Young couple works to improve their herd and land

There’s a science to agriculture, and for one El Dorado Springs, Mo., couple, it’s a perfect match. Jordan and Megan Richner each possess advanced degrees in agriculture. Megan is a former agriculture instructor turned science teacher at Stockton (Mo.) High School and Jordan is a soil scientist.

Jordan and Megan, along with Megan’s parents, Sam and Nancy Eaves, run a herd of about 40 commercial cows.

Jordan and Megan took over the day-today operations and management in 2013, Restoring the Land Jordan and Megan Richner are using the science of agriculture to give their family farm new life By Julie Turner-Crawford

ning 160 acres,” Jordan said. “We tore out the interior fences and put in the electric (fences), and we used cost-share programs to fence the wooded area and a pond, and to add concrete waters.”

Multiflora rose, blackberries and seri- cea covered much of their pastures un- til a spraying program, which was also eligible for cost-share funding, began to eradicate the undesirable plants.

“Now we’re down to the broomsedge,” Jordan said. “Our next step is going to be getting our lime program down.”

Jordan and Megan Richner, pictured with their son Ethan, are incorporating rotational grazing and selective genetics to improve their Red Cedar Ranch.

Photo by Julie Turner-Crawford

El Dorado Springs, Mo. after buying 40 acres that join the farm where Megan grew up. In all, the family farm consists of about 300 acres, includ- ing pasture, wooded areas and hayfields.

“This is the smallest the herd has ever been, but we’re trying to focus on quality,” Megan explained. “We’re trying to restore our plants and improve the health of our soil, so we don’t want to have too many cows because that would be counterintuitive to restoring our forages.”

Part of the improvement has been converting pastures from continuous grazing to a rota- tional system.

“At this place, they were run- With the improvements underway and the grazing system installed, the grazing system at their Red Cedar Ranch, the Richners have extended their grazing season, allowing them not to begin feeding hay, which is also grown on the farm, until mid-December.

“During the growing season, I have an 80 split into 20-acre pastures, then split those into fives, sometimes 10, if I want to go a little longer, and quarter them around the waters,” Jordan explained. “Our cattle can go two to five days on the 5-acre paddocks, then I will move them on.”

— Continued on Page 24

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town &country in the field and in the office

Leslie Payne

By Laura L. Valenti

Hometown: Bolivar, Mo. Family: Wife, Susan; son, Derek and daughter-in-law, Sundi; daughter, Ashley and son-in-law, Brandon Moore;and grandchildren Kennedy (5), Bentley (5) and Blake (3).

In Town: Leslie Payne has worked for MFA in Bolivar for 37 years. For 25 years, he ran the MFA elevator and did custom feed mixes for area dairy farmers and livestock owners.

“I did nutrition work, custom mixes and of course, unloaded the incoming semi-trucks filled with grain. I also drove a bulk feed truck and made deliveries to area dairy farmers.”

In 2017, he moved from the elevator to the MFA office.

His wife, Susan, works as a beautician at Visible Changes in Bolivar. The couple’s son Derek is a special education teacher and, daughter Ashley is a registered nurse at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar. Photo by Laura L. Valenti

In the Country: Leslie and Susan live on 200 acres in rural Polk County, about 10 miles outside of Bolivar, Mo., and lease another 200 acres. They own 140 head of Gelbvieh cows. Leslie uses Beefmaster bulls with his cows and has been working with cattle, one way or another, all of his life.

“The Beefmaster bulls increase the body depth from the brisket to the rear and provide more muscle,” Leslie said. That is what I was looking for. The Gelbviehs are excellent cows. The half-blood Beefmasters grow bigger, producing an excellent animal. “I have six Beefmaster bulls and keep my replacement heifers. All my cows are now half-blood Beefmaster crossbreds. I’m not into the purebred or registered cattle. I sell mine at the sale barns at Joplin or Osceola. I also sell a lot of seed stock. After all these years in this business, I have a lot of connections so I also sell right off the farm. I’ve been to several nutrition schools and background my own calves, selling them as feeders I just bought another place that joins mine. I’ve had to slow down a bit in recent years, but my son, Derek, and my son-in-law, Brandon, help out. I have a few friends I can hire when needed. Even the grandkids help out. They may be little but they like to contribute, too by filling stock tanks and such.”