OUT HERE

OUTHERE

BY DEREK FLETCHER

I am 55 years old. I am a country boy. A farmer. A rancher. It is how I make my living. It’s not just a hobby. It is a lifestyle.

But, I have not always lived this way. I was born in Baton Rouge. Raised in a place called Belle Chasse, where the Mississippi river empties into the gulf. Surrounded by roads, levees and people, I never could have believed I would end up here. And, frankly, neither would anyone else who knew me then. But as life would have it, I did. And I am.

I went to high school at a place that would rival the size of most community colleges. In the graduating class of around 500, there were people I never even met. The campus had a ten-foot tall fence around it, and “disciplinarians” walked the perimeter carrying orange two-way radios on their hips, ready to sprint after any would-be escapees. My friends and I were muscle car buffs. We drove on the streets of New Orleans as teenagers. Bars line the streets. Crime is rampant. And that smell.

Fast forward 35 years or more. Now I live with my family on 200 beautiful acres in North Central Arkansas. We live in a community called Charlotte. Population unknown, but the deer outnumber us. I have been farming now for almost 25 years. And my life is nothing like I could’ve imagined when I was a child. I am so grateful that I was able to raise my children here.

As I mentioned, it is a lifestyle. We generally wake up with the sun. We start our day as a family drinking coffee, eating breakfast and listening to our ten year old practicing piano. My wife homeschools our two young daughters. Our sons

are grown and making their way in the world. I am happy to say they both live on the farm. They commute. Because it is worth it.

Farm life never ends. It is a perpetual motion of life and death. Life’s academy of learning. There are no set hours of work here. Our employees learn this first thing. We run a commercial broiler operation, yielding approximately 1,400,000 pounds per flock. We also graze 35 Simental/ Black Angus cross momma cows and two black angus bulls. Right now there are 18 calves on the ground. Today, we are readying for 150,000 baby chickens to arrive on two eighteen wheelers.

As we approach our mid-life years, old friends are getting in touch more often. They are always welcome here. And anyone who has been here once, usually comes back. People I knew in my city days, used to kid me about plucking chickens, or mock me with a fake Hee-Haw-like accent while talking on the telephone. I’m not sure what they pictured my life to be. All I know is that the look is always the same when they pull up on our long asphalt driveway that leads to a circle in front of our brick home, their eyes are wide and their mouths open. As they exit the vehicle, and look around, the general question is, “is this heaven?”

“Not quite”, is my reply. “But as close as we could get.” Of course, By the time they get here all the work is usually done. They don’t see that part.

As my wife and I show them around the place, we answer the typical questions about cows and chickens, donkeys and horses, coyotes and eagles… And they begin to notice we lack for nothing. That is how we are happy here. We have no reason to go to town except to get groceries and see a doctor or a dentist from time to time.

We swim here in the creek. We hunt here in our woods. We fish here in our ponds. We exercise and run on our own driveway. We race on our own track. We mow our own grass and bail our own hay. We don’t rent a place to keep a horse, we give a place for horses to live.

And by nightfall, we have had supper, and sit out on the back deck watching the stars come out. And oh, how many stars there are to see! We know, because we hear it from our friends every time. They didn’t know there were so many stars.

Our kids are taught to be polite to everyone. The American flag flies in our front lawn. We drive American made automobiles, to the extent that is possible. We take care of our animals because they take care of us. We are the ultimate conservationists. We do not pollute our ground or our air. Except to burn a brush pile from time to time. We drink the We are educated. We are middle class, but we are able to live slightly above that standard, because of the lower cost of living out here. Besides, quality of life is relative. And we have lots of that. That is where the conversation usually goes with our friends who visit for the first time. I don’t know why they could not see it before.

Driving from my house in the suburbs to my grandparents house in the country, I used to dream of living this way. I’m happy I made it happen. I had help, and it did not come without some sacrifice. I gave up many of the so-called conveniences. I gave up driving 2 miles to get a gallon of milk, in exchange for driving 30 miles. Now I just buy more milk. I gave up fast food restaurants and ATMs on every corner.

I also gave up traffic. And traffic lights. I gave up driving 30 minutes to go 5 miles, for going 30 miles in 30 minutes. I gave up the crime that comes with population. And all of the policing that comes with that. I gave up pollution. I gave up parking lots and overpasses, for rolling hills and tall timber. I gave up huge impersonal learning complexes, for homeschooling. I gave up drive-by shootings, for sitting in a deer stand and watching nature do it’s thing.

I even gave up television, for the most part, because standing outside and breathing beats the boob tube every time.

But don’t tell anyone. We like things the way they are...out here.

*Guest writer, Derek Fletcher, lives in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE EXTENDS APPLICATIONS FOR FAMILY LAND HERITAGE RECOGNITION

AUSTIN – Today, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced the 2021 Family Land Heritage application deadline has been extended to July 1, 2021. This extension is intended to allow families additional time to gather the documents necessary to apply.

The Texas Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) Family Land Heritage (FLH) program pays tribute to families who have kept their land in continuous agricultural production for at least 100 years.

Eligible farms and ranches must be owned and operated by the descendants of the original founder, either through blood, marriage or adoption. At least 10 acres of the land must have been in continuous agricultural production for the past 100 years or more.

Necessary documents to apply include: land ownership documents that prove continual possession by the descendants of the founder of the property, and a completed Family Land Heritage application. Families are encouraged to contact their county clerk to locate supporting documents needed.

In addition, a family’s completed application and supporting documents must be submitted for certification to the county judge where the property is located. Applicants are encouraged to contact the county judge to arrange the verification of their application and supporting documents by email, mail or fax.

TDA will accept a scanned copy or the electronic signature of the county judge in place of the original wet signature.

FLH applications may be submitted to the Texas Department of Agriculture in either digital or hard copy form.