for the new operation, the Thompsons decided to is a family one with Ronnie also working in the business but taking off as needed to care for cattle. The poultry trucking business is 75 percent regional, which means use only controlled natural breeding with spring calves, at least for now.

Four registered Angus bulls were purchased from nearby ranchers to meet their the drivers are home almost every night.

Hauling turkeys is a significant part of the trucking operation. Chicks are picked breeding needs. Ronnie’s selection criteria included a smaller head size, a short up in North Carolina and driven straight to the Ozarks for delivery. This is possible frame, and birth weights of 85 to 95 pounds when selecting them. because those trucks have a team of rotating drivers making downtime un“The bulls did their job well and quickly,” Ronnie said. “We’re looking necessary. The company provides hauling for every step of the turkey inforward to the new calves from our own heifers which should be as uniform dustry including transportation to processing plants and to retailers when as the mommas who have barely a 20-pound difference among them.”

Huntsville, Ark. refrigerated trailers are used.

For now, most heifers will be kept for expansion with culling decisions Lew is looking to retire in the next five years or so, when he plans on made by visual examination with a preference for straight back and legs. taking a more active role in the cattle operation.

The farm produces its own hay, 750 to 1,000 round bales per year, “Right now the cattle are a small part of our total business profile and more enough to last two years if a drought occurs. of an outside interest,” Lew said.

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A Balancing Act

By Terry Ropp

Student athlete finds retuning to agriculture a bigger draw than the football field For Logan Genz, now a senior set priorities, how to put responsibility at Arkansas Tech University in and focus before anything else with far Russellville, Ark., leaving for less time than the average student for a college and being away from social life.”

Not surprisingly, that dedication and home were more important in determining his future then sim- determination has paid off.

Attending a career fair on campus was ply starting college.

Logan is a gifted athlete, earning his agri- a class requirement recently, but little did business degree on a football scholarship. he know it would lead him to his future.

“If students don’t attend, companies He even won the Defensive Player of the Year in the Great American Conference won’t come back so I dressed up in a suit for 2015. When Logan arrived at college, and tie and tried to act interested,” Lohe fully expected to earn a degree in teach- gan said.

Then the career representative from Tying physical education as an initial step toward becoming a football coach. What son Foods and a Arkansas Tech alumnus approached Logan, asked his GPA and actually happened was homesickness.

Logan remembered trail riding on his proceeded to explain to the graduating pony, Stormy, when he was so young athlete his own journey through Tyson.

“The experience was strange,” Logan the pony had to be tied to someone else to lead her. He remembered his dad recalled. “He never asked me any speJerry always thinking he and his brother cific questions but seem to know everyTaylor were older and bigger than they thing about me personally. I never gave were and struggling to push unwilling him a resume, and he never even asked calves into trailers. He remembered he an interview type question, just my and Taylor straining to get square bales GPA. Then, amazingly, he offered me loaded onto a trailer. Much to Logan’s a position as an operational associatemanager in training.” surprise, the call of those As part of his agribusiness memories was stronger than Russellville, Ark. degree with an animal scithe allure of football. ence option, Logan wrote a Nonetheless, football was business plan for a farm and far more than a means to an made it as realistic and appliagricultural future. Logan cable to the family commercial said, “Being a student athcattle operation back home in lete requires learning how to

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

meet your neighbors Submitted Photo

West Fork, Ark., as possible. An important consideration was that his father and brother both have off the farm jobs, as will Logan.

The Genz farm consists of 500 owned and leased acres that supports 60 head of cattle.

“Because we have an abundance of land, we use rotational grazing and move herds according to weather conditions, sometimes waiting until as much as 80 percent of the grass is consumed,” Logan said. “We do not currently seed, but I foresee us moving toward seeding ryegrass and orchard grass.”

Logan loves to have silage, but understands their land is not suitable for corn.

The farm uses sanitation facility-produced fertilizer. Microbes break down waste by consuming excess nitrogen and making other nutrients more assessable.

The Genz’s broadcast spray for weeds and spot spray for thistles.

“Equally important for weed control is rotational grazing, which helps manage weeds especially in the spring when weeds are more digestible and palatable with higher protein content,” Logan said.

He also said adding more copper to their mineral program to help with reproduction rates could help adjust for the general copper deficiency in Arkansas soil without endangering their livestock.

Higher copper concentration is toxic for other livestock like sheep and goats. Offthe-farm jobs makes purchasing hay rather than raising it sensible, both in terms of time and equipment costs.

The Genz farm prefers Balancers bred by a registered Balancer bull. The Angus influence provides the commercially preferred black coloring while the Gelbvieh genes provide more muscling and higher weaning weights. Further, the combination adds natural disease and parasite resistance.

One management adjustment Logan would like to see is annual bull testing for soundness and fertility because a recent bull purchase of an untested animal proved very costly. Logan foresees preg checking all cows and instituting rigorous culling in order to move toward predominantly fall calving.

“The advantage is we can sell when the market is generally stronger,” Logan said.

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The couple began dating when Jill asked Logan to attend a Halloween party at her house at her mother’s insistence.

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Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

9

ozarks

roots

the people, places and traditions that make the ozarks home

A Complex of History

By Terry Ropp

Five historic sites are found at a single location in Sebastian County, Ark. Thirty-five counties in the United States have two county seats with Sebastian County, Ark., being one of 10 in Arkansas.

Greenwood, established in 1851 and named after a local citizen, Alfred Burton Greenwood who had been elected the two previous years as Circuit Judge over 10 counties in Northwest Arkansas, is one of these two.

The county jail, built by Isaac Kunkel in 1882, became the home of the South Sebastian County Historical Society in 1963. In the 1990s the museum began an expansion until it became what is now called the Old Jail Museum Complex containing five sites: Old Jail Museum, Vineyard Log Cabin, Redwine Pioneer School, Coal Miner’s Memorial and The Ole Barn.

Located just off the square, the two-story structure contains four cells, each with the original single entrance made of heavy iron and an inner iron grid door containing a small pass through for food. Though filled with exhibits such as memorabilia from the Hartford Music Company and old photographic equipment and the original jail key, the aura of the original jail still exists, perhaps best preserved by scratches in walls made from prisoners long ago.

A short distance away is Vineyard Cabin, a restored 1848 log and dog-trot style cabin built by a bachelor school-

10

teacher named William Blaylock and sold to the Vineyard family in 1907. Renovated and improved until little of the hidden two-room log cabin was visible from the outside, the Vineyard family donated the cabin to the Historical Society under the condition that was moved and restored to the original two rooms and dog-trot condition.

“This cabin is an example of family and community dedication to Sebastian County history,” volunteer Sue Lewis said.

The family paid for a preservation specialist and established a fund to maintain the cabin while residents, as well as descendents, donated the treasured furnishings, including a spinning wheel, an old rocker, a period kitchen table and chairs.

Another example of family dedication is Redwine Pioneer School. This structure is a replica of an old oneroom turn-of-the-century school and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of W. D. Redwine in honor of his parents, L. M. and Delma Redwine, Sebastian County teachers in the early 1900s. The school was donated in 2001 and subsequently moved to its current location. The white frame building has a potbelly stove, small benches for desks and a teacher desk in front of an old-fashioned chalkboard.

Continuing her historical charity, Delma Joyce WoolOzarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

sey, W. D. Redwine’s daughter, donated her father’s barn.

Typical of 1940s barns, the barn was used for hay storage and contained a backroom for tools and equipment while a lean-to was used for feeding cattle. After moving the barn to its current location, the barn was repurposed as a museum building. The Historical Society’s massive collection of tools and farm implements, previously housed in the jail museum, are displayed there.

Coal mining was critically important to Sebastian County with 55 percent of the coal mined in Arkansas from 1880 until 1976 coming from a small area in and around Greenwood. The Historical Society decided to honor the industry and the thousands of miners by creating a site similar to the Vietnam War Memorial with large black granite slabs inscribed with the names of almost 3,800 Sebastian County men who worked the mines. The site also contains a life-sized sculpture of a miner, modeled after Sue’s husband Bud, standing by a coal cart on a replica track leading to a hill of coal. Coal mining has always been terribly dangerous and many families were left without husbands are sons with some children starting to work at the very young age of 10.

“Because we have no room for expansion, we are constantly updating and altering our displays so people have a new experience each time they visit,” Sue said.

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

eye on

agri-business meeting the needs of farmers

Huntsville Veterinary Clinic

Circle A

Secret To Success

Environment Matters

Story and Photo By Terry Ropp

Owner: Dr. Chris France, DVM Location: Huntsville, Ark. History: Dr. Chris France attended the University of Arkansas for four years, then attended Louisiana State University for Veterinary School. After graduating in 2001, he returned to Northwest Arkansas and helped is father, Dr. Gary France, in his veterinary practice.

“I worked in his mixed animal practice for 12 years before purchasing the practice in Huntsville, Ark. The transition from Pea Ridge, Ark., to Huntsville was easy, due to the areas being very similar,” Chris said.

Products and Services: The Huntsville Veterinary Clinic offers a vari-

ety of services at the practice, from large and small animals surgery services to small animal boarding.

“We have the ability to take digital radiographs, to perform ultrasounds and to use therapeutic laser on our cases,” Chris said. “The office also provides ambulatory services, in which we make farm calls. In addition, we offer large animal emergency services after hours, and we transfer small animal emergencies to the Northwest Arkansas Small Animal Emergency Clinic.”

Philosophy and future: Chris said a clinic’s success is dependent on high-quality animal health care and superior customer service, which means being there when needed.

“I have an excellent staff that organizes scheduling and smooths traffic flow in the office while keeping a friendly and upbeat attitude because clients are frequently very concerned about their animals,” Chris said. “In five years I would like to add one full-time veterinarian and one part-time, with four additional veterinarians within 10 years. I am also considering remodeling and expanding the facilities to incorporate more stalls, pens, kenneling and surgery areas.”

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Selling Over 500 Head!

Nothing is worse than buying a bull, bringing him to your ranch, only to run into problems. Weather, nutrition, and grass all play a role in how well your bull does his job - getting his cows bred! Circle A bulls are known for their ability to thrive in all environments - including fescue-based grass country and warmer climates. For more than two decades, we’ve supplied bulls nationwide - coast to coast and border to border. We’re hard on our bulls to make life easier for our customers.

Learn more about what Circle A bulls would work best in your operation Lea by calling us at 1-800-Circle-A or sign up for a sale book online!

Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

11

Missouri’s #1 Pathfinder Program!

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Mead Farms is committed to producing sound, functional cattle that will perform in every environment. “Performance- Oriented” and “By the Numbers” approached consistently producing high quality genetics in volume!

This year’s offering will also include a select group of 18 month old bulls.

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RANCE LONG RANCE LONG 918.510.3464 cell 918.510.3464 cell rlong@rancelong.com rlong@rancelong.com www.rancelong.com www.rancelong.com

Since 1942

www.meadfarms.com Alan Mead, Owner (573) 216-0210 David Innes, Manager (573) 280-6855

Start the New Year Right with a

Mead_OzarkF&N.indd 1

Family: Wife, Tara Hudson; sons Canaan, 8, and Hayden, 6; and daughter Harper, 4.

In Town: “I am vice president of corporate banking at the Bank of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., where I work fulltime as a relationship manager. My client base consists primarily of Arkansas companies with more than $20 million in revenues, as well as real estate investors across the state. I provide a number of services for these customers including loans, lines of credit, international trade services and liquidity management.”

1/19/16 9:14 AM

Country Life: “My wife Tara and I have 60 acres on which we support a small herd of Black Angus and Charolais/Limousin cross momma cows serviced by Angus bulls. Tara grew up on an Angus operation and I grew up on a Charolais/Limousin operation so, we decided to have some of each in our herd to represent our respective farming heritages. We sell our calves as yearlings after weaning 45 to 60 days prior to sale. We vaccinate and de-worm each summer and use antibiotics only for therapeutic reasons. We partner with Tara’s brother on labor, land and equipment.

He has a larger neighboring acreage and a larger herd. We share farm equipment, run the cattle together (tagging mine and his with different colors to distinguish ownership) and manage his land and ours as one farm.”

“Tara and I also grow 5 acres of pumpkins that we plant and harvest by hand. Last year we harvested more than 6,000 pumpkins, in differing varieties weighing from 1 – 30 pounds. Tara developed a portable pumpkin patch idea in 2007 to educate schoolchildren about agriculture by teaching them about the lifecycle of pumpkins from flower to fruit. This has turned into a rewarding business as she takes the portable pumpkin patch to 3,000 local elementary students each year with each child receiving a small pumpkin and each class a larger one for carving. We wholesale our excess pumpkins to local agri-tourism operations.”

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12

Story and Photo By Terry Ropp

Future: “Farming is my stress relief. In other words, I farm instead of playing golf. Because people continually ask me if I have any beef to sell, we are considering feeding out our calves for local meat sales rather than selling them on the hoof at local livestock auctions. We also would like to expand our pumpkin operation by operating the pumpkin patch on our farm in the future. In the distant future, when my banking days are over, I would like to transition to full-time farming. In the meantime, I am enjoying raising our children on the farm and passing along both of our families’ farming heritage.”

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

FARM FINANCE Don’t Forget the Trust

By Steve Kamienski

Lifetime trusts can allow descendants to protect their inheritance With the federal estate tax deduction set at $5.45 million for 2016 and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimating only two out of every 1,000 people will die subject to federal estate tax, what should the other 998 do?

Trusts will always remain relevant for beneficiaries that are not suited to handle outright distributions, but with the focus shifted away from federal estate tax avoidance, what should we concentrate on now?

Many clients feel allowing outright distributions to mature and fiscally responsible descendants makes the most sense, but if you are willing to consider lifetime trusts, your children could enjoy creditor protection for their inheritance.

With divorce rates over 50 percent, the most financially responsible child that has never carried a credit card balance could find themselves with a creditor.

If drafted correctly, the child can serve as sole trustee of his or her own trust.

If you’re concerned about losing flexibility by “locking” up funds in trust, consider the use of a testamentary limited power of appointment that allows your child to designate remainder beneficiaries.

When Congress introduced “portability,” allowing the unused exemption from a deceased spouse to pass to the survivor, it left many wondering if it was necessary to do any trust planning at the first death. While portability addresses the federal estate tax exemption, it does not address the generation-skipping tax exemption.

Without the use of a Credit Shelter Trust or a GST Exempt QTIP Trust a married couple with $9 million (NO federal estate tax due) could have inadvertently generated GST Tax due in the amount of $1,428,120.

A very costly mistake for something that could have easily been addressed, but might be missed in the name of simplicity and convenience by relying solely on portability.

With marginal tax brackets highly compressed for trusts and estates, a trust with taxable income in excess of $12,150 has already reached the maximum marginal rate of 39.6 percent and the 20 percent rate on long-term capital gains.

Single taxpayers do not reach those maximum brackets until Adjusted Gross Income is over $406,750. When income is distributed to the beneficiary, income is taxed at his or her individual rate rather than being “trapped” in the trust at much higher rates. Simply defining capital gains as income for trust accounting purposes or giving the trustee the flexibility to characterize them as such in the trust document itself can greatly reduce total income tax paid by the trust and its beneficiaries.

With estate tax avoidance taking a back seat to other significant planning opportunities, the use of trusts in your estate plan is still an important consideration.

According to a recent CNBC survey, 38 percent of families with net investable assets over $1 million have not established an estate plan. How long has it been since you’ve reviewed your plan with an advisor?

Steve Kamienski is vice president and relationship manager of the Central Trust Company in Springfield, Mo.

What is…

Adjusted Gross Income: AGI includes all your income minus certain deductions. You use your AGI to find out if you qualify for EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) and for finding the amount of EITC you receive.

Capital Gain: A capital gain is a profit that results from a sale of a capital asset, such as stock, bond or real estate, where the sale price exceeds the purchase price. The gain is the difference between a higher selling price and a lower purchase price. Capital gains may refer to “investment income” that arises in relation to real assets, such as property; financial assets, such as shares/stocks or bonds; and intangible assets.

Qualified Terminal Interest Property Trusts: A QTIP trust allows the deceased spouse’s property that is over the federal estate tax exemption amount to be transferred to a separate trust that gives the surviving spouse a life estate in the property of the trust while delaying payment of the estate tax on the property until the surviving spouse dies.

— Sources: The Internal Revenue Service, American Bar Association and investopedia.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

13

farm finance

When Disaster Strikes

By Jessica Bailey

Topics to consider when hoping to preserve the family farm for the future

Green Forest • 181 West Main

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3/14/16 1/19/15

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Call Toll Free 1-866-532-1960 14

The start of the new year in the Ozarks certainly did not lack in excitement.

Several of us are just now starting to get a good look at what near record flood water left on our farming operations. My own family’s farm sits on Shoal Creek and we started our year with lake front property, and it could be well into March before the ground is stable enough to rebuild fence lines.

We were lucky to have pasture with high ground for our livestock to retreat to as the waters rose, but some of our neighbors could only hope and pray their livestock and machinery would survive the flood waters.

When a natural disaster such as this strikes our area, three issues always cross my mind: insurance, health and future prevention.

For example, as an agricultural lending officer in the area, I know that not very many of our producers carry replacement livestock insurance, as opposed to our crop producers who carry crop insurance as a matter of course.

One reason for this is replacement livestock insurance can be costly for some, especially those of us who only have a few head of cattle.

A second reason is that disasters like this recent flood are relatively so rare that it does not seem worthwhile to pay for an insurance policy that very well might never be used.

On the flip side of those reasons, however, is if one were to lose all their livestock, does that person have the desire, let alone the ability, to replace those head out of pocket if no insurance is in place?

Another issue I always consider is health related, especially this time of year. It is cold, it is wet, and there is really no likelihood of that changing soon.

This time of year we are constantly on

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

the lookout for pneumonia and other diseases, and especially so now.

And what about anything that can be direct result of the floods?

As the waters recede, all sorts of trash is left in our pastures, which could lead to possible case of hardware disease. And our soil was definitely disturbed; we had a 20-foot wide, 6-foot deep trench in the middle of our road due to the flood.

That soil disturbance could possibly increase our chances of blackleg and other diseases deposited in the soil as our herds move onto the pastures when spring growth comes on.

Lastly, there is the analyst in me that asks what could have been and what could be done differently to ensure a better outcome from a natural disaster like this year’s flood. Could we take the livestock to another farm, or will the neighbor allow us to move them there temporarily?

Should we put in water gaps, flood gates in our fences, or broaden those we have? Should livestock insurance even be considered? Did cleaning my section of the creek bed help or not, especially if a neighbor did not clean theirs?

And, as always, what can we do to make sure events like these do not take away the family farm from the future generation?

For every event, large or small, can have a lasting effect on our family farms and our ability to pass them on to the next generations in this great industry of agriculture.

Jessica Bailey is an agricultural lender at Hometown Bank in Neosho, MO. A resident of Newton County, she also raises cattle on her family’s farm and is an active alumni of the Crowder College Aggie Club.

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

farm finance

Death Tax?

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By Randy Lyons

Federal estate tax hurdles that can impact small farmers Thanks to changes since 2001 in small farm estates nationwide owed any the federal estate tax, commonly estate tax, according to the Tax Policy called the “death tax,” some of Center. And those 20 estates owed just 4.9 the certainty can be mitigated percent of their value in taxes, on average.

Among a set of targeted provisions if small farmers will face the undesigned to reduce the tax burden pleasant task of estate planning before the prospect of death on farms and other family-owned busithrows a shadow across the barn- ness, a special provision allows farm real estate to be valued at farm-use value yard.

According to the Internal Revenue Ser- rather than fair-market value of nearby vice, the federal estate tax is a tax on your property, which reduces the potential right to transfer at your death. Property impact of estate taxes on the transfer of can be cash, real estate, stock or any other farm property to the next generation, actype of asset. Although it is an important cording to a United States Department source of federal revenue, there are quite of Agriculture article from May 6, 2015.

Avoid creating a false sense of sea few misconceptions about how that tax curity by relying on the exemptions is assessed and applied.

Until you know the truth about the and loopholes to protect your heirs when federal estate tax, it is hard to plan prop- they inherit the farm. Many farmers may erly for the inheritance of property and rely on the farm property as their savings account and do not establish any other other assets within the family.

Only about two out of every 1,000 es- savings or investment accounts that can tates are subject to the estate tax. Only readily be liquidated to pay possible fedthe estates of the wealthiest 0.2 percent of eral estate tax, if so assessed. By failing Americans owe any estate tax. In 2015, the to consider the possibility that the value of their property tax is levied only on “In this world nothing can might be higher the portion of an estate’s value above be said to be certain, except than they previously thought, and $5.43 million per death and taxes.” person, or $10.86 – Benjamin Franklin preparing for that possibility by putmillion per married couple, according to a March 2015 article ting cash aside to help their heirs cover by the Center on Budget and Policy Priori- the tax, farmers may be jeopardizing the ties, a nonpartisan research and policy insti- very property they are trying to save.

No one looks to the future with a goal of tute that analyzes federal budget priorities.

The exemption amount has grown from leaving their heirs owing more money than $650,000 per person in 2001 to the $5.43 they inherit. But most people do not want to face the unpleasant businesses of preparmillion per person level in 2015.

The taxes are assessed only on the value ing for a time when they themselves will no that exceeds the exemption amount, so longer be available to oversee the transfer of the tax rate, capped by statute at 40 percent their property to the next generation. Planor less, averaged 16.6 percent of the value of ning is key to the successful transfer of farm the estate in 2013, according to the Urban- properties from one generation to the next.

Seek out an estate planner or attorney Brookings Tax Policy Center. And there are many large and generous loopholes who is up-to-date on the tax policies and that can lower either the overall value of legal requirements for farm succession to the estate for tax purposes or reduce the tax help you prepare for the inevitable.

Randy Lyons is vice president and burden against the estate.

Few small family-owned farms and Investment Client Advisor for Arvest businesses owe any estate tax at all. In Bank in Springfield, Mo. 2013, only 20 total small businesses and

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FEBRUARY 1, 2016

ATER S W N A RE TH HAN LOAN O M D E T NE FARMS RS NEED MORE FARME Just like crops and livestock need more than water, Arvest knows farmers need more than loans. That’s why we’re proud to offer products and services that can help make your agribusiness more plentiful.

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Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

15

market sales reports

bulls

(Week of 1/17/16 to 1/23/16)

beef

72.00-90.00 †

Arkansas Cattle

No Sale - Weather † Ash Flat Livestock Barry County Regional Stockyards None Reported* Benton County Sale Barn 83.00-102.50 † Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction No Sale* 72.00-76.00 † Cleburne County 81.50-99.00 † County Line Sale - Ratcliff Decatur Livestock Auction 85.00-102.00* 79.00-111.00* Farmer’s & Ranchers - Vinita Farmers Livestock - Springdale 95.00-105.00 † Ft. Smith Livestock 83.00-100.00 † I-40 Livestock - Ozark 91.00-100.00 † Joplin Regional Stockyards 89.00-106.00 † Mid-State Stockyards 70.00-96.00* North Arkansas Livestock No Sale - Weather †

40

60

5 Area (Tx-Ok, Ks, Neb, Ia, Colo) Live Basis Sales - Over 80% Choice Steers: 125.00-135.00; wtd. avg. price 131.57.

Heifers: 126.00-135.00; wtd. avg. price 132.09.

Dressed Basis Sales - Over 80% Choice Steers: 202.00-208.00; wtd. avg. price 207.57.

Heifers: 202.00-208.00; wtd. avg. price 207.00.

75.00-99.00 †

100

slaughter

120

140

cows

(Week of 1/17/16 to 1/23/16) 55.00-72.00 †

Arkansas Cattle Auction

No Sale - Weather † None Reported* 45.00-82.00 †

Ash Flat Livestock Barry County Regional Livestock Benton County Sale Barn Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction Cleburne County Livestock County Line Sale - Ratcliff Decatur Livestock Auction

No Sale* 55.00-78.00 † 51.00-75.00 † 65.00-84.00* 64.50-89.00*

Farmer’s & Ranchers - Vinita Farmers Livestock - Springdale Ft. Smith Livestock I-40 Livestock - Ozark Joplin Regional Stockyards Mid-State Stockyards North Arkansas Livestock - Green Forest

Steers, Med. & Lg. 1 300-400 lbs.

400-500 lbs.

500-600 lbs.

600-700 lbs.

700-800 lbs.

Bulls, Med. & Lg. 1 300-400 lbs.

400-500 lbs.

500-600 lbs.

600-700 lbs.

700-800 lbs.

Heifers, Med. & Lg. 1 300-400 lbs.

400-500 lbs.

500-600 lbs.

600-700 lbs.

700-800 lbs.

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50

70

90

Ark. Cattle Auction, LLC - Searcy 1/19/16

Ash Flat Livestock

564 2-15 Lower 180.00-210.00 170.00-200.00 158.00-184.00 150.00-157.50 --------160.00-185.00 146.00-165.00 135.00-146.00 ----160.00-185.00 155.00-180.00 142.50-158.00 135.00-144.00 -----

110

Benton Co. - Siloam Springs 1/21/16

Cattlemen’s Livestock*

-----

Barry Co. Regional Stockyards* 1/23/16

-----

400

409

-----

St-5 Higher

Uneven

-------------------------------------------------------------

Diamond, Mo. • TS Whites Sheep and Goat Sale

1/7/16

Slaughter Bucks: Selection 1 100-220 lbs 190.00-225.00.

Selection 2 115-135 lbs 160.00-180.00. Selection 3 100180 lbs 130.00-157.50.

National Sheep Summary

---------------------

219.00-225.00 196.00-213.00 170.00-189.00 172.00-173.00 145.00

---------------------

----195.00-208.00 159.00-186.00 155.00-173.00 -----

---------------------

175.00-197.00 165.00-195.00 150.00-163.00 150.00-158.00 -----

Bill 230

1/22/16

Weekly Trends: Compared to last week slaughter lambs were steady to 20.00 lower with most decline on light lambs.

Slaughter ewes were steady to 7.00 lower. Feeder lambs were mostly steady to 8.00 lower. At San Angelo, TX 5176 head sold in a one day sale. No sales in Equity Electronic Auction. In direct slaughter ewes and feeder lambs were not tested. 2900 head of negotiated sales of slaughter lambs were steady. 10,200 head of formula sales under 65 lbs were not well tested; 65-75 lbs were 6.00-8.00 lower; 75-85 lbs were steady to 1.00 higher; 85-95 lbs were 5.00-7.00 lower and over 95 lbs had no recent comparison. 4,874 carcasses sold with 45 lbs and down 26.12 higher; 45-55 lbs 3.31 higher; 55-65 lbs 3.58 lower; 65-75 lbs 1.37 lower and 75 lbs and up 2.90-3.15 lower. All sheep sold per hundred weight (CWT) unless otherwise specified.

Slaughter Lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3 90-160 lbs: San Angelo: shorn and wooled 100-160 lbs 130.00-149.00.

VA: wooled 90-110 lbs 178.00-190.00; 110-130 lbs 182.00.

PA: shorn and wooled 130-150 lbs 145.00-177.00; 150-200 lbs 137.00-147.00.

Ft.Collins, CO: no test.

South Dakota: shorn and wooled 115-145 lbs 130.50137.50.

Billings, MT: no test.

Kalona, IA: wooled 110-130 lbs 143.00-155.00; 135-145 lbs 140.00-148.00.

Missouri: no test.

Equity Elec: no sales.

Slaughter Lambs: Choice and Prime 1: San Angelo: 40-60 lbs 246.00-268.00; 60-70 lbs 232.00248.00, few 254.00-256.00; 70-80 lbs 220.00-240.00; 80-90 lbs 196.00-222.00; 90-105 lbs 180.00-200.00.

Pennsylvania: 40-50 lbs 315.00-320.00; 50-60 lbs 287.00290.00; 70-80 lbs 262.00-275.00; 90-110 lbs 195.00217.00.

Kalona, IA: 95-110 lbs 150.00-183.00.

Ft. Collins: 60-65 lbs 202.50-207.50; 70-80 lbs 192.00192.50; 90-100 lbs 175.00-185.00.

Missouri: 45-70 lbs 255.00-322.00; 70-80 lbs 237.50257.50; 106 lbs 164.00.

Virginia: 60-90 lbs 190.00-209.00, few 232.00; 90-110 lbs 219.00.

South Dakota: 78 lbs 165.00; 85-100 lbs 160.00-175.00.

stocker & feeder

130

121( 5(3257('

30

58.00-67.00* 50.00-78.00 †

12 6$/( :($7+(5

10

55.00-80.00 † 50.00-74.50 † 40.00-80.00 † 50.00-85.00 † 42.00-75.00* No Sale - Weather † No Sale - Holiday † 64.00-79.00 † 51.00-84.00 †

OKC West - El Reno Ouachita Livestock Auction Ozarks Regional Stockyards Stilwell Livestock Auction Tulsa Livestock Auction

goats

dairy cattle

85.00-97.00 † 80.00-110.00 † 88.00-102.00*

80

sheep &

Receipts: 1640 Supply was very good and demand was good. All markets were steady to higher than last month. Supply included 8 Norwood, Mo. • Producers Auction Yards 1/14/16 percent slaughter Ewes and Rams, 43 percent slaughter lambs, 33 percent slaughter kids, and 9 percent Bucks and Receipts: 226 Does. All prices per hundred weight (CWT) Unless noted At this month’s special dairy sale at the Producers Auction otherwise.

Yard, demand was good on a light supply. The supply SHEEP: consisted of 10 percent Springer Heifers, 7 percent Bred Feeder Lambs: Good 1 30-38 lbs 235.00-255.00. Utility Heifers, 25 percent Open Heifers, 9 percent Fresh and 2-3 36-38 lbs 200.00-220.00.

Milking Cows, 4 percent Bred Cows and 11 percent baby Slaughter Lambs: Wooled Choice 2 48-80 lbs 247.50calves.

The balance was made up of weigh cows and beef 255.00. Good 1 94-97 lbs 192.50-197.50.

160 animals. All quotes are on a per head basis for Holsteins Hair Lambs: Choice and Prime 1 44-105 lbs 260.00unless noted otherwise.

270.00; Few 47-52 lbs 272.50-275.00. Choice 1 40-79 lbs Springer Heifers Bred Seven to Nine Months: Supreme 240.00-257.50; 90-110 lbs 130.00-140.00. Good 1 45-95 1870.00-2050.00, Crossbreds 1725.00-1750.00, Individual lbs 210.00-230.00.

Jersey 1775.00, Approved 1600.00-1820.00, Crossbreds Slaughter Ewes: 1300.00-1650.00, Medium 1100.00-1125.00.

Wooled: Good 1-3 several 135 lbs 100.00.

Heifers Bred Four to Six Months: Supreme Individual Hair Ewes: Good 2-3 81-88 lbs 135.00-155.00; 106-155 1800.00, Crossbreds 1775.00-1800.00, Approved lbs 102.50-120.00; 162-180 lbs 85.00-95.00. Utility and Individual 1600.00, Medium Crossbreds 1100.00-1200.00, Good 1-2 105-155 lbs 80.00-100.00. Cull 1 85-100 lbs Ind. Jersey 1125.00, Common 625.00, Crossbreds 425.00- 105.00-115.00.

550.00.

Slaughter Hair Rams: Good 2-3 135-230 lbs 105.00Heifers Bred One to Three Months: Approved Individual 130.00. Utility and Good 1-2 140-180 lbs 80.00-85.00.

1590.00, Medium Individual 1375.00, Common Ind. Feeder kids: Selection 1 25-36 lbs 300.00-330.00.

750.00, Ind. Crossbred 550.00.

Selection 2 20-39 lbs 250.00-285.00. Selection 3 20-36 lbs Open heifers: Approved 300-400 lbs Indivdual Jersey 215.00-245.00.

750.00, 400-500 lbs Pkg 6 hd 420 lb 750.00, Crossbreds Slaughter Kids: Selection 1 42-70 lbs 280.00-310.00; 750.00-820.00, 500-600 lbs Individual Crossbred 860.00, 70-80 lbs 255.00-277.50. Selection 2 40-68 lbs 250.00700-800 lbs Pkg 3 hd 738 lb 975.00, 800-900 lbs 1125.00- 275.00; 157-203 lbs 150.00-160.00. Selection 3 43-75 lbs 1175.00, Medium 200-300 lbs Crossbreds 350.00-440.00, 210.00-230.00.

300-400 lbs Pkg 5 hd 550.00, Pkg 4 hd Crossbred 600.00, Does: several drafts of Selection 2 heavy bred Boer cross 500-600 lbs Ind. 870.00, Pkg 3 hd 502 lb Crossbred 790.00, does Weighing 140-200 lbs 170.00-205.00 Per Head.

600-700 lbs Individual 640.00, 800-900 lbs Pkg 3 hd 955 Slaughter Does: Selection 1 110-145 lbs 155.00-180.00; lbs 1075.00.

Selection 2 53-100 lbs 140.00-170.00.

Fresh Milking Heifers and Cows: Supreme Individual Selection 3 48-72 lbs 130.00-145.00.

1750.00, Approved 1450.00-1625.00, Medium Individual 1300.00, Individual Jersey 1075.00, Common 925.001100.00, Crossbred 850.00-1100.00.

No Sale - Holiday †

OKC West - El Reno Ouachita Livestock Auction Ozarks Regional Stockyards Stilwell Livestock Auction Tulsa Livestock Auction

Bred and Springer Cows: Approved Individual Crossbred 1700.00, Medium Individual Jersey 1150.00, Common Crossbreds 875.00-975.00, Jerseys 480.00-500.00.

Baby Calves: Holstein Bulls 220.00-255.00, Crossbred 1/24/16 Heifers 150.00-220.00, Crossbred Bulls 145.00-220.00, Beef Cross Heifers 210.00-360.00, Beef Cross Bulls 260.00350.00.

cattle

Midwest - High Plains Direct Slaughter Cattle

Nati

Che $1.4 and Flui seas mar milk are the are stor in th Mea sale acro butt augm Sup prod SPO POU Mid

prices

County Line Sale Ratcliff 1/20/16

Decatur Livestock*

-----

Cleburne Co. - Heber Springs 1/18/16

-----

175

120

765

240

425

555

530

6300

-----

Steady

2-10 Lower

5-10 Higher

Soft

1-14 Higher

Uneven

2-10 Lower

St-12 Lowe

---------------------

200.00-230.00 179.00-206.00 170.00-177.00 152.00-158.00 -----

207.50-220.00 178.00-187.00 140.00-182.00 132.00 -----

210.00-255.00 190.00-215.00 182.00-194.00 154.00-168.00 138.00-154.00

193.00-195.00 185.00-193.00 154.00-185.00 141.00-154.00 -----

227.50-230.00 192.00-221.00 171.00-191.00 163.00-166.50 154.00-160.00

207.00-219.00 181.00-194.00 156.00-170.00 150.00-159.00 144.00-149.00

200.00-224.00 180.00-198.00 157.00-173.50 161.00-163.00 145.00-154.50

210.00-245.0 180.00-221.0 169.00-201.0 161.00-176.0 148.00-163.0

---------------------

--------161.00-169.00 ---------

----160.00-170.00 158.00 140.00-145.00 -----

---------------------

---------------------

210.00-225.00 190.00-206.00 162.00-173.00 143.00-158.00 139.00-140.00

194.00-195.00 169.00-185.00 154.00-160.00 140.00-152.00 -----

------------156.00 139.00-140.00

230.00 172.00-200.0 160.00-179.0 142.00-161.0 -----

---------------------

175.00-200.00 157.00-178.00 145.00-161.00 139.00-141.00 -----

167.50-172.50 150.00-165.00 150.00-159.00 134.00-139.00 -----

190.00-212.00 168.00-180.00 157.00-169.00 138.00-147.00 105.00-128.00

181.00-184.00 171.00-181.00 152.00-171.00 120.00-152.00 -----

190.00-205.00 156.00-186.00 147.00-165.00 140.00-147.00 153.00

180.00-185.00 160.00-177.00 151.00-157.00 141.00 -----

187.00-190.00 169.00-173.00 150.00-159.00 135.00-138.00 130.00-136.00

171.00-201.0 158.00-184.0 141.00-165.0 137.00-153.0 133.00-142.0

12 6$/(

slaughter

1/19/16

Farmer’s & Farmers Ranchers Livestock Vinita, Okla.* Springdale 1/20/16 1/22/16

Ft. Smith Livestock 1/18/16

I-40 Livestock Ozark 1/21/16

USDA Reported * Independently Reported

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Joplin Regiona Stockyard 1/18/16

16 12 8 4

9.19

9.17

9.12

9.17

8.75

5.04

5.11

6.24 5.11

4.96

5.33

3.84

3.87

3.89

0

eville lyth

B

3.89

a

n Hele

e

Elain

3.46

la

eo Osc

usta

Aug

250

Joplin Regional Stockyards 1/18/16

Mid-State Stockyards*

530 2-10 Lower

750

1750

2250

2750

6300

311

-----

6228

400

2479

246

2811

St-12 Lower

St-5 Higher

-----

5-20 Lower

Uneven

St-4 Lower

Steady

3-5 Lower

200.00-235.00 190.00-222.00 174.00-188.00 140.00-149.00 130.00-134.00

5.00 7.00 7.00 0

187.00-190.00 169.00-173.00 150.00-159.00 135.00-138.00 130.00-136.00

171.00-201.00 158.00-184.00 141.00-165.00 137.00-153.00 133.00-142.00

170.00-205.00 155.00-174.00 140.00-163.00 130.00-151.00 -----

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Week of 12/27/15

***

*** *** *** ***

***

***

***

***

***

***

***

***

***

***

*

* 173.50 150.66 162.71

182.62

149.06

179.31 *** 167.03 167.48

162.20 *** 151.45 152.50

160.85

156.09 160.42

175.06

144.97 159.82 157.69

* 166.42 * 158.80

179.32

1/18/16

230.00 172.00-200.00 160.00-179.00 142.00-161.00 -----

***

*

Tulsa Livestock Auction 1/18/16

------------156.00 139.00-140.00

***

187.49

Stilwell Livestock Auction* 1/20/16

5.00 5.00 0.00 2.00

***

166.81

1600.00-2100.00* 1700.00-1975.00 †

1250

***

*

Ozarks Regional West Plains 1/19/16

---------------------

***

182.83

Ouachita Livestock Ola, Ark. 1/22/16

200.00-235.00 184.00-219.00 171.00-188.00 160.00-175.00 -----

***

*

OKC West - El Reno, Okla.

1/20/16

210.00-245.00 180.00-221.00 169.00-201.00 161.00-176.00 148.00-163.00

***

163.36

N. Ark. Livestock Green Forest -----

12 6$/( :($7+(5

I-40 Livestock Ozark 1/21/16

***

*** ***

169.97

1200.00-1450.00 †

Ozarks Regional Stockyards Stilwell Livestock Auction Tulsa Livestock Auction

***

***

*

1350.00-2100.00 † 1075.00-1650.00 * Mid-State Stockyards No Sale - Weather † North Arkansas Livestock - Green Forest No Sale - Holiday † OKC West - El Reno 1625.00-2475.00 † Ouachita Livestock Auction

4.49

Ash Flat El Reno Ft. Smith Green Forest Heber Springs Joplin Ouachita Ozark Ratcliff Searcy Siloam Springs Springdale Tulsa West Plains

***

None Reported † 1350.00-2400.00 †

Ft. Smith Livestock I-40 Livestock - Ozark Joplin Regional Stockyards

161.92 182.15 179.24 163.70 172.50

145.15 155.45 161.01 150.41 *

173.94

148.79 146.85

174.60

147.00

163.97 183.94

159.89 161.98

198.36

***

*** 152.83

175.33

214.00-238.00 193.00-224.00 168.50-204.50 150.00-174.00 144.75-155.75

214.00-255.00 190.00-198.00 161.00-187.00 150.00-161.00 144.00-150.00

210.00-220.00 200.00-218.00 186.00-205.00 161.00-178.00 154.00-167.50

185.00-215.00 170.00-203.00 160.00-186.00 125.00-148.00 105.00-126.00

223.00-233.00 202.00-217.50 183.00-196.50 161.00-168.00 140.50-151.50

---------------------

----205.00-226.00 171.00-187.50 ---------

----180.00-182.00 150.00-151.00 ---------

203.00 180.00-192.50 166.00-192.00 ---------

---------------------

210.00-217.00 180.00-192.00 171.00-190.00 ----122.00-142.00

---------------------

195.00-220.00 161.00-193.00 152.00-163.00 134.00-162.00 132.00-145.50

192.00-215.00 162.00-180.00 149.00-160.00 142.00-150.00 -----

175.00-195.00 165.00-182.50 157.50-175.00 150.00 -----

180.00-199.00 155.00-181.00 140.00-160.00 120.00-148.00 105.00-120.00

186.00-199.00 163.50-200.00 151.00-161.00 144.50-154.00 141.00-146.00

Oct. 15 Nov. 15 Dec. 15

heifers 550-600 LBS.

Week of 1/3/16

Sorghum

20

ices 200.00-224.00 180.00-198.00 157.00-173.50 161.00-163.00 145.00-154.50

Corn

Ash Flat El Reno Ft. Smith Green Forest Heber Springs Joplin Ouachita Ozark Ratcliff Searcy Siloam Springs Springdale Tulsa West Plains

July 15 Aug. 15 Sept. 15

Week of 1/10/16

Soft Wheat

steers 550-600 LBS.

Week of 1/3/16

Soybeans

Jan. 15 Feb. 15 Mar. 15 Apr. 15 May 15 June 15

pairs

2200.00-2300.00* Barry County Regional Stockyards 1350.00-2400.00 † Benton County Sale Barn No Sale* Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction Cleburne County Livestock 1025.00-1500.00 † † County Line Sale - Ratcliff None Reported Decatur Livestock Auction 1800.00-2450.00* Farmer’s & Ranchers - Vinita None Reported * Farmers Livestock 1000.00-2025.00 †

Week Ended 1/26/16

65.00; 85-100 lbs 160.00-175.00.

9.00 4.00 0.00 9.00 9.00

69.00-82.00 † Prices reported per cwt

$150.0

Arkansas Cattle Auction - Searcy None Reported † Ash Flat Livestock No Sale - Weather †

avg. grain prices

.00-209.00, few 232.00; 90-110 lbs

en

1/22/16

No Sale * 850.00-1525.00 †

$182.5

*

159.19

***

***

150.82

*

Week of 1/17/16

150.00-183.00.

02.50-207.50; 70-80 lbs 192.0000-185.00.

5.00-322.00; 70-80 lbs 237.50-

16

Ash Flat Livestock Barry County Regional Stockyards Benton County Sale Barnn Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction Cleburne County County Line Sale - Ratcliff Decatur Livestock Auction Farmer’s & Ranchers - Vinita Farmers Livestock Ft. Smith Livestock I-40 Livestock - Ozark Joplin Regional

Cheese: Barrels closed at $1.4300 and 40# blocks at 1600.00-2000.00* $1.4600. The weekly average for barrels is $1.4781 (-.0464) 1425.00-1600.00* and blocks, $1.4775 (-.0095).

950.00-2125.00 † Fluid Milk: Milk production is steady to increasing at 925.00-1425.00 † seasonal levels across most of the country. However, 900.00-1750.00 † marginal drops in output are reported in a few areas. Fluid 800.00-2050.00 † milk sales vary across the regions. Bottling orders in the East Mid-State 800.00-1600.00 * are strong, as a wintery snow storm develops up and down North Arkansas Livestock - Green Forest No Sale - Weather † the region. Milk transportation delays that are occurring No Sale - Holiday † OKC West - El Reno are anticipated to grow into cancellations as the snow Ouachita Livestock 975.00-1835.00 † storm further develops. Sales into bottling moved lower 950.00-1650.00 † Ozarks Regional in the Midwest as orders for specialty products declined.

1100.00-1700.00 * Stilwell Livestock Auction Meanwhile, Arizona reports steady to lower fluid sales, as 1175.00-1975.00 † 1 Tulsa Livestock Auction sales picked up in the Pacific Northwest. Cream is available across the regions, with the majority of interest coming from 250 750 1250 1750 2250 2750 butter manufacturers. Supplies in the Midwest are being augmented by loads from the Northeast and West. With the Super Bowl fast approaching, interest in sour cream type products and dips continues to rise.

SPOT PRICES OF CLASS II CREAM, $ PER POUND BUTTERFAT F.O.B. producing plants: Upper (Week of 1/17/16 to 1/23/16) Midwest - $2.4317-2.6431.

ice and Prime 1: 246.00-268.00; 60-70 lbs 232.00.00; 70-80 lbs 220.00-240.00; 80-90 05 lbs 180.00-200.00. s 315.00-320.00; 50-60 lbs 287.000-275.00; 90-110 lbs 195.00-

ith ck

1050.00-1375.00 † No Sale - Weather † 1700.00-1900.00* 950.00-2150.00 †

Arkansas Cattle Auction

cow/calf

0-130 lbs 143.00-155.00; 135-145

$215.0

Week of 1/10/16

. nd wooled 115-145 lbs 130.50-

National Dairy Market at a Glance

cows

(Week of 1/17/16 to 1/23/16)

dairy sales

1/22/16

ed to last week slaughter lambs wer with most decline on light lambs. ady to 7.00 lower. Feeder lambs 00 lower. At San Angelo, TX 5176 ale. No sales in Equity Electronic hter ewes and feeder lambs were not otiated sales of slaughter lambs were ormula sales under 65 lbs were not ere 6.00-8.00 lower; 75-85 lbs were 5-95 lbs were 5.00-7.00 lower and t comparison. 4,874 carcasses sold 6.12 higher; 45-55 lbs 3.31 higher; 5-75 lbs 1.37 lower and 75 lbs and sheep sold per hundred weight e specified. ice and Prime 2-3 90-160 lbs: wooled 100-160 lbs 130.00-149.00.

178.00-190.00; 110-130 lbs 182.00.

130-150 lbs 145.00-177.00; 150-200

replacement

Billings, MT: 60-70 lbs 198.00-210.00; 70-80 lbs 196.00230.00; 116 lbs 172.00.

550-600 lb. steers

$247.5

Week of 1/17/16

ction 1 100-220 lbs 190.00-225.00.

160.00-180.00. Selection 3 100-

12 Month Avg. -

$280.0

Week of 12/27/15

es reports

USDA Reported * Independently Reported

179.79 163.34 160.22 140.00

157.51 150.00 156.52 148.02

174.57 177.37

153.12

189.97

160.89

188.57 148 166 184 202 * No price reported in weight break **USDA Failed To Report *** No Sale

220

Prices Based on Weighted Average for Steers and Heifers 550-600 lbs.

Serving More Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma Serving MoreThan Than24,000 24,000Readers Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

149.97

147.18

165.42

130

149.57

125

142 159 176 193 * No price reported in weight break **USDA Failed To Report *** No Sale

210

Prices Based on Weighted Average for Steers and Heifers 550-600 lbs.

17 17

farm finance

Preventing Fraud

By Whitney Morrow

Smaller companies are more likely to fall victim • Establish loss prevention procedures. Every company has We all know fraud can create a major drag on profitability. Ac-

cording to a 2014 study published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, privately held companies, including farms and agribusiness lose, on average, 5 percent of their revenues to it annually.

Companies with fewer than 100 employers fare worst. In ACFE’s research, 28.8 percent of smaller companies experienced fraud, with an average loss of $154,000.

By comparison, only 23.6 percent of companies with 100-plus employees were fraud victims. Their average loss was 17 percent less.

Why the difference?

What businesses can do for themselves

While banks can help businesses reduce risks, they are only part of a good fraud prevention solution. As the ACFE research suggests, losses are lower when companies implement their own fraud control programs. Among the many things they can do:

18

Y RT AN PO MP L RE COCIA AN FIN

Larger organizations tend to have more anti-fraud controls in place than smaller ones, the ACFE found. So they detect fraud sooner and lower their losses as a result. Smaller companies, on the other hand, have fewer resources to commit to fraud reduction strategies. Often they hope their banks, accountants and insurance companies will take care of fraud control for them.

And they’re half right.

As a banker, I can tell you that fraud prevention is a top priority. Many banks invest regularly in helping their customers reduce and prevent fraud, including providing the means for their customers to: • Prevent paper check altering and forgery. Many banks make it possible for companies to provide them with a daily electronic file of all the checks they issue. The bank then matches the paid checks against the file to ensure the amount or payee’s name has not been altered.

• Prevent tampering with incoming payments. Rather than assigning employees to handle and deposit incoming checks, a company can arrange to have payments collected at a secure post office box and transported directly to their bank for processing. Companies can also reduce the risk of lost or altered checks by using remote deposit services that enable them to scan and transmit digital images of checks to the bank.

• Reject unauthorized transactions – Using Automated Clearing House (ACH) blocks and debit filters allow companies to authorize electronic transactions from particular businesses and specific or maximum amounts.

Unauthorized transactions are automatically rejected.

“weak links” that can be exploited. A company’s own employees often know better than anyone where these weaknesses exist. It’s important to identify a business’ vulnerable areas and then set up internal controls to monitor and measure those activities.

• Conduct internal audits regularly. An internal accounting audit can help identify the presence of fraud. Typical schemes include check tampering, “skimming” and expense reimbursement fraud that, unfortunately, can be initiated by trusted, long-time employees.

• Automate work processes. Audits are easier to conduct if financial and banking processes are automated. Automation creates an online audit trail that identifies who has viewed, approved or altered every invoice or payment. Limiting access to billing and payment workflow helps keep unauthorized persons out.

• Separate duties. In a small business, employees often wear many hats. But that can be risky, particularly if the same person is responsible for authorizing, processing, paying, recording and reconciling financial transactions. It’s much safer to segregate duties to create an internal system of checks and balances. An employee who updates vendor addresses, for example, should not be able to pay their bills. To avoid malware designed to capture multiple users’ credentials on the same computer, a business can initiate ACH and wire payments using dual controls; one person authorizes a payment’s creation and a second person authorizes its release.

• Go paperless when possible.

Every check or invoice sitting on a desk is a fraud risk. Companies that use electronic, rather than paper, billing and payment solutions reduce the risk of tampering and information theft. Receiving payments electronically also helps prevent against deposits into unauthorized accounts.

• Dedicate one computer to online banking. When a virus infects a computer, it can allow a hacker to access company bank accounts and wire money before anyone suspects a thing. Combat cyber-attacks by limiting online financial transactions to a dedicated “offline” PC that only a tightly controlled group of users can access.

• Protect home computers. A company’s fraud control measures are only as good as those used by employees, customers and vendors. If employees are allowed to do work on a home computer, make sure they are running updated antivirus software. You may consider preventing employees from initiating financial transactions from home.

The bottom line: bankers, like accountants and insurance agents, genuinely want to do everything they can to help their customers prevent and reduce fraud. But we need your help. The gateways for fraud are always changing, as attackers modify their approaches to work around the latest controls. The best efforts are team efforts.

Whitney Morrow is senior vice president of Treasury Services, Commerce Bank

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

farm finance

Understanding Tax Changes

By Adam Wolfe

New regulations mean new requirements to determine if expenses are deductible November and December 2015 were two important months for tax laws that impact farmers and business owners, so if you fall into either category, it’s important that you understand recent changes and discuss them with your tax advisor.

Two existing regulations were altered, and as a result, things we deduct on farm and business returns, and the ways in which we deduct them, are permanently changed. Before we explain, let’s give a bit of background.

In January 2014, a set of rules called the Tangible Property Regulations (TPRs) went into effect on tax returns in all industries.

These regulations provided new requirements to determine whether a cost is immediately deductible as an expense, or is required to be deducted over a period of years, via depreciation. Under the TPRs, every single repair cost must be evaluated under a series of rules to determine its appropriate tax treatment – these rules were completely new for 2014 tax returns. However, a safe harbor exists that allows any expense under $500 to be immediately deducted without any testing requirements. This is an important safe harbor, because testing repair items places a significant burden on taxpayers and tax professionals alike, so relief from testing anything under $500 reduces the burden a bit. (Note: if your business files what is essentially an audited financial statement with a governmental agency, the threshold is $5,000 – discuss this with your tax professional if you think it impacts you.)

On Nov. 24, 2015 the IRS released Notice 2015-82, which increased the threshold present in this safe harbor, from $500 to $2,500. That means any business or farm expense under $2,500 can be deducted immediately, without FEBRUARY 1, 2016

being depreciated. This change goes into effect for years beginning after Jan. 1, 2016 – but the IRS has provided guidance that makes the rule available for 2015 tax returns, as well. Discuss this regulation with your tax professional and make sure its implications are considered on your tax return.

Also important to note for the coming filing season and beyond is that Congress, on Dec. 18, 2015 signed into law a bill that expands the annual Section 179 deduction limit to $500,000 – permanently! If you’ve been farming for long, you probably have a basic understanding of Section 179, but in case you don’t, it’s a tax code created to help businesses, by allowing them to deduct the full amount of the purchase price of equipment and breeding stock immediately in the year it’s purchased, rather than over a period of years through depreciation.

Section 179 has long provided farmers with a key planning tool, because taxable farm profit can be lowered through major purchases.

In the past, Section 179 rules have expired annually and been retroactively extended by Congress, which creates a bit of a year-end guessing game for farmers when it comes to how much expense they can get under Section 179. This recently passed bill makes an annual $500,000 Section 179 limit permanent (it’s also indexed for inflation), and removes some yearly uncertainty, which is great news. Discuss Section 179 with your tax professional and make sure you understand all the benefits and consequences of relying on it to save tax.

Adam Wolfe, CPA is the Partner & Tax Director of Bobby Medlin, CPA and works in the firm’s Lake Ozark branch.

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FEBRUARY 1, 2016

meet your neighbors

Photo by Terry Lamb

Helping People Feel Their Best

By Pam & Terry Lamb

Southern Kell, LLC., helps those with disabilities through interaction with farm animals What can a miniature horse, cow, goat, a pot bellied pig and other farm animals do? Sometimes they can get people to do things they normally wouldn’t.

Kelly Blair Brown has Kelly Blair Brown of Southern Kell, LLC., has been helping people with her Emobeen using farm tional Support Animals (ESA) even before she knew what the term meant. animals as Emotional Kelly’s dad, Jesse Blair, was the youngest child from a family of five. His older “I had the best time of my life,” Kelly recalled. “I Support Animals brother Billy was 14 years older and disabled, unable to walk or started looking for ways to volbefore the phrase talk. Billy was Jesse’s best friend. unteer with my animals. was invented.

Kelly remembers her grandmother telling her stories of her The rest, they say, is history.

Tahlequah, Okla. father sneaking a horse, cow or donkey up to the porch so he “The first time I attended a could slide Billy off and take him for a ride. hippotherapy session as a volunteer. There was a young man who “I tease people that Dad has been doing equine therapy before it was intraveled there twice a month for almost four hours who had spasvented,” Kelly said. tic cerebral palsy. His mother and family members pulled him out Kelly was at home with a young family when her little girl’s second-grade teacher needed a pig for a kiss the pig contest. Kelly brought her pig to the class.

— Continued on Next Page

27th Annual Spring Bull and Commercial Female Sale

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meet your neighbors Helping People Feel Their Best Continued from Previous Page of their van as stiff as a board, they placed him on the horse. Within about 20 minutes, they could bend him in the middle. After about 30 minutes of riding, he could move his arms, legs and they could work with him. The kid became a different person. He sat in the back seat of the van on the way home crying because he could actually sit up. He would be that way for about five days. I decided that was what I wanted to do.”

Kelly, who had two young sons at the time and was pregnant with her daughter, volunteered several more times convinced hippotherapy was something she was meant to do.

She talked to one of the professionals and was given the advice to keep her dream but, do something she could do at home with her kids while they were still young.

Kelly and her father decided to form JK Horses.

“We ran barnyard birthday parties, a petting zoo, pony rides, chicken chases, barnyard games and anything I could figure out to do with barnyard animals,” she said.

“We would have activities and threw many parties in the barn. I had a 93-year-old grandmother who loved seeing her grandkids and great-grandkids chasing chickens and doing things she used to do when she was growing up. We ended up throwing her a party, too. Even when gas got up to $5 a gallon, it didn’t stop my parties.”

There was a love in the business for Jesse too.

“My dad wanted to see kids experience horseback riding,” Kelly said. “He didn’t really understand but, he could see a change in people when they were around animals. Whenever there was a disabled adult family member at an event, my dad would always find a way to get them on a horse. Families would always be amazed they would get to participate.”

Kelly is convinced they were successful in a large part because of her father.

22

“We were the only family-farm related venue posted on the Oklahoma Agritourism map at the time.”

When Kelly and her first husband divorced, Kelly and her father decided to close the business. “It was a family-oriented business. It just wasn’t the same without my family running it.”

Now, Kelly is the office manager at the Cherokee County Health Services Council in Tahlequah, Okla.

Kelly still volunteers with her animals and has a registered handler’s license and animals licensed by the National Board of Emotional Support Animals (ESA).

“An ESA is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit such as elevating or mitigating some symptoms of disability for an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. Usually, they are someone who is volunteering with their animals or someone who has a prescription from their doctor saying not to separate a dog from the patient because they have anxiety,” Kelly said. “I provide my services to schools, nursing homes, community events, churches and hopefully very soon hospitals.

“Cherokee County Health Services’ platform is improving the overall health opportunity; physical fitness, nutrition, tobacco, mental health and awareness.”

Pam Iron is the executive director of the Cherokee County Health Services, and said Kelly is a good fit into the organization’s mission.

“We see ESAs as a creative way to get people excited and on board with our programs,” Pam said. “What Kelly does fits well as a part of our mental wellness and mental health overall piece.”

Pam is also trying to get Kelly’s ESAs used as a resource for area mental health groups.

“We have been stockpiling things I have been doing with my therapy animals as examples when applying for grants to show what I can do with grant money,” Kelly said. “Being a hippotherapist is still my dream.”

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

youth in

agriculture

OVERMILLER RED ANGUS AND GELBVIEH

tomorrow’s ag leaders

This Balancer bull & 14 paternal brothers sell.

Alyssa Miller Story and Photo By Terry Ropp

Age: 16 Parents: John and Ledna Johnson Hometown: Greenbrier, Ark. FFA Chapter: Greenbrier FFA Advisor names: Brandon Lewis, Becca Spinks and Rodney Wiedower

1 of 40 Red Angus bulls selling many suitable for hfrs.

This high % Gelbvieh sells.

Selling: 90 ~ Red Angus & Gelbvieh/ Balancer Bulls (12-18 mo. old) 11 ~ Elite Registered open heifers 70 ~ Commercial open heifers Red & Black

What is your favorite aspect of agriculture?

“I really enjoy opportunities to advocate for agriculture to kids and adults and even my teachers about common misconceptions, such as GMOs being bad. Sometimes people don’t even know what the letters mean, and even if they do, they’re unaware that 40 ingredients in non-organic food can be in organic food and still carry the organic label. Many people also are unaware that growth hormones are mostly a thing of the past and no longer a concern.”

Who is the most influential person in your life?

“The most influential person in my life is Jacqueline Kennedy. She was a classy lady and kept her cool under stress. She was respected by everyone and I would like to be just like her.”

What is your current involvement in agriculture?

“I am the treasurer of my FFA chapter and do livestock judging, as well as extemporaneous public speaking. This is my first year with the extemporaneous speaking and I got first place at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville in December. I also buy two kids (goats) every spring and raise them as show goats. I feed them every morning at 7 o’clock and at 6:30 at night. I wash the buckets every day, especially in the summertime, and fill them with fresh cool water. I keep the pens neat and tidy and walk each kid for an hour every day to train them for the show ring.”

What are some of your agricultural memories?

“I remember helping pull a calf when I was only 5. Now I really enjoy helping my MawMaw (grandma) harvest the garden for canning.

What are your future plans?

“I want to graduate from college with a double major in agricultural business and agricultural education with a minor in communications because I want to be an ag teacher and help others the way I have been helped.”

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the ofn

ag-visors

Advice from

the professionals

Ag Law

F

By John Alan Cohan

or most people their encounter with the IRS ends at the audit phase: Taxpayers will often agree to pay whatever the IRS says they owe. In situations where the auditor claims your ranch or farming activity is a hobby, not a business, this can have long-lasting and adverse consequences because deductions against outside income would be disallowed.

John Alan Cohan is a If you choose, you can appeal an audit determinalawyer who has served tion to IRS Appeals and, if that is not successful, to the farming, ranching Tax Court. The IRS is a large bureaucracy, but the and horse industries since procedures are fairly clear in that taxpayers are giv1981. To contact John Alan en ample opportunity, if you follow the procedures, Cohan, go to ozarksfn.com to contest determinations made at the audit level. and click on ‘Contact Us.’ The “philosophy” in IRS appeals, for the most part, is to seek a fair settlement of cases. Often, if you have strong evidence on your behalf, the appeals officer will end up conceding the case in its entirety, and you walk away owing nothing. In other instances, a settlement might be based on a percentage that you agree to pay. If a large amount of money is at stake, the appeals proceeding usually requires representation by a tax attorney.

The U.S. Tax Court is a Federal court established by Congress to provide a forum in which taxpayers can dispute IRS tax deficiencies assessed against them. This is a court, as it were, of last resort for taxpayers, if the matter has not been settled in IRS Appeals.

The Tax Court is composed of presidentially appointed judges who are well versed in tax law. Court sessions are held throughout the country, so that the lawyer who files your case can designate a city convenient to you.

The advantage of Tax Court is that you have the opportunity, once again, to settle your case. Your representative must be familiar with the extensive Tax Court rules and procedures. If the case is not settled with IRS counsel, the judge will hear your case. No juries are involved. Depending on the judge, and depending on the strengths of your case, you may or may not win.

You will have the opportunity to present witnesses on your behalf, including expert witnesses. You as a taxpayer usually will be a key witness to testify as to your intentions and expectations in carrying on the activity. You will need to explain your method of recordkeeping, articulate what the business plan was, what efforts were made to cut down on costs and increase revenue, who was employed as ranch manager (if applicable), how decisions were made, and other elements. If there were setbacks, such as casualty losses or economic downturns, these also will need to be narrated.

Not everyone is audited in the first place. But most of audits of ranchers and farmers involve those who have a history of losses with large tax deductions taken against large principal sources of income.

Although the ranching and farming industries are big forces in the American economy because they help fund many related industries and workers, the IRS takes a skeptical view towards taxpayers who have a history of losses in these areas. But at the same time, taxpayers who go to the effort of pursuing their cases in IRS Appeals or Tax Court usually can get a better opportunity to have a satisfactory result. It will still be necessary to have strong evidence that your activity is conducted in a businesslike manner, and plenty of documentation and witnesses, in order to determine just how you could make a profit in this activity over time.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

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farm

help

Making farming

a little easier

If You Keep Them, Use Them

By Gary Digiuseppe

Keeping records of pastures, livestock helps producers develop a game plan Should you keep records? Sure...if you’re going to use them.

“If you’re going to make changes in your operation, and hopefully improve it, then you’ve got to know where you’re at to start with, to help you more or less develop a game plan for moving on in that more positive direction,” Eldon Cole, University of Missouri Extension regional livestock specialist, told Ozarks Farm and Neighbor.

“Something a lot of people are talking about now is how long to keep cows in the herd and if you’re not keeping any records, a lot of people really don’t know whether they kept a cow too long in the herd or whether they should go on a different route.

If you keep track of why you cull cows, this will help you on down the road in making those determinations.”

Producers can also keep individual performance records; knowing what calves weighed at weaning time, or at a year of age, will identify what could be vast difference in growth rates and could influence future selection of bulls to service the cow herd.

Producers can also keep track of which pastures get the most grazing per animal unit.

“There are differences there and, again, you’ve got to write it down someplace or put it on the computer if you’re going to really be able to evaluate whether your farm is making headway and progress, or whether you’re doing the same thing year after year and expect different outcomes,” Cole said.

Records also serve as proof that producers are complying with requirements of specific programs, or with legal obligations. Cole noted the Beef Quality Assurance Program, which requires ranchers to follow a set group of practices that are designed to meet industry and consumer demand for the final beef product. There is also the new Veterinary Feed Directive, which the federal government will begin to enforce in 2017.

“You’re going to need to keep records to prove that you have a prescription for you to be using certain antibiotics in the production of your animals,” said Cole. “Not only do you need to keep the records for a few years but so will your veterinarian, and the feed mill that is mixing up these feeds with the antibiotics that are included under the scrutiny of the government.”

what do you say?

How do you ensure the health of your livestock?

“We keep the cattle happy by feeding them as nutritionally as possible so their own natural immunities and strength protect them.”

Logan Genz Pope County, Ark.

26

With the vast array of data out there, Dr. Robert Wells, livestock consultant with the Samuel R. Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Okla., offered a list of the information he would prioritize for a records system.

“If there was one record that I would want somebody to keep on the production side, I would tell them it was pounds of weaned calf or saleable calf per exposed cow,” Wells told OFN. “That is a good indicator of, one, how our genetics are working for us – are we selling off the biggest calf we possibly can? And, two, it also takes into account how many cows did not bring a calf to the weaning pen.”

Other important ratios could be the percent of bred cows and their calving rates, average daily gain, and daily feed, mineral and hay distribution and, on the financial side, the total cost of carrying a cow on your operation for a year While producers are building histories of their own operations for future reference, they can turn to Standardized Performance Analysis (SPA) data offered by state Extension Services that look at how other cow/calf operations in the area are performing, both financially and on the production side.

“Once you have multiple years worth of records,” Wells said, “you can then benchmark against yourself as well so you can see if you’re progressing in the right direction.

Are your calf weights getting heavier? Are your feed costs going down? Are your repair costs staying at least at the same level, or less than what they have historically?”

Records can be helpful to pinpoint problems. Wells said one of his clients was not getting the average daily gain he was expecting under a preconditioning program.

Wells looked at the client’s records and concluded the rate of gain was consistent with the amount of feed the calves were getting. “This year,” he said, “we increased the rate of feed for his calves and he saw a dramatic increase in the amount of average daily gain on those calves post-weaning, which translated into a larger, more marketable calf to sell.”

“We vaccinate all calves at for blackleg, Lepto and all the respiratory illnesses at 90 days, again at 6 months and finally as yearlings.

This gets all the immunity and re-breeding vaccines into the cattle. Adult animals receive prebreeding shots and semiannual boosters.”

“I have a vaccination protocol, but my biggest concern is scours, which I try to prevent through vaccination. Since sometimes that’s not enough, I constantly watch for it and treat it immediately when it does break through my health vaccination protocols.”

Brian Kirkes Le Flore County, Okla.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

Wes Hudson Boone County, Ark.

“I used managed intensive grazing and feed hay as well as a supplement, also graining as needed. In addition, I make sure my first calf heifers have plenty of grain.”

Rick Crunkleton Marion County, Ark.

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

farm help

Do You Have a Budget?

By Gary Digiuseppe

A whole-farm budget helps farmers get a handle on fixed costs According to Dan Childs, it’s more important than ever for farmers and ranchers to prepare a whole-farm budget – not just for the farming enterprises.

Childs, a senior agricultural consultant with the Samuel R. Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Okla., said it’s more popular among farmers to budget only for the enterprise-related expenses.

“I would say that the era that agriculture is beginning right now, with grain prices and livestock prices lower and almost all enterprises across agriculture are stressed, those fixed costs are the ones that will get you in trouble,” he told Ozarks Farm and Neighbor. “It’s important, especially during these times, to look at the whole farm budget, see what your total debt is and be able to manage it. You may have to sell some equipment or downsize somehow if the cash flow is going to support all of the farm obligations. “ To prepare a whole-farm budget, Childs said producers need to get a good handle on fixed costs like annual payments on long term debt, intermediate-term debts on items like breeding animals and equipment, and other everyday bills to pay like property tax, insurance and family living.

“If you’re a full-time farmer, you’ve got to buy groceries through revenue generated by the farm,” he explained. “When you talk about a whole farm budget, those expenses that would occur even though they choose not to operate – don’t plant any crops or raise any cattle, not have any operating costs – I would say most farmers and ranchers struggle with more than they do with enterprise or operational expenses each year.”

Childs said whole-farm budgets should be prepared on a monthly basis to take into account recurring expenses like utilities. That compares with many of the enterprise expenses, which only come once a year.

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

They also come to conclusions differently.

“We know what corn seed costs on a per acre basis,” he said. “Enterprise budgets are generally prepared on a per unit basis, like per acre or per head on a livestock operation. The whole farm takes all of those multiplied by the acres or the number of head, and you come up with total numbers for the farm. Then, your total numbers from your fixed cost items get added to that, to provide all of the information for completing a whole farm budget.”

If the producer does not have history built up for his operation, many state Extension Services offer generic budgets for different crops and livestock. “The ‘I states’ (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana)are pretty good at the traditional grain crops, and Kansas and Oklahoma have generic budgets for small grains, primarily wheat,” he said. At the same time, the producer should start keeping close tabs on expenses and revenues in order to prepare budgets based on the operation’s past performance.

The University of Missouri has Excel spreadsheets for beef cattle operations in the northern and southern parts of the state and for feeding yearling steers. They also offer budgets for forage, and for silage and baleage, as well as assumptions that can be plugged into budgets to offer realistic goals. Extension Economist Dr. Raymond Massey developed forecast prices for 2016 based on current prices and information from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Department of Energy and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. He is pegging alfalfa at $200 a ton, cool season grass hay at $60/ton, mixed fescue/clover hay at $80/ton and pasture at $12.50 per animal unit, or cow/ calf pair, month (AUM). Some of the inputs are $2.50/gallon for diesel, electricity at ten cents per kilowatt/hour, anhydrous at 40 cents per pound of nitrogen, and interest at the complete list.

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Seedstock Plus North Missouri Bull Sale February 27, 2016 * 12 noon

Kingsville Livestock Auction * Kingsville, MO 200 Angus, Gelbvieh & Balancer Bulls • • • • • • • •

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Whether on the floor of the Missouri Senate, working for the USDA, or hosting the Farm & Ranch Report, Morris Westfall cares about the people of the Ozarks.

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farm help

Don’t Forget the Vitamins

By Gary Digiuseppe

Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can suppress growth, reduce conception rates Some vitamin and mineral deficiencies in cattle can be obvious. But many aren’t, and the producer can address the problem with some wellapplied knowledge.

Dr. Shane Gadberry, professor of ruminant nutrition for University of Arkansas Extension, said an acute deficiency can result in obvious production loss.

“For example, we might see an issue with selenium and/or Vitamin E in calves that are born weak; a post-mortem exam by the veterinarian may reveal what we call ‘white-muscle disease,”’ Gadberry told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. “There can also be what we would call sub-acute cases where production is being impacted, but we don’t have losses to the point that it is easily identifiable; it might be subtle reductions in growth rates, and those are a little harder to determine because most of the time we don’t have something to compare that growth rate against.”

If cows receive a complete mineral supplement, vitamin deficiencies can be rare. Complete supplements are well fortified with fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E. However, if cows only get a trace mineralized block or a plain white salt block, it may result in a vitamin A deficiency in the herd. Gadberry said sun-cured forages don’t have the keratin load of green forages; since Arkansas producers typically feed hay 3 to 4 months out of the year – in some cases, longer – that is the period where cows may lack Vitamin A. “The liver does a good job of storing vitamin A for a few months,” he explained. “But unfortunately many times, especially following a drought--and we know that we’ve had a very dry fall – many of our cattle producers in Arkansas may find themselves feeding hay for 4 to 6 months within a given year.”

A Vitamin A deficiency leads to suppressed immunity, suppressed growth

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

rates, rough hair coats, and even a poor conception rate.

Put-up hay will also have reduced amounts of Vitamin E compared to green forages, but here Gadberry said the literature is unclear.

“Science has yet to do a really good job of defining what the exact requirements of vitamin E nutrition in the cow herd are for optimal production,” he said. “We do know that there are areas that are inadequate in selenium, and we see selenium deficiencies in Arkansas; selenium and vitamin E work closely together in the body, so a lot of the vitamin E deficiencies are tied to the same symptomology that we see in a selenium deficiency. With vitamin E we can have calves that are born weak, buckling of the feet in feeder calves and retained placentas with our mature cow herd.”

Dr. Patrick Davis, University of Missouri Extension regional livestock specialist, said if cows are deficient in vitamins A and E, that will inhibit transfer to newborn calves through colostrum. “This could cause these calves to have diarrhea, pneumonia and weak calf syndrome,” Davis told OFN. “The way to prevent against this is to make sure cows are on a vitamin/mineral supplement that meets their requirements, so that vitamins and minerals are passed onto their calves through the placenta and colostrum.”

If the nutrient requirements are met prior to calving and the cow is in good body condition score, the producer normally will not see any signs of nutrient deficiency in calves. In a drought year there is potential for a vitamin A deficiency, which can cause newborn calves to be born weak and blind.

Davis explained, “There is improper osteal growth leading to pinching of the optic nerve at the point where it passes through the optic chiasma.”

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

ozarks’ farm February 2016 1 Back to the Farm: Farm Business Management – 6-8 p.m., no cost to register

or attend – Pope County Extension Office, 105 W B Street, Russellville, Ark.

– 479-968-7098 2,9,16,23 Back to the Farm: Practical Training for Small and Beginning Farmers – 6-8 p.m.,

no cost to register or attend – Whitaker Arena, 1335 W. Knapp Drive,

Fayetteville, Ark. – 479-444-1755 2, 4 ABIP Arkansas Beef Herd Improvement Workshop – 6 p.m. – Pope County

Extension Office, 105 West B Street, Russellville, Ark. – call 479-968-7098

to pre-register 4 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6 p.m. – Marion County Fairgrounds, Yellville,

Ark. – 870-449-6349 3-3/2 Master Gardener Training – Wednesdays – Ozark, Ark. – pre-registration is

required – 479-667-3720 6, 27 Beginner Beekeeping Class – 8 a.m.-2 p.m. – Cost: $20 individual, $30

family – Pre-registration and payment is required – Janet Huckabee

Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, 8300 Wells Lake Road, Fort Smith,

Ark. – 479-208-9949 or email: dannylbrewer@aol.com – www.waeoba.com

or “Fort Smith Bee Class” Facebook page for more info and registration 8 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6 p.m. – Bald Knob School Cafeteria, Bald Knob,

Ark. – 501-268-5394 8 Back to the Farm: Specialty Crop Production: From Farm to Fork – 6-8 p.m.,

no cost to register or attend – Pope County Extension Office, 105 W B Street,

Russellville, Ark. – 479-968-7098 9 Back to the Farm: Specialty Crop Production: From Farm to Fork – 6-8 p.m.,

no cost to register or attend – Whitaker Arena, 1335 W. Knapp Drive,

Fayetteville, Ark. – 479-444-1755 13 Sheep and Goat Workshop – 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., registration at 9:30 a.m.

– Lunch will be provided at noon – Benton County Fairgrounds,

Bentonville, Ark. – 479-271-1060 15 Back to the Farm: Marketing Your Farm – 6-8 p.m., no cost to register or attend

– Pope County Extension Office, 105 W B Street, Russellville, Ark. – 479-968-7098 16 Back to the Farm: Marketing Your Farm – 6-8 p.m., no cost to register or

attend – Whitaker Arena, 1335 W. Knapp Drive, Fayetteville, Ark. – 479-444-1755 16 River Valley Beef Cattle Conference – 8:30 a.m. – register at the door,

$20 per person – 1-40 Livestock Auction, Ozark, Ark. – 479-667-3720 for

more info 16 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6:30 p.m. – Courthouse, Charleston, Ark.

– 479-667-3720 18 Farm to School Workshop – 6:30 p.m. – First National Bank Community

Center, Paris, Ark. – 479-963-2360 18 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6:30 p.m. – Johnson County Fairgrounds,

Clarksville, Ark. – 479-667-3720 or 479-754-2240 19 Pesticide Applicator Training – 9 a.m. – Extension Office, Ozark, Ark. – 479-667-3720 19 River Valley Rice Production Breakfast Meeting – 8 a.m. – Schaefers Farm,

Mayflower, Ark. – 501-354-9618 20 Wagoner County Cattlemen’s Association Chili Dinner – proceeds go to

support 4-H and FFA members who participate in the Spring Livestock

Shows – Auction following dinner, everyone is welcome to bring items to

auction off – 6 p.m. – Assembly of God Church, Coweta, Okla. – 918-486-4589 20 Open Horse Show – 9 a.m. – Claremore Expo Center, Claremore, Okla. – 918-923-4958

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

calendar

20 Show Cattle Clinic – 10 a.m., ages 5-19 – Marion County Fairgrounds,Yellville,

Ark. – pre-registration required – 870-449-6349 22 Pesticide Applicator Training – 5:30 p.m. – Washington County Extension

Office, Fayetteville, Ark. – 479-444-1755 22 Back to the Farm: Livestock Production on Small Acreages – 6-8 p.m.,

no cost to register or attend – Pope County Extension Office, 105 W B Street,

Russellville, Ark. – 479-968-7098 23 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6:30 p.m. Paris Community Center, Paris,

Ark. – pre-registration required – 479-963-2360 23 Back to the Farm: Livestock Production on Small Acreages – 6-8 p.m.,

no cost to register or attend – Whitaker Arena, 1335 W. Knapp Drive,

Fayetteville, Ark. – 479-444-1755 25-27 Junior Spring Livestock Show – Le Flore Fairgrounds, Poteau, Okla. – 918-647-8231 26-29 Spring Livestock Show – Cherokee County Fairgrounds, Tahlequah, Okla.

– 918-456-6163 27 Learn to Burn – Introduction of Prescribed Fire for Landowners workshop

– 10 a.m.-4 p.m. – NWACC Walmart Auditorium, Shewmaker Center

B102, Bentonville, Ark. – preregistration is required – 877-470-3650 or clint.johnson@agfc.ar.gov 29 Cow Reproduction Program – 6:30 p.m. – Library, Marshall, Ark. – 870-448-3981 March 2016 2-5 Delaware County Spring Livestock Show – Delaware County Fairgrounds,

Jay, Okla. – 918-253-4332 3 Mineral Leases and Estate Planning Meeting – 6-8:30 p.m. – Hubach

Conference Center, Unity Health, 3214 E. Race, Searcy, Ark. –

501-268-5394 – register by March 1 3 Tri-County Forage Meeting – 9 a.m. – First National Community Bank,

Paris, Ark. – register by Feb. 29 3 Fruit Pruning Demonstration – 10 a.m. – Pyatt, Ark. – 870-449-6349 4 Premier Show – Le Flore Fairgrounds, Poteau, Okla. – 918-647-8231 4 Pesticide Applicator Training – 2 p.m. – NEBCO Community Building,

17823 Marshall Street, Garfield, Ark. – 479-271-1060 5 4-H Day with Arkansas Razorbacks – call your local Extension Center for

more information 10 Pesticide Applicator Training – Searcy County Extension Office, Marshall, Ark.

– 870-448-3981 10 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6 p.m. – ASUBB Farm, Beebe, Ark. – 501-268-5394 11 Arkansas Grazing Lands Conference – 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. – Featured speaker:

Jim Gerrish – Cost: $35 per person, includes BBQ lunch & materials –

Arkansas Tech University, Ozark Campus, Ozark, Ark. – 501-682-2915

or debbie.morelandpr@gmail.com to register – www.argrazinglandscoalition.org

for more information 12 Developing a Ozarks Green Thumb – 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. – Mountain Home,

Ark. – Cost: $25, includes lunch – 870-425-2335 – register by Feb. 29 15 Bentonville’s National Ag Day – 1-3:30 p.m. – Barnes Auditormium, Rogers,

Ark. – 479-271-1060 17 Little Red River Beef Cattle Conference – 11:30 a.m. – $20 registration fee

– Pruitt’s Mid-State Stockyards, Damascus, Ark. – 501-745-7117 22-24 AI Class – Arkansas Tech, Russellville, Ark. – 501-316-3536 28 Pesticide Applicator Training – 2 p.m. – Washington County Extension

Office, Fayetteville, Ark. – 479-444-1755

Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

29

ozarks’

auction block

February 2016 9 Oklahoma Quality Beef Network Vac-45 Sale – McAlester Stockyards,

McAlester, Okla. – 918-423-2834 20 Overmiller Gelbvieh & Angus Bull & Female Sale – at the Farm, Smith

Center, Kan. – 785-389-3522 20 Magnolia Hereford Assn. Polled & Horned Production Sale – Southern

Arkansas University, Magnolia, Ark – 870-451-3624 26 Cow Camp Ranch Bull Sale – Lost Springs, Kan. – 785-965-7168 27 Smithson Farms Annual Black Hereford Sale – at the Farm, La Plato, Mo.

– 660-651-5877 27 Red Alliance Performance Tested Red Angus Auction – Brazos County

Exposition Complex, Bryan, Texas – 641-919-1077 27 Seedstock Plus North Missouri Bull Sale – Kingsville Livestock Market,

Kingsville, Mo. – 877-486-1160 27 LonelyValley Keeping Kind Annual Bull Sale – Preston, Neb. – 402-350-3447 27 Spur Ranch Spring Sale – Vinita, Okla. – 918-256-2493 27-28 Missouri Angus Futurity Sale – Columbia, Mo. – 573-694-6152 March 2016 1 Jindra Angus 16th Annual Production Sale – Creighton Livestock Market,

Creighton, Neb. – 402-920-3171 4 Express Ranches Angus and Hereford Bull Sale – at the Ranch, Yukon,

Okla. – 405-350-0044 5 Judd Ranch 38th Annual Gelbvieh Balancer & Red Angus Bull Sale – at

the Ranch, Pomona, Kan. – 800-743-0026 5 Linhart Limousin Inaugural Bull Sale – Leon, Iowa – 402-350-3447 5 Mead Farms Angus, Charolais and Hereford Bull Sale – at the Farm,

Versailles, Mo. – 573-216-0210 5 Peterson Charolais Top Pick Bull Sale – at the Farm, Mtn. Grove, Mo. – 417-926-5336 7 Flying H Genetics 36th Annual Roughage “N” Ready Bull & Female Sale

– Arapahoe, Neb. – 308-493-5411 8 Bar Arrow Cattle Company 26th Annual Production Sale – at the Ranch,

Phillipsburg, Kan. – 785-543-5177 12 2016 Genetic Power Bull Sale – Springfield Livestock Marketing Center,

Springfield, Mo. – 334-695-1371 12 Midwest Beef Alliance Bull Sale – Marshall Junction, Mo. – 660-895-5008 12 Bachman Redstock Red Angus, Gelbvieh and Balancer Sale – Litton Ag

Center, Chillicothe Mo. – 660-247-1112 12 Hall-Coyote Hills Ranch Annual Bull Sale – Chattanooga, Okla. – 580-597-3006 12 Jac’s Ranch Annual Bull Sale – at the Ranch, Bentonville, Ark. – 479-366-1759 12 Heart of the Ozarks Angus Association Sale – West Plains, Mo. – 417-842-5570 12 Valley Oaks Angus Open House & Private Treaty Sale – Oak Grove, Mo.

– 816-229-8115 12 Cattleman’s Kind Saler Production Sale – at the Farm, Billings, Mo. – 417-744-2025 12 Red Alliance Performance Tested Red Angus Genetics Genetics Sale –

Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center, Shawnee, Okla. – 641-919-1077 12 Wright Charolais 9th Annual Herd Sire Spotlight Sale - Kearney, Mo. 816-776-3512 19 Circle A Ranch Secret to Success Sale – at the Ranch, Iberia, MO – 573-280-5308 19 Texoma Beefmaster Sale – McAlester, Okla. – 254-541-4643 19 Pinegar Limousin Herdbuilder XVll Sale – Springfield, Mo. – 417-833-2688

30

19 Flying H Genetics 17th Annual Growing on Grass Bull Sale – at the Farm,

Butler, Mo. – 303-842-9071 19 Aschermann Charolais 22nd Edition Charolais Bull Sale – at the Ranch,

Carthage, Mo. – 417-358-7879 19 The Cattlemen’s Choice Black & Red Simmental & Sim/Angus Bull Sale

– Fredonia Livestock Market, Fredonia, Kan. – 620-437-2211 19 Missouri Bison Association Spring Show & Sale – Mo-Kan Livestock, Passaic,

Mo. – 417-839-3241 19 Molitor Angus Spring Production Sale – Zenda, Kan. – 620-243-6335 19 Falling Timer Farm Bull & Female Sale – at the Farm, Marthasville, Mo. – 636-358-4164 20 Magness Land & Cattle Annual Bull Sale – at the Ranch, Miami, Okla. – 402-350-3447 20 April Valley Farms 19th Annual Production Sale – Saint Joseph, Mo. – 913-682-4376 20 NE Arkansas Angus Assn. Spring Sale – Charlotte, Ark. – 662-837-4904 20 Briarwood Angus Farm Bull & Female Sale – at the Farm, Butler, Mo. – 660-679-3459 21 B&D Hereford & Beran Brothers Angus Annual Bull Sale – at the Ranch,

Claflin, Kan., – 620-587-3709 26 Arkansas Bull Sale Spring Multi-Breed Bull Sale – Heber Springs, Ark. – 205-270-0999 26 Seedstock Plus South Missouri Bull Sale – Joplin Regional Stockyards,

Carthage, Mo. – 877-486-1160 26 Worthington Angus First Annual Production Sale – at the Farm, Dadeville,

Mo. – 417-844-2601 26 Oklahoma Gelbvieh Assn. Sooner Select Sale – McAlester Union Stockyards,

McAlester, Okla. – 405-742-0774 26 Professional Beef Genetics Bull Sale – Windsor Livestock Auction, Windsor,

Mo. – 1-888-PBG-BULL 28 Hager Cattle Company Annual Bull Sale – Mandan, ND – 402-350-3447 28 Southwest Missouri Performance Tested Bull Sale – Springfield Livestock

Marketing Center, Springfield, Mo. – 417-345-8330 29 KW Cattle Company 2nd Annual Angus Bull Sale – Fort Scott, Kan. – 620-224-7459 April 2016 2 The Gathering at Shoal Creek Simmental – at the Farm, Excelsior Springs,

Mo. – 816-336-4200 2 Four State Angus Association Spring Production Sale – Springfield Livestock

Marketing Center, Springfield, Mo. – 417-214-0117 2 Satterfield Charolais/Angus Bull & Female Sale – at the Farm, Evening

Shade, Ark. – 870-499-5379 2 Show-Me Classic Bull & Replacement Heifer Sale – Roth Farms, Windsor,

Mo. – 660-527-3507 3 C/S Cattle Company Spring Production Sale – at the Farm, Pomona, Mo.

– 417-257-7926 4 Brockmere Farms Spring Production Sale – at the Farm, Brookfield, Mo. – 660-258-2901 5 Hubert Charolais Ranch 37th Annual Bull Sale – at the Ranch, Monument,

Kan. – 785-672-3195 9 Hillside Angus Winners Choice Sale & Open House – Pierce City, Mo. – 417-489-5723 9 Ozark & Heart of America Beefmaster Sale – Springfield Livestock Marketing

Center, Springfield, Mo. – 918-456-1199

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

FEBRUARY 1, 2016

Cattlemen’s Seedstock Directory

Hudspeth Farms

Angus

870-439-2285

Jac’s Ranch - Bentonville, Ark. - 479-273-3030 44 Farms - 501-940-0299 www.rosebudfeeders.com

Balancers

Bob Harriman Genetics Montrose, Mo. - 660492-2504

Livestock - Cattle CHAROLAIS, SIMMENTAL & RED ANGUS BULLS Greg Hudspeth • St. Joe, Ark. or 870-365-8969

2/22/16

SMITHSON FARMS BLACK HEREFORD SALE

Brangus

Hatfield Brangus Bentonville, Ark. - 479273-3921 - 479-531-2605 Rose Bud Feeders - 501940-0299 - www. rosebudfeeders.com Townsend Brangus - Rose Bud, Ark. - 501-9400299 - 501-556-2046

Charolais

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Feb. 27 • 1 PM 40 - Bulls - 18/24 Months Old 30 - Bred Commercial Females

For more information or to request a catalog: www.smithsonfarms.com

Danny Smithson 660-651-5877

farmboysmithson@hotmail.com

Smithson Farms 12397 Jasper Ave. La Plata, Mo 63549

2/1/16

Livestock - Equipment

Gelbvieh

Triple D Farms Mountain Home, Ark. 870-481-5603

Herefords

Allen Moss Herefords - Vici, Okla. - 580-9224911 - 580-334-7842 mossherefords.com

Sim Angus

Bob Harriman Genetics Montrose, Mo. - 660492-2504

Simmental

Lazy U Ranch - Haskell, Okla. - 918-693-9420

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FEBRUARY 1, 2016