meet your neighbors
Building on Success By Terry Ropp
The Frouds continue with the legacy established by the late Lee Froud 50x100x16
One side sheeted. One gable sheeted materials.
The first 240 acres of Froud Farms in Greenland, Ark., was purchased in 1974 by Lee Froud. Lee dropped out of high school at 15, and he always said, “If I’m old enough to call the teacher honey, I’m old enough to get out of high school,” he said. Lee Froud understood how to make money and followed a philosophy with
Greenland, Ark. That new acreage added six chicken houses to his ever-present commercial cattle herd. Lee also custom baled as part of his firm belief in diversiThree generations of the Froud family manage 1,000 acres of land, as well as more than 100 head of cattle.
50x100x18 Roof only Materials
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enclosed w/3” reinforced vinyl back insulation. 1- walk thru door, 2-10x10 openings, 26 ga. 40 year painted metal. All red iron frame. Materials.
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Photo by Terry Ropp
three options: use it, sell it, or buy it- fying income, a belief the family follows to this day, with income from rentals whichever makes the most money. After dropping out of high school, Lee taking care of monthly fixed costs. After Lee passed, sons Darrell and bought a small filling station, which he sold to buy a grocery store, followed by Kevin took over managing the farm for their mother Sue, with the a couple of farms. He apprehelp of Darrell’s 25-year-old ciated his grandfather, who son Darian. was a farmer/rancher near Greeland, Ark. Darrell and Kevin’s sister TeSearcy, Ark., and wanted the resa Baker and her husband Tersame kind of life. ry live in Bentonville. Terry helps Eventually, Lee sold the with the farm by handling grounds store and farms to buy the maintenance and helping with the first 240 acres outside of Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com
hay. Darrell graduated from University of Arkansas with a degree in animal science and works in food manufacturing management. Kevin, on the other hand, graduated from Arkansas Tech with an education degree and is a schoolteacher and girls basketball coach for the Prairie Grove school district. Darian works for Professional Cabling Solutions in fiber optics, telephone security and door access. Kevin handles most of the bookkeeping while financial decisions are shared. “Darian is a really important part of what we do,” Kevin said. “He fills in wherever he is needed and can reach as many as 10 friends through social media very quickly to help us during emergencies, such as severe weather damage, hay needs or when working cattle.” Darrell and Kevin were definitely brothers. Kevin remembers being 6 or 7 when a 500-pound calf in a chute ran over him while big brother Darrell laughed loudly. In addition, Kevin remembers Darrell being very bossy and trying to teach 9-year-old Kevin how to drive a tractor, even though Darrell had learned on his own when he was only 6. Lee frequently gave young Darrell a lot of responsibility because he wanted Darrell to take over if something ever happened to him. He encouraged the boys to work hard on the farm by explaining that if Lee did all the work, he would do all the spending; but if he got help with the work, he would have help with the spending as well. The farm ceased producing chickens, but expanded over the years until it now has 1,000 owned and leased acres with 100 mommas and 40 bred heifers. The females are bred by eight registered bulls: two red Angus, one black Angus, five Charolais and one Hereford. The Frouds keep replacement heifers with the exact number changing according to each year’s needs. Last year, Darrell and Kevin had Bridger Smithers, a veterinarian from West Fork, Ark., preg check the cows with ultrasound which resulted in a heavy cull of 35 percent. “Bridger Smithers is pretty new to our area but we really like him and use him for herd evaluation, special projects and any emergencies,” Darrell explained. Another important advisor is Cary Bartholomew, a field representative for FEBRUARY 10, 2020
