meet your neighbors Danny Thomas’ rotation schedule allows his cows to calve on fresh grass each spring.
Many Hats Photo by Terry Ropp
By Terry Ropp
Danny Thomas manages his herd, as well as many other ventures and activities While Jodi Thomas is busy teaching history in Huntsville, Ark., and raising three young daughters, her husband Danny uses just the one cowboy hat because if he had a hat for each of his various ventures, he’d spend his whole day changing hats. In addition to running his own 51-head commercial cattle herd, he manages two other farms, is a field man for Cattlemen’s Livestock Auction in Harrison, Ark., is both a private and benefits auctioneer, serves as the local school board president, and is a realtor for United Country, where he specializes in land and farms though he sells homes as well. “My parents, J. C. and Cheri, were active people. They returned to Arkansas from California six weeks after I was born and bought a farm where they raised poultry and cattle, in addition to having their own dairy,” Danny said. “I was always working around the very busy farm and slept when my dad would let me. I had my first offthe-farm job at 16 at a sale barn. To be honest, the way I was raised fostered a joy in completing a full and hard day of work.” Danny also absorbed his family’s long history with the land in the Huntsville MARCH 2, 2020
area. He is preparing to build a new home Though he uses protein tubs, mineral on 300 acres next to his grandfather’s and range cubes every third day to keep land. This ground out of the 850 acres he them “in his pocket,” the leased pasture owns and leases will also house two new lasts through most of the winter. This laying houses. Danny’s long-term goal is year, for example, Danny did not need to farm full-time like his father, including to feed any hay until the middle of Febclearing 110 heavily wooded acres on the ruary. Around March 1, he moves the same piece of land for future cattle pro- cattle back to the home place for spring duction because he wants to increase his calving. cattle operation to 100 cows. When not in service, bulls are retained “I can’t fully describe why, but this par- in a separate pasture and supplemented ticular 300 acres feels like home in a way every other day with a 12-percent protein no other place has,” Danny explained. “I sweet feed. feel a deep connection with my ancesCalves are weaned at 550 pounds, with tors who arrived in this area from Ken- Danny working the herd using a seventucky around 1800.” way vaccine. He knife cuts the bull calves Efficiency in Danny’s cattle operation because he feels they heal quickly with less is a high priority. His herd is 75 percent stress. He typically sells his calves the last black, with the rest a commercial mix. week in May and the first sale after ThanksHe uses spring and fall calving seasons giving, which seems to work well for him. with three Hereford bulls he rotates out His biggest health concern is pinkeye, every three years. which seems to have increased, at least One unusual practice is how in his area, for the last couple he uses 120 acres of lease land. of years. He speculates the Huntsville, Ark. He lets the grass on those problem may arise from a acres grow all summer. Then, different strain and perhaps when calving is done in Octocombined with the mildness ber, he hauls the herd back to of the last two or three winters, the leased ground, where they which promotes a longer fly searemain all winter. son. His solution to control the The Ozarks’ Most Read Farm Newspaper
issue is to rotate the pour on wormers Cydectin and Sylence, in addition to using back rubs. In his “spare time,” Danny builds and repairs fences as well as doing all the work for the two farms he manages with the exception of some help with haying and fence building on those places. The owners work with Danny, but pretty much give him a free hand on the best way to run their farms. Because Danny’s father always used to say, “You can never starve a profit into anything,” he makes sure the cattle receive the same style of care and attention as his own cattle. Jodi was raised in Springdale. She was also around livestock because her mother, Marita Blair, was in the sale barn industry. In her senior year in high school, Jodi was the National High Point Winner in poultry judging. Like many girls, Danny and Jodi’s daughters love to ride horses. Danny bought Trip, a 4-year-old Quarter horse gelding, who is like a babysitter because the girls love him so much. The couple is planning to start the girls showing animals at the county fair where Danny has auctioned the junior livestock Auction for the last 12 years.
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