Ofn dummy 6 15 15 by Eric Tietze

In the Land of Milk and Honey

JUNE 15, 2015• 28 PAGES

VOLUME 9, NUMBER 6 • WWW.OZARKSFN.COM

Stan and Donna Johnson offer specialized dairy products at their Lomah Creamery

JUNE 15, 2015

A Family Tradition in the River Valley

Two cows given as wedding gifts were the beginning of the Siebenmorgen family’s dairy

Dairy Issue

Understanding Mastitis Know the signs of clinical or subclinical mastitis, and how to treat them

Going Polled?

Groups, food manufacturers want farmers to skip dehorning and select polled animals Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

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Flooding may cause total crop loss: Overlapping storm events and near-historic river levels in western Arkansas may mean total crop losses for producers in Sebastian and surrounding counties, experts with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture said in late May. Lance Kirkpatrick, Cooperative Extension Service staff chair for the Sebastian County office, said that standing water in flooded areas of both Sebastian and Crawford counties were higher and more widespread than local residents had seen in more than 30 years. Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared emergencies in several counties, including Franklin, Johnson, Marion, Newton and Pope counties. Damage assessments for the 17 counties are scheduled to begin June 28. Youth selected for leadership conference: Oklahoma Farm Bureau selected 17 incoming high school seniors to attend the organization’s Oklahoma Youth Leading Agriculture conference, which was held June 10-12. Area students selected were Leigh Ann Alexander of LeFlore County and Chelsea Allen of Rogers County. The program, sponsored by OKFB’s Young Farmers and Ranchers, provides opportunities for participants to hone their teamwork abilities, leadership skills and agricultural knowledge. Students also learn about college life and how to prepare for the next step in their education. Oklahoma National Guardsmen airlift hay to herd: More than 100 head of cattle were stranded late last month in a Muskogee County pasture after heavy rains flooded the area. The owner, Robert Vinson, called the local fire department for help and the Oklahoma National Guard stepped in and landed a Chinook helicopter near the farm, where bales of hay were loaded to drop to the stranded cattle. Vinson said without the help, many of his animals could’ve died. “I appreciate everyone’s help and all the neighbors and people in Oklahoma pull together,” he said. Drought ends for most of Oklahoma: Getting rid of drought has been a long-hard road for Oklahoma, but it’s finally happened. After having the wettest month on record in May, the state’s drought has been washed away. Eleven percent of the state still has an abnormally dry rating – this being found in northwest and Panhandle counties. State Climatologist Gary McManus reports the northwest and panhandle haven’t received as much moisture as the rest of the state, but enough to eradicate short and long term drought impacts. Scan Me Or Visit ozarksfn.com OzarksFarm

@OzarksFarm

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JUNE 15, 2015

VOL. 9, NO. 6

JUST A THOUGHT

10 12 17

3 4 5

Jerry Crownover – Proper English Jody Harris - A new neighbor Julie Turner-Crawford - Time to celebrate

MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS 7 Yoder family builds dairy farm from scratch

10 12

Celebrating the beauty of the Ozarks

13 17

Town and Country features Kevin Villines

The Robinetts moved to the Ozarks from California with their dairy goats

Youth in Agriculture spotlights Samuel Burleson

Stan and Donna Johnson offer specialized dairy products Eye on Agribusiness spotlights Midland Flyers Bluff Vista Farms began in 1946 with cows given as wedding gifts

FARM HELP 22 Going polled 23 Dry cow therapy gains popularity 24 Using supplemental grains in dairy operations

Understanding mastitis

18 Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JUNE 15, 2015

just a

thought

PO Box 6, Prairie Grove, AR 72753

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What’s On Your Mind, Ozarks?

Sandra Coffman

Life Is Simple

Every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. starting with Goats, Calves & Yearlings, Stock Cows, Butcher Cows, then Bulls.

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y wife missed her calling by not revonw yrreJ yB becoming either anorCEnglish teacher or a speech therapist. I know this because she has spent Jerry Crownover is almost 35 years correcting my a farmer and former grammar and/or enunciation on a daily basis. professor of Agriculture Granted, I give her a multitude of opportunities. Education at Missouri I was raised back in the deep woods of the Ozark State University. He is a Mountains and eventually ended up studying for native of Baxter County, a couple of years in Mississippi. If anything could Arkansas, and an screw up a person’s ability to speak properly, that author and professional combination seemed to do the trick. speaker. To contact Jerry, At first, little phrases such as, “Can I carry you go to ozarksfn.com and out to supper on Friday night?” struck her as click on ‘Contact Us.’ charming and cute. Nonetheless, she would correct me by saying, “Don’t you mean may I take you out to dinner this Friday evening?” The way I saw it, either request would result in us eating a meal together and I would pay. When we first met, I was teaching at a university and she was amazed that I seldom sounded the “g” at the end of words like workin, gettin, fixin, etc. “My goodness,” she would say. “You are a college professor; you should talk like you have an education.” I would reply with, “You’re absolutely right, dear. I’m tryin’ to be better with everthang I say.” And I did try. For years, while I was teaching, I consciously tried to pronounce my words correctly and speak with the most accurate grammar, because I knew impressionable young people would try to emulate their teacher. But, when I left the teaching profession 20 years ago, one of the biggest reliefs was being able to talk the way I had always felt comfortable. Dropping my g’s and letting go of a syllable here and there makes me feel better, reduces stress and probably adds years to my life.

With the lowest commission rates in the area and the best buyers, getting you top dollar for your livestock is what we do!

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 Barbara Aitken, Gary Digiuseppe, Pam Lamb, Pam Fortner and Terry Ropp

About the Cover Stan Johnson and his family offer specialized dairy products at their Lomah Creamery. Read more 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., 2015. All rights reserved. Printed in USA.

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owa -born and transplanted in southwest Missouri, I grew up sortof country – raised by a country veterinarian and his wife/office manager. We tended all sorts of animals including chickens, dairy and beef cattle, horsJody Harris is a freelance es, dogs, cats and the occasional turtle that lumcommunications specialist, bered into our front yard. It was a great childhood! gardener, ranch wife and I was blessed with nurturing 4-H leaders and mother of four. She and FFA advisors while gaining all the benefits a kid her family raise Angus beef could glean from both of those organizations. cattle and other critters on Even at Missouri State University, the encourtheir northwest Arkansas ranch. She is a graduate agement continued with gifted professors, adviof Missouri State University. sors and teachers who lead me to a degree in agriTo contact Jody, go to cultural communications and Spanish. ozarksfn.com and click on The adventures escalated into the world of ad‘Contact Us.’ vertising, public relations, marketing and sales. I was a goalsetter, a ladderclimber, whatever you want to call it, and then my world was rocked – by MOTHERHOOD. In 2002, after working in the Kansas City area for a few years, my countryboy husband and I decided to move to his homeland in northwest Arkansas. We spent several years looking for the perfect piece of property to give our family a similar upbringing to our own “greatest childhoods ever.” Low and behold we found the perfect little spot out in the country that included a little old farm house. This place was everything we’d dreamed about. We sold our house in town and headed to our new home in the country. If we had to, we were convinced we could live on love inside a camper – then the shoes began to drop. We found out we were expecting our first child and swiftly moved into the old farmhouse. The bigger I grew, the more turns this adventure took. Our well went dry and the central air conditioner went kaput in the middle of that sweltering Arkansas July. I was surprised by a frog in the toilet one day and a lizard that crawled across the old kitchen floor the next. Suddenly, I began to rethink this idea that raising children in the country was going to be charming and fun. My handy husband set to work making repairs in the house to make it suitable to bring our baby home in the fall. For about a month, I ran to town every weekend to wash clothes at a laundry mat while Nathan worked feverishly to get enough pipes laid to hook onto the city water system. We didn’t have central air conditioning that summer so we learned to enjoy the great outdoors shooting skeet, working cattle and cleaning out fence rows. I went to a doctor’s appointment and had to explain why I was 7 m onths pregnant and covered in poison ivy. There’s never been another summer quite like that first one on our farm. Now with four active children, we have learned to work together and realize this farm life we chose is not always easy. Thank you for letting me share escapades of farm life, raising kids and critters on a little piece of heaven in northwest Arkansas. I hope we’ll be great neighbors.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JUNE 15, 2015

just a thought

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une is Dairy Month and that’s cause for celebration. Dairy farmers in Arkansas and Oklahoma may be few, but the farmers – Julie Turner-Crawford and their cows – have racked up some is a native of Dallas pretty impressive numbers in recent years. County, Mo., where she According to information from the Midwest grew up on her family’s Dairy Association, Oklahoma is home to 172 farm. She is a graduate licensed dairy herds that produced about 81 milof Missouri State lion gallons of milk in 2014. The state ranks 30th University. To contact in the nation for milk production and the averJulie, call 1-866-532-1960 age dairy cow in the state produces 2,041 gallons or by email at editor@ of milk annually. ozarksfn.com. The Midwest Dairy Association also reports that Arkansas is home to about 75 licensed dairy farms and it is 47th in the nation in milk production with 11.2 million gallons produced in 2014. As far as overall individual production, the average cow in the “Natural State” produces about 1,356 gallons of milk a year. Dairy farming has a long-standing tradition for many families in the Ozarks – yet another reason to celebrate. You’ll read about some of those families in this edition of Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 97 percent of the dairy farms in the United States are family-owned operations, not the “corporate farms” that non-agricultural folks like to complain about. Dairy farmers in Oklahoma and Arkansas also provide much more to the region than milk and cheese. Dairy farms have a greater impact on the local, regional and state economy than many people might think. In Arkansas, there are three processing plants that produce one or more dairy products, and there are four in Oklahoma. Those plants provide employment opportunities hundreds of people. Those jobs include the truckers who bring the milk from the farm to the processor, workers who process and package the milk or other dairy products, warehouse workers and those who reload the trucks for another

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just a thought Across the Fence Continued from Previous Page group of truck drivers who deliver milk, and other dairy products, to retailers. Also, farmers help put a lot of cheese back into the economy. According to the Midwest Dairy Association, Oklahoma farmers generate about $170 million in milk sales annually, while those in Arkansas rack up about $22 million in sales. While the dairy industry continues to play a vital role in the regions’s economy, dairy farmers and processors are struggling to remain in business. Along the rural roads where I grew up, there was dairy farm after dairy farm; some big, some small. Today, very few remain. Some producers stopped milking

Life Is Simple Continued from Page 3 So, after all these years of futility for my wife, you’d think that she would have given up by now. Not so. A few days ago, I was sitting at the kitchen table, working on a piece of equipment that had torn up (don’t get in a huff – I had a piece of plastic thrown over the table), when Judy walked by and made the comment, “That looks like pretty delicate work.” “It’s pretty tedious,” I responded. She stopped dead in her tracks and exclaimed, “What did you say?” “I said it’s very tedious work.” I might explain that I pronounced the word, tee-jus.

because of health or age issues, for others replacing their milk cows with beef breeds meant the difference between survival and bankruptcy. I’m sure most readers can think of similar stories. As milk production dropped, dairy-processing plants followed and jobs were lost. While cattle prices remain high, prices paid to dairy farmers for their milk have dropped significantly over the last year. Some folks say milk prices have “bottomed out” and producers are hopeful that there are better days in sight – giving us a whole new reason to celebrate Dairy Month next year.

“It’s pronounced tee-dee-us,” she corrected. “I think it’s one of those words that can go either way.” Adamantly, she stated, “No, it’s not.” Later that day, I went to the computer and found a recording of an old-time bluegrass artist singing a song entitled, Life Gets Tee-jus, Don’t It. “Well,” she concluded, “that doesn’t mean it’s correct. I swear, I thought I had heard you mispronounce every possible word in the English language, but that one is a new one for me.” “Don’t worry; if you stick around another 35 years, I’m sure you’ll learn even more.” Tee-jus….so tee-jus.

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Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JUNE 15, 2015

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Building a Dairy from Scratch By Terry Ropp

The Yoder Family turned 700 overgrown, underdeveloped acres into a modern farm Ed and Lois Yoder came to Wesley, Ark., with their five now adult children: Emily, Karl, Kevin, Kendall and Mary Jo. They left their dairy farm in Indiana for a five-year stay in Ireland for mission work before coming to Arkansas in 2010. Ed is a pastor and selected the area because the Mennonite Lighthouse of Faith Church in Huntsville. He preaches

Ed Yoder, center, and his family moved to Arkansas in 2010 after five years in the mission field in Ireland. The family previously owned a dairy in Indiana. Pictured with Yoder are his sons Kevin and Karl.

cared for by his brother in Oklahoma until they arrived. Ed wanted the Jersey/ Holstein mix to increase both butterfat content and heat tolerance during late summer grazing. As their DFA (Dairy Farmers of America) dairy evolved, Ed is now moving toward a heavier Holstein influence because his 170 milking cows are always under shelter. “Heat is our biggest challenge. I don’t want fresh cows in the summer heat

Photo by Terry Ropp

since high heat decreases milk production,” Ed explained. Another heat stress relieving method is the needed use of fans and misters in every fourth week and assumes his share the dairy barn during the 300-day milkof home and hospital visits, as well as ing period. These methods help the Yoder cows to produce an average outreach ministry. The fourof 50 pounds of milk per cow. pastor system at the church Wesley, Ark. To maintain milking during allows each pastor enough the desired seasons, the breedtime to provide for their faming cycle is controlled with most ily and still pastor the church. calves born in September and Before returning to the October. The milking cycle ends U.S., Ed bought 130 Jersey/ July 1 when the cows are turned out Holstein heifers, which were JUNE 15, 2015

to pasture for 60 days and have lower nutritional needs. When the Yoders came to Arkansas, they purchased just under 700 acres of commercial cattle land in three parcels, much of it undeveloped or overgrown. “We had to build from scratch,” Ed said. “There were no buildings so in the 2010-2011 winter, we built the dairy barn and milking parlor, in addition to adding and repairing fence.” They finished on schedule, and the first set of calves was born the following April. One result of sheltering the cows is an extensive need for high protein dairy nutrition. Toward this end, 100 acres is set aside for corn silage they chop themselves, 60 acres for sorghum silage, 70 acres for alfalfa hay and 50 acres for Bermuda hay. Farm produced feed is supplemented by 26 percent protein dried distillers grain and a custom mixed 14 percent corn protein and mineral mix. Part of the Yoder acreage includes an irrigated 178-acre tract in Elkins where corn and alfalfa are raised. The dairy’s water needs are met by a 690-foot well the Yoder’s dug during the construction phase on the farm. Water is stored in a 1,500-gallon tank and piped to the dairy barn. The Yoder operation is definitely a family business. Ed serves as a general manager and works wherever he is needed while the eldest son Karl is in charge of the land, the related equipment and the feed regimen. “It’s important to lower the protein levels when the cows are dry in order to prevent them from getting too fat and then having milk fever or calving issues,” Karl said. Kevin is the herdsman and record keeper. He milks with his father, keeps the records, and does most of the vet work since he’s taken a short course in veterinary training. “We still have a vet to do preg checks because that is one area I am still learning,” Kevin said. At this point, the trio of dairymen is looking toward a future where the sons will own the livestock while Ed and Lois will retain ownership of the land and facilities. “My sons aren’t married yet and you never know what the future holds so remaining flexible is important,” Ed said.

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Stan and Donna Johnson offer specialized dairy products at their Lomah Creamery

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Stan and Donna Johnson run a creamery in Wyandotte, Okla., distinguished from a dairy because in addition to milking, the operation also produces dairy products. The products include raw milk, vat pasteurized whole and nonfat milk, butter, soft and hard cheeses and skyr (Icelandic yogurt).

in safety and inspection while Donna teaches anatomy and physiology at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo. Less than a year ago, time/work management reached crisis levels which resulted in the Johnsons hiring three employees: a herdsman, a general maintenance man and someone to help with food production. “We had to expand or fold and we chose to expand,” Donna said. “Our eldest son

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Stan Johnson and his family operate Lomah Creamery. Photo by Terry Ropp

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What this means in terms of lifestyle is John, 18, was our machine specialist but that the Johnsons have all of the work is away at school, so we were down to the of a traditional dairy with twice milking help of our other two children. Will, 15, daily, heifer care and breeding, as well is a true dairyman and all around help as myriads of additional chores involved while our daughter Grace, 14, is our calf, with vat pasteurizing, commodity pro- house and hearth caretaker.” The Johnson creamery named Lomah, duction, and the extra high cleanliness standards required for food preparation. as in the “Land of Milk and Honey,” has been open for 12 years. While Stan’s family Four hundred acres is among the first Wyandotte, Okla. support 80 Jersey Arkansan white setcows with 60 being tlers, Donna’s ancesmilked at one time. tors arrived in Missouri before The operation has the Trail of Tears, meaning both two clean up bulls. have long family ties to the area. Artificial inseminaBoth are veterinarians and met at tion is the standard the USDA. Stan retired from USDA

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JUNE 15, 2015

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form of breeding for the Johnson cattle, a duty that had fallen to the new herdsman. Because the Johnsons cater to an environment and health conscious market niche, they selected Jerseys because the breed produces A2 quality milk meaning it is higher in protein, beta-carotene, fatty acids, fat content and calcium. Some people who suffer from milk sensitivity maintain they easily digest additive free milk. For the Johnsons, the higher quality milk far outweighs the lower production of Jerseys as compared to Holsteins. Another advantage of the Jerseys is smaller calves that grow quickly. “I rarely need to pull any calves,” Stan said. The Johnson Jerseys are raised without confinement, which gives them more exercise and, according to Stan, prevents metabolic disorders more common in cattle raised in smaller pastures. Pasture size also eliminates the need for worming, one less chemical necessary for health protocols. Chemical exposure is also limited by minimal use of antibiotics on a case-by-case basis rather than as a part of a routine. Jerseys also have greater tolerance for heat and cold, which results in less temperature impact on milk production and taste. One advantage of the Johnson acreage is the presence of two Artesian springs that produce 2 million gallons of fresh, clear water a day. The presence of this high-quality water also increases the quality of the herd’s milk. Pastures are primarily Bermuda, Fescue and Prairie Grass, long with naturally occurring clover. The Johnsons raise their own hay and supplement with an 18 percent protein cottonseed and whole corn feed containing no byproducts or soy. The cottonseed increases butterfat conJUNE 15, 2015

tent while eliminating soy avoids hormonal issues. Will, a freshman in a local college, is interested in forage and pressing for the addition of alfalfa and sugar beets as part of their nutrition regimen. “Cows really like sugar beets, and alfalfa is higher in protein with both able to promote better health and production,” Will explained. The farm is transitioning to a nonGenetically Modified Organisms (nonGMO) facility. “(It) is something our customer base is interested in,” Stan said. When the Johnsons decided to go into cheese making, they traveled to France and the Netherlands for equipment and non-GMO cultures. Currently they produce coulommiers, raclette (the original fondue cheese) cheddar and Havarti, but are looking to add aging space in order to produce blue cheese. The butter is European-style cultured butter and yogurt is being added to the Icelandic Skyr yogurt. In addition to sales right off the farm, the Johnsons currently make two runs a week to Tulsa, Okla., as well as delivering to stores locally and offering producers pickup and further retail marketing. Now that the Johnsons have hired help, they are looking toward more diversity in their processed products and expanding their retail markets into Arkansas. “We really don’t want to increase the size of our herd because we’re at a maximum if we are to know each animal individually, something I consider essential,” Stan said. “Nonetheless, we are in the early stages of maximizing our potential, and our children will have a great deal of say in what the future holds.”

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Nixa Hardware Company warrants to the extent of the purchase price that seeds sold are as described on the container within recognized tolerances. Seller gives no other or further warranty expressed or implied. Prices/Germination subject to change without notice. We reserve the right to limit quantities.

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417-725-3512

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

ozarks

roots

the people, places and traditions that make the ozarks home

Celebrating the Beauty of

Nature By Pam and Terry Lamb

Annual Dogwood Festival draws about 30,000 visitors to Siloam Springs, Ark. There are 50 species of dogwood plants in the Cornus genus ranging from shrubs to trees around the world. The history of the species in the Ozarks is as varied as its branches, and its beauty has inspired artists and become a focal point in countless landscapes. The flowering trees have also prompted festivals and fairs for generations as a way to beckon the warmth of spring. The native Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida is of modest size, growing 30-feet tall with four white bracts surrounding a small cluster of yellow flowers. The Flowering Dogwood Tree is native to eastern North America blooming from April into May. Preferring partial shade and understory conditions, it can be seen throughout the bottoms and hill sides of the Ozarks along forest edges and dry ridge lines. The name “Dag Tree” entered the English language vocabulary by 1548 evolving to “Dogwood” by 1614. The term “dagwood” coming from the use of the Dogwood’s slender stems for making small items that required hard wood like daggers, arrows and skewers by Europeans and Native Americans. Native Americans used Dogwood for toothbrushes and the first tennis rackets were made from the wood of a Dogwood tree. Dogwood bark was boiled and the water used to cure dogs of mange and other

skin ailments, which many think is why the tree’s name changed from Dagwood to Dogwood. Dyes and medicine are also made from the bark and roots, but sap is toxic and even can be used as a poison. Native Americans knew when to plant corn based upon when the Dogwood tree bloomed. For Christians, the Flowering Dogwood tree’s blooming at Easter and its four-pointed flower represent Jesus’ suffering on the cross. The four white bracts forming a cross with the central flower representing a crown of thorns tinged in red representing the blood of Christ. The red on the outer edge of the bracts symbolize the nails that held Jesus’ hands and feet to the cross.

The Flowering Dogwood Tree was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson. He encouraged their planting at his home in Monticello, VA., leading to its long history as a popular landscape tree. Through cultivation, Flowering Dogwood Tree flowers range from the native white to pink and red. Due to the tree’s popularity, Missouri, Virginia and North Carolina celebrate the tree’s flower as their state flower. The Flowering Dogwood Tree can be seen in many communities within the Ozarks and the tree’s popularity has spurred many festivals celebrating its beauty and the message it brings that spring has come, including a long-standing event in Arkansas.

Photos by Pam and Terry Lamb

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

The Siloam Spring Chamber of Commerce has organized its award-winning Dogwood Festival in late April each year since 1974. “This year is the 41st annual Dogwood Festival,” Patti Eiland, director of Public Relations, Special Events and Information Technology for the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce, said. Sager Creek runs through Siloam Springs and the festival is held in several of the city parks, businesses and buildings along its banks. The three-day festival attracts about 30,000 visitors each year. “The festival is targeted to entertain and draw in families,” Patti said. “We have over 200 vendors. The biggest selling point of our festival is the variety that we have at the festival.” Entertainment ranges from the Siloam Springs Middle School Choir and other local talent to this year’s headlining talent EmiSunshine, a 10-year-old country music prodigy from Madisonville, Tenn. The festival offers much more than music. Attendants can learn about square dancing or martial arts, and other events include a book sale, pancake breakfast, lunches presented by the American Legion, 5K and One Mile Fun Runs, golf tournament, bed races and a pageant to name a few. The festival hosts a Kid’s Zone, a petting zoo and many places to play in the parks along the creek while parents JUNE 15, 2015

ozarks roots

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check out the many indoor and outdoor booths featuring handmade items, resale items and businesses. “We are privileged to have really pretty parks along the creek,” Patti said. For many of the vendors, the annual festival is part of their heritage. “It is a pleasure to be able to participate in the festival as a business after having attended the festival for most of my life,” Robin Stewart, owner of bathe, a local shop specializing in handcrafted bath and body products for women, men, homes and pets and Siloam Springs native, said. “The festival has really helped us with sales, promotions and getting our name out.” The event is also an opportunity for business and public agencies, such as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, to present useful information to the public. “We like to go to as many different places as possible to share knowledge with kids JUNE 15, 2015

about the varieties of fish they may catch,” Coleman Little, an aquatic resource education technician with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said. He added that there are about 300 species of fish in Arkansas, many of which were showcased in the commission’s mobile tank for kids to see. The annual Dogwood Festival also draws a little international flair. John Agana from Bolgatanga, West Africa hosted a booth featuring items from Africa for sale. He explained that the proceeds from his sales went back to the people who produced the items in Africa. “We learn to make these things to help support our families and to attend school,” he said. John owns and runs a shop in Fayetteville, Ark., featuring furniture, art, sculpture, Bolga baskets, Shea butter, black soap, beads, jewelry, clothing, fabrics and other handcrafted items.

John Gregson, NMLS #607979 (870) 423-1555 Berryville, AR

Levi Price, NMLS #612473 (479) 549-1254 Siloam Springs, AR

Don Foster, NMLS #1219606 (870) 423-1505 Berryville, AR

Spencer Adams, NMLS #998325 (870) 449-7128 Yellville, AR

Jim Singleton, NMLS #608015 (479) 464-1601 Gravette, AR

Whitney Harrison, NMLS #1180087 (417) 846-1506 Cassville, MO

Matt Smith, NMLS #997566 (479) 737-1101 Huntsville, AR

Paul Patterson, NMLS #564494 (918) 253-1824 Jay, OK

Jeff Watson, NMLS #564555 (479) 737-1113 Huntsville, AR

Cliff Robinson, NMLS #564501 (918) 868-8151 Kansas, OK

Scott McKennon, NMLS #683362 (501) 477-5321 Morrilton, AR

Kurt Price, NMLS #564498 (918) 696-8520 Stilwell, OK

Eric Lunnen, NMLS #564349 Cody Lundberg, NMLS #564486 (870) 508-8463 Mountain Home, AR (918) 723-3336 Westville, OK

arvest.com/agloans Member FDIC

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

The Nation’s Largest Kubota Hay Equipment Dealer

eye on

agri-business meeting the needs of farmers

Midland Flyers Owner: Greg Epperson Location: Miami, Okla. Business: Midland Flyers DM Series Disc Mowers • 5'6" to 13'1" Working Widths • Fully-Welded Cutterbars with Exclusive 3-Bladed Discs • Flexible Suspension for Work in Hilly Conditions

RA Series Rakes • 11'6" to 27'7" Working Widths • Maintenance Friendly Gearbox • Curved Tine Arms for Higher Lifting Out of Swath

History: “I didn’t start flying until I was 20 and went to the Grove Airport for lessons. By the time I finished that and some college, I was disappointed to learn I was too old to be a military pilot. Then I saw crop-dusting and found my flying career,” Greg Epperson said. “I went to a local company only to be told ‘no’ because young pilots tear up new equipment. Later the same guy called me back and offered me a job. After flying for him for 13 years, I bought the company and its single plane, a round engine Weatherly. I now have three turbine engine planes and three pilots, including myself.” Products and Services: “Our company crop-dusts both dry and wet applications. Customers supply their own seed or fertilizer for dry application while we can provide the chemicals for wet applications including herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Rate of dispersal is variable according to the product and to customer needs. We do more pasture than row crop applications with two hours needed to switch dry and wet airplane attachments. Dry applications are usually flown telephone pole height while wet applications are typically only 10 feet above ground in order to ensure the chemicals go exactly where needed. One interesting annual application is spreading rye seed in a harvested soybean field so young plants break up the soil and then coming back in the spring with Roundup to kill the rye before soybeans are replanted.”

BV Series Round Balers • Innovative Bale Chambers for Dense Bales with Tight Outer Layers • Full Control with Universal Control Terminal • Trouble-Free and Reliable Operation Bale After Bale

Springdale Tractor Co. 6160 W. Sunset Ave Springdale, AR 72762 Phone: (479) 361-2518 Kubota Center – Berryville 1326 W. Trimble Ave. Berryville, AR 72716 Phone: (870) 423-5909 Kubota Center – Harrison 500 S 62-65 Bypass Harrison, AR 72601 Phone: (870) 743-8030

TE Series Tedders • 17'1" to 36'1" Working Widths • Strong Super C Tines • Built Around Rugged Box Section Chassis for Maximum Rigidity

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Philosophy: “We need to be at a farmer’s beck and call, ready to go when they need because that farmer’s livelihood is at stake.” Future: “In 10 years I hope to have expanded our working season and our territory as well as integrating new technology as it emerges and becomes economically feasible. For myself, I plan on flying as long as I can pass my physical, hopefully until at least 93.” Story and Photo By Terry Ropp

Optional equipment may be shown. © Kubota Tractor Corporation, 2015

Safety: “Safety is critical in this industry. Pilots must pass an annual physical and planes an annual detailed off-site inspection. We fly under FAR 137 Flight Rules and only when the wind is 10 miles per an hour or less. Finally, if anything on a plane seems to be functioning less than perfectly, the plane is grounded until that issue is resolved.”

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JUNE 15, 2015

town &

country

in the field and in the office

Kevin Villines

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Family: Wife Barbara Villines; children: Dara, Danae,Trey and Toby; grandchildren: Jacob and Gabby In Town: “I have been a Farm Bureau agent in Huntsville, Ark., for 30 years. I had many relatives in insurance, and they didn’t seem to work that hard which is what I wanted. Boy, was I surprised! My customers are mostly rural people but townspeople as well. We offer house,Workmen’s Compensation, life, health and auto insurance as well as retirement plans. One out of every four registered automobiles in Madison County is with us. I really like the insurance business because it’s always good to be able to help good people. Although we bought a home in Clifty nearly 20 years ago, our last two children at home went to school in Kingston because that is where I went to school and it gave them a smaller school atmosphere. My wife Barbara also works in Huntsville where she owns a preschool.” In the Country: “I am the fourth generation on the land and started by milking cows for my dad when I was a kid. I started our herd just two years ago. Currently I have 43 mommas, a mess of babies and two Angus bulls because that’s as much as I can handle while working insurance. “My mommas are of mixed genetics, but mostly Angus. Although the old dairy cows are gone, some of the dairy genetics are still there. My health protocols are spring worming with a pour on product because worms steal weight gain and working the calves tagging,vaccinating and castrating. Then they are pretty much on autopilot. I give my herd Super Mag minerals to help with calving. I currently sell my calves at 500 to 600 pounds. I have been considering selling them when they hit the ground because of current prices. I use rotational grazing and hay 140 acres of bottomland. The grasses are Bermuda, fescue and natural cover. Because time is my biggest challenge, I put up hay on shares and have enough for my small herd.” Future: “I’m not going to be doing insurance the rest of my life, and the cows will provide a nice supplementary Income. At that time I may raise my numbers because I will have more time. As it is, I couldn’t even have this small herd without the help of my sons.” Story and Photo By Terry Ropp JUNE 15, 2015

1-800-364-0933 • 918-341-0933 721 W. 6th St. Claremore, OK www.stillwatermillingcompany.com Mon.-Fri. 8-6 • Sat. 8-5

More Than Just A Feed Store

Purebred Corral Cagle Rose Bud Keith Bull Development Feeders & Sales

SimAngus, Balancer Bulls

Cell: 501-940-0299 Email: kgcagle@windstream.net

Montrose, MO • bharriman39@hotmail.com

Charolais, Angus & Brangus Bulls For Sale www.rosebudfeeders.com

3/14/16 3/3/14

18 Mo., Forage Developed, Top Quality & EPDS Harriman Santa Fe (Bob) 660-492-2504

6/6/16

TRIPLE D FARM

REGISTERED GELBVIEH

H Charles S. Hatﬁeld, DVM 479-273-3921 • 479-531-2605

Bentonville, AR

Bulls & Females PO Box 483 Mountain Home, AR 72654

Home: 870-481-5603 Cell: 870-404-8465

2/28/16 1/19/15

3/14/16 3/3/14 2/9/15

Townsend Brangus Bulls • 501-940-0299 Heifers • 501-556-2046 broketranch@windstream.net Rose Bud, AR

Brangus Bulls 3/14/16 3/3/14 2/9/15

Allen Moss Herefords Moss Seed Company Registered Horned Herefords CRP Grass Seeds Rt. 2 Box 146 B • Vici, OK 73859 12 Miles of East of Vici Phone/Fax: 580-922-4911 Mobile: 580-334-7842 E-mail: amoss@vicihorizon.com mossherefords.com

7/27/15 12/29/14

Angus Bulls

Bentonville, Arkanas

479-273-3030

7/27/15 12/29/14

Lazy U Ranch

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918-693-9420 • davelazyu@aol.com

Simmental Bulls

8/17/15 10/27/14

Place your ad in Purebred Corral and you’ll also receive a listing in the Cattlemen’s Seedstock Directory in our Classifieds section and also in the Cattlemen’s Seedstock Directory on our website. Your ad is only $19 per issue!

Call Toll Free 1-866-532-1960 13

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

market sale

steers 550-600 LBS.

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

slaughter

(Week of 5/31/15 to 6/6/15)

* 266.32 257.33 256.96

256.18 * 269.36

132.00-147.00 † 125.00-153.00 † 128.00-151.00* Not Reported* 115.00-144.50 † 130.00-157.00 † 123.50-143.00 † 124.00-156.50 †

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

* 270.45 260.84

136.00-152.00 † † 1 114.00-148.00 120.00-145.00* 1 110.00-151.00* 110.00-144.00 † 125.50-148.00 †

Farmer’s & Ranchers - Vinita Farmers Livestock Ft. Smith Livestock I-40 Livestock - Ozark Joplin Regional Stockyards Mid-State Stockyards Mo-Ark - Exeter North Arkansas Livestock

270.00 250.90 250.04

129.50-140.50 † 119.00-154.00 † 110.00-152.00*

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

259.28 Week of 5/10/15

122.00-144.00 †

Arkansas Cattle Auction

256.00

120.00-156.00* 120.00-149.00 †

110

130

Week of 5/17/15

* 265.13

slaughter

** 260.07

170

cows

Arkansas Cattle

263.14

92.00-121.00 † 85.50-112.50 † 8 85.00-120.00 † 8

Ash Flat Live Benton County Cattlemen’s Live Cleburne County Live County Line Sale - Ratcliff Decatur Livestock Auction

255.47 258.58 267.99 273.00

279.50 ** 266.95 *** ** 260.44 250.00 258.72 248.17

150

(Week of 5/31/15 to 6/6/15)

241.19

Week of 5/24/15

bulls

90.00-123.00* 96.00-119.00 † 104.00-113.00 † 105.00-130.00*

Farmer’s & Ranchers Farmers Live Ft. Smith Livestock I-40 Livestock Joplin Regional Stockk Mid-State Stockyards Mo-Ark - Exeter North Arkansas Live

96.00-128.00* 85.00-115.00 † 102.00-120.50 † 82.00-118.00 † 90.00-126.00 † 90.00-123.00* Not Reported* 90.00-122.00 †

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

90.00-130.00 † 100.00-114.00 † 87.00-143.50 †

100.00-130.00* 90.00-124.00 †

100

120

140

beef

cattle

Bred Cows: Supreme ind 1995.00, Approved 1575.001790.00, crossbreds 1425.00-1650.00, Medium 1250.001500.00, Jerseys 1180.00-1410.00. 6/7/15 Baby Calves: Holstein heifers Scarce, Holstein bulls 420.00530.00, small 300.00-380.00, Jersey bulls few 180.00, crossbred heifers 420.00-500.00, small 300.00-390.00, crossbred bulls 500.00-600.00, small 390.00-480.00, beef cross heifers few 640.00, beef cross bulls 450.00-650.00.

* 280.85 265.23 265.96 Week of 5/31/15

* 272.07 261.83 265.29 267.58 257.67 261.45 261.64 253.24 277.23 200

224 248 272 296 320 * No price reported in weight break **USDA Failed To Report *** No Sale - Holiday

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

14 14

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.

Ark. Cattle Auction, LLC - Searcy 6/2/15

Ash Flat Livestock

1074

goats

stocker & feeder

160

265.90 ***

sheep &

dairy cattle

251.00

***

Koshkonong, Mo • Oreg

Receipts: 125 All goats and sheep Graders and bough Midwest - High Plains Direct Slaughter Cattle buying station.Offe 5 Area (Tx-Ok, Ks, Neb, Ia, Colo) goats and 38 percen Live Basis Sales - Over 80% Choice will be Saturday, M Steers: 153.00-158.00; wtd. avg. price 156.23. to accept goats from Heifers: 154.00-157.00; wtd. avg. price 155.63. per cwt. Dressed Basis Sales - Over 80% Choice GOATS: Steers: 245.00-252.00; wtd. avg. price 245.66. Slaughter Kids: Sel Heifers: 244.00-247.00; wtd. avg. price 245.41. 250.00, Selection 1Diamond, Mo • TS Whites Sheep and Goat Sale 6/4/15 45-60 lbs 265.00, Se Receipts: 1988 190.00. Supply was good and demand was good. All prices steady Feeder Kids: Select Norwood, Mo. • Producers Auction Yards 5/26/2015 to lower. Supply included 11 percent slaughter ewes, 34 Slaughter Does/Na percent slaughter lambs, 35 percent slaughter goats, 18 Selection 3 85.00. Receipts: 703 percent Bucks and Does. All prices per hundred weight Slaughter Bucks: S Springer Heifers bred seven to nine months: Supreme SHEEP: 1775.00-2100.00, ind Jersey 1780.00,ind Guernsey 1840.00, few (CWT) unless noted otherwise. SHEEP: Slaughter Lambs: G crossbreds 1775.00-1800.00, Approved 1500.00-1750.00, ind Slaughter Lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3 Old crop Wool 80 lbs 140.00-170.0 Jersey 1600.00, Medium 1300.00-1475.00. Heifers bred three to six months: Supreme 1800.00-2050.00, lambs 52-64 lbs 170.00-180.00, 70-78 lbs 147.50-165.00, 100- Slaughter Ewes: Ut 125 lbs 132.50-152.50. Utility 1-2 55.00. 190 crossbreds 1700.00-1800.00, Approved 1575.00-1775.00, Feeder/Stocker Lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3 hair 40-50 lbs Slaughter Rams: A crossbreds 1485.00-1675.00, Medium 1275.00-1450.00, 155.00-175.00; 50-60 lbs 162.50-180.00, 60-68 lbs 165.00crossbreds 1270.00-1410.00, Common few 1000.00-1150.00, 175.00, 70-73 lbs 167.50-180.00, 80-90 lbs 145.00-162.50, Buffalo, Mo • Buffalo Li few crossbreds 1000.00-1050.00. Heifers bred one to three months: Supreme 1700.00-1850.00, 90-100 lbs 165.00-180.00. Receipts: 525 Slaughter Ewes: Utility 1-2 wooled 115-160 lbs 52.50-70.00, Approved 1550.00-1680.00, ind Jersey 1600.00, crossbreds Supply was good and Utility 1-2 several pkgs of wooled full pelt 188 lbs 45.00, 1500.00-1650.00, Medium 1000.00-1350.00, few crossbreds supply made up of 54 Utility-Good 3-4 hair 90-137 lbs 62.50-87.50, Culls 87-160 lbs 1450.00, Common few 975.00, ind crossbred 885.00. percent ewes and ram 55.00-60.00. Open Heifers: Approved 200-261 lbs 650.00- 800.00, ind does and bucks. All p Slaughter Rams: Few Wooled 145-200 lbs 70.00-90.00. crossbred 600.00, 330-381 lbs 800.00- 870.00, few crossbreds otherwise. GOATS: 710.00, 410-495 lbs 800.00- 950.00, Jerseys 890.00-960.00, SHEEP: pkg 6 Jerseys 428 lbs 1000.00, crossbreds 840.00-1050.00, 503- Feeder kids: Selection 1 20-30 lbs 290.00-310.00, Selection 2 Slaughter Lambs: Ch 25-38 lbs 272.50-287.50, Selection 3 25-35 lbs 230.00-255.00. crop, 43 lbs 200.00; o 590 lbs 1070.00-1090.00, Jerseys 870.00-1080.00, crossbreds Slaughter Classes: Selection 1 42-55 lbs 285.00-300.00, 850.00-890.00, pkg 6 crossbreds 578 lbs 1170.00, 608-693 lbs lbs 162.50-170.00. Ch Selection 2 40-65 lbs 260.00-277.50, 68-70 lbs 240.00-255.00, lbs 182.50-200.00, 60 1220.00-1280.00, pkg 6 Jerseys 634 lbs 1380.00, crossbreds Selection 2-3 40-60 lbs 230.00-255.00. 1050.00-1290.00, 703-795 lbs pkg 5 at 761 lbs 1420.00, 172.50; few old crop 1 Does: Few Replacements, Selection 1-2 75-110 lbs 180.00crossbreds 1210.00-1450.00. Choice 3-4 new crop 195.00, Selection 2 85-115 lbs 130.00-155.00, Cull Does Medium: 340-370 lbs Jerseys 590.00-670.00, 405-430 lbs few Feeder/Stocker Lamb crossbreds 630.00-790.00, 635-675 lbs few 810.00-985.00, 713- 66-100 lbs 90.00-105.00. 195.00-205.00. Mediu 795 lbs Jerseys 910.00-1050.00,few crossbreds 990.00-1080.00. Bucks: Several replacements 90-55 lbs 192.50-205.00, Slaughter Ewes: Util Selection 2-3 65-205 lbs 145.00-162.50. Replacement Cows: 90.00. Cull and Utilit Few Families with single or twin kids at side: 65.00-80.00 Fresh and Milking Cows: Supreme 1800.00-2050.00, ind Slaughter Rams: few per head. crossbred 1825.00, Approved 1550.00-1755.00, crossbreds 1625.00-1700.00, Medium 1325.00-1525.00, crossbreds 1200.00-1500.00, Common 950.00-1150.00, few Jerseys 910.00-1160.00. Springer Cows: Supreme few 1900.00, Approved 1700.001825.00, Medium 1500.00-1550.00, crossbreds 1300.00180 1550.00, Common 1325.00-1400.00.

Cattlemen’s Livestock*

6/5/15

Benton Co. - Siloam Springs 6/4/15

698

1040

County Line Sale Ratcliff 6/3/15

Decatur Livestock*

6/3/15

Cleburne Co. - Heber Springs 6/1/15

1424

302

255

650

416

577

2-15 Higher

Uneven

415

St-14 Higher

Uneven

-----

Uneven

St-10 Higher

Steady

Uneven

-----

310.00-395.00 270.00-330.00 245.00-285.00 222.50-245.00 220.00-225.00

----301.00 ----245.00 -----

309.00-380.00 284.00-309.00 250.00-276.00 240.00-258.00 219.00

300.00-340.00 280.00-320.00 260.00-289.00 215.00-256.00 215.00-227.00

295.00-350.00 270.00-320.00 250.00-270.00 228.00-234.00 -----

----285.00-299.00 265.00-270.00 230.00-238.00 -----

300.00-385.00 275.00-300.00 260.00-280.00 220.00-245.00 205.00-219.00

305.00-365.00 291.00-325.00 257.00-291.00 225.00-257.00 -----

315.00-367.50 280.00-319.00 255.00-282.50 235.00-262.50 -----

320.00-375.00 290.00-310.00 262.00-284.00 250.00-253.00 228.00-231.00

300.0 290.0 260.0 238.0 200.0

----260.00-320.00 240.00-270.00 205.00-230.00 -----

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

309.00-365.00 268.00-309.00 245.00-266.00 218.00-241.00 195.00-223.00

270.00-325.00 260.00-310.00 235.00-275.00 200.00-235.00 184.00-215.00

280.00-310.00 275.00-300.00 237.00-260.00 215.00-235.00 200.00-210.00

----277.50-285.00 249.00-257.50 220.00 210.00

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

315.00-347.50 267.50-312.50 238.00-267.50 216.00-232.50 210.00-217.00

----271.00-275.00 -------------

270.0 237.0 215.0 20

275.00-345.00 250.00-290.00 220.00-260.00 215.00-225.00 -----

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

270.00-325.00 250.00-276.00 220.00-258.00 214.00 201.00

260.00-320.00 240.00-272.00 225.00-254.00 200.00-240.00 190.00-215.00

270.00-320.00 240.00-285.00 225.00-248.00 210.00-227.00 -----

----250.00-277.50 237.50-247.50 221.00-227.50 -----

280.00-315.00 260.00-283.00 240.00-262.00 215.00-241.00 185.00-205.00

289.00-319.00 259.00-289.00 231.00-259.00 213.00-231.00 -----

280.00-290.00 250.00-280.00 232.00-255.00 216.00-231.00 207.50-210.00

300.00-331.00 260.50-267.00 234.00-242.00 224.00-229.00 -----

300.0 252.0 230.0 212.0 -

6/2/15

Farmer’s & Farmers Ranchers Livestock Vinita, Okla.* Springdale 6/3/15 6/5/15

Ft. Smith Livestock 6/1/15

USDA Reported * Independently Reported

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

JUNE 15, 2015

ILives Oz 6/

ket sales reports

replacement

avg. grain prices

5.02

armers estock ringdale 6/5/15

prices

Ft. Smith Livestock

Elain

eola

Osc

usta

Aug

Pine

Bluf

Arkansas Cattle

Ash Flat Livestock 1250.00-2010.00 † 12 Benton County Sale 1550.00-2000.00 † 15 1 Cattlemen’s Livestock 1300.00-2550.00 * 1450.00-1500.00 † Cleburne County Live † County Line Sale - Ratcliff 1575.00 Decatur Livestock Auction 1800.00-2550.00* Farmer’s & Ranchers - Vinita 1800.00-2406.00 * 1775.00-2850.00 † Farmers Livestock - Springdale 1700.00-2550.00 † Ft. Smith Livestock I-40 Livestock 1100.00-2650.00 † Joplin Regional 1160.00-2550.00 † 1250.00-2850.00 * Mid-State Stockyard Mo-Ark - Exeter Not Reported* North Arkansas Livestock 1475.00-2075.00 †

220.92 Week of 5/10/15

236.65 232.93 234.23 242.00 228.05 216.86 233.18 241.80 233.49

1450.00-2475.00 † 1125.00-1800.00 †

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

1100.00-2600.00 †

1600.00-2400.00 * 1400.00-1735.00 †

1000

2000

3000

236.00

4000

(Week of 5/31/15 to 6/6/15) 1900.00-2300.00 †

Arkansas Cattle Auction Ash Flat Live

230.24

5000

pairs

cow/calf

226.63 229.53 239.08 ** 232.50 240.00 229.11

1035.00-2325.00 † 1600.00-2650.00 †

Benton County Sale Barn Cattlemen’s Livestock Cleburne County Livestock County Line Sale - Ratcliff Decatur Livestock Auction Farmer’s & Ranchers - Vinita Farmers Livestock - Springdale

223.50

1500.00-2475.00 * 1625.00-2575.00 † None Reported † 2100.00-2850.00* 2400.00-3100.00 *

231.46 238.64 231.70

None Reported †

Ft. Smith Livestock I-40 Livestock - Ozark Joplin Regional Stockyards Mid-State Stockyards Mo-Ark - Exeter North Arkansas Livestock OKC West - El Reno Ouachita Livestock Ozarks Regional Stilwell Livestock Auction Tulsa Livestock Auction

1000

224.00

1675.00-2650.00 † 1500.00-3200.00 †

1625.00-3050.00 † 1500.00-3000.00 * Not Reported*

238.09 233.04

2000.00-2300.00 † 2250.00-3200.00 † 1575.00-2500.00 † 1400.00-3300.00 † 2500.00-3285.00* 2375.00-2775.00 †

2000

3000

4000

*** ** 223.51 239.16 249.50

5000

225.42 224.20 237.59

Mid-State Mo-Ark Stockyards* Exeter, Mo.*

6/1/15

I-40 Livestock Ozark 6/4/15

577

415

860

7240

504

Uneven

-----

Uneven

2-20 Higher

St-5 Higher

5.00-367.50 0.00-319.00 5.00-282.50 5.00-262.50 -----

320.00-375.00 290.00-310.00 262.00-284.00 250.00-253.00 228.00-231.00

300.00-370.00 290.00-312.00 260.00-280.00 238.00-248.00 200.00-222.00

315.00-375.00 294.00-348.00 264.00-314.00 236.00-279.00 223.00-244.00

300.00-385.00 275.00-318.00 251.00-284.00 237.00-258.00 215.00-230.00

5.00-347.50 7.50-312.50 8.00-267.50 6.00-232.50 0.00-217.00

----271.00-275.00 -------------

----270.00-297.00 237.00-247.00 215.00-236.00 206.00

330.00-336.00 275.00-302.00 250.00-268.00 241.00-252.50 -----

300.00-355.00 270.00-311.00 250.00-273.00 228.00-235.00 190.00-211.00

0.00-290.00 0.00-280.00 2.00-255.00 6.00-231.00 7.50-210.00

300.00-331.00 260.50-267.00 234.00-242.00 224.00-229.00 -----

300.00-335.00 252.00-277.50 230.00-253.00 212.00-213.50 -----

297.50-315.00 255.00-305.00 237.00-275.00 213.50-240.00 204.00-214.00

270.00-315.00 258.00-287.50 220.00-251.00 208.00-230.00 -----

JUNE 15, 2015

Joplin Regional Stockyards 6/1/15

le na hevil Hele Blyt

6/1/15

-----

N. Ark. Livestock Green Forest 6/3/15

OKC West - El Reno, Okla. 6/3/15

Ouachita Livestock Ola, Ark. 6/5/15

Ozarks Regional West Plains 6/2/15

Stilwell Livestock Auction* 6/3/15

Tulsa Livestock Auction. 6/1/15

-----

1312

9917

535

3695

1219

1691

-----

Uneven

1-5 Higher

St-10 Higher

Uneven

Higher

4-7 Higher

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

331.00-355.00 272.00-312.50 261.00-287.00 228.00-266.50 216.50-233.00

370.00 312.50-322.50 279.00-309.50 242.00-275.00 224.00-244.00

320.00-386.00 286.00-312.00 258.50-280.00 237.00-256.50 219.00-229.00

327.50-360.00 292.50-332.50 265.00-308.00 236.00-269.00 230.00-241.00

300.00-385.00 280.00-340.00 245.00-280.00 230.00-258.00 210.00-239.00

330.00-369.00 294.00-337.00 250.00-275.00 225.00-254.00 212.00-229.50

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

316.00-345.00 270.00-294.00 244.00-272.00 224.00-243.00 193.00-196.00

----325.00 -------------

----287.00-288.00 244.00-252.00 ----210.00-215.00

305.00-315.00 270.00-317.50 244.00-265.00 230.00-240.00 -----

285.00-370.00 260.00-320.00 235.00-265.00 215.00-248.00 200.00-221.00

----280.00-296.00 239.00-265.50 232.00-244.00 210.00-213.00

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

289.00-314.00 249.00-300.00 210.00-260.00 214.00-233.00 200.00-210.00

308.00-320.00 277.00-294.00 249.00-277.00 220.50-236.00 202.50-228.00

301.00-346.00 260.00-287.00 233.00-255.00 221.00-228.00 -----

285.00-327.50 260.00-292.50 235.00-266.00 225.00-247.50 200.00-226.00

280.00-327.00 250.00-296.00 225.00-255.00 210.00-235.00 190.00-215.00

291.00-332.00 272.00-287.00 230.00-267.00 209.00-231.00 196.00-207.00

127 5(3257('

feeder

3.77

3.50

258.65

1400.00-2200.00 †

Week of 5/17/15

dairy sales

(Week of 5/31/15 to 6/6/15)

5/30/15

goats

cows

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

Week of 5/24/15

GOATS: Feeder Kids: Selection 1 25-37 lbs 280.00-290.00. Selection 2 Receipts: 125 25-38 lbs 260.00-275.50. Selection 3 25-40 lbs 205.00-250.00. All goats and sheep graded by MO Dept of Ag-USDA stein bulls 420.00Graders and bought per cwt. based on in-weights at the Slaughter Kids: Selection 1 40-65 lbs 300.00-312.50, 65-75 lbs 275.50-285.50. Selection 2 40-60 lbs 285.00-297.50. Selection w 180.00, crossbred buying station.Offerings were made up of 62 percent 0, crossbred bulls goats and 38 percent sheep. Next scheduled market date 3 40 lbs 240.00-260.00. Replacement Does: Selection 2 40-140 lbs 150.00-165.00. cross heifers few will be Saturday, May 30th. The station will be open Slaughter Does: Selection 2-3 50-110 lbs 125.00-145.00. to accept goats from 9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. All prices Replacement Bucks: Selection 1 55-100 lbs 180.00-210.00, per cwt. Selection 2 100-158 lbs 150.00-175.00. GOATS: Slaughter Kids: Selection 1 45-60 lbs 280.00; 61-80 lbs 250.00, Selection 1-2 80 lbs and over 155.00. Selection 2 6/4/15 45-60 lbs 265.00, Selection 2-3 45-60 lbs dairy influence 190.00. d. All prices steady Feeder Kids: Selection 1-2 20-44 lbs 150.00. National Dairy Market at a Glance 6/5/15 laughter ewes, 34 Slaughter Does/Nannies: Selection 1-2 100.00-115.00, Cheese: Barrels closed at $1.6425 and 40# blocks at aughter goats, 18 Selection 3 85.00. $1.7150. The weekly average for barrels is $1.6865 r hundred weight Slaughter Bucks: Selection 1-2 115.00. (+.0527) and blocks, $1.7370 (+.0657). SHEEP: Fluid Milk: Milk output varies across the country. Production Slaughter Lambs: Good and Choice 2-3 hair mostly under declines are sparked by warmer temperatures in Florida, Old crop Wool 80 lbs 140.00-170.00. Utility and Good 1-3 90.00. California and New Mexico. Volumes are steady in the 147.50-165.00, 100- Slaughter Ewes: Utility and Good 2-3 70.00. Cull and Southeast and Midwest, while leveled in the Pacific Northwest. Utility 1-2 55.00. Stronger output can be seen in the upper regions of the East, 0 e 2-3 hair 40-50 lbs Slaughter Rams: Aged rams 70.00. Idaho and Utah, where milk supplies are pushing processing 0-68 lbs 165.00plants to capacity. Bottling facilities reaction to school closings 145.00-162.50, Buffalo, Mo • Buffalo Livestock Market 5/26/15 is adding to manufacturers’ milk intake volumes. Cream demand is seasonally active into ice cream production. As Receipts: 525 60 lbs 52.50-70.00, supplies tighten in the East and Midwest, multiples are trending Supply was good and demand was good to very good. The 188 lbs 45.00, supply made up of 54 percent slaughter and feeder lambs; 12 higher. .50, Culls 87-160 lbs percent ewes and rams; 29 percent kid goats; and 5 percent SPOT PRICES OF CLASS II CREAM, $ PER does and bucks. All prices per hundred weight unless noted POUND BUTTERFAT F.O.B. producing plants: Upper s 70.00-90.00. Midwest - $2.2560-2.4855. otherwise. SHEEP: 310.00, Selection 2 Slaughter Lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3 wooled few new 5 lbs 230.00-255.00. crop, 43 lbs 200.00; old crop 63-67 lbs 170.00-187.50, 83-88 85.00-300.00, lbs 162.50-170.00. Choice and Prime 2-3 new crop hair 40-45 0 lbs 240.00-255.00, lbs 182.50-200.00, 60-72 lbs 170.00-190.00, 84-95 lbs 160.0Week Ended 6/9/15 Soybeans Soft Wheat Corn Sorghum 172.50; few old crop 118-155 lbs 100.00-137.50. Good and 5-110 lbs 180.0020 Choice 3-4 new crop 40-58 lbs 157.50-177.50. .00, Cull Does Feeder/Stocker Lambs: Medium and Large 1-2 hair 24-35 lbs 16 195.00-205.00. Medium and Large 2-3 25-38 lbs 165.00-185.00. 2.50-205.00, Slaughter Ewes: Utility and Good 1-2 few 91-135 lbs 70.0012 9.82 9.82 9.42 9.49 90.00. Cull and Utility 1-2 119-200 lbs 60.00-73.00. side: 65.00-80.00 6.97 8 5.37 Slaughter Rams: few 148-215 lbs 92.50-102.50. 5.37 5.32 5.42 5.25 Koshkonong, Mo • Oregon County Goat and Sheep Market

heifers 550-600 LBS.

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

*** ***

* 256.00 242.00 243.60 225.98

Week of 5/31/15

ved 1575.00ium 1250.00-

USDA Reported * Independently Reported

241.92 234.52 234.87 238.75 233.00 234.84 237.92 232.45 241.57

195

212 229 246 263 280 * No price reported in weight break **USDA Failed To Report *** No Sale - Holiday

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

15 15

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meet your neighbors

A Family Tradition in the River Valley

Photos by Barbara Aitken

By Barbara Aitken

Two cows given as wedding gifts were the beginning of the Siebenmorgen family’s dairy Mark and Charlotte both have jobs Settled next to the Arkansas River in Morrison Bluff, Ark., lays a farm away from the farm while Bob manages built on tradition and strong fam- Bluff Vista full-time. The siblings work ily ties. The Siebenmorgens own well with one another and each has their and operate Bluff Vista Farms, a focuses within the business. Mark, who is the Scranton High School principal, dairy business, in Logan County. Joe Siebenmorgen, Jr., and his wife Mar- is in charge of all breeding and AI’ing. gret never intended to start a diary. Margret Charlotte, who works in Paris, a nearby remembers milking two cows that were city, and Bob both focus on the day-togiven to them in 1946 as wedding presents. day management. Despite their focuses, Mark, Bob and “His parents gave us a cow, and mine gave us one too. I guess that’s where it Charlotte all work to continue the dairy in a hands-on manner. started,” she said. “A few years ago, our parents had a car Joe and Margret officially started their dairy business when they moved to their accident making them unable to go to the barn on a daily basis anymore. So we figured 90-acre riverside farm in 1953. “It was some of the best farm land in out a way to milk in the mornings and still the area. When we started milking, make it to work on time. Our day starts at 3 there were over 100 dairies in Logan a.m., seven days a week,” said Mark. Being one of the few dairies in the area County alone. Back then, that’s what provides challenges of it’s own as well. Hieveryone did,” Joe Jr. recalled. Sixty-two years later, the business still land trucks come every two days and instead runs in the family. Once apart of an in- of driving across the road to the next farm, they drive across the county. tricate web of dairies in the But the Siebenmorgens Morrison Bluff area, Bluff refuse to let the challenges Vista operates as one of three Morrison Bluff, Ark. interfere with their strong dairies still in Logan County. family ties to the farm. Mark, Bob and Charlotte Joe Jr. and Margret feel satisSiebenmorgen, three of 12 sibfied in their decisions to raise lings manage the farm and the their family on a dairy farm. 55 head of mixed dairy cows.

Bluff Vista is one of only three dairy farms in Logan County, Ark. Pictured, from left, are Mark Siebenmorgen, Bob Siebenmorgen and their brother-in-law Jim Tencleve.

With 12 children, Joe and Margret rarely needed to hire outside help. “All the kids were expected to work on the farm,” said Mark. “It was something we wanted to do. Geraldyn Siebenmorgen Spicer, who works as the Scranton School District counselor, remembers working the in the dairy as a little girl with her sisters. “It was the girls’ duty to go out and feed the bottle babies. We’d fill the little red wagon with bottles and push it through the mud to get to the pens,” she said. “As little girls, we’d have eight to 10 babies to feed every morning before school.” Geraldyn also recalls the times when she rotated afternoon milking duties with her sisters during the basketball season. “There were three of us who played on

the Scranton High School basketball team all at the same time. In order to make the games on time, we would alternate who was in the barn and who was changing into their uniform. After we finished, we would eat supper then rush to the gym.” In addition to the diary, the Siebenmorgens also bale their own hay. “We got into the dairy business partly because the farm was too small for a beef operation and that’s the reason we’ve stayed in dairy too.” Family-owned dairies are a dying business in Arkansas, but the Siebenmorgen family continues to uphold a longstanding tradition in the River Valley. “I don’t do it for the money,” says Mark. “I’ve milked almost everyday since I was 12. I enjoy what I do.”

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meet your neighbors

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The Robinetts moved to the Ozarks from California, bringing their dairy goat herd along

Photo by Terry Ropp

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Jane and Tom Robinett own a goat dairy and dairy goat breeder operation on 10 acres outside of Dover, Ark. The idea began in California when Jane decided to buy three dairy goats as mowers for their acreage and to provide milk. Laughing at the memory, Jane said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will never forget the first time we tasted the milk. We held our noses and took an experimental sip. We were shocked that it tasted like cow milk but with a much less phlegmy texture.â&#x20AC;? Years and several California moves later, the Robinetts came to Pope County, Ark., with 40 goats after the building containJane Robinett and her ing their engine repair family moved to Arkansas business had been sold. after living for many years Because Tom wanted to be near family in California. and where he grew up when he retired, they simply moved earlier than planned. Tom is now retired while Jane works as an laxing since I love being around my goats,â&#x20AC;? she said. accountant for Tax Centers of America. During peak season, her 23 milking Jane milks twice a day by hand rather than using her milking machines, which does, out of a herd of 63, produced 10 to 20 gallons per day. Jane admits were essential temporarily she could push for higher produe to a carpal tunnel issue. duction, but doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t in order â&#x20AC;&#x153;Actually, using the mato help prevent milk fever and chines does not save time Dover, Ark. other issues. because I have to wait for Milk is sold only by preormy girls to finish eating and der at least 24 hours in advance. theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re slow. Besides, I find Extra milk is processed into soft hand milking quiet and re-

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor â&#x20AC;˘ www.ozarksfn.com

JUNE 15, 2015

meet your neighbors goat cheese of various flavors for selfconsumption because cheese-making requires a license while 500 gallons of fresh milk can be sold without one. Kids are removed from their mothers immediately after birth and are fed pasteurized goat milk by bottle for three days and by lamb bar, a bucket with nipples and straws reaching to the bottom, for three months when they are then weaned. The Robinett goats are bred both naturally and through AI, which Jane learned in classes. “I had one especially good teacher who taught me to determine the optimum insemination time by the texture of the does’ mucus when they become excited by the proximity of bucks,” she explained. “This is really important because goat semen has a short lived viability window, especially compared to cows. Since that class, my conception rate has been very high.” Jane used to collect semen from her bucks, but quit once her freezer filled with semen from highly desirable bloodlines, including the Kastdemur line. The Robinetts use two avenues for herd improvement. They occasionally buy does and have six from the Kastdemur line. They also select semen for does according to the trait or traits they want to be used with a particular doe. The dual breeding process is especially important since Jane loves to show her goats. She is competitive and always striving to be the best. “Karen Senn’s Kastdemur line goats were the ones I could never quite beat,” Jane said. Health protocols for the Robinett dairy include vaccinating for an over eating disease called intertoxemia, combined with a tetanus component and the debudding of would-be horns. Pasteurized goat milk for the babies prevents arthritis. Baby goats are treated every three weeks for cocci prevention and wormed with a liquid for the first four months. Goats receive one pour on wormer administered orally and another poured on to combat the eternal worm problem in three applications 10 days apart. Additional worming is on an as needed basis determined by frequently checking for a healthy pink inner eyelid color. The feeding regimen includes both Bermuda and alfalfa hay, a 14 percent JUNE 15, 2015

pellet grain feed, minerals and, surprisingly, baking soda purchased in 25-pound bags to prevent bloating. The goats graze on pastures providing fertilization and weed control. “My goats love their weeds and do just fine without brush,” Jane said. The Robinetts sell their goats as young as 2 weeks old. Jane once sold a 10-year-

old doe to a neighbor who uses the milk to make and sell soap and other goat milk products such as lotion. Jane sells to other dairy goat farmers, to youngsters in FFA or 4-H and to anyone else interested. Jane preselects replacements and sells any left to maintain her herd size. A final income stream is Jane’s side career as a nationwide dairy goat judge.

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

When she judges, all expenses are paid in addition to a per diem. Because she so enjoys the show goat circuit, she is hoping to one day decrease her herd size and travel with her goats in her horse trailer with a living compartment to compete much more frequently and not have as many goats left behind at home for care by someone else.

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Samuel Burleson Parents: Scott and Tina Burleson; brother Jacob, 14 Hometown: Yellville, Ark. FFA Chapter: Yellville-Summit FFA Advisor: Rick Zeigler How are you involved in agriculture? “We’ve had a family farm since my great-grandpa. We’ve had dairy farms, we’ve had cedar mills for 30 years, we’ve run sheep for 20 years, we do it all. And then I do what I do here at the school. At the family farm, I do more of the upkeep. I help my grandpa and we do the cattle together. I cut firewood for everyone and we sell firewood, clear off the pasture, pretty much anything a farmhand would do.” Why do you like agriculture? “It’s something I’ve always enjoyed being in. I love it. I do it every day. It really clicks with me.” What are your goals? “My idea is to build up a lot of money so I can buy a farm and have my own farm and have my own cattle on it. I think I’ll probably just go straight to work. The only way you can get your farm started is to get out there and get to working with it.” Who has had the most influence in your life? “Probably my Grandpa Charlie. I’ve always grown up with him. When my Dad was at work I’ve always been with him and we worked on the farm together. I’ve been with him ever since I can remember. He’s pretty much taught me everything.”

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If you had the power and could change any one thing in agriculture today, what would it be? “I would like everyone else to get a better understanding of it, knowing what it does and getting more people involved in it. Everyone just says, ‘That’s all rednecks do.’ But I’d like them to know how it helps everyone around us, from the buildings we’re in to the food we eat. I’d just like for everybody else to have a chance to experience it.” Story and Photo By Pam Fortner

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Secondly, students are judged on consistency. Is the resume consistent with the application, and does the in-person interview support both? The same can apply to our day to day operations on our farms By Jessica Bailey and ranches. Does what we say about our operation line up with how he FFA contest season has finished up and the state champiwe actually operate on our farmers and ranches? Or is it a case of “do ons have been crowned after competing at the Missouri State what I say, not what I do”? If we believe we are producing quality FFA Convention at the University of Missouri-Columbia. products, let us make sure our operations reflect that pride every day. Since my days as a Crowder College Aggie, I have Consistency in our industry is our best friend – consistent products, helped judge at the Crowder Aggie Day each year, in arconsistent operation and consistency between the two. eas from landscaping to poultry to, this year, employment interFinally, a good interviewee is always prepared. They have mulview. It has been a pleasant experience to observe how well many tiple copies of the required paperwork in hand, knowledge of the of our young FFA students are being prepared for the professional position and/or industry, and are prepared to give an answer to any world. Through my judging experience this year, I’ve seen how question put to them. These practices extend far outside the job Jessica Bailey is an many areas that these students are judged on have application in interview. For instance, when questioned about industry practices agricultural lender at the real life world of our farms and ranches. by those with no first-hand knowledge of the industry, we need to Hometown Bank in One substantial area we judge these students on is presence. How do be able to give well informed, articulate answers. Neosho, Mo. A resident they carry themselves? Are they timid or overpowering? Friendly or Or, a familiar situation for many of us, be prepared with your reof Newton County, she stand-offish? Respectful or not? What message are they sending with quest, financial information and goals when talking with your loan also raises cattle on their body language? Is it in sync with their verbal communication? officer. In each instance, you, the farmer/rancher, are selling your her family’s farm and As we market our operations and the products of those operations, industry, your operation, yourself and your goals and dreams, to is an active alumni of our presence can have a direct effect on our marketing efforts. One’s your interviewer, whether it be the public or your loan officer. We the Crowder College product can be the best of the best, but if our verbal and non-verbal are living in the best industry out there, agriculture. Aggie Club. communication is not compatible with the product, we are not reLet’s all put our best foot forward and ensure agriculture is seen by alizing our operations’ full potential. As farmers and ranchers, we all to be the best industry in each and every aspect and show our are not marketing our products only but our operations and ourselves as well. deserved pride in being today’s farmers and ranchers.

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Going Polled? By Gary Digiusepee

Groups, food manufacturers want farmers to skip dehorning and select polled animals Milk and dairy product merchandisers are prodding producers to switch to polled breeds at the encouragement of animal welfare groups who believe dehorning to be inhumane. In August 2014 Nestle, North America’s largest dairy producer, said it had signed an agreement with the non-governmental organization World Animal Protection requiring the Swiss company to adopt guidelines that “seek to minimize pain for farm animals by using veterinary practices that reduce pain, or avoiding the practices in the first place by different animal husbandry practices. An example would be the dehorning of cows.” More recently General Mills, which makes Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Yoplait yogurt, adopted a new animal welfare policy that states, “General Mills supports the use of polled genetics breeding programs to promote polled or naturally hornless cattle, thereby eliminating the need for dehorning.” In a 2013 study, researchers from Purdue University concluded selection of polled cattle presented no additional expense compared to dehorning. The scientists estimated the cost of dehorning at $7 per animal and of selecting semen from a bull without horns at an additional $8. Factoring in the additional cost of treating a calf after dehorning and running a computer simulation, they concluded a producer could spend an additional $7.50 per head for polled genetics and still break even. Dr. Scott Poock, a University of Missouri Extension veterinarian who was raised on a dairy farm and told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor he is passionate on this issue. He said when cattle were dehorned when he started in private practice 28 years ago. “We didn’t do much for analgesia or pain control when I left practice,” Poock said. “Most guys had turned to dehorning calves when they’re much younger, and providing some kind of analgesia or local anesthetic to decrease the pain.” He said the university has some polled cattle in its herd, and there are more polled bulls in AI tests. “It will take time to get all polled cattle,” Poock said. Although the polled gene is dominant, if a calf carries the horned, recessive gene, even if it’s bred to a heterozygous polled bull and 25 percent of its offspring, will be

what do you say? How do you maximize milk production?

“We have increased production by always using good feed and growing alfalfa hay.”

horned. Therefore, even as the herd is bred for the polled trait, there will still be some need for dehorning. Producers dehorn cattle to minimize injury or trauma to other cattle, Dr. Jeremy Powell, University of Arkansas Extension veterinarian, told OFN. “When they’re eating out of a feed bunk all their heads are together, and cattle will inherently push and shove on one another in that situation because they’re aggressive for the feed that’s in the bunk,” he said, adding it’s also for the safety of workers. Powell said one method that involves minimal trauma is the use of a caustic paste that’s applied to the horn bud. “It causes the tissue to necrose around the base of the horn; the horn falls off, and the tissue scabs over and is fine,” he explained. The calf cannot be exposed to rain or allowed near other animals for six hours, and the paste cannot be used in calves over 8 weeks of age. Other, more traditional methods include the use of a hot iron to cauterize the cells around the base of the horn, or cutting off the horn using a “scoop dehorners.” “There is going to be some trauma involved in that, because you’re removing a piece of skin and the horn from the calf’s head, so you have to be careful with how you do it and also concerned with flies,” Powell said. “There are steps you can take to minimize secondary infection.” Movement toward polled dairy cattle has been gradual. “I get a few people calling for them, but the genetics are not there with the rest of them,” Joe McClellan, a Willow Springs, Mo. dairy producer, told OFN. McClellan milks polled Holsteins along with registered dairy cattle from other breeds, and also occasionally sells breeding stock. He said while there are bulls that can match horned production, the bulls overall do not rate as well on the American Holstein Association’s Total Performance Index (TPI) chart, which measures such variables as feed efficiency, somatic cell counts, the calving ease of daughters and the fertility index. However, McClellan said, the polled Holsteins “are fast catching up, because the good ones are worth some money,” and added anecdotally – based on what his wife and 7 year old daughter say – they’re of easier temperament.

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the blanket use of broad spectrum antibiotics during the dry period. “We can look at the level of subclinical mastitis as indicated by somatic cell counts, and determine if we can use a different approach through investigating the different organisms that are in the quarter and treating appropriately,” Bluel told OFN. “But as most studies indicate, if the decision is based exclusively on economics, you have to consider that treating every quarter of every cow would be preferable.” Another alternative is the use of the teat sealant without applying antibiotics. “The teat sealant’s goal is to work with or replace the natural keratin plug that is known to block the teat canal, and seal it off during the dry cow period,” Bluel explained. “Different products are in the marketplace; most of them have a paraffin wax as their predominant ingredient, and those internal sealant infusions can be very helpful in cows that are identified as low-risk, or having no infection in the gland, as an effective way to minimize the chance of new intramammary infections from forming.” Bluel recommended that producers consult with Extension personnel or a veterinarian before moving to selective dry cow therapy. “If you miss one of the infections in a quarter, the dry cow period or window can be hard for the cattle because the actual, physical act of milking, that forcing mechanism, is very helpful to prevent the intramammary infection from getting worse,” she said. “When we stop milking that cow during the dry cow window, that can increase the prevalence of that pathogen in the mammary gland and can create issues for the subsequent lactation. So you need to make sure, not only through low somatic cell indications but also through considering on-farm monitoring of different organisms, that these cows are truly free of mastitis when they go dry.”

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Treatments are an effective way to prevent infection, mastitis Dry cow therapy practices have grown in popularity in recent decades. The basic premise – infusing the cow’s teats with antibiotics – was widely adopted in the 1970s and 1980s, and the more recent practice of plugging the teats to block invasive pathogens has caught on in the last 15 to 20 years. “It made a dramatic impact on the mastitis rates of commercial herds; it can drop the rate of new infection at the dry treating time by 20 percent or more. It’s a really effective way to prevent new infections and eliminate old infections that occurred during that lactation,” Dr. Sarah Place, assistant professor of sustainable beef cattle systems at Oklahoma State University, told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. Place said a cow’s mammary glands restructure during the “dry time” and the backup of milk causes the secretory cells to die. “It takes about 36 hours after the last milking for that process to happen so if you’re going to give that cow treatment, you’re going to infuse antibiotics into the mammary gland at that last milking,” Place said. “It tends to be a twopurpose, broad spectrum antibiotic to try to kill all those pathogens to prevent new infections, because as that milk is building up it can leak out from the teat ends and if the teat ends are open, that can allow pathogens to get in there.” To prevent that, some producers use teat sealing products that are infused into the teat ends after the antibiotics have been applied. This creates a physical barrier between the teat end and the rest of the mammary gland, and prevents new infections during the dry period. Reagan Bluel, University of Missouri Extension dairy specialist in Barry County, Mo., said research has sought to find whether producers can move away from

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The protein and energy needs of a dairy cow are greater than that of a beef cow Extension scientists told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor supplemental grain can be crucial to a dairy cow’s production and reproduction, and successful operation of a strictly forage based herd can be very difficult. Dr. Shane Gadberry, University of Arkansas Extension cattle nutrition expert, noted both the protein and energy needs of a dairy cow are greater than those of a beef cow. “If we’re talking about trying to have a herd that’s managed without grain, then we’re assuming that all of our management inputs are going to go into pasture management, so we really have to focus on good, year round forage supply,” Gadberry said. “That, in some situations, can be a challenge. In the fall and the spring we’re fairly capable of producing some very high qualities of forages that are complementary to very good levels of milk production from our dairy cows. However, during the wintertime there’s often a two to three month lag where we’re going to be feeding conserved forages, even in that grazing situation, and most often the conserved forages are going to be of lesser quality than grazed forage.” Feeding that forage without supplementation would lead to reduced dairy production, as well as a decrease in the cow’s body condition score. Gadberry said he gets calls from dairy producers who are worried about reduced milk output and want to have their feed concentrate tested, but haven’t examined their forages. “Quality of forages, not only between farms but within a farm, can vary substantially from year to year,” he said. “Understanding the nutrient composition of forages and being able to manage those for maximum quality in both the grazed and the conserved situation becomes very important.”

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In addition, during the late summer the nutritional quality of perennial, warmseason grasses will start to decline, and if drought is present the producer may also have to rely upon conserved forages. Even if those are of relatively high energy content, such as corn silage, they will be lower in protein. Gadberry recommends complementing them with a legume forage. “It’s not to say it can’t be done,” he concluded. “There are always some grazing dairies that try to minimize, or stay completely away from grains. It’s possible, but in a situation where you’re trying to maximize yield and cost of production, I would say, would be very difficult to be 100 percent free of any grain feeding.” Reagan Bluel, University of Missouri Extension dairy specialist in Barry County, Mo., said at best there are opportunities during the year when the forage is meeting the demands of lactation. “If you’re an effective forage manager, you can have a window of the year where the forage is of such high quality that very minimal quantities of grain are required,” she told OFN. “But that’s so infrequent throughout the year that I don’t know that I want to make that sort of recommendation.” One seeming exception would be seasonal dairies, which Bluel said are growing in popularity. “They will calve every animal in February, and then they will dry every animal in December, so from December until they begin calving in February they will stop producing milk,” she said. Those dairies have timed their operations to be in peak lactation when the forage is of highest quality. “Even those seasonal pasture-based dairies do feed a very small quantity of grain during the spring flush, and that tends to be when the forage quality is the highest. Milk production is less, but in that seasonal mentality you’re not expecting her to breed back until much later in lactation.” JUNE 15, 2015

farm help

Understanding Mastitis By Gary Digiusepee

Know the signs of clinical or subclinical mastitis, how to treat them If a dairy farmer’s milk looks odd, it’s time to check for mastitis. Mammary infections don’t always result in what is called “clinical” mastitis, where the milk is visibly affected. It can have coagulations or flakes, or can appear watery. “We really need to be sure that we know what organism we’re working with, because there are different antibiotics on the market that are targeting different organisms,” Reagan Bluel, University of Missouri Extension dairy specialist in Barry County said. “What you’re up against is going to dictate which antibiotic is appropriate, or even ‘if’ an antibiotic is appropriate.” Bluel added that some cooperatives will analyze samples for farmers. Clinical mastitis is distinguished from subclinical mastitis, where the infection still produces an inflammatory response but is not apparent from the appearance of the milk. Dr. Sarah Place, assistant professor of sustainable beef cattle systems at Oklahoma State University, said if an animal diagnosed with clinical mastitis has to be treated with antibiotics, the milk is not fit for human consumption and cannot enter the food supply. “There are different types of antibiotics out there that are more effective on grampositive versus gram-negative type bacteria, so by doing a culture we can determine which type of antibiotic would be the most useful at that time,” Place told OFN.

There are two major classifications of the types of pathogens that will cause mastitis. The first is contagious pathogens like Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus and mycoplasma species such as M. bovis. Place said these pathogens are called contagious because they can live in the milk, so they can be spread from animal to animal by a milking machine or by the milker’s hands. “If you milk an animal with one of those mastitis pathogens living within the udder and then milk another cow that’s not infected afterwards without changing gloves, or if you’re not using gloves during milking, you can spread that pathogen to the next animal,” she said. “That’s why it’s important to isolate those animals, and understand what type of pathogen they have.” The other broad classification of mastitis pathogens is environmental species, many of which fall within this category. It’s all the pathogens that are in the environment and ubiquitous like E. coli, which can come from the gastrointestinal track of the animal and can be in manure. There are also other Streptococcus and Staphylococcus species that are classified as environmental, but they don’t live in milk and so aren’t thought of as spreading from animal to animal. However, they can still cause mastitis and an alteration of the milk, along with systemic illness in cows. There is no known treatment for some

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other mastitis pathogens, including M. bovis, which is very contagious and will spread within the herd, so typically animals diagnosed with that pathogen are isolated from the herd and have to be culled. Place said while other environmental species can be treated effectively, but there are exceptions. “E. coli is one of those pathogens for which you don’t want to treat the animal with intermammary infusion of antibiotics, because that actually can cause the animal to become more ill,” she said. “Usually with an E. Coli infection, that animal gets visibly ill; they go off feed and may have a fever. You usually give the animal supportive therapy, meaning painkillers and fluids to keep them hydrated, and hopefully they’ll fight off the infection themselves.”

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June 2015 16 Delta District 4-H Horse Show – White County Fairgrounds, Searcy, Ark. – 501-268-5394 20 Western Days BBQ – Springdale, Ark. – 479-756-0464 23 Native Grass Field Day – Conway, Ark. – 501-329-8344 23 BANGS Vaccinations in Franklin County – for more info call 479-667-3720 26-27 Master Gardeners Plant Sale – Paris, Ark – 479-963-2360 27 Goat, Sheep and Swine Show – Miami, Okla. – 918-542-1688 30 Garden Food Showdown – 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. – $5 registration fee, due June 20 – Cherokee County Community Building, Tahlequah, Okla. – 918-456-6163 July 2015 1-4 Annual Rodeo of the Ozarks – 7:30 p.m. – Springdale, Ark. – 479-756-0464 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Croquet Class – registration required, $20 fee – Extension Office, Conway, Ark. – 501-329-8344 7 Goat Showmanship Day Camp – focus on does and wethers – registration is $10, due no later than June 23 – Tahlequah, Okla. – 918-456-6163 16 Peach Field Day – Clarksville, Ark. – 501-671-2126 16-18 Porter Peach Festival – sponsored by Porter Lions Club – Porter, Okla. – 918-486-4589 17 Pesticide Applicator Training – 2:00 p.m. – Bentonville, Ark. – 479-271-1060 August 2015 1 Ozark Stocker Cattle Conference – 9 a.m.-3 p.m. – Cost: $20 (includes lunch) – Durand Center, Harrison, Arkansas – 870-741-6168 7 Arkansas Rice Expo – Stuttgart, Ark. – 501-671-2126 7-9 57th Annual Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association Convention & Trade Show – Fort Smith, Ark. 10 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6 p.m. – Extension Office, Conway Ark. – 501-329-8344 11 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6 p.m. – Flippin, Ark. – 870-449-6349 11-15 North Logan County Fair – Paris, Ark. – 479-963-2360 22 Professional Bull Riding – Springdale, Ark. – 479-756-0464

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