Ofn dummy 7 6 15

Deep Roots Phil Bolinger traces his family tree and rural history

JULY 6, 2015• 32 PAGES

VOLUME 9, NUMBER 7 • WWW.OZARKSFN.COM

d n a p e e Sh ue s s I t a o G

JULY 6, 2015

Milk & More at Mountain-Berry Farm Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats are part of a family operation in the Ozarks hills

The Importance of Conditioning

Sheep and goats require special care when entering the breeding season

Picking the Right Breed Producers should consider their operation’s goals before selecting a breed of sheep Serving More Than 24,000 Readers Across Northwest Arkansas & Eastern Oklahoma

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rumor mill

Arkansas Farm Bureau names Farm Families of the Year: District winners for the 68th annual Arkansas Farm Family of the Year Program have been selected. The district winners will now be judged to determine a state winner to be announced Dec. 10 at the Farm Family of the Year. Those Ozarks families named include: John and Mikki Hamilton of Searcy; Allen and Melissa Glidewell of St. Joe; Brent and Ronda Butler of Siloam Springs; and Billy and Charlotte Wilchman of Cleveland.

Oklahoma Youth participate in conference: The Oklahoma Youth Leading Agriculture conference was held at the Oklahoma Farm Bureau office June 10-12. The conference is a three-day event hosted by OKFB’s Young Farmers and Ranchers. Participants of the conference were high school seniors selected through an application process. The students selected represent some of Oklahoma’s most promising high school agriculturalists. Youth from the Ozarks who attended were LeighAnn Alexander, LeFlore County, and Chelsea Allen, Rogers County.

Ozarks auctioneer competes at championship event: Justin Dodson of Welch, Okla., was one of 31 finalists at the 2015 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship, held June 10-14 in Waco, Texas. The contest was held at the 52nd annual Livestock Marketing Association’s (LMA) Convention. Semi-finalist auctioneers competed in live interview and auctioneering contests.

Ranchers in Arkansas battling cattle rustlers: Newton County, Ark., Sheriff Keith Slapes said cattle were stolen in the Compton, Pruitt, Yardelle and Nail areas, with more than a dozen cattle disappearing overnight or when the owners were away, the Newton County Times reported in late June. Officials are warning that rustlers can strike overnight by gathering a group of cattle, sometimes by using dogs, loading them into a trailer or truck and hauling them away to a livestock sale – all without being noticed.

First case equine West Nile confirmed: Oklahoma reports its first confirmed case of equine West Nile Virus.

The Garvin County horse had an unknown vaccination history. The Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory found the horse’s serum tested positive for the virus. Clinical signs of West Nile Virus include ataxia, muscle fasciculations and hyperexcitability. Vaccination is the best way to protect horses from West Nile Virus.

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VOL. 9, NO. 7

JUST A THOUGHT

7

3

Jerry Crownover – Getting harder to keep things simple

4 5

Jody Harris – Presto-the-pressure-cooker

Julie Turner-Crawford – It’s fair season

MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS

7 Milk & More at Mountain-Berry Farm

8 Research center, students find answers for producers

8 12 14

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

10

Phil Bolinger explores his family tree in rural Arkansas

12

Eye On Agribusiness features River Valley Feed & Metal

14

A unique operation at Meyenberg Goat Milk

Town & Country spotlights Troy Dyer

15 20

22

Youth in Agriculture features Laci Casteel

Keeping high breeding standards to produce high-quality animals

FARM HELP 23 Picking the right breed

for your production goals

25

EPDs: An overlooked tool for sheep, goat producers

26

Sheep, goat producers face fencing challenges

27

Recognizing and treating hoof issues in small livestock

28 29

Benefits of smaller flocks The importance of conditioning in sheep and goats

JULY 6, 2015

just a

thought

What’s On Your Mind, Ozarks?

Life Is Simple

e f i L elpmiS si

By Jerry Crownover

I

t’s becoming more and more difficult to keep revonwexpands orC yrreon J yB my life simple. As technology every front, people like me (those that are reluctant to change) find ourselves operatJerry Crownover is ing machines and devices that we can’t even a farmer and former comprehend how they work, much less know how professor of Agriculture to fix them when they fail to function properly.

Education at Missouri Fifty years ago, baling hay was a fairly simple State University. He is a procedure. The old square baler needed to be native of Baxter County, greased daily, the knotters needed to be cleaned Arkansas, and an of straw and trash occasionally, and we made sure author and professional the drive chains were at the right tension. When speaker. To contact Jerry, a chain, gear, or shaft would break, we repaired go to ozarksfn.com and or replaced it and continued to bale hay – pretty click on ‘Contact Us.’ simple and straightforward.

My round baler is in its sixth year of use and, fortunately, had never caused me any problem whatsoever, until last week. With such a wet spring, finding a weather forecast with three consecutive days of “no rain” had everyone in the county cutting hay. On baling day, I hooked up to the machine that cost half what I paid for my first farm, and checked out everything that I knew, greased it up and headed to the field that I had to get baled that day. When I turned on the electronic monitor that controls every single function of the high-tech baler, a flashing light informed me that the bale ejection gate was open.

I got out and inspected the tail gate and it sure appeared closed to me. I ran it through three or four cycles of the hydraulic system and, each time, it looked, sounded and felt like it was closed, but the monitor insisted that it was open. I called the service manager at the dealership where it was purchased and told him my problem. “Sounds like the tailgate sensor is out,” he stated, trying to assure me that it was a minor and inexpensive part.

I’m sure I sounded in panic-mode when I asked, “Can I still bale with the open light flashing?”

— Continued on Page 6

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Administrative Eric Tietze, Vice-President Operations Kathy Myers, Marketing Manager Sandra Coffman, Accounting Advertising Pete Boaz, Display & Classified Sales Kathy Myers, Production Sales Circulation Stan Coffman, Circulation Editorial Julie Turner-Crawford, Managing Editor Jerry Crownover, Columnist Jody Harris, Columnist Production Amanda Newell, Production

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About the Cover Phil Bolinger follows his family tree back to some of Arkansas’ founding families. See more on page 10.

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.

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just a thought

Freshly Picked

By Jody Harris

B

eing a child born in the summer, it is my favorite season of the year.

I love watching my garden grow and produce fresh vegetables. I equally enjoy watching my neighbors’ garJody Harris is a freelance dens grow tall and fruitful. My children are out of communications specialist, school for several weeks and fewer commitments gardener, ranch wife and leave me less to worry about. We enjoy splashing mother of four. She and in pools, rivers and lakes in the area. My husband her family raise Angus beef starts putting up hay and the days are long. The cattle and other critters on barbecue grill is a busy place for cooking and fresh their northwest Arkansas lemonade and sweet tea is plentiful around here. ranch. She is a graduate I start my garden in early March. As soon as the of Missouri State University. ground is thawed, I’m bent over digging in the soil.

To contact Jody, go to I really don’t care if I have to wear long-johns to ozarksfn.com and click on get it all ready. From lettuce to cabbages and toma‘Contact Us.’ toes to snap peas, I carefully plot out each raised bed to squeeze our favorites into the ground.

Every plant is staked, trellised and spaced for maximum production.

I strategize ways that kept pests and critters at bay from the year before and make my plan. I’ve dueled with potato beetles, squash bugs and aphids. We’ve scared off deer, raccoons and even a hissing groundhog.

Finally in June, the produce begins to arrive and the picking begins.

Each year, I tell myself I’m going to cut back a little and make it more manageable…yeah right! One family doesn’t really need eight zucchini plants, 100 cucumber plants or 30 tomato plants, or do they? The first year I had a garden I quickly learned that less probably would’ve been more. I made all kinds of new friends as I was pawning off zucchini on everyone I met. Even my grandmother kept sending me zucchini recipes to help with my plight. It was too much.

I quickly figured out how to blanch and freeze things, which was simple enough.

The idea of canning terrified me. Then one day, in the lonely food preservation aisle of our local Wal-Mart Super Center, I met Presto-the-pressure-canner. She and I have been having a love affair with food preservation ever since.

Presto came with an instruction manual, which I read carefully. I sought wisdom from Facebook, YouTube and other websites. I was ready for canning!

Faced with a mound of tomatoes and cucumbers, I set about turning our small farm kitchen into a production facility. I recruited my husband and children to wash, scald and peel things until they finally learned to run when they saw me heading back from the garden.

The first year went well and I put up pints and quarts of spaghetti sauce and a few kinds of pickles. Then at year two, I decided to streamline my operation. The passion turned into obsession. Before I knew it I had canned over 100 quarts of pickles and was still going. It was insanity! I made freezer jams, froze berries, canned sauces and pickles like a mad woman. We called it can-a-rama and the party has gone on every summer since.

I hope you’re having a great summer and if you need some zucchini, I’ve got you covered, neighbor.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JULY 6, 2015

just a thought

Across the Fence

By Julie Turner-Crawford

I

t’s county fair and junior livestock show season across the Ozarks.

I have always loved fairs and livestock shows. Big fairs and shows so small that they Julie Turner-Crawford were held in someone’s hay barn, like it was is a native of Dallas when I was a kid at the Halfway, Mo., show, I alCounty, Mo., where she ways had fun, and isn’t that what it’s all about? grew up on her family’s I am seeing lots of photos posted on social mefarm. She is a graduate dia of smiling boys and girls proudly holding up of Missouri State ribbons they won with their lamb, calf, pig or University. To contact goat, and moms and dads are gushing about how Julie, call 1-866-532-1960 well their child performed in the show ring. or by email at editor@ Some of the moms and dads posting the photos ozarksfn.com. were once the youngsters I watched in the show ring. My, how time flies.

Showing is not easy. There are countless hours of training, washing, clipping and special care given to the show animals by exhibitors of all ages. Let’s also not forget that most of the shows and fairs in the Ozarks are held in the hottest part of the year and the added expense of a show string, but the draw of the ring keeps bringing families back year after year.

While this time of year brings many “tips” for junior exhibitors, and as a former livestock show superintendent, I just wanted to offer a few tips to moms and dads: • Remember, your young sons and daughters are just kids. They might be new to the show ring, just like you were a few years ago, so don’t be too hard on them if they play in the dirt a little or get so excited when they get a ribbon that they drop the halter and run toward you to show their prize.

• Don’t yell at your child while they are in the show ring. One of two things could happen: your child will fall apart in the ring or they yell back at you. Neither is good.

While getting an animal’s head up or placing feet just right is important to make the animal look its best in the ring, yelling at Billy or Sally isn’t going to help. Talk to them, calmly and quietly, after they leave the ring about what they can do to improve before the next class.

• If your child’s animal places low in a class, offer him or her a big smile and a pat on the back. Chances are they are feeling pretty down and complaining about the

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just a thought Across the Fence Continued from Previous Page placement won’t make your child feel any better.

• Be a good sport and congratulate those who do well at the show, as well as those who might not have placed very well. By doing so, you are teaching your child that win or lose, everyone in the barn deserves a little praise.

• Never, never go up to a judge and confront him or her about how a class was placed. I have had to step between a mad parent and a judge more than once. It’s not fun for anyone and your child may see the confrontation. Always remember, the placings are one person’s opinion on that day and your next show will bring a new judge and a new opinion. Instead of arguing, teach your child to shake the judge’s hand.

• If your child loses interest in showing, don’t force them to continue. Take a break because there is a good chance that after a year of sitting out they will be ready to resume showing, so just keep the show box and trailer ready to roll.

Livestock shows are something for you and your family to do together. There will be ups and downs along the way, flat tires and something forgotten at home a time or two, but there is more to shows than ribbons or trophies.

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Continued from Page 3 “Oh, sure,” he confidently replied, “but you’ll have to do everything manually as far as wrapping and tying, because the automatic stuff won’t work when the computer thinks the gate is open. We do have sensors in stock here at the store.”

Great. Judy was more than happy to make the 50-mile round trip for the replacement part while I began baling. She wasn’t even out of the driveway when I encountered another problem. The little high-resolution graphs that show which side of the baler needs more hay, in order to make a uniform bale, were both nonfunctioning. Not knowing a thing about the internal workings of the monitor, I assumed it was connected to the open light and continued to bale, reverting back to my days with the very first round baler I ever owned, hoping the neighbors wouldn’t make fun of my misshapen bales.

When Judy returned with the new part, I quickly replaced the old sensor but was dismayed when I started up again and the open light continued to flash and the graph still didn’t work. I continued to bale while calling up the service manager again. “Would it be possible to get a technician out here this afternoon?”

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

“Oh, wow, I doubt it,” was the reply.

“Everyone and their dog are in the hay and we’ve got calls coming in by the minute. How about tomorrow?”

I was already starting on the next field the following afternoon when the service truck pulled into the field. The knowledgeable repairman checked all the sensors connected to the gate and the graphs and could find nothing wrong. With a contemplative look on his face, he walked over to the cable connection between the baler and monitor and carefully unfastened it. There are exactly 18 little wire prongs that are supposed to fit neatly into exactly 18 little holes, but three of them were bent and did not make the connection. “Here’s your problem.”

With a pair of needle nosed pliers, he carefully straightened the bent prongs, plugged it back together and everything worked. I guess I had been in too big a hurry to plug it in the day before and had inadvertently bent the sensitive electronics. Operator error.

The good news is that the bales I made the day before, relying on my eyes instead of the pretty little monitor graphs, looked better than any I’ve baled in the past 10 years.

JULY 6, 2015

Milk & More at Mountain-Berry Farm

By Barbara Aitken

Photo by Barbara Aitken

Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats are part of a family operation On any given summer day, quarts a day during 5-year-old Aubrey Stanley can peak milking.

“Since goat’s milk be found in a pen playing with her family’s Nigerian Dwarf possesses less lactose dairy goats. Located in the Ozarks than cow’s milk, it between Mulberry and Mountainberg, was a good choice for Ark., Mountain-Berry Farm is owned and us,” said Samantha.

“My brother is lacoperated by Bill and Samantha Stanley.

Samantha’s parents, Jackie and Debo- tose intolerant and rah Hopkins, moved north of Mulberry can drink our goat’s about nine years ago. Jackie appropri- milk. We drink it ately named the farm Mountain-Berry too. Aubrey loves it, even more than Farm before his death in 2012.

“My dad started calling it Mountain-Berry store-bought milk.”

Mountain-Berry Farm and it kind of stuck,” said Samantha.

Bill, Samantha and Aubrey moved to Farm also offers a house neighboring her mother’s farm farm-fresh products for sale. about two years ago.

“We sell milk lo“It’s nice living this close to my mother. We have twice as much acreage to cally for $7 a gallon. run the animals on and Aubrey is able to We also sell homemade goat’s milk play and explore,” said Samantha.

Samantha started in the Nigerian soap for $4 a bar,” Dwarf dairy goat business when she said Samantha.

Samantha Stanley, pictured with daughter Nigerian Dwarf bought a few wethers and does shortly Aubrey, operates Mountain-Berry Farm, which diary goats are not after moving to Mountain-Berry Farm. was started by her parents nine years ago.

Today, Samantha has 20 Nigerian dairy the only animals on goats, including two breeding bucks, 12 Mountain-Berry Farm. breeding does, a few yearlings and one A llama named Dolly fered for sale. The power of social media helps protect the goats from predators is what drives the farm forward. pet Pigmy wether.

Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, with their like coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions.

“All I do is put posts and pictures up They also have a pot-bellied pig.

North African ancestry, are known for on our Facebook page. People usually Mountain-Berry Farm is also home to want the goats for pets and sometimes bold body markings and slender build.

All Mountain-Berry Farm goats are regis- Silkie and Cochin bantams, Ancona for breeding or milking. I’ve even sold tered in the American Goat Society and ducks and registered American Quarter them to people in Tennessee and Texas.”

Horse Association show horses. the American Dairy Goat Association.

This year alone, 15 kids were born. As of “My mom has the chickens June, all kids offered for sale have been sold.

Another distinctive characand turkey, and we have the teristic of the Nigerian Dwarf Samantha hopes to raise Aubrey on goats and horses,” explained Mountain-Berry Farm where she is able dairy goats is their ability to Mulberry, Ark. Samantha of their farm setting. to participate in 4-H showing goats, produce a large amount of Mountain-Berry Farm does chickens and horses. milk with a high butterfat. not use traditional advertising According to Samantha, “Aubrey loves to play with the animals. methods to sell goats or any of She has a love for them and ultimately each Mountain-Berry Farm their other animals or goods of- that’s why we do it.” doe produces almost two JULY 6, 2015

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Agriculture Research Service’s Dale Bumpers Research Center finds answers for producers Katahdin sheep are the focus of a long-term research program at the Agricultural Research Service’s Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center outside of Booneville, Ark. “Our research is grounded in what producers say they want and fueled by their

What this means in terms of all research herds is following welfare guidelines, specifically in this case Dr. Burke’s 160head commercial herd and 40-head organic herd, to qualify for Animal Welfare Approved certification, one of the strictest standard animal welfare certifications available for commercial herds.

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Further, the practices used and the requestions. They talk, I listen,” research sulting sheep must be practical both fianimal scientist Dr. Joan Burke said.

Meat sheep farmers are seeking natu- nancially and in management practices rally parasite resistant sheep that are also for the producer. Since the center’s foprolific and carry ideal maternal traits. cus is small farmers, this program must That combination does not currently be manageable at the small farm level exist. Since, according to Dr. Burke, Ka- for small producers to implement withtahdin’s are the best fit for the southern out expensive outside help. The vehicle environment, they are the logical choice that makes both the research and producer implementation possible for the core breed in develis a program in Australia oping sheep with the meat run through the National producers’ desired traits.

Booneville, Ark. Sheep Improvement ProIn addition to those traits, gram (NSIP). Dr. Burke and producers should be aware farmers send data such as birth of increased consumer deand weaning weights and fecal mand for natural and welfare parasite egg counts to the NSIP for conscious livestock products.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JULY 6, 2015

meet your neighbors a fee that is then used to make breeding decisions which, in this case, is used for natural parasite resistance. Data results are available in a few days. Ten years of research data collection and breeding indicates a substantial decrease in the parasite egg count in the research herds in U.S. Katahdin flocks enrolled in NSIP remaining fairly stable until last year when more producers started using the process in their own herds resulting in greater flock resistance as well.

“Our Katahdin rams are now as parasite resistant as St. Croix, the breed with the highest natural resistance,” Dr. Burke explained.

Dr. Burke will continue to select for natural parasite resistance in sheep but is planning to improve maternal traits such as lambing percentage or prolificacy, milk production and year-round breeding. Further, in order to push ewes to their potential, they will be bred to a terminal sire, either Suffolk and/or Texel, both solid meat breeds, to obtain hybrid vigor and determine how effectively the ewes can produce market lambs born in either the spring or fall.

The dual breeding seasons have two advantages. One is fresh meat distribution throughout more of the year, an important marketing factor because the emerging ethnic market is year round when previously demand was mostly during Easter. Additionally lambs from fall breeding need no worming because worms are less of an issue during the cooler months. They also need no supplemental grain because the protein level of forage during those months is

also naturally higher and sufficient to successfully bring lambs to market. During the cool months, a lactating ewe is still fed 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of 16 percent protein grain feed per day, but the lambs receive no grain. Combining grain savings with savings from not having to worm those lambs is an attractive output reduction to producers.

One PhD and one master’s student are currently running Katahdin sheep-related projects. One is investigating vaginal AI that a producer can learn and implement without veterinary aid. The other is investigating and quantifying the fall breeding opportunity. Should the program reach all of its current goals, Dr. Burke will look at selecting for other traits and investigating the relationship between other traits such as the relationship between other traits associated with animal welfare sheep horns or scurs (buds), parasite resistance and good foot health. These further studies may improve herd quality and productivity even more.

The 2,300-acre research facility uses soil testing, and organic pastures are treated with appropriate amounts of chicken litter while conventional pastures are treated on a nutrient specific basis using commercial products.

“Our current research is focusing on minimizing farmer inputs through pasture composition and management and animal health intervention through genetic selection and management,” Dr. Burke said.

Animal research at the facility also includes cattle and goats.

About The Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center The mission of the Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center is to develop scientific principles and technologies to enhance the profitability of small-scale farms. Small farms are threatened by a lack of profitability. Research at the Center seeks knowledge that will increase profitability of small farms by reducing inputs and capturing a greater proportion of the post-farm value. A multi-disciplinary team of five animal research scientists, in cooperation with federal, state and private organizations, pursues a program of basic and applied research that addresses constraints to successful sustainable livestock-forage and agroforestry systems. Acquired knowledge and technology is transferred to the agricultural community through the efforts of ARS scientists and their cooperators.

JULY 6, 2015

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9

ozarks

roots

the people, places and traditions that make the ozarks home

Deep Roots The Upper Wharton Creek Cemetery was named after Phil Bolinger’s family because the creek was on land owned by the family. Many of his family’s ancestors are buried in the cemetery.

Photos by Terry Ropp

By Terry Ropp

Phil Bolinger traces his family’s tree and rural history for generations Early Arkansas history is peopled by a small number of productive and prolific families going back as far as eight generations and branching into diverse businesses and lifestyles. Three such families are the Whartons, the Dotsons (yes, of Storage Wars fame) and the Bolinger/Fancher in the Huntsville area and with the earliest arriving in the 1780s.

Genealogies are complicated because choices of marriage partners were few and, as Phil Bolinger, seventh generation of these Huntsville families, as explained.

“Back then choices were as far as you could walk or ride a horse,” he said.

In fact, Phil’s distant cousin Lula married at 15 when she and her future husband Wesley Reynolds ran off during recess, got married and didn’t tell anyone until three days later. The result of people having to marry those who lived close by is local people often having multiple grandparents related in several ways. One of

10

Phil’s great-grandmothers, PollyAnn Raincrow, is three times removed twice and four times removed once. Further, in the Upper Wharton Creek Cemetery, Phil has 48 grandparents, aunts and uncles.

The first generation of Arkansas Bolingers, Henry and Nancy, left Tennessee and stayed in Arkansas as part of the influx of people in the Trail of Tears after the Cherokee treaty took effect. The earliest available local survey map which shows only significant, a structurally rooted settlement, reveals two 40-acre parcels of land or homesteads, one mile apart. These originally belong to Jeptha Wharton and William Abraham Dotson. Both pieces remain in their respective families with Phil retaining the Wharton section. As the families grew, they absorbed the surrounding land though sometimes under different names as new families moved in and marriages branched into other families. Nonetheless, a significant portion of land in the

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JULY 6, 2015

ozarks roots Huntsville area remains in the hands of subsequent generations of these founding families.

Not surprisingly, agriculture shaped and often defined these early families.

Phil’s fifth removed grandfathers were in livestock trading as well as subsistence farming. Livestock included cattle, horses, hogs, goats, sheep and poultry were essential streams of income. When most people think of driving animals to market, they only think of cattle. However, the truth is all of these animals had to be driven to market. Burr Fancher was only 7 when his father, Grover, sent him to negotiate damage reimbursements whenever livestock drives, in this case cattle, damaged or destroyed gardens because residents were dependent upon them for food and survival. Further, in those days hogs were range animals and sometimes wild hogs were rounded up with the domestic ones. In order to get the wild ones to market safely, their eyelids were sown shut. This meant the wild hogs had no option but to follow their ancestral cousins on the drive. Current farmers of these founding families raise cattle and poultry, and harvest timber.

Family history and stories are important to the descendents of these interconnected families. One irony is that during the Civil War, some of Phil’s family on the original Dotson parcel of land was sympathetic to the South while the Wharton parcel supported the North, with each side having a story of the heartlessness of the enemy. One day in 1863, an aging Jeptha Wharton went fishing when he was bushwhacked and killed by Southern guerrillas for being a northern supporter. One year later, his three sons came home on leave and decided to exact revenge. They carefully ambushed and killed the perpetrators but not without a cost. Middle son James was killed in the encounter on property Phil owns today.

Conversely, widowed and aging Clarrissa Dotson, married to William Dotson, a slave owner and strong Confederate loyalist when he died in 1861 at the beginning of the war, was a victim of Union violence. She hid the family gold and told no one where it was. Then the Union came and threatened to kill her JULY 6, 2015

son and she was dragged behind a horse until she finally revealed the location.

Phil is a good example of how heritage remains strong in the area. Not only is his family tree full of interrelated branches, he is tied to the land and is resourceful and enterprising just like his ancestors.

Phil has 600 acres where he runs a commercial cow herd of mostly Angus/Char-

lois mommas with three Angus bulls. In addition, he owns Professional Auctioneers in partnership with Randy Usrey, Darby Spurlock and Caleb Reeves with more than 1,000 auctions to its credit, and Bolinger’s Real Estate which has sold properties for 18 years.

“History is important so someone in every family, hopefully several ‘so-

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

mones,’ needs to take stewardship of the lands and oral history and supporting those with as much preserved documentation including photos, deeds, letters or other related papers as possible. Right now I am that someone,” Phil said.

11

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agri-business

River Valley Feed & Metal Owner: Dan Yandell Location: Huntington, Ark. History: “I worked in corporate America as an (information technology) manager and wanted a different lifestyle. I started a metal building supply business in Huntington, Ark., in 2008 with a partner who sold out to me in 2010. When a feed store in town closed, I added a feed business to the metal business. Later the town’s hardware store closed, and I quickly began incorporating those items as well. While the town could not support the three businesses separately, they work together well as one. I tried using a manager but found that the business does much better if I am here every day.”

Products and Services: “The metal section of the business supplies metal roofing and supportive components such as red iron, I-beam, purlin etc. I provide products from five different companies, not only allowing variety to my selection but also keeping those distributors competitive and my prices down.

We sell metal from residential roofing to a 100-foot by 200-foot metal building and everything in between.

Part of our feed business is bulk and part of it is bagged.

A customer calls me for a bulk order, and I then make all of the arrangements through other distributors. I offer fertilizer and weed control chemicals as well as both commercial and show feeds, with Big V Feed and ADM Alliance being my biggest sellers. Metal and feed are the big dollar items but commodity-based and therefore price sensitive. The hardware sales are smaller and provide more consistent and the largest number of sales per month.

We carry a typical hardware assortment including hand tools by Milwaukee, Stanley, and DeWault as well as electrical and plumbing supplies. We keep a broad inventory but little depth, and customers can almost always find what they need here in our little town.”

Philosophy and future: “I explain to my four employees that we sell nothing that can’t be bought someplace else but we also don’t work anywhere else. The five of us have to make the difference. Consequently we offer consultation as well as products to help customers solve issues with the best information available.”

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Story and Photo

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JULY 6, 2015

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14

Photos by Pam and Jack Fortner

Meyenberg Goat Milk has been operating a goat milk processing plant in Yellville, Ark., since 1954. However, the plant has a history even before that.

The Yellville plant originally opened as a milk co-op and cheesemaking facility in the 1940s. Named the Ozark Milk Product Company, the company was established by several businessmen in the area.

Many who have lived in Marion County Ark., for a lifetime remember the cheese-making plant of the 1940s. Verl Doshier has childhood memories that include a pickup truck coming regularly to their Yellville farm to pick up their family’s cow milk. It was delivered to the co-op in town. He duced wasn’t the quality that it had been said his dad would sell 10 to 20 gallons of milk a day. He also remem- previously, which contributed to the closbers that the next day the pickup would ing of the plant in the early 1950s.

Not long after the plant closed its cheese come back with either their cans clean or full of whey. The whey was mixed and fed operation, it was leased by Meyenberg Goat Milk and the company began the to their family’s hogs.

When the cheese making plant be- process of converting the factory to a plant gan, the owners hired a German cheese that produced condensed goat milk. Jackmaker. He did a fine job, but because it son-Mitchell bought the plant and the Meyenberg name in 1977 and was during the 1940s and has operated it continuously the second World War was Yellville, Ark. since that time. still alive in peoples’ minds, In order to process the goat’s the German cheese maker milk and aid in the cleaning of wasn’t there for long. Stories the equipment, a steam boiler vary, but locals believe he was probably fired. After that, the — Continued on Page 19 cheddar cheese that was pro-

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JULY 6, 2015

town &

country

in the field and in the office

Troy Dyer Family: Wife Lacey and four daughters: Laney (10), London (8), Leighton (6) and Landi (2).

Hometown: Heavener, Okla.

Town Life: “My wife Lacey and I both teach in Oklahoma. Lacey teaches fifth-graders in Heavener, where we live, while I teach agriculture at Howe High School. I also have a used car business called Dyer Auto Sales in Heavener and have been mayor there for three years. Coaching summer league ball is an important summertime activity.”

Country Life: “We live on 20 acres outside of Heavener and raise show pigs: Yorkshire, Duroc and crosses. I like Yorkshires because they are maternal and the most practical in the show world since their genetics have not been tampered with making them a hardy breed. I also have Duroc’s because fewer of that breed are being shown. We show in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas and sell our pigs at 10 weeks when buyers either come to us or I sell at the shows. I also sell a few to local FFA students. Our advertising consists of a Facebook page, reputation and word of mouth. We currently have four Yorkshire, five Duroc and 15 cross sows. I AI for genetic variety and because I can use a $100,000 boar for only $500.

I have one acre of my land fenced into padlocks were the pigs are separated by size. I have an eight crate farrowing house supported by a woodchip barn used after weaning and before turning the youngsters into pens. For now, our numbers are exactly where we want them which allows enough for the girls to show in addition to those we sell. I was an intern for Seaboard in college and was responsible for 10,000 feeder pigs which gave me a broad perspective supported by good training. We also have two horses the girls use for trail riding and show sheep with five ewes and one buck. The sheep are a new enterprise.”

Together: “My country life helps me deal with the stress from the diverse demands of my town life. In addition, being in the country is a critical part of our family life and provides country values and experiences for our girls.”

Story and Photo

By Terry Ropp JULY 6, 2015

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15

market sale

steers 550-600 LBS.

slaughter

*

(Week of 6/21/15 to 6/27/15)

280.85 Arkansas Cattle Auction

265.96

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

Week of 5/31/15

* 272.07 261.83 265.29 257.67 261.45 261.64 253.24 277.23

269.60

70

90

Week of 6/7/15

266.28 247.00

123.00-153.00 † 119.00-159.00* 127.00-156.00*

153.50 † 127.00-158.00 † 130.00-153.00* 113.00-144.50 †

110

130

150

170

cows

Arkansas Cattle Auction

254.00

95.00-117.00 † 99.50-122.00 † 99.00-129.00 †

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

252.38 248.82 264.98 279.33

90.00-131.00* 76.00-128.00 † 80.00-118.00 † 104.00-117.50 † 90.50-133.00 † 84.00-119.00* 99.00-143.50* 94.00-125.00 †

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

*

271.47 252.48 264.82 245.84

79.00-131.00 † 91.00-116.00 † 82.00-131.00 †

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

264.53 * * 263.51 251.21

90.00-132.50* 90.00-108.00 † 90.00-115.50 † Not Reported*

50

70

95.00-120.00* 95.00-128.00 †

90

110

130

150

Milking Cows: Approved couple 1400.00-1730.00, Medium 1130.00-1500.00, Common 825.00-1220.00.

Springer Cows: Approved 1500.00-1600.00, Medium 6/28/15 couple 1400.00-1435.00.

Cows bred three to six months: Supreme ind 1900.00, Approved 1480.00-1750.00, ind Crossbred 1375.00, Medium 1180.00-1450.00, Crossbreds 1000.00-1200.00, Common few 1060.00-1185.00.

Baby Calves: Holstein heifers 440.00-460.00, small 290.00-400.00, Crossbred heifers 350.00-470.00, small 285.00-300.00, Holstein bulls 490.00-530.00, small 320.00-430.00, Beef Cross bulls 480.00-640.00, Dairy Cross bulls 320.00-450.00, Jersey bulls ind 170.00.

dairy cattle

124.00-149.50 †

(Week of 6/21/15 to 6/27/15)

*

Week of 6/14/15

Not Reported* 100.00-156.00* 124.00-156.00 † 130.00-144.00 †

slaughter

249.52

5 Area (Tx-Ok, Ks, Neb, Ia, Colo) Live Basis Sales - Over 80% Choice Steers: 147.00-150.50; wtd. avg. price 149.54.

Heifers: 146.00-150.50; wtd. avg. price 149.22.

Dressed Basis Sales - Over 80% Choice Steers: 236.00-240.00; wtd. avg. price 238.07.

Heifers: 236.00-240.00; wtd. avg. price 237.54.

134.00-145.00 † 136.00 †

127.50-152.00 † 126.00-146.50 †

cattle

Midwest - High Plains Direct Slaughter Cattle

134.00-155.00 † 118.00-163.00*

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

294.00

270.31 252.37

101.50-129.00 †

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

267.58

beef

116.00-145.00 †

265.23

260.51

bulls

Springfield, Mo. • Springfield Livestock Marketing Center

6/23/15

Receipts: 814 Demand good for open and bred heifers, moderate to light for bred and milking cows, supply moderate with near 14 percent Springer and bred heifers, 20 percent Open heifers, 04 percent Fresh heifers and cows, 41 percent Milking and Springer cows, and 06 percent baby calves.

190 The balance was steer/bull calves and slaughter cows.

There were four dairy herd dispersals in the offering. Very few milking and bred cows were bought for replacements, the bulk going to packer Buyers. Holsteins unless noted otherwise. Prices reported on a per head basis.

Springer heifers bred seven to nine months: Supreme 2000.00-2185.00, Approved 1650.00-1725.00, Crossbreds 1725.00-1750.00, Medium 1250.00-1500.00, Common 1000.00-1200.00.

Heifers bred three to six months: Supreme 1975.002125.00, Approved 1675.00-1935.00, Crossbreds 1600.00-1780.00, Medium 1385.00-1600.00, Crossbreds 1285.00-1500.00, Common 800.00-1100.00.

Heifers bred one to three months: Approved 1500.001710.00, ind Jersey 1690.00, Medium 1050.00-1375.00, Crossbreds 1075.00-1500.00.

Open Heifers: Approved lot 216 lbs 710.00, pkg 370 lbs 890.00, pkg 395 lbs Crossbreds 830.00, 400-465 lbs 990.00-1060.00, 455-475 lbs Crossbreds 890.00-900.00, 500-560 lbs 1170.00-1220.00, 540-570 lbs Crossbreds 1050.00-1080.00, 600-700 lbs 1150.00-1260.00, pkg 640 lbs Crossbreds 1140.00, pkg 740 lbs 1420.00, Medium pkg 385 lbs 800.00, 350-365 lbs Crossbreds 720.00-750.00, 400-500 lbs 810.00-950.00, 555-600 lbs 980.00-1110.00, 500-565 lbs Crossbreds 860.00-950.00.

Replacement Cows: Fresh: Approved 1625.00-1675.00, Crossbred ind 1475.00, Medium 1000.00-1500.00, Crossbreds 1075.00-1175.00, Common 985.00-1110.00, 170 Crossbreds 925.00-985.00, Jerseys couple 850.00-900.00.

265.99 262.27 255.61 281.83

261.00 267.88 262.35 245.51

Steers, Med. & Lg. 1

Week of 6/21/15

253.98 259.24 250.50 252.72 259.97 248.46 262.93 254.20 257.51 276.24

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.

16 16

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 6/23/15

Ash Flat Livestock

Cattlemen’s Livestock*

6/26/15

Benton Co. - Siloam Springs 6/25/15

6/24/15

Cleburne Co. - Heber Springs 6/22/15

County Line Sale Ratcliff 6/24/15

437

643

524

1115

215

160

St-8 Higher

Uneven

Uneven

Uneven

St-2 Higher

4-10 Lower

305.00-380.00 260.00-315.00 240.00-265.00 235.00-240.00 220.00-225.00

----300.00 261.00 ---------

305.00-355.00 271.00-301.00 254.00-278.00 254.00-257.00 231.00-237.00

300.00-347.00 270.00-327.50 245.00-284.00 225.00-260.00 215.00-230.00

315.00-380.00 265.00-303.00 242.00-274.00 250.00 -----

----280.00-300.00 255.00-267.50 235.00-240.00 222.50-230.00

----235.00-300.00 230.00-252.50 210.00-226.00 205.00-210.00

----------------180.00

310.00-324.00 260.00-303.00 237.00-269.00 220.00-240.00 210.00-215.00

260.00-332.50 250.00-320.00 225.00-280.00 210.00-246.00 -----

----250.00-288.00 230.00-260.00 220.00-225.00 195.00-210.00

----272.50 250.00-257.50 215.00-220.00 215.00-217.50

270.00-335.00 242.50-282.50 224.00-248.00 214.00-227.00 205.00-207.00

----245.00 -------------

279.00-289.00 243.00-268.00 218.00-246.00 209.00-221.00 210.00

260.00-310.00 230.00-280.00 215.00-245.00 205.00-225.00 185.00-214.00

270.00-330.00 240.00-282.00 232.00-246.00 ---------

----255.00-265.00 230.00-265.00 222.50-240.00 -----

Norwood, Mo. • Producers Auction Yards

6/11/15

Receipts: 543 At this month’s special dairy sale at the Producers Auction Yard, demand was good on a moderate to heavy supply. The supply consisted of 7 percent Springer Heifers, 17 percent Bred Heifers, 26 percent Open Heifers, 6 percent Fresh and Milking Cows, 17 percent Bred Cows and 13 percent baby calves. The balance was made up of weigh cows and beef animals. All quotes are on a per head basis for Holsteins unless noted otherwise.

Springer Heifers Bred Seven to Nine Months: Supreme 1920.00-2150.00, Approved 1675.00-1875.00, Individual Crossbred 1635.00, Medium 1300.00-1475.00, Individual Crossbred 1325.00, Individual Jersey 1450.00, Common 1125.00-1175.00.

Heifers Bred Four to Six Months: Supreme 1885.002125.00, Approved 1550.00-1860.00, Individual Jersey 1500.00, Medium 1275.00-1450.00.

Heifers Bred One to Three Months: Supreme 1790.001865.00, Approved 1500.00-1680.00, Individual Crossbred 1525.00, Medium Crossbreds 1275.00-1325.00.

Open heifers: Approved 240-285 lbs Pkg 29 hd 775.00, Individual Crossbred 635.00, 385-395 lbs Pkg 11 hd 920.00, Pkg 4 hd Jersey 900.00, Individual Crossbred 785.00, 485 lbs Pair 1040.00, 643 lbs Pair 1300.00, 705-778 lbs Pkg 4 hd 1320.00, Crossbreds 1325.001380.00, 820-868 lbs 1390.00-1410.00, 910 lbs Individual 1350.00, Medium 260-280 lbs Pkg 6 hd 520.00, Pkg 4 hd Crossbreds 575.00, 665 lbs Individual Crossbred 850.00, 727-795 lbs Pkg 4 hd 1100.00, 860 lbs Pair 1275.00, 940995 lbs 1250.00-1285.00.

Fresh Milking Heifers and Cows: Supreme Individual 1850.00, Approved 1500.00-1750.00, Individual

Decatur Livestock* -----

Farmer’s & Farmers Ranchers Livestock Vinita, Okla.* Springdale 6/24/15 6/26/15

sh

Buffalo, Mo. • Buffalo L

Receipts: 640 Compared to last mo and demand was goo slaughter and feeder percent kid goats, an per hundred weight SHEEP: Slaughter Lambs: C 165.00-182.00, few New Crop hair lam 170.00-180.00, Goo 160.00; 90-120 lbs 1 Feeder/Stocker Lam lbs 196.00-210.00.

Slaughter Ewes: Ut 73.00, Utility and G Utility 1-2 88-145 l Replacement Ewes: ewe Lambs 104 lbs 1 Slaughter Rams: fe Families: Few Hair 210.00 per family.

GOATS: Slaughter Kids: Sel 38-65 lbs 240.00-26 232.50.

pr

Ft. Smith Livestock 6/22/15

ILives Oz 6/2

-----

280

693

440

-----

Steady

St-11 Lower

Uneven

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

223.00-370.00 270.00-323.00 248.00-270.00 228.00-248.00 210.00-228.00

320.00-350.00 280.00-310.00 242.50-276.00 232.50-252.00 -----

325.00-353.00 303.00-307.00 258.00-264.00 229.00-242.50 -----

303.0 280.0 250.0 230.0 21

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

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

305.00-335.00 265.00-310.00 230.00-260.00 212.50-227.50 197.50-202.50

--------241.00-256.00 220.00-232.00 210.00-214.00

268.0 237.0 207.0

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

285.00-295.00 249.00-285.00 236.00-249.00 210.00-236.00 -----

272.50-315.00 242.50-277.50 225.00-253.00 212.50-229.00 202.50-205.00

299.00-319.00 246.00-272.00 224.00-244.00 ---------

282.5 242.0 225.0 196.0 -

USDA Reported * Independently Reported

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

Crossbred 1525.00, 1000.00-1350.00, C 975.00-1080.00, Ind Bred and Springer Approved 1700.00Medium 1225.00-16 Individual Jersey 14 Individual Crossbre Baby Calves: Holst Holstein Bulls 360.0 Jersey Bulls Large 17 Crossbred Heifers 3 350.00-500.00; Sma Large 480.00-600.00 Bulls Large 450.00-6

stocker & feeder

127 5(3257('

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

JULY 6, 2015

5

Un

ket sales reports goats

avg. grain prices

feeder

armers estock ringdale 6/26/15

prices

Blyt

Mid-State Mo-Ark Stockyards* Exeter, Mo.* 6/22/15

440

570

4171

418

11 Lower

Uneven

Uneven

St-12 Lower

0.00-350.00 0.00-310.00 2.50-276.00 2.50-252.00 -----

325.00-353.00 303.00-307.00 258.00-264.00 229.00-242.50 -----

303.00-375.00 280.00-290.00 250.00-263.00 230.00-241.00 217.00

5.00-335.00 5.00-310.00 0.00-260.00 2.50-227.50 7.50-202.50

--------241.00-256.00 220.00-232.00 210.00-214.00

----268.00-285.00 237.00-254.00 ----207.00-211.00 282.50-302.50 242.00-261.00 225.00-232.00 196.00-201.00 -----

JULY 6, 2015

eola

Osc

usta

Aug

Pine

Bluf

f

234.84 237.92 232.45 241.57

1100.00-2300.00 † 1500.00-2600.00 * 1525.00-2075.00 †

1000

2000

3000

* 246.00

4000

(Week of 6/21/15 to 6/27/15) 1800.00-2250.00 †

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

237.97 226.19

pairs

cow/calf

241.96

5000

235.06 221.34 235.31 239.37 222.26

1600.00-2475.00 † 2000.00-2800.00 †

235.21

1800.00-2525.00 * 1535.00-2050.00 † None Reported †

232.40 239.64 243.32

Not Reported* 2400.00-2900.00 * 2100.00-3300.00 † 1075.00-2550.00 † 1500.00-2600.00 †

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

1825.00-2100.00 † Mid-State Stockyards 1600.00-2375.00 * None Reported* Mo-Ark - Exeter None Reported † North Arkansas Livestock - Green Forest 1750.00-2950.00 † OKC West - El Reno 1375.00 † Ouachita Livestock 1525.00-3500.00 † Ozarks Regional Stockyard Stilwell Livestock Auction 2750.00-4260.00* Tulsa Livestock Auction None Reported †

2000

3000

4000

* * 220.00 235.70 226.13 240.97 230.00 236.60 236.36

5000

6/27/15

N. Ark. Livestock Green Forest 6/24/15

OKC West - El Reno, Okla.

6/24/15

Ouachita Livestock Ola, Ark. 6/26/15

Ozarks Regional West Plains 6/23/15

Stilwell Livestock Auction* 6/24/15

Tulsa Livestock Auction.

6/22/15

-----

561

5410

425

3545

1478

1674

St-5 Lower

-----

St-17 Lower

Uneven

Uneven

Uneven

Uneven

2-4 Higher

310.00 280.00-320.00 247.50-287.50 225.00-260.00 219.00-233.00

300.00-372.00 270.00-318.00 251.00-282.00 219.00-256.00 -----

367.00 320.00 297.00 261.00 -----

----262.00-277.00 245.00-246.00 245.00-254.00 227.00

367.00-390.00 295.00-317.50 265.00-313.00 242.00-266.00 219.00-244.00

309.00-374.00 298.00-304.00 250.00-259.00 230.00-235.00 -----

320.00-345.00 295.00-319.00 274.00-285.00 245.00-268.00 227.50-240.00

310.00-380.00 260.00-315.00 240.00-269.00 220.00-248.00 200.00-225.00

344.00-363.00 257.00-316.00 254.00-268.00 235.00-250.00 213.50-231.00

317.50-365.00 265.00-270.00 227.00-255.00 218.00-222.00 -----

300.00-367.50 264.00-301.00 238.00-266.00 219.00-244.00 180.00-205.00

318.00 323.00 281.00 255.00 200.00

--------235.00-252.00 195.00-229.00 204.00-212.50

364.00-365.00 292.50 262.50 ---------

----288.00 230.00-253.00 ----200.00-205.00

317.50-325.00 272.50-297.50 280.00 215.00-220.00 205.00-212.50

280.00-360.00 240.00-300.00 225.00-260.00 200.00-235.00 190.00-215.00

----270.00-312.00 249.00-257.00 225.00-238.00 -----

264.00-300.00 240.00-271.00 224.00-246.50 214.00-230.00 197.00-219.00

238.75 233.00

1500.00-2400.00 † 1300.00-1875.00 †

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

1000

241.92 234.52 234.87

227.09 237.74

6/22/15

299.00-319.00 246.00-272.00 224.00-244.00 ---------

e

Elain

243.60 225.98

231.74

Joplin Regional Stockyards 6/22/15

2.50-315.00 2.50-277.50 5.00-253.00 2.50-229.00 2.50-205.00

le na hevil Hele

0

I-40 Livestock Ozark 6/25/15

693

Ft. Smith Livestock

0

256.00 242.00

Ash Flat Livestock 1400.00-2275.00 † 14 Benton County Sale Barn 1850.00-2400.00 † 1 1100.00-2200.00 * 1100 Cattlemen’s Live 1150.00-1435.00 † Cleburne County County Line Sale - Ratcliff 98.00-111.00 † Prices reported per cwt Decatur Livestock Auction Not Reported* Farmer’s & Ranchers - Vinita 1800.00-2700.00 * 1425.00-2600.00 † Farmers Livestock 103.00-180.00 † Prices reported per cwt Ft. Smith Livestock I-40 Livestock 1100.00-2400.00 † Joplin Regional 1200.00-2400.00 † 1400.00-2050.00 * Mid-State Stockyard Mo-Ark - Exeter 1625.00-2275.00* North Arkansas Live 1250.00-1900.00 †

Week of 5/31/15

6/26/15

Cheese: Barrels closed at $1.6250 and 40# blocks at $1.6400. The weekly average for barrels is $1.6480 (-.0250) and blocks, $1.6660 (-.0395).

6/11/15 Fluid Milk: Milk production is mixed, transitioning to lower levels. The prolonged hot and humid conditions are decreasing milk volumes and component levels in the e Producers Southern tier of states across the U.S. and in parts of the moderate to heavy Pacific Northwest. Milk production in the upper Midwest nt Springer and Northeast regions is strong with most manufacturing ercent Open Buffalo, Mo. • Buffalo Livestock Market 6/23/15 facilities operating near capacity. Bottling demand is Cows, 17 percent mostly steady across the nation. Demand for cream has . The balance was Receipts: 640 Compared to last month prices were steady to weak. Supply increased across the nation with strong pulls from ice ls. All quotes are 0 cream and frozen dessert manufacturers. and demand was good. The supply made up of 46 percent noted otherwise.

Months: Supreme slaughter and feeder lambs, 11 percent ewes and rams, 26 SPOT PRICES OF CLASS II CREAM, $ PER 875.00, Individual percent kid goats, and 10 percent does and bucks. All prices POUND BUTTERFAT F.O.B. producing plants: Upper Midwest - $2.3915-2.5813.

475.00, Individual per hundred weight unless noted otherwise.

SHEEP: 50.00, Common Slaughter Lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3 wooled 58-92 lbs 165.00-182.00, few old crop 100 lbs 144.00. reme 1885.00New Crop hair lambs: Choice and Prime 2-3 40-70 lbs ndividual Jersey 170.00-180.00, Good and Choice 3-4 70-90 lbs 153.00160.00; 90-120 lbs 130.00-144.00. upreme 1790.00Feeder/Stocker Lambs: Medium and Large 1-2 hair 23-37 ndividual 1275.00-1325.00. lbs 196.00-210.00.

Slaughter Ewes: Utility 1-2 wooled 130-245 lbs 60.00kg 29 hd 775.00, 73.00, Utility and Good 1-3 few 85-113 lbs 101.00-116.00, bs Pkg 11 hd Week Ended 6/29/15 Utility 1-2 88-145 lbs 80.00-100.00. ual Crossbred Soybeans Soft Wheat Corn Sorghum Replacement Ewes: Medium and Large 1-2 few wooled air 1300.00, 20 ewe Lambs 104 lbs 170.00. ds 1325.00910 lbs Individual Slaughter Rams: few 115-150 lbs 82.50-110.00.

16 Families: Few Hair Ewes with single or twin lambs 160.00520.00, Pkg 4 hd 10.40 12 10.03 10.00 210.00 per family.

Crossbred 850.00, GOATS: Pair 1275.00, 9407.11 8 5.73 5.71 5.73 5.61 5.56 Slaughter Kids: Selection 1 50-53 lbs 270.00, Selection 2 5.33 38-65 lbs 240.00-265.00, Selection 3 20-65 lbs 227.50reme Individual 4 3.95 3.68 232.50. ndividual

sheep &

*

1500.00-1775.00 †

Arkansas Cattle Auction

dairy sales

National Dairy Market at a Glance

cows

(Week of 6/21/15 to 6/27/15)

Slaughter Does: Selection 1 55-65 lbs 185.00-201.00, Selection 2 35-120 lbs 130.00-150.00, Selection 3 50-150 lbs 110.00-127.00.

Bucks: Replacements Selection 1 30-50 lbs 200.00-227.50, Selection 1 65-170 lbs 160.00-180.00, Selection 2 65-140 lbs 110.00-127.50.

Week of 6/7/15

60.00, small 0-470.00, small 30.00, small 640.00, Dairy nd 170.00.

replacement

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

Week of 6/14/15

me ind 1900.00, red 1375.00, 000.00-1200.00,

Crossbred 1525.00, Medium 1275.00-1475.00, Jerseys 1000.00-1350.00, Common 875.00-1075.00, Crossbreds 975.00-1080.00, Individual Jersey 890.00.

Bred and Springer Cows: Supreme 1875.00-2075.00, Approved 1700.00-1875.00, Crossbreds 1525.00-1785.00, Medium 1225.00-1650.00, Crossbreds 1250.00-1285.00, Individual Jersey 1400.00, Common 1025.00-1400.00, Individual Crossbred 1075.00.

Baby Calves: Holstein Heifers Few 350.00-370.00, Holstein Bulls 360.00-530.00, Jersey Heifers Pair 325.00, Jersey Bulls Large 170.00-210.00; Small 125.00-150.00, Crossbred Heifers 350.00-490.00, Crossbred Bulls Large 350.00-500.00; Small 135.00-290.00, Beef Cross Heifers Large 480.00-600.00; Small 280.00-390.00, Beef Cross Bulls Large 450.00-600.00; Small 230.00-390.00.

heifers 550-600 LBS.

280.00-311.00 269.00-284.00 240.00-251.00 211.00-233.00 -----

306.00 262.00 235.00 233.00 -----

279.00-280.00 236.00-268.00 222.00-245.00 216.00-228.00 -----

290.00-322.50 255.00-285.00 240.00-264.00 219.00-239.50 210.00-219.50

290.00-291.00 247.00-293.00 230.00-236.00 219.00 -----

290.00-315.00 265.00-282.50 238.00-258.00 230.00-233.75 210.00-222.50

270.00-315.00 250.00-288.00 230.00-257.50 210.00-235.50 185.00-210.00

309.00-317.00 269.00-291.00 239.00-248.00 211.00-229.50 -----

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

243.00 246.74

* 252.06 224.00 227.56 * Week of 6/21/15

00-1730.00, 5.00-1220.00.

00.00, Medium

USDA Reported * Independently Reported

231.03 231.00 226.31 230.00 230.54 224.00 229.23 241.50 238.82

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.

17 17

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meet your neighbors

A Unique Story, Operation

Goat milk is brought to the Meyenberg processing facility by truck, then employees turn the raw milk into canned condensed milk.

Continued from Page 14 unit was built behind the factory. Glenda Treat, another long-time local, says that her father, Virgil Dewey, operated and maintained the boiler for the plant for 30 years. The story goes that Virgil was so serious about his boiler room that exactly on the 8 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. hours, he would blow a loud whistle over town – just so everyone knew what time it was.

Mike Mason, who has been plant manager for 17 years, says that Meyenberg is the only company in the world that processes goat milk in exactly this way. T he unique difference is that Meyenberg goat milk is condensed and preserved without using sugar. The condensing process removes 50 percent of the water in the goat’s milk.

This process was brought to this country in the late 19th century by a young Swiss man named John E. Meyenberg.

His son, John P. Meyenberg, was the first American to evaporate goat milk.

In 1934, Meyenberg started selling his evaporated goat milk to JacksonMitchell, which was founded to distribute the product. Today, JacksonMitchell is still the leader in processing and marketing of goat milk, and has retained the name Meyenberg.

The process starts locally with goat milk being picked up from 25 suppliers.

The goat farms stretch, through Missouri and to Fort Scott, Kan. Mike says he could always use more suppliers. Most of the dairy goat farms are ran by people who raise the milk goats as a hobby or as a second income. However, Mike said, JULY 6, 2015

“I’m starting to get more actual farmers who want to do it to make money.”

The pay isn’t bad. The base price is $50 per 100 pounds of milk. The price is based on the butterfat.

“The more butterfat we get, the less water we have to take out of the milk,” Mike explained.

Mike has a contract hauler who picks up the milk once a week from each producer. When he delivers it, the goat milk is checked for bacteria and pumped from the tanker into giant holding tanks. A series of pipes and valves transfer the milk to a giant separator which evaporates the water from the milk. The milk goes through heating and cooling cycles, which are strictly regulated by state laws and the FDA. The evaporated goat’s milk is then packaged in cans and shipped.

The Yellville plant produces 90 percent of the canned milk produced by the Meyenberg Company. Its sister plant in Turlock, Calif., produces cheeses, butter, fresh whole goat milk, powdered goat milk and fresh low-fat goat milk. Goat’s milk is rich in calcium, vitamin A, potassium, phosphorus and niacin.

For those with cow milk sensitivity, soy milk sensitivity or ulcers, goat milk is usually a safe alternative.

Many long-time residents of Yellville have family ties and fond memories of the processing plant. It’s definitely a place where history is still alive and well, jobs and a good product are provided, while continuing to be a valuable part of the community.

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Keeping High Breeding Standards

By Terry Ropp

By using superior bucks and embryo transfers, the Petersons produce a product that excels Most of the time when farmers buy a new base farm, many buildings need excessive refurbishing, pastures need re-fencing and facilities need to be reorganized even if they are all in good shape in order to meet the needs of the new owners. Lori

allows all animals direct access to the main buildings for individualized care.

The Petersons have added more barns and buildings for shade.

Lori said, “The house could’ve been a teepee, and we still would have bought it. I will never move the farm again.”

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20

Lori Peterson and her husband Wess moved to a Neosho, Mo., property that works well for their show goat operation.

Photo by Terry Ropp

The Peterson herd consists of 100 head and Wess Peterson of Neosho, Mo., had no such problem when they purchased of Boer goats and 60 recipient females a 25-acre facility previously owned by a does, which are mixed dairy breeds. The retired veterinarian who often did long- Nubians goats are especially heavy milkers producing as much as two gallons a term care.

After surviving an F4 tornado and re- day making milking necessary even if the doe has twins. All extra milk is stockbuilding, the couple decided piled in the freezer to feed bottle to move their show Boer babies. The Petersons also have a goat operation, Show Me dairy cow to supplement milk.

Boers, to that site south of Breeding is very carefully Neosho, Mo. The facility is controlled. A goat’s heat perfect for their needs because cycle is only 18 hours long the entire acreage is laid out Neosho, Mo. and a buck may need to serso that all pastures lead to the vice as many as six does in a central facility and pens. This

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JULY 6, 2015

Truck Beds, engineered tough meet your neighbors Call Matt Neckover to get the job done and look good doing it! day, which is too many for good semen count. In order to ensure conception, semen is collected and stored with an extender fluid. It is then splashed against the cervix of each doe every six hours.

Then the doe also gets live coverage from the same buck. Embryo flushing takes place two days in the spring and three days in the fall. Two embryos are implanted in each recip. The Peterson process and attention to detail have raised the conception rate from 50 percent to 85 to 90 percent. Any surplus embryos are frozen for later use.

The Peterson program is highly successful. “We run the high-end of the breeding stock spectrum and sell even in Canada and Mexico.”

One Canadian breeder bought two Boer bucks, one of which won Canadian National Champion twice, with his son also winning another year. The same buyer bought another buck and won again this year.

Wess works for the Associated Wholesaler Grocers Co-op as a produce specialist and consultant for retailers, which means he is gone much of the time. His main contribution to their operation is working out a breeding program with an emphasis on pedigree rather than phenotype. Through research, he devises a constantly evolving program by crossing lines that work well with each other.

One recently purchased buck came with an eccentric preference for Cheez-Its, and eccentricity the Petersons are happy to indulge. Lori said, “We spoil him rotten, but he’s worth it and produces superior offspring.”

The newest Peterson venture is a small but growing Dorper sheep herd. Lori said, “The sheep are our plan for retirement because caring for sheep is much less labor intensive than caring for goats.

On the other hand, they’re not nearly as fun because they have no personality.

For now, we will focus on our goats.”

History of Boer Goats Boer goats were developed by Dutch stockmen in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. During the early years of the 20th century, they crossed native African goats with European dairy breeds, selecting for size, meatiness, early maturity and rapid weight gain. Boer, in Dutch, means “farmer.”

In 1986, frozen Boer goat embryos were taken from Europe to Australia and New Zealand and implanted into recipient does.

Later, frozen embryos from Africa and New Zealand made their way to Olds College in Canada. In 1993, the first North American-born Boer goats were released from quarantine and dispersed throughout Canada and the United States.

Additional South African genetics were introduced in 1994 when exotic importer Jurgan Shultz, of the company Camelids of Delaware, imported 400 prime South African goats.

The Boer goat is a developed breed of goat, not an existing species; therefore, it is possible to have spotted and dappled, fullblood Boer goats.

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Parents: Scotty and Jan Casteel; Siblings: sister, Kasi and brother, Cody School: Yellville-Summit High School, Yellville, Ark. FFA Advisor: Rick Zeigler Age: 17 How are you involved in agriculture? “My family owns a turkey farm and I take an active part in it. I understand how each part works. I enjoy most of it, but not so much the cleaning part.”

Why do you like agriculture? “Agriculture has to do with everything. I really enjoy hands-on, especially with the animals. I used to work in a vet’s office. I’d like to try being a vet tech, but it takes a lot to get through those schools. But I’d really like a job in ag somewhere. I just really enjoy it a lot.”

What goals do you have?

“I’m going for my agribusiness degree when I go to college. I’d like to come home and use my degree to help my family, with the finances, to keep it from being hectic and crazy.”

Who has had the most influence on your life in agriculture?

“Probably my grandpa, Bob Casteel. He’s got me most involved in it. I was in the barns with him since I was four. As soon as I could pick up a feed scoop, I was in there. So I do understand the business. He’s a good teacher.”

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

If you had the power and could change any one thing in agriculture today, what would you change?

“Probably what they’ve been doing with the turkey business, because they’ve changed to where each farm does different things, specializes, like, a farm will raise baby birds or they’ll do big birds. Recently the bird flu is going around. I blame the turkey farms for changing how they raise them, because they move the birds so much. I’d like the turkey farms to go back to raising them from a chick to a finished bird.”

Ag Production and political news and views for the farm and ranch.

Join Morris Westfall for the Farm & Ranch Report.

Saturday 8:05am Weekdays 6:35am

22

Saturday 8:05am Weekdays 6:3Oam & 12:05pm Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

Story By Pam & Jack Fortner Photo by Jack Fortner JULY 6, 2015

the ofn

ag-visors

Advice from

the professionals

Picking the Right Breed

By Julie Turner-Crawford

B

Producers should consider their operation’s goals before selecting a breed of sheep

reeds of sheep are as varied as the people who own them. Haired sheep, meat sheep, wool sheep, big sheep and small sheep all offer different breed characteristics, and those characteristics should be taken into consideration when selecting a breed.

Mark Reynolds, president of the Arkansas State Sheep Council, told Ozarks Farm and Neighbor that the goal for an operation, be it meat or wool production or “pasture pets,” should be a factor when selecting a breed. He also said that the amount of labor a would-be producer is willing to invest, and land and facility availability should also be considered.

“There are so many different breeds out there and you really have to have a plan on what you want to do,” he said.

In his Greenbrier, Ark., operation, Reynolds produces club lambs, thus he utilizes the larger framed Hampshire and Suffolk breeds, crossbreeding the two to obtain the desired traits of both breeds. Since wool production is not his goal, the wool from his stock isn’t considered a great value to his operation. He added that the wool sheared

from his sheep also is of low quality and is typically unwanted by those who seek raw wool for spinning or other natural fiber projects.

There are breeds, such as Lincoln and Rambouillet, that produce a wool that is of a higher quality and is suitable for spinning.

“Mine are considered dual purpose in that they are produced for meat, but they produce wool as well,” he said. “Wool from my sheep is pretty much worthless. Unless you have a Rambouillet or a breed like that with a real desirable (wool), there really isn’t much of a market for it around here.”

Other breeds, such as Dorset, Oxford and Shropshire, are also considered dual purpose animals, in that they produce wool and meat, but their wool is also of medium or low quality.

“It is really low-grade wool,” he said. “Unless you have a market for your wool, it’s not really (a) beneficial (product) around here.”

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ofn ag-visors Picking the Right Breed Continued from Previous Page While wool is a valuable fiber, Reynolds explained that wool breeds in the Midwest and South do not have the high-quality wool that is produced by the same breeds in regions with colder climates.

“They aren’t able to grow that fleece. Around here, it is too warm and the sheep’s body won’t tell it to grow, simply because it doesn’t need to,” he said.

The overall size of a breed should also be considered when selecting a breed. Rams in breeds such as the Rambouillet, Suffolk and Hampshire, reach more than 300 pounds, while smaller rams in smaller-framed breeds, such as Southdown and Cheviot, range between 175 and 230 pounds.

While most smaller breeds are also dual-purpose breeds, Reynolds said often times smaller breeds are used in small farm operations and in petting zoos.

“Even as an adult, they are cute,” he said. “When sheep like mine get about a year old, they aren’t cute anymore. Sheep are also very personable and each one has its own personality. Smaller breeds are pretty popular with people who just want sheep in their backyard.” There are also dairy breeds, such as Awassi, East Friesian and Cacaune.

Today, Reynolds said more producers are moving toward haired breeds, such as the Dorper and Katahdin breeds because of reduced labor requirements.

“They carry some parasite resistance and there isn’t any shearing,” he said. “If I was looking to start up an operation, or if I was looking for something to run with my cows, I would look at the Dorpers, Katahdin or the St. Croix.”

Reynolds said it is critical that those looking into producing sheep, no matter what the breed, find out as much information as possible, including talking to others in their area who are already raising sheep.

“Talk to breeders that are in your area and see what is working for them,” he said.

“Talk about the pros and cons. You can get online and look things up and you can read about it, but the Ozarks is different than other places.”

Developing a plan to fight parasites should also be a top priority.

“It is extremely important because parasites are one of the biggest concerns we have,” Reynolds explained. “The haired sheep are a little better with the parasites than the wool breeds are, and there are some people who have done some testing and are pretty impressed with the results, but you really need to have a plan in place. … It’s not just an issue around the Ozarks; it’s a problem anyplace where you get hot, humid conditions.”

Sheep Facts

According to the American Sheep Industry Association, as of Jan. 1, 2015, there were 5.28 million head of sheep in the United States. Sheep are produced in all 50 states.

However, the highest sheepproducing states are located west of the Mississippi River, where most of the larger sheep ranches reside. The eastern part of the country supports a greater number of smaller, pasture-based operations.

24

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JULY 6, 2015

farm

help

Making farming a little easier

An Overlooked Tool for Breeders

By Gary Digiuseppe

EPD data for sheep, goats is not widely used by producers in breeding programs There are EPDs for sheep, but many producers are unfamiliar with them and the information they provide.

David Copeland, a hair sheep breeder from Fulton, Mo., is participating in the National Sheep Improvement Program and told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor that EPDs are just another tool in selecting breeding stock.

“You don’t want to use a really bad looking ram that is not structurally correct, and doesn’t have the phenotype that you like, just because he’s got good EPDs,” he said. “But if you’re just doing visual selection, you’re probably always going to pick a single out of a 3- or 4-year old mom, and that’s probably not the genetics that you’re really looking for. I have two rams that both look really good visually, but genetically one is vastly superior to the other, and if you’re not using numbers and science you’re not going to know – you’re just going to pick the one that you like.”

Copeland said he has 15 years worth of data on his farm, and has been able to make particularly good genetics progress on parasite resistance.

“I think Katahdins are the only breed in the NSIP that have a parasite resistance,” he said. He also selects for weight gain, but said with hair sheep it’s not necessary to pick for high birth rates or weaning weights because they’re so prolific.

Some buyers seek lambs for different holidays throughout the year, and he noted, “If you want to gain weight more quickly, shooting for a particular ethnic market, you can get one with rapid weight gain.” Producers can also select a ram for prolificacy, to correct for producing too many single births in the flock.

Still, the information is scarcer than it is with the cattle industry, where breed associations have voluminous production records. University of Arkansas Extension Animal Scientist David Fernandez told OFN there are some tests available for buck goats. The University of Maryland Extension conducts a pasture-based buck test, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service station in Booneville, Ark., keeps data on their bucks, including some information about parasite resistance.

what do you say?

How do you prepare for breeding season?

JULY 6, 2015

“I want spring kids so I keep my billy (goats) separate from the females until Nov. 15.”

Grant Workman Crawford County, Ark.

Fernandez said for either a buck or a ram, the buyer should look for structural correctness.

“You want to make sure that that animal’s body is put together just the way it’s supposed to be – that the legs are in proper alignment, that the hocks are not too far out or too far in,” he said. “That animal has to be able to move; it has to be able to cover pasture chasing the ewes or the does around, and getting them bred.”

In addition, look for a good cover of muscle, the muscle should be carried down the leg and be thick, especially across the hindquarters.”

“A longer back is nice, because we’re looking at those expensive loin cuts that run along the backbone and down to the hip,” he added.

Avoid blocky looking animals, which may produce similar offspring and difficult births. Where birth weight records are available, moderate birth weights are preferable; those that are too high can cut down on survivability at birth, and those that are too low won’t have enough energy to get up and nurse right away when they’re born in the spring.

Another important factor is the seller’s reputation.

“If people are happy with that seller and the animals that person produces, you’re probably going to be happy with them, too,” Fernandez said. “The other thing about having a seller with a good reputation is many times, they will in some way guarantee that animal.

A lot of them have tested their animals for a variety of diseases, including Johne’s, caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) and caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE), to be sure they’re not sending you an animal that’s going to give you a serious disease condition in your herd or flock. They’re also guaranteeing the fertility of that animal. If your breeding animal doesn’t actually breed, you can bring it back and (the seller) will provide you another one.”

“I make sure they are wormed and I feed them up while also making sure they are in good shape for breeding.”

Ronnie Mathis Sequoyah County, Okla.

“We dry off our goats so we can breed them in November and December in order to have our goats freshened by February and March for the Fayetteville Farmers Market.”

Scott McCormick Washington County, Ark.

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“Because I can’t afford to own a really good buck, I take my nannies to be breed off site where I leave them for a month.”

Terin Fletcher Adair County, Ark.

25

farm help

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26

Fencing Challenges

By Klaire Howerton

Containment for sheep and goat herds requires a different approach Farms and fences tend to go hand in hand – without them, rural farm towns would have the appearance of an open range, and your neighbor’s bull would always be in with your cows. So to maintain order and keep critters safe, farmers build fences.

Fencing for sheep and goats can often be a little trickier than fencing for larger livestock.

What might keep a cow in almost certainly won’t keep a goat in, and fencing that is built high enough for a horse might be just the right height for a sheep to walk under.

In an effort to keep your sheep or goats in and safe, you might have to take a slightly different approach to fencing.

The first thing to consider when building your fence is your grazing program.

If you will be implementing rotational grazing with your small ruminants, a common fence layout is a wire perimeter fence with electrified netting or polywire for interior pastures.

Lesley Million, of Terrell Creek Farm, a pastured dairy goat operation in Fordland, Mo., said that “For perimeter fencing we use woven wire with two strands of barbed wire on top. If goats climb on it we use a stand-off electric wire to keep them off of it. Our cross fencing is hightensile electric (four strands).”

Electric fencing tends to work well for grazing sheep – according to an article

by Gerald Fitch, Oklahoma State University Extension Sheep Specialist.

“Electric fencing is more economical than standard barbed wire or hog wire fencing. Electric fencing also allows for temporary fencing to subdivide pastures, which can increase the stocking rate and forage utilization and decrease parasite problems through rotational grazing,” Fitch wrote.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

Electric netting or polywire is easy to move and build, making it a great choice for a sheep or goat grazing program.

If you go with woven or barbed wire perimeter fencing, or choose to build all your fences this way, sturdy corners and braces can be the key to keeping critters in – search your local extension office website for informative articles and diagrams on this subject.

Even with a sturdy or electrified fence, predators for sheep and goats can still be a problem. According to the National Agriculture Stastic Service, about one half million sheep, goats, lambs and kids are killed by predators annually.

Dogs and coyotes are high on the predator list – bobcats, mountain lions, foxes and feral hogs can also be problematic for sheep and goat producers.

One of the best defenses for your herd or flock is a guard dog – breeds like Great Pyrenees or Anatolian Shepherds are bred for their strong bonding instincts and make great protectors.

Llamas or donkeys are also frequently used guard animals.

Other non-lethal predator management methods are penning your sheep or goats near the barnyard at night, and kidding or lambing in sheds or barns to avoid drawing predators to the scent of blood and afterbirth.

For serious predator problems, lethal management methods include live traps, snares or foot traps.

Sheep and goats are profitable and rewarding livestock to raise on your farm.

With a little extra thought to fencing, and careful management of predators, you can have a successful herd or flock that will thrive inside your fences.

JULY 6, 2015

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Recognizing and treating hoof issues in small livestock Livestock with healthy hooves will perform well and be happier, leading to a better bottom line on your farm, and fewer health problems within your herds and flocks.

Small livestock are no exception to the need for healthy hooves – knowing what hoof issues to look for in sheep and goats, and knowing how to treat these issues, can go a long way on your farm.

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Overgrown Hooves

What To Look For: Animals that display signs of pain when walking, or become lethargic and unwilling to move can often suffer from problems that accompany overgrown hooves. Hoof length is something that should be checked regularly in small livestock – if the hooves become long and overgrown, performance will decline as the animal will have trouble standing up and moving to feed or water without pain.

Overgrown hooves can lead to other leg and shoulder problems if left untreated.

How To Treat: The answer is relatively simple – trim them.

The trimming schedule of your herd or flock depends on the geography of where your farm is located. For example, if you have dry rocky soil, hooves will need less maintenance than in a moist bottom ground pasture – but regular maintenance is a must.

Hoof Rot

What To Look For: Hoof rot can be a common occurrence in very moist pastures, or after periods of heavy rainfall.

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anaerobic bacteria, Fusobacteriunecrophorum and Dichelobacter nodosus.”

Symptoms of hoof rot include lameness, unwillingness to stand, weight loss and decreased production in milk, wool or hair.

In sheep and goats suffering from hoof rot, decayed hoof tissue may be visible, and the hoof wall can separate. An unpleasant odor can sometimes accompany hoof rot as well.

How To Treat: If a goat (or sheep) does develop hoof rot, regular trimming, trying to keep them out of wet areas and mud, and cleaning the area with hydrogen peroxide twice a day will usually resolve the issue. In severe cases, we will pack the area with a mixture of iodine and sugar and wrap it.

Ideally, hoof rot can be prevented by a regular hoof trimming schedule – but if this disease has already taken hold, trimming can help eradicate it too.

A real key to good hoof health is simply knowing your flock or herd, and spending some time observing them.

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farm help

The Benefits of a Small Flock

By Gary Digiuseppe

Smaller groups of sheep, goats on smaller acreage has advantages How does having just a few sheep or goats on a small acreage differ from a larger operation?

“You’ll probably get to know them better,” Dr. David Fernandez, University of Arkansas Extension animal scientist, told Ozarks Farm & Neighbor. The increased amount of one-on-one contact will make it easier to identify the one animal suffering from illness or parasitism.

“If you have 50 sheep on 100 acres, you’re probably not going to see them every day, and if one of them is lagging it wouldn’t be uncommon for a few more of them to be standing around with it, forming their own group. In a smaller group of 10, there will probably be one off to the side that will not look like it’s well,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez also has his own small flock, and that dictates his supplemental feeding program during the winter; he can’t justify a big feeder that lets the animals feed with free access.

“I feed square bales, which means I have to go out and feed every day,” he said. “When I’m flushing them prior to breeding, or when I’m providing them a little bit of extra nutrition prior to lambing, that’s a lot of work for me to do first thing in the morning.”

For small ruminants, pasture consists of grasses and broadleaves like clovers, lespedeza and hairy vetch. They’ll also eat blackberries and raspberries, “but they tend to eat those to the ground and you have to replant them every year, and that becomes expensive,” Fernandez said.

Brush – woody–stemmed plants on which the animals like to browse – is more of a large acreage issue.

“You can still rotationally graze on small properties,” he said. “In fact, that’s a good thing to do, because you can better manage your animals and their nutrition that way, and especially on small acreages you get better utilization of the pasture.”

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

Rotation reduces the need for supplemental feed, but there also has to be water available on each of the smaller units into which the pasture is being subdivided.

Lincoln University Cooperative Extension State Small Ruminant Specialist Charlotte Clifford-Rathert, DVM, said producers should be mindful of the difference between sheep and goats.

“Goats like to browse from the top of plants down to the middle,” CliffordRathert told OFN. “They do not like to eat close to the ground, whereas sheep will graze plants down to the soil if allowed.”

She said when monitoring browse, the animals should be moved to the next paddock when 75 to 80 percent of the leaves are eaten. If they’re grazing weeds or grass, don’t let the plants get any shorter than 6 inches.

Control of internal parasites is also important. The one known for having the most detrimental impact on production is Haemonchous contortus, the barber pole worm.

Clifford-Rathert explained that goats and sheep can become infested, then reinfested when forced to graze on forages that are shorter than 6 inches in height, or when overcrowded on small acreage.

In addition to monitoring forage heights, she said producers can control infestation by selecting animals that are genetically resistant to the parasite.

“To do this will be costly,” she said. “Most producers who have resistant animals will sell them for a price, since many producers are actively selecting their breeding stock based on the animals’ ability to ward off a parasite infestation without treatment.”

She recommended a beginning farmer network with other producers that practice this type of selection management in their herds, gain the training to monitor animals, and learn what to look for in order to be able to make these decisions prior to purchasing the animals.

JULY 6, 2015

farm help

The Importance of Conditioning

By Gary Digiuseppe

Sheep and goats require special care when entering the breeding season Assessing the condition of your sheep and goats heading into the breeding season, according to Dr. David Fernandez, is pretty simple — but you do have to lay your hands on them.

“A lot of people will look at sheep and goats and say, ‘That looks fine,’” said Fernandez, a University of Arkansas Extension animal scientist, “but goats store their fat on the inside, and it’s hard to tell how fat they are unless you actually reach over and feel along the spinal column between the ribs and the hips, to feel how much fat there is on there.”

Hair sheep will be slick in the summertime, but as fall approaches and they start to put on their woollier coat, it’s also hard to judge much body fat they’re carrying on sight alone.

Fernandez said low body condition usually points to a problem with the summer feeding program. If pastures are reduced, the ewes or does may need to receive supplementary feed. Sheep and goats in poor body condition usually need more energy and can be supplemented with corn. He said, “Sheep can eat whole corn, and they’ll digest it very easily. On the other hand, for goats you should crack it, flake it or steam it, so that they’ll get the most benefit out of it. Start them on that slowly, because too much at one time can cause acidosis.”

He recommends a quarter to a half pound, per head, per day to start, up to a maximum of 1 pound.

Flushing, the practice of providing a brief burst of nutrition prior to breeding season, is commonly used in sheep, but Fernandez said research is mixed over whether it’s effective in goats. He suggested providing a corn and perhaps a protein supplement 10 to 14 days before the start of the season; it helps ovulation and improves the likelihood of twinning. Flushing should stop when breeding season begins.

JULY 6, 2015

“Once the ewe becomes pregnant, that higher level of energy creates a less hospitable environment in the uterus for implantation to occur, so you tend to have higher rates of embryo losses if you continue to flush,” Fernandez explained.

David Copeland, a hair sheep breeder from Fulton, Mo., said he doesn’t flush.

He instead uses what he calls the “Ram Effect.” About 10 days before breeding, he puts a ram on the other side of the fence from the ewes.

“That will put them into a silent heat, and get everybody starting to cycle and ready to breed,” he said. “If you don’t do that, when you put the ram in some of them will be ready right away, others will take 10 days and some may take three weeks.”

About a third of the ewes will rebreed within a month of lambing. Copeland said that’s hard on the animals and raises overwintering costs, but it reduces predator and parasite problems.

He’ll start graining the ewes a month before lambing but has to be cautious of “Twin Lamb Disease,” where the combination of two or three fetuses and hay in the abdomen causes pregnancy toxemia.

“I combat that by molasses lick tubs – they’ve got plenty of sugar, and then I start graining them with a quarter pound of supplemental pellets per lamb, per day, and build it up till the time that they lamb to 1 pound per ewe per day,” he said. He also provides grain the first 30 days of lactation.

Parasite control can be a problem in the fall. Fernandez said producers should check their animals for the barberpole worm, a bloodsucking parasite that lives within the stomach of sheep and goats that can kill an animal in as little as 37 days. Animals can be monitored via FAMACHA scoring, which involves checking the conjunctiva surrounding the eye against a color chart for signs of anemia.”

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July 2015 16 Peach Production Workshop and Field Tour – 2-7:30 p.m. – Cost: $20 –

University of Arkansas Fruit Research Station, 1749 State Hwy 818,

Clarksville, Ark. – 479-754-2406 or 501-671-2126 16-18 Porter Peach Festival – sponsored by Porter Lions Club – Porter, Okla. – 918-486-4589 16 Managing Pastures and Parasites for Small Ruminants – light meal at 5:30 p.m.,

program starts at 6 p.m. – Decatur Livestock Auction, Hwy 59 South, Decatur,

Ark. – reserve your spot by July 13th – 479-271-1060 17 Pesticide Applicator Training – 2:00 p.m. – Cost: $10 – Bentonville, Ark.

– 479-271-1060 17-18 Phil Gardenhire Memorial Rodeo – Poteau, Okla. – 918-647-9178 18 Benton County 4-H Garden Fair – Bentonville Farmers Market, Bentonville,

Ark. – 479-271-1060 22-25 American Buckskin World Championship – Tulsa Expo Square – Tulsa,

Okla. – 530-223-1420 24-25 32nd Annual Altus Grape Festival – Altus, Ark. – 479-468-4684 24-26 American Cowboy Trade Days & Celebration of the American Cowboy –

Whitaker Park, Pryor, Okla. – 530-223-1420 25-8/1 Craig County Free Fair – Craig County Fairgrounds, Winita, Okla. – 918-256-8261 27-8/1 Fulton County Fair – Salem, Ark. – 870-895-3301 28 Canning Class – 5:30 p.m. – Saint Anne’s Catholic Church, Hwy 62,

Berryville, Ark. – 870-423-2958 29-8/2 World Wide Paint Horse Congress – Tulsa Expo Square – Tulsa, Okla. – 785-479-6817 30-8/1 Sallisaw Lion’s Club IPRA Rodeo – Sallisaw Rodeo Grounds – Sallisaw,

Okla. – 918-774-5497 or 918-776-9977 August 2015 1 Ozark Stocker Cattle Conference – 9 a.m.-3 p.m. – Cost: $20 (includes

lunch) – Durand Center, Harrison, Arkansas – 870-741-6168 1 Last Day to Register for Beef IQ program – includes 6 workshops and 2 field

days – Cost: $100 includes all sessions, meals and hand out materials –

workshop locations will alternate between Benton and Madison Counties 1 61st Annual Decatur Barbecue – 7 a.m.-8:30 p.m. – Events include: 5K

Run 7 a.m., Children’s Games 8 a.m., Car Show 10 a.m., Dinners 10 a.m.,

Parade Line Up 10:30 a.m., Parade 11 a.m., Car Show Awards 3 p.m.,

National Anthem-Prayer 5 p.m., Miss Decatur Barbecue Casual Wear

5:30 p.m., Tiny Tots 6 p.m., Miss Decatur Barbecue Formal Wear/Crowning

6:30 p.m. – Opening Act featuring Johnny Dale Roberts 7:30 p.m. Featured

Act Jesse Keith Whitley 8:30 p.m. – Veterans Park, Decatur, Ark. –

Upcoming Event or Production Sale?

Call today to list your upcoming event or production sale for FREE in the Farm Calendar or Auction Block.

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7 7-9

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11 11-15 17-22 22 29-9/5

71st Annual Rodeo of the Ozarks – Parson’s Stadium, 1423 East Emma Ave, Springdale, Ark. – 479-756-0464 Arkansas Rice Expo – Stuttgart, Ark. – 501-671-2126 57th Annual Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association Convention & Trade Show – Fort Smith, Ark. Pesticide Applicator Training – 6 p.m. – Extension Office, Conway Ark. – 501-329-8344 Pesticide Applicator Training – 6 p.m. – Flippin, Ark. – 870-449-6349 North Logan County Fair – Paris, Ark. – 479-963-2360 116th Annual Johnson County Fair – Clarksville, Ark. – 479-754-5050 Professional Bull Riding – Springdale, Ark. – 479-756-0464 Carroll County Fair – Berryville, Ark. – 870-423-2958

September 2015 8-12 South Logan County Fair – Booneville, Ark. – 479-675-2787 9-12 Delaware County Free Fair – Jay, Okla. – 918-253-4332 14 Gardening 101 – 6-7 p.m. – Peel Mansion Museum & Heritage

Gardens, 400 S. Walton Blvd., Bentonville, Ark. – 479-271-1060 or 479-254-3870 15-19 Rogers County Fair – Claremore Expo Center, Claremore, Okla. – 918-923-4958 22-26 Faulkner County Fair – Conway, Ark. – 501-329-8344 26 Fall Demolition Derby – Tickets: $7 children 2-12, $12 Adults –

Springdale, Ark. – 479-756-0464 October 2015 10 Denim and Diamonds Gala – 6 p.m. – Parsons Stadium, Springdale,

Ark. – 479-756-0464 12 Gardening 101 – 6-7 p.m. – Peel Mansion Museum & Heritage

Gardens, 400 S. Walton Blvd., Bentonville, Ark. – 479-271-1060 or 479-254-3870 November 2015 3-5 Better Process Control School – University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark

– 479-575-4450 9 Gardening 101 – 6-7 p.m. – Peel Mansion Museum & Heritage

Gardens, 400 S. Walton Blvd., Bentonville, Ark. – 479-271-1060 or 479-254-3870

Do You Have a Favorite Family Recipe?

Send in your favorite family recipe to share with our readers.

Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

866-532-1960 JULY 6, 2015

Angus

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

Balancers

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Livestock - Cattle

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6/27/16

BARNS • SHOPS • STALLS • GARAGES • SHEDS •ETC.

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Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com

JULY 6, 2015