april country neighbor

NeighborRural Living Cedar, Dallas and Polk CountiesAgriculture and rural living quarterly

Gaila Hunter welcomesguests to her Old CountryHouse at Stockton.

Betty and Sean McCarthy have “a cow outfit that runs goats” on the hills near Plad.

Connie Langrum opens a door on history at Wilson’s CreekNational Battlefield.

John Wilson gets a headstart on the gardening season with hishoop houses near Conway.

Bird hunters share notesduring trials at Marshfield.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 • Supplement to the Bolivar Herald-Free Press, Buffalo Reflex, Cedar County Republican,Marshfield Mail and Republic Monitor

2 COUNTRY NEIGHBOR • SPRING 2012

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Country Neighbor is not just afarm section. We call it an“agriculture and rural living

quarterly” for goodreason: Not everyonewho lives in the countryis truly a farmer.

Most of us are farmersat heart, though, asevidenced by ourdecisions to live in thecountry, have a few acresand grow livestock orcrops of some sort, evenif all that amounts to is abig garden.

Most of us have farmroots, even if we don’tdepend directly onfarming for our daily bread today. Wewere raised farmers. We’d like to befarming, still.

It’s a fact of life in the Ozarks,though, that most of us have jobs intown, else we couldn’t afford to farm.

Country Neighbor is intended forfolks who are farmers either in factor at heart; but, it doesn’t stop there.We figure anyone living in the Ozarksis both “country” and a “neighbor.”

With that in mind, I encourage thewriters at our newspapers in Cedar,Polk, Dallas, Webster and Greenecounties to think within and outsidefarming when looking for stories.Folks who feed hummingbirds havestories to tell just the same as thosewho feed cattle.

I encourage readers to be equally

alert to interesting stories in theircommunities. Country Neighbor isintended for and about folks who live

in the country — “folks”being the operative word.

Anyone out there with agood story idea, don’thesitate to suggest it to yourlocal editor, or you can dropme an e-mail [email protected].

This issue of CountryNeighbor offers examples ofthe diversity of appropriatetopics.

• Sean and BettyMcCarthy are one of the fewgenuine examples of cattleranchers I know. This

quarter they share their experiencesraising goats.

• Deby Gilley is an artist livingclose to the fishing she loves, andshe is surrounded by the Ozarksplaces and people she depicts in herlinocuts. They are more than justpictures on paper.

• John Wilson gardens prettymuch year-round with his two hoophouses — a system that offersadvantages more than just earlyproduce. Green things love hishoops, bugs not so much.

• Gaila Hunter and her husband,Max, raise cattle near Stockton.What sets them apart from othercow-calf operators is the oldfarmhouse they rent to guests — ahouse much the same today as when

Grandma called it home.• Wilson’s Creek was immortalized

on Aug. 10, 1861, when armies ofthe North and South clashed in oneof the bloodiest battles of the CivilWar. Most of what we know aboutWilson’s Creek National Battlefieldcenters on that single day in history.Both before and after that fateful,day, though, Wilson’s Creek was aplace many families called home.

• Halfway Packing Company offerslivestock producers a vital service —someone to call when an animal dies.Producers faced a dilemma when thebusiness shut down at the end of2008; but today they can count onfree pickup of dead animals, thanksto new owner Ed Gibson.

• High beef prices make cattleprime targets for rustlers. Bolivar’sSarah Hilton visits with Polk CountySheriff Steve Bruce about ways to foilthieves.

• I can’t decide if Marshfield’s MikeCullinan has “gone to the dogs” or ifhis missive is just “for the birds.” Yoube the judge when you read his storyon bird dog trials.

As different as they are, all thesearticles have one thing in common:They’re all about our neighbors.That’s all it takes to make a story —a good country neighbor.

Jim Hamilton is editor of CountryNeighbor. Contact him [email protected].

Jim Hamilton

COUNTRY NEIGHBOR isquarterly supplement to theCedar County Republican,Bolivar Herald-Free Press,Marshfield Mail, RepublicMonitor and Buffalo Reflex, publications of NeighborNews/Community Publishers,Inc. Copyright © 2012 NeighborNews/Community Publishers,Inc. All rights reserved. To advertise in CountryNeighbor, contact the CedarCounty Republican at (417)276-4211, the Bolivar Herald-Free Press at (417) 326-7636,the Marshfield Mail at (417)468-2013, the RepublicMonitor at (417) 732-2525 orthe Buffalo Reflex at (417) 345-2224.

PUBLISHER: DAVE [email protected]

(417) 777-9776EDITOR: JIM HAMILTON

[email protected](417) 345-2224

ASSOCIATE EDITOR:CHARLOTTE MARSCH

[email protected](417) 777-9722

Contributing writers: MikeCullinan and Sarah Hilton.

NeighborRural Living Cedar, Dallas and Polk Counties

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On Aug. 10, 1861, two armies clashedon the rolling hills cradling Wilson’s

Creek on the Greene and Christiancounties line in the first major Civil Warbattle west of the Mississippi River.

The conflict was brutal, with 5,400Union soldiers under Gen. NathanielLyon facing 12,000 Confederate andMissouri State Guard soldiers underGens. Benjamin McCulloch and SterlingPrice. Union forces lost 1,317 men,Confederates 1,222. Among the deadwas Gen. Lyon, the first Union generalkilled in the Civil War.

The site of that bloody conflict ispreserved today as Wilson’s CreekNational Battlefield, established on April22, 1960, by the National Park Service.The 1,750-acre park southeast ofRepublic on Route ZZ encompasses 75percent of the historic battlefield.

Park visitors can tour the battlefieldby car today, with stops at key locationsof the conflict — cannon batteries ofboth Northern and Southern forces,troop positions, sites where men metand died in hand-to-hand combat, wheretheir blood soaked the Ozarks soil andwhere Gen. Lyon fell mortally wounded.They can spend hours, if they choose, inthe visitors’ center, looking at artifactdisplays, absorbing the programs andstudying the three-dimensionalbattlefield map — or they can buy asmany Civil War books as they can carryhome.

Most times the battlefield is a tranquilplace, on spring days a pastoralpatchwork of Ozarks pastures sprinkledwith wildflowers and of woodlandsharboring whitetail deer and wild turkey.No sounds of cannon fire or the acridodors of gunpowder and smoke fill theair, but, rather, the songs of mead-owlarks and the fragrance of appleblossoms in the Ray Orchard. It is, at

times, a place of somber stillnessbefitting commemoration of the morethan 2,500 young men whose lives weresacrificed in what southerners call the“Battle of Oak Hills.”

More than a place for two armies to clash

Prior to 1960 the area now encom-passed by Wilson’s Creek NationalBattlefield was not a park, but included

a number of Ozarks farms and homes.The blood-soaked hills and hollows of1861 had long been turned by plow,grazed by cattle or simply allowed tobecome overgrown with brush andtimber. The creek had become a putrid-smelling open sewer, and but for theoccasional artifact discovered byfarmers, little evidence of the historicconflict remained. The only battlesfought for nigh a century were morelikely fence disputes between farmers.

It was much the same in the summer

of 1861. Almost all the area withintoday’s park was farmland, though aminority of it cultivated.

The Battle of Wilson’s Creek wasfought in a single day. Most of whatpeople know of the place concerns thatone event, but the Wilson’s Creekcommunity was there long before andlong after two armies battled on itsbanks.

Gary Sullivan, chief of resourcemanagement at the park, noted the areahas been “continuously occupied” forthousands of years. The Osage campedin the area prior to European settlementin the early 1800s, and archaeologicresearch has revealed at least nineprehistoric sites among more than 50total in the park.

Since taking over the area in 1960 theNational Park Service has undertaken torestore the landscape to its 1861condition. That ongoing effort hasincluded clearing of brush and timber,prescribed burning to re-establish nativespecies of grasses and other plants, andsome reseeding of native warm seasongrasses.

At the time of the Civil War the areawas described as “a matrix of prairie tallgrasses and lightly wooded savannas.”Settlement and suppression of fires hadalready altered the land by allowingbrush to increase in uncultivated areas,but the areas near the creek were mostlyclear of woody vegetation and severalfields were in crops.

Vegetation on the battlefield today“scarcely resembles that at the time ofthe battle,” states a park culturalevaluation report. One example of effortsto reverse that trend is evident in a gladeon the south end of the park wherecedar trees have been removed over thepast decade and the area burned.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE


Union forces gathered on this former cornfield on Sharp’s farm on the south end of today’s park. Trees on the distant ridge were predominatelylarge oaks at the time of the battle.

More than a battlefield…

Armies met on Wilson’s Creek farmlands where Ozarks families made their homes

Park historian Connie Langrum sits on a stone wall in front of the RayHouse, the only home remaining from the Civil War. Built in the 1850s,the house was a stage stop on the Wire Road and post office for the area,as well as home to the Ray family and an infirmary during the battle.

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Endangered Ozarks bladderpodblossomed there this spring — amustard-yellow carpet spread over thethin-soiled limestone glade.

Restoration of a slightly different sortis evident on the Ray farm, where parkhistorian Connie Langrum points out a5-year-old apple orchard similar to thatmaintained by the Ray family. Theorchard is part of the “culturallandscape” of the park, she explained.Langrum works with all historicalaspects of the park, before and after thebattle, including structure and theecosystem.

What will not be restored in anyfashion, however, is Wilson’s Creek ashome to as many as 20 families. Beforethey were a battlefield the idyllic hillsand farmlands were simply “home.”

Families of Wilson’s Creek Wilson’s Creek leading up to the

battle of Aug. 10, 1861, was a bustlingfarming community. Built in the 1830s,the “Wire Road” connecting Springfield toFayetteville bissected the area northeastto southwest, and a number of lesserroads connected several farms andhomes. A map of the approximatebattlefield site shows about 25 parcelsand 18 owners, including the Alexandria& Pacific Railroad.

In 1860 the area in today’s nationalpark was home to the following families,all listed in county records as farmers,unless stated otherwise:

• JOHN GIBSON, 56, a wool carderby trade and a native of North Carolina.His wife, Martha, 52, was a native ofTennessee, as was Nancy Gibson, 21.Also in the household were three others,presumably slaves: P.V. Dop, 60, acorder from Kentucky; Sarah England.18, from Tennessee; and Robert Kelly,32, from Alabama.

Gibson operated a mill which hebought in 1859 from W.A. Robertson,where he processed grain and cardedwool (the mill burned in 1881). Gibsonowned 380 acres, 115 in cultivation,where he ran livestock and raised crops.Gibson’s oatfield and mill site is the firststop on the auto tour.

• JOHN RAY, 44, was a Tennesseean,his wife, Roxanna, 40, a Georgia native.Ray owned 440 acres, with 150 incultivation, and a variety of livestock,including 50 hogs. The Rays had fivechildren, and possibly five slaves.Records show four Steele children on thefarm, ages 11 to 18. The second stop onthe auto tour, the Ray house is the onlystructure remaining from the Civil Warand was continuously occupied from thetime it was built in about 1851 until1960. It served as a weekly stop for theButterfield Overland Mail stage (1858-61) and the local post office (1856-66).Ray reportedly watched the battle ondistant ‘Bloody Hill” and his owncornfield from the front porch of hishouse on the Wire Road, while his wife,the children, a slave woman and a mailcarrier took shelter in the stonespringhouse at the bottom of the hill.The house served as a Confederatehospital, and Gen. Lyon’s body wasbrought there after the fighting.

• WILLIAM EDWARDS, 44, fromTennessee, and his wife, Mary, 44,owned 320 acres, just 32 cultivated.They and a son, James, 19, built a cabinin 1842 on the west side of Wilson’sCreek, where Missouri State Guardcommander Gen. Price established hisbattlefield headquarters. The Edwardscabin is the third stop on the auto tour.

• JOSEPH SHARP, 48, came fromTennessee, his wife, Mary, 50, fromNorth Carolina. They had four children,ages 8-15, in their household, andpresumably a slave, Mary Hortle, 78,from North Carolina.



MORE THAN A BATTLEFIELD

Farmer John Ray watched the fighting on Bloody Hill from the porch ofhis farmhouse, while his family hid in the stone springhouse in the fore-ground. The Ray house became a hospital for Confederate wounded andfinally a temporary repository for the body of Gen. Nathaniel Lyon.

Confederate cannon remain poised to fire on Seigel’s advance from theSharp farm croplands.

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• CALEB MANLEY, 57, and his wife,Rebecca, 49, were Virginia natives. Theyhad four children ages 10-18, the eldestborn in Tennessee. Their home wassouth of the Ray farm on ManleyBranch. A family cemetery remainstoday.

• H. AND L. BLANKENSHIP, both 31,hailed from Tennessee. Also farmers,they had four children.

• SUSAN EDGAR, 32, hailed fromKentucky. Also in the home was Joshua,17, born in Kentucky, and three childrenages 4-10 born in Missouri. EdgarCemetery predates the battle.

• WILLIAM AND CLARISSAJACKSON, both 55, also came fromTennessee and had four children, ages11-25.

• JOHN MCNARY, 52, came fromKentucky, his wife, Nancy, 40, from NewJersey. They had five children, ages 2-17. Also on the place was M.A.Bratenbey, 30, of Georgia and fourchildren, ages 1-8.

• MATILDA SCHLENN, 22, ofTennessee, resided with ChristianaHoffman, 62, a native of Saxony.

• ELIAS SHORT, 39, from Tennessee,and his wife, Rebecca, 38, from Indiana,had six children ages 4-16, the threeeldest born in Indiana. Short owned 250acres, with 50 in cultivation, and anumber of livestock.

• MERCER MOODY, 42, was ablacksmith born in Kentucky. His wife,Lydia, 42, was from Virginia. Their threechildren, ages 11-15, were all born inKentucky. Also in the household wereanother blacksmith, James Fitch, 25, awagon maker, H.F. Gunther, 24, andSarah Gunther, 28.

• SAMUEL SHORT, 35, a Tennesseenative, and his wife, Mary, 30, had four

Missouri-born children, ages 2-8.• MARY GWINN, 37, hailed from

Illinois. Also in the household wereSamuel Gwinn, 15, born in Iowa, andseven younger Gwinns, ages 2-13.

• JOHN STEElE, 28, was aschoolteacher. He and his wife, Rebecca,24, were both from New York.

• HENDERSON PRATHER, 38,another Tennesseean, and his wife,Elisa, 34, had five children, ages 1-15.

• JOHN DIXON, 47, an Indiananative, and his wife, Susan, 34, boastedholdings of 500 acres, 200 of those incultivation. They had six children athome, ages 1-15.

• SAMUEL DIXON, 22, and his wife,Elizabeth, 20, were likely recently-wedmembers of the aforementioned family.

Farmers before & afterAs the roll of residents suggests,

Wilson’s Creek was home to many peopleat the start of the Civil War, most withroots in Tennessee or other southernstates. A few were slaves.

The principal farm crops were corn,wheat, oats and hay, as well as Irish andsweet potatoes in notable quantities.Butter, wool, honey and molasses werealso valuable commodities, as well asslaughter animals (presumably hogs).

Most of the residents in 1860 camefrom elsewhere, arriving in the 1840s-50s, paying about $1.25 an acre for theirland. By the mid-1850s the price haddoubled to $2.50 an acre.

Life continued after the war much asbefore, with agriculture the principalenterprise and the pre-settlementecosystem in constant decline. Invasionof introduced plant species (thistles,lespedeza, multiflora rose, fescue etc.)continued. Cedars and underbrushinvaded uncultivated areas, and most ofthe area was heavily grazed by free-

roaming livestock.In 1905 the Springfield Southern

Railroad line of the Missouri Pacific camethrough and the town of Wilson’s Creekwas developed by 1907. A “companytown” it had 63 lots on the east side ofthe creek. Its primary industry was theRogers White Lime Company kiln andquarry. With eight or nine frame houses,the town included a tomato cannery,general store, post office and blacksmithshop, as well as a railroad stop.

Built in 1917, the cannery operatedfor just five years. The town wasabandoned in about 1929.

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefieldtoday shows but selected evidence of thehabitation or uses of the land in thecentury between the August 1861 battleand the development of the park. Whatsuccessive development of the land hasnot erased, nature has mostly hidden,except to the prying eyes and spades ofarchaeologists, historians like Langrumand visitors with keen historical vision.

What can be easily seen are theprincipal battlefield sites and trooppositions included on the auto tour. Forthe more energetic, walking trails providea closer look at the sod trod not only bysoldiers, but generations of Ozarkerswho simply called the cradling hills ofWilson’s Creek “home.”

(Information for this article wascompiled from documents provided by theNational Park Service and Wilson’s CreekNational Battlefield, as well as personalinterviews with park officials andpersonal observation.)


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— Story & photos by Jim [email protected]

MORE THAN A BATTLEFIELD

Apple trees were planted on the Ray farm about five years ago to recre-ate the family orchard.

Delicate yellow blossoms of Ozark bladderpod carpet a limestone gladeunder restoration in a more remote area of the park.

Strong winds blowing on an earlyMarch morning in a Webster County

field gave hunters an additionalchallenge, but they weren’t complaining.Then again, these hunters were of thefour-legged variety, so a complaint isopen to interpretation.

Thirty dogs and their handlersrecently participated in a two-daychampionship trial to determine thebest-of-the-best bird hunting canines.The event was hosted by the WebsterCounty Bird Hunters Association(WCBHA), an organization that startedaround 2000, said longtime memberDennie Whittaker.

As a lifelong bird hunter, Whittakerimmediately got involved in theorganization after hearing about it a yearor two after its founding. The Marshfieldresident operates an accounting and taxservice company, but loves participatingwith the WCBHA in various field trialsfrom September to early April every year.Approximately 14 trials are held duringthat period.

“It’s that burn that drives you andgets you to do it,” he said at last month’schampionship field trial — a day onwhich he sheepishly admitted heprobably should be working, as it wastax season, after all. “You love to watchthe dogs work. ... Watch them run,watch them hunt and find birds. Theylove to do that. Most dogs love to do it.”

“It’s a drive. It’s a hobby — expensivehobby — but it’s a hobby,” he addedwith a laugh.

The trials consist of 30-minuteintervals with two dogs and theirhandlers out in the field seeking fivebirds that have been planted.

“The object is to find the most birds,”Whittaker said. “That’s the name of thegame.”

Points are awarded for the dog

pointing and properly finding the bird,the handler shooting the bird and thedog’s retrieval of it back to his handler.Dogs can also earn points by backing orhonoring another dog’s point.

It involves running — a lot of running— by the dogs, who in between findingbirds are in constant motion. The dogsand handlers are accompanied in thefield by a pair of judges, who score andtime the event.

David Kennedy, Rogersville, and hisfemale setter Kate were among theparticipants at the weekend trial. In fact,Kate would go on to be named the topdog at the trial’s end.

While on one of their hunts at thetrial, Kate swiftly moved from one end ofthe field to another, practically stoppingon a dime once she found the scent of abird. Kennedy would come up near Kateand once the bird was flushed from itshiding place, he took aim and fired. Katewould then retrieve the bird uponcommand from Kennedy. Then, it was onto the next bird search in an attempt torepeat the successful process.

Setters, such as Kate, along withpointers and Brittanys, were among thebreeds participating at the championshipevent, but Whittaker said other breedscan also be good bird hunting dogs.Whittaker has four dogs, all differentbreeds, that participate at various trialswith him.

He recommended people train theirdogs when they’re a puppy, as it willtake a while for them to becomeproficient.

“It takes a couple of years to get onetrained,” he said. “They just don’thappen. They’re bred to do this; it’s whatthey do. But it takes a couple of years toget them to do anything. Well, do it likethey’re supposed to.”

A good bird dog should be attentiveand versatile, Whittaker said.

“One that will just do it all,” hecontinued. “It makes it easier to handle.... A dog that does it all — points, backsand retrieves — and be able to findbirds.”

The last field trial for the organizationwas held earlier this month as acelebratory “fun hunt,” Whittaker said.The heat is the primary reason for whythe season ends in early spring, headded.

“Then the weather gets too hot, andthe dogs can’t run in hot weather. ... Itcan kill a dog if it gets too hot,” he said.

As hunting season for most animalsin Missouri ends in January, being apart of the WCBHA provides an avenuefor the season to be extended, Whittakersaid. The camaraderie of sharing apassion with fellow hunters and birddogs holds a special appeal too, headded.

“That makes it nice; it really does,” hesaid. “We have a lot of fun.”

Story & photos by Mike [email protected]


Bird dogs on trial... championship-styleDavid Kennedy, Rogersville, observes as his setter female Kate points to a bird during last month’s championship field trial.

Webster County Bird Hunters Association hosts two days of competition

Webster County Bird Hunters Association (WCBHA) member Dennie Whit-taker tracks the scoring at a March championship trial. Thirty dogs par-ticipated as part of a two-day event, hosted by the WCBHA.

A pair of hunters (left) visit just after completing their 30-minute hunt, while the next group (right) waits fortheir turn. They remain in the waiting area to prevent the dogs from seeing where the next group of birds willbe hidden out in the field.


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Sean and Betty McCarthy’s cattleoperation near Plad is the picture of a

hill country ranch, with cattle grazing onthe ridges and a long lane leading pastworking corrals and rows of big haybales, then winding down past a houseoverlooking a small lake in the hollowand up the hill to a barn housing goats.Yes, goats.

Until about 11 years ago thetransplanted Westerners had neverowned a goat, but today they’re “a cowoutfit that runs goats for brush control,”Sean said.

Moreover, in the lean years whencattle prices were down, the only profitthey saw was from sheep and goats, hesaid. “It was better than me getting a jobin town,” Betty added.

She cautions anyone consideringgoats, though, they are a lot of work toraise profitably. “So many people want toget goats because they think they’reeasy. Cattle are pretty trouble-freecompared to goats…. They can make youmoney, but they will work you as hardas you let them.”

Close attention is particularly criticalat kidding [birthing] time. “Nothingprepares you for the intensity ofkidding,” Betty said. “We have 75 percent

of our nannies kid within five days.”A 208 percent live birth rate

translates to a lot of kids with up to 70nannies. Most will have twins, sometriplets and just a few single kids, andthe McCarthys seldom lose one.

The McCarthy systemRunning Spanish nannies with a

“Boer influence,” the McCarthys kid inFebruary so the kids are old enough togo out and browse with their mothers byApril. The early kidding also gets thatchore done ahead of March and Aprillambing — they also run Suffolk sheep— and calving.

The kidding is all closely attended in abarn near the house. “Our smallest goat-fenced pasture is 40 acres,” Betty stated.“To kid out on pasture requires muchsmaller pastures, and even then manysmaller and weaker kids would be lost.”

Unlike a cow or ewe who will instantlybond to their babies and follow if they’removed, most ewes bond to the spotwhere they give birth, she explained.They’ll just “stand and watch you packthe babies away.”


‘A cow outfit that runs goats’Browsing ruminants fit niche in Dallas County cattle operation

Betty McCarthy bottle-feeds the third kid when triplets are born.

‘A cow outfit that runs goats...’CONTINUED FROM PRECDEDING PAGE

Additionally, the nannies on pastureare prone to go looking for food andwater or wander away with the herd andleave sleeping kids behind.

Kidding in the barn, nannies ideallyget 12-24 hours in heated “jugs” and aremoved from there with their kids toindividual pens for 1-2 days.

From there they go into a large mixingpen with other nannies and kids — nomore than two to a nanny. “By the timethey go out unto the lot, they are astrong family unit,” Betty said.

Two’s family, three’s a crowd“We really only want twins. I even

prefer a single birth over triplets orquads — two single, strong kids insteadof a litter of little, weak ones that requireextra help,” Betty said. “We don’t havemore than two kids on a nanny, as that’swhat she’s equipped for.”

The third would be a “runt” bysummer and be more likely to be leftbehind in the larger pastures. “Ourobjective is brush-eating. We want agroup that can travel,” Betty said. “Thatmeans we constantly wind up with a lotof bottle babies…. On a good year I getthem all sold by March, so I have moretime for the sheep and cattle.”

The bottle-fed kids are moved to ahutch and small pen near the house. “IfI’m out at the barn bottling 10 or 20kids, I see too much I need to be doing,”Betty explained. “It’s easier to neglect myhousekeeping.”

Sean noted they keep four dairy goatsboth to provide colostrum for thenewborn bottle kids and milk for theirown use.

Nutrition & protectionWith many multiple pregnancies,

toxemia is a constant concern, accordingto the McCarthys. “Prevention is farbetter than trying to correct it,” Bettysaid. “So, two weeks before kidding wechange their ration to 50 percentcracked corn for added energy.” Thenannies get about two-thirds of a poundof grain during that time. It’s alsoimportant to keep minerals out forpregnant nannies, and to guard againstmold in the hay. Weeds, though, are fine,Betty said.

When the goats are turned out onpasture, guard dogs are especiallyimportant. The McCarthys have twoAkbash/Anatolian crosses. “They areincredible dogs, and hard workers,”Betty said.

“Every goat we own was born here, sothey travel the pastures as a group. That

allows one dog to offer protection bytraveling along with them.” Betty said.“The goats and dog return home in theearly evening and are penned overnight.That allows the dogs to eat and rest,plus, the goats are in when predators aremost active.”

Training the herd to that daily routinealso makes it easier to catch and treatindividuals that need doctored andadminister routine parasite controls.

On the rare ocassion they lose one,the McCarthys caution against leavingany dead goats out in the pasture. “It’sin these guard dogs’ heads not to leaveanything out in their territory that willattract predators, so they try to eat it.”That gets a lot of good dogs shot becausethe owner mistakenly thinks the dog hasstarted killing kids, when it’s really justdoing its job, Betty explained.

Work and worms“I’ve been around cattle and sheep all

my life, but nothing prepared me for theintensity of [kidding] goats,” Betty said.“I’ve learned to stock up on frozen pizzasand energy bars, and just catnap on thecouch. That’s just the way goats are. Ofcourse, the care of the cattle and sheephas to happen as all this goes on, too.”

The biggest challenge to raising goats,though, is internal parasites. “Goats inMissouri have to be wormed or they’redead — period,” Betty said. “In the hotand humid peak months we worm everymonth. In the fall the tannic acid inacorns works well as a natural wormer.Goats love acorns. The very thing that

will kill a cow is good for goats.”

What works for themThe McCarthys explained that their

system is what works for them, theresult of what they’ve learned in morethan a decade raising goats. They keepthe goat herd to control brush on theirrough, Ozarks hills, but enjoy theadditional benefit of marketing the kidcrops — typically at 60-70 pounds perkid in August or September.

Some producers aim for particularethnic markets. They kid earlier becauseit best fits their overall livestockoperation. Whatever income they realize,however, they emphasize it doesn’t comewithout a lot of work, lost sleep andcareful management.

It works for them, “work” being thekey.

Story & photos by Jim [email protected]


Your Polk CountyFarm Bureau Agent

605 E. South St.

(417) [email protected]

Dexter McIntyre

Akbash/Anatolian guard dogs live among the goats day and night and are essential for predator control.


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Still voices whisper from the walls ofDeby Gilley’s Turkey Creek Studio —

not only whisper, but gaze back fromevery corner.

Theirs are the warm utterings andknowing nods of friends and places bothpast and present, all gathered in asingle, small room of a modest structurenot too distant from the lapping watersof Stockton Lake.

Linocut prints by the diminutivenative Ozarks artist, they are not asmuch her creations as they are herinterpretation of God’s, and they are asvaried and manifold as the world aroundher.

They are personal, as much a part ofthe artist as of the linoleum and woodblocks from which they were drawn.Each tells a story.

Looking down from one wall is the latepastor of her church in nearby Eudora,on another wall her great-greatgrandmother. Among the silent voicesare those of school children at play in aschoolyard on the road back to town.Singing from a yet-damp print on thetable is a Carolina wren perched on arifle barrel.

Deby sits on an upturned milk cratebeside a cot as she shares stories of herlife, mingled with bits about the manyothers in the room. Clad in denimoveralls and her printing apron, she is asunpretentious as she is accomplishedand respected as an artist. Framed bysilver bangs, her eyes have a feisty glint— a hint, perhaps, to a sometimesimpish muse.

Else, how would one explain acarefully crafted outhouse just outsidethe studio — an outhouse with a windowon the side so it can double as a deer

blind? How else to explain “Bertram,” thePVC pipe greeter at the end of the drivewith an ever-changing message forvisitors, or the pairs of boots and shoestossed into a redbud near the broccolibed?

Home since 2006 to Deby and herhusband, Danny, an over-the-road truckdriver, their lot on the Turkey Creek armof Stockton Lake is obviously more thana canvas for Deby’s creative notions.Mountain Home, Ark., was also in therunning when they were looking for aplace to settle after her retirement fromteaching at Mountain Grove. RuralAldrich won in large part because it wasclose to the lake. Both Deby and Dannylike to fish. “It’s a whole lot easier here tojust hook the boat and go. Aldrich is justa few minutes away,” she said.

Ozarks native, lifelong artistThough born in Salem, Deby was

reared in Mountain Grove, where herfamily had a trucking business, and sheattended school there from kindergartenthrough graduation. Art became apassion early in life. “They [teachers]said I’d sit for hours and draw,” she said.All of her teachers encouraged herartistic ambitions — one maybe with“reverse psychology.”

Strongly influenced by a one-year artteacher, Zeek Taylor, Deby decided inseventh grade to become an art teacherand artist. She never looked back.

After graduation she attendedMcPherson College in McPherson, Kan.,where she earned her Bachelor of Arts inart in 1978.


Ozarks artist finds inspiration in folk, places, faith

Deby Gilley was moved to capture the pensive pose of an elderly nurs-ing home resident in a wheelchair.


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Deby laterearned herteachingcertificationfromSouthwestMissouri StateUniversity andreturned tonear the homeof her youth.

Beginningin 1981, shetaught art atNorwoodSchools, K-12, for 13 years. She thenmoved to her old alma mater, MountainGrove, where she taught middle schoolart for four years, then wrapped up herpublic school career with another eightyears teaching middle school art atnearby Willow Springs.

Deby continued her education whileteaching in the public schools, and in1994 she took a graduate-levelprintmaking class at SMSU underRodney Frew — a turning point in herwork as an artist.

Linocut printing begins with drawing,Deby explained. “It’s a linear technique,with pen and ink or pencil — it’s what Ilike to do,” she said,

Deby completed her graduate studiesat Southwest Baptist University inBolivar in 1996, earning a Master ofScience in education with an emphasison art. Since then she has taught art

classes for SBU in Mountain View, forMSU in Mountain Grove and for DruryUniversity in Licking.

An adjunct professor, she nowteaches design, printmaking and arthistory two days a week at SBU inBolivar.

Deby’s prints have been displayed in anumber of galleries and juried art shows.Her works have been included in thePrints USA and MOAK shows at theSpringfield Art Museum, the MO 50 FineArt Exhibition at the Missouri State Fair,as well as Best of Missouri Hands andSilver Dollar City exhibits. Her workshave been featured in Missouri Lifemagazine, and in 2011 one of her printswas among entries in the 2011 IreneRosenweig Biennial Exhibit in Pine Bluff,Ark.

Examples of Deby’s work can be

viewed locally at the Art Sync Gallery,880 W. San Marten, Bolivar, WaverlyHouse Gifts and gallery, 2031 S.Waverly, Springfield, and Nearly FamousDeli in Springfield’s Brentwood Center.

A member of the Visual Arts Allianceof Springfield, she has also participatedin a number of local arts festivals.

More information and examples of herlinocuts can also be found atwww.bestofmissourihands.com/turkey-creekstudio.htm.

Glorifying God’s creationThe subjects of Deby’s art works come

from the world around her — people andplaces that have touched her life.Underpinning all she does today is herChristian faith. “The most importantthing to me now is that God gave me a

talent and I’m expected to use it to hisglory. He just gives me the subject andhe blesses it.”

Among her creations— she said shejust loves to build things — is a 12-month calendar, each page featuring areproduction of one of her prints and itsstory. She entitles it, “Some of God’sCritters… Great and Small.”

On the last page she shares theinspiration for her work today:

“Whatever you do, work at it with allyour heart, as working for the Lord, notmen.” —Colossians 3:23

Still voices whispering from the wall ofDeby Gilley’s studio testify to herfaithfulness.


Deby Gilley pulls a freshly-print-ed linocut of a wren on a gun barrel,stands beside her outhouse/deerstand, and below stands by a “shoetree” in her yard.


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No cattle producer likes doingbusiness with the folks at Halfway

Packing Company.No cattle producer wants to do

business without them, either. Manykeep their number — (417) 445-2346 —stuck to a door or wall near thetelephone. They’re the guys to call whenit’s too late to call the vet.

Halfway Packing Company providesfree removal of fresh cattle carcasseswithin a 75-mile radius of its plant in thesmall Polk County community ofHalfway, said owner Ed Gibson. Theyalso will remove dead horses and hogs,but not goats or sheep, and the freeremoval is only for animals weighing atleast 400 lbs. Dead animal removal isalso available by special arrangementoutside the local area on a case-by-casebasis. “It’s all based on volume,” Gibsonsaid.

Service ended in 2008Removal of dead animals is a vital

service in the livestock industry. Thatservice came to a sudden stop on Dec.30, 2008, when Halfway PackingCompany owner Richard Spinning ofLampe parked his trucks. Spinningblamed the closing on a plunge in thecow hide market and losses of $15,000to $20,000 a month. He also cited theadded cost of new federal regulationsrequiring removal of spinal columnmaterial in cattle.

Spinning, who bought the businessfrom Larry Caffey in 1996, was charging$20 a head to remove cattle when heclosed the doors. He had formerly pickedup animals for free.

When Halfway Packing Companyclosed at the end of 2008, livestockproducers were left with no one to callfor dead animal removal. Simply becauseof the numbers they handle andmarginal animals brought in, sale barnsroutinely called on Halfway Packing.

Missouri law establishes proceduresfor disposing of dead animals. Burial —restricted to one cow per acre —was theoption most commonly used, other thansimply dragging animals to the “back 40”

and attracting coyotes and other carrioneaters. Burial of a half-ton animalrequires excavation equipment and asuitable site, and it poses a risk ofgroundwater contamination.

Lacking any optimal choices fordisposal, livestock producers dealt withthe dead animal dilemma for nearly ayear.

Back in business in 2010Ed and Angie Gibson of Springfield

offered them another option when theyreopened Halfway Packing in October2010 — a return to the paid removalsystem in place when Spinning shutdown.

The Gibsons came into the businesswith no experience. A “city boy” fromTennessee, Ed is a printing salesrepresentative and a 1994 graduate ofSouthwest Baptist University in Bolivar.Angie is a Kansas native and a stay-at-home mom with their three children,ages 17, 15 and 12.

Gibson said their purchase of HalfwayPacking was “Pure providence. God ledme into this.” Seeing changes in theprinting industry, they were looking for abusiness opportunity. Halfway Packingwas it.

Gibson’s initial plan was to provideservice for a fee. “I could tell right off thatwasn’t going to work. About two monthsafter I bought it, I called former ownerLarry Caffey (he established the businessin the 1970s).

Caffey told him he couldn’t makemoney by charging to pick up animals.The profit has to come from selling hidesand by-products. “You need to berendering,” he told me.

In May 2011, after more than a yearof research and lining up financing,Gibson began building a small renderingplant. “We’ve been building on it eversince,” he said. Beset with breakdownsof the used equipment, the renderingoperation was slow getting started, butin March they sold their first animal by-products.


Halfway Packing Company provides vital service

Longtime HPC employee Ted Balllinger manages the animal pickup andremoval side of the business for owner Ed Gibson.

‘What we really do is recycle theanimal.... It’s one of the best eco-logical choices you can make.’

— HPC owner Ed Gibson


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Pk’d Germ $/Lb Bag/Lb

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60 COMMON SENSE - INOC, Not Coated,

Superior Blend (Cody, Liberty, Vernal) ......... 90% ........3.16 ....... 2.86

50 GENUITY - Roundup Ready 34% Coating................6.85 ....... 6.45

50 VERNAL - Very Hardy ....................... 90% ....................... 2.78

50 LIBERTY ALFALFA - Taller .............. 90% ....................... 2.94

50 HAYGRAZER - INOC, Not Coated .......................................OUT

50 CIMARRON - VL400, INOC, Not Coated.............3.84 ....... 3.64

GRAIN ADDITIVES

50 HAIRY VETCH ............................................................... 1.49

50 LITTLE GIANT - SPRING PEA . ............................74 ......... . 54

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50 SWEET GRAZOR PLUS #2961 ........................................ 79

50 LEAFY GREEN HYBRID MILLET LIMITED ...................... 1.18

50 MILLET, GERMAN - “Strain R” ........................................... 84

SORGHUM

50 HYBRID - Forage April 15th ............................................... 1.38

50 MILO - 95 Day #95207 ..................................1.84 ....... 1.64

50 MILO - 110 Day #28219 ................................1.84 ....... 1.64

50 SORGHUM - Waconia “Molasses Cane” ...............3.64 ....... 3.34


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50 KY-32 -Fungus Free and Certified ........ 92% ........1.38

50 FAST PASTURE MIX - Cattle/Horse ..90% ........1.29

50 KY-31 / RYEGRASS - “Contractor’s” Mix ..............89

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50 ARID - Drought Tolerant..................... 90% ........1.46

50 ARID, Hulled - Drought Tolerant ........... 85% ........1.89

50 POTOMAC, Unhulled ....................... 90% ........1.29

50 FAST PASTURE MIX ..................... 90% ........1.29(Hulled Orchard Grass, Fungus Free KY-31 Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass & Timothy)

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50 PERSISTER (Improved Matua) ............... 90% ...1.68

50 REEDS CANARY - Chiefton ..............................5.88

50 PERENNIAL RYEGRASS - Best-For ..... 92% ......92


50 ANNUAL RYEGRASS - Common .......................59

50 RED TOP Limited .............................................6.95

WARM SEASON

50 CHEROKEE - Hulled, Not Coated .........................5.96 ....... 5.86

50 WRANGLER - 50% Coating ...............................5.16 ....... 4.96

50 BERMUDA - Hulled. Not Coated ..........................4.30 ....... 4.10

50 BERMUDA - Unhulled .......................................3.15 ....... 2.95

50 TEFF GRASS - Not Coated #6522 Limited ............................ 2.85

PLS CRABGRASS - Red River Crop Failure

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WAREHOUSE PRICES

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

Phone: 417-725-3745 Fax: 417-725-3683

312388cl

CONTIN UED FROM PRECEDING PAGE

With moisture and oils removed, thesolids go into animal foods and otherproducts, but never into cattle feeds. Theoils provide raw material for use inbiofuels and other products.

“What we really do is recycle theanimal,” Gibson said. “It’s one of the bestecological choices you can make.”

Halfway Packing today runs fourtrucks and employs 13 people in bothdead animal removal and rendering. TedBallinger, with the company since 1982,manages the pickup and packing plantoperation. His brother, Tim, manages therendering operation.

Though Halfway Packing is in thebusiness of removing dead animals, theydon’t pick up decomposed carcasses. “Thefresher, the more valuable,” Gibson said.“We won’t pick up a carcass after acertain point.”

Most patrons call early in the morningand Ballinger can plan his routes for theday. Most animals are picked up thesame day. Gibson said animals have tobe accessible. It’s the owner’s responsibil-

ity to drag to the edge of the road or other location the truck can get to. Once the animals are brought to the plant, they are first skinned (the hide market

has rebounded), then broken down and the by-product materials separated andprocessed. Gibson reiterated the rendering operation “is still in startup mode.”

Why call HPC?Some livestock producers can easily drag cattle carcasses to the back of the place

and forget about them. So, why call Halfway Packing Company?“Why not,” Gibson responded. “It’s free.”Water quality is better-protected, coyotes and other predators aren’t attracted,

and the owner doesn’t have to deal with the legal restrictions of disposal, heexplained.

“Our people provide a very valuable service.”

Story & photos Jim [email protected]

Halfway Packing Company

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Imagine going to spend the weekendwith Grandma 50 years ago.Her quaint, little farmhouse, nestled

behind a row of stately elms overlooksrolling farmlands falling towards theBear Creek valley east of Stockton. Blackcattle graze on the verdant hills. Redbudtrees are ablaze in a distant fenceline.

Retired milk cans serve as planters oneach side of the front step to the frontporch. Well-used, white benches invite

visitors to sit a spell and watch trafficpass on the way to and from town.

Through the narrow front door andinto the front room, you espy Grandma’sold, upright piano against the far wall,lace and china gracing its top, vintagesheet music inviting you to sit down tothe ebony and ivory keys.

In another corner stand theentertainment of a later generation — aMagnavox phonograph from the 1950s

and a matching console filled withvintage albums.

Walls once papered in floral prints arecovered in light wood paneling, thehardwood floors Grandma oncescrubbed “modernized” with a cushion ofcarpet. A faded portrait from the 1800shangs on one wall. The decor is acurious marriage, you note, of old-timetreasures and post-World War IIrenovations.

Imagine having coffee at the drop-leaftable in the adjoining room, whilestaving off the pre-dawn chill by thevintage Warm Morning propane stove(successor to the wood stove earliergenerations used).

Find in the bedrooms a mingling offurniture of both Grandma’s and Great-grandma’s eras— in one bedroom abrass bed and Victorian dresser, inanother the flat, functional Scandana-vian-style furniture of the 1950s.Grandma’s frilly, cotton camisole hangson the back of her bedroom door.

In the long, narrow kitchen addedabout the same time as electricity andindoor plumbing, modern appliances —an electric range and refrigerator —make daily life easier for Grandma,though she still prefers to do dishes byhand while looking out the window overthe sink.

Imagine going to spend the weekendwith Grandma 50 years ago, but findingno one at home. Imagine having herhouse in the country all to yourself,much as it was 50 years ago.

That’s Gaila and Max Hunter’s OldCountry House east of Stockton today,and exactly what dozens of guests findthroughout the year — Grandma’shouse, without Grandma.

A home, not a hotelSituated on the Hunters’ 300-acre cat-

tle operation, The Old Country House is lit-erally a “home away from home” for itsexclusive guests, not a hotel, resort or bedand breakfast. It is, however, within walk-ing distance of the lake and dam and justa short drive from the Stockton area’smany recreational opportunities.

Most of the Hunters’ guests come fromout of state or the Kansas City area,though two have come from as far as Eng-land. “We get a lot of repeat customers,once they’ve come to stay with us,” Maxsaid.

“You cannot believe the quality of peo-ple we get,” Gaila said. She makes it clear,though, they all have to respect their rulesand their property. “I’m pretty particular.I tell them up front I expect them to respectmy wishes — 99 percent of people arewonderful. We’ve had really good luck,” shesaid.


Like a weekend at Grandma’s house

Gaila Hunter stands in the front room of the house that was home to successive generations of her family,surrounded by heirlooms left by her parents and grandparents.

The ditches along some roads insouthwest Missouri are cluttered this

spring with net wrap from round haybales. The problem is particularlynoticeable along rural roads but it is alsoeasily preventable.

The plastic net wrapping used to packand store hay bales has a good trackrecord for preserving hay quality, but its

durability is also its Achilles heel when itcomes to disposal,

Recycling or burning are not options,but taking responsibility to put them inthe trash is according to several areaspecialists with University of MissouriExtension.

According to Bob Schultheis, anatural resource engineering specialist

with MU Extension, the net wrap isgenerally made from recycled HDPEplastics, like empty milk jugs. The coloris determined by the product manufac-turer.

“They are made to not be readilybiodegradable, because their purpose isto hold the bale together for months oryears. Net wrap from round hay bales isone of the most difficult plastics torecycle, due to the hay fibers, soil androcks intertwined with the plastic,” saidSchultheis. “Unlike in New Zealand,there is currently no recycling programfor agricultural plastics in southwestMissouri.”

Net wrap that stays in fields or blowsoff vehicles into road ditches can becomea choking hazard for livestock andwildlife. It can also create breedinggrounds for mosquitoes or rodents, andin road ditches it can block the flow ofwater by being a trap for runoff debris.

“I’ve never known of a calf choking todeath on net wrap,” said Eldon Cole, alivestock specialist with MU Extension.“But I have heard of some calves dyingfrom swallowing plastic shopping bagsfrom Wal-Mart that blew in to a farmer’sfield.”

Driving between Shell Knob andRepublic on Mo. 39, Jane Mooneyham, aresident of Republic, counted 37 roundhay bale wraps in the ditch. Sherecognized the hay wraps because theirproper disposal is a topic she hasdiscussed with a neighboring farmer inthe past.

“I was surprised by the number wesaw on this one day, especially when it issomething that should be easy to recycleor dispose of,” said Mooneyham. “I finallycalled the Greene County Extensionoffice to find out more. I mean, based on

what I was seeing, I was starting to thinkit is common practice to throw thenetting in the bed of a truck and drive offhoping it blows out.”

According to Schultheis, the plasticnet wrap should not be burned, becauseof the toxic smoke and particulates thatare emitted. Depending on thetemperature of the fire, toxic compoundscan be released if the wraps are burned.

“Really, in the absence of recyclingprograms, the best option is to bediligent about collecting the net wrapwhen it is removed from the bale, keep itsecurely stowed during transport, anddispose of it through a household trashservice, where it will be landfilled,” saidSchultheis.

Tim Schnakenberg, an agronomyspecialist with MU Extension, saysgreater emphasis will be placed on theneed for proper disposal of these wrapsduring the upcoming hay schoolsconducted by MU Extension.

“Ultimately, it is an individualresponsibility that we need to beencouraging in the farming and haycommunities,” said Schnakenberg.

Net wrap gives producers much moreflexibility for packing and storing haybales and with twine. However, once thebale is unrolled for feeding to livestock,the net wrap can be cumbersome tohandle.

“The best option for disposal is onethat is already available. Collect anddiscard used net wrap with thehousehold trash,” said Schultheis. “Eventhough unwrapping a hay bale in thedark or on cold winter days is nobody’sfavorite job, the net should be removedentirely and securely stowed in thepickup truck or tractor.”


She returns that respect by honoringguests’ privacy and honesty. She neverdrops in on guests. “I just ask them toleave the key on the kitchen counter andgo on when they leave. We’ve never had aproblem.”

Guests have full use of the housewhile there, including the yard, patioand barbecue. They are asked, however,to not smoke in the house, to leave theirpets at home and not to disturb theneighbors. The Hunters don’t want fishor game cleaned or kept in the house, orany extra guests without their approval.And, they want all trash put in the trashcan outside. A couple willing to respectthose rules may rent the house for $75 anight — if it’s available and they passmuster with Gaila. Last year’s rentalswere a little below usual, but the yearbefore The Old Country House was hostto 150 guests.

More than just an old house

The Old Country House offers guestsmore than a step back in time — itallows them to step back into Gaila’sfamily heritage.

The only child of the late HermanGipson and Marjorie Gipson, now 97 andliving in a local care center, Gaila wasreared in The Old Country House on herparents’ farm near the Sac River. Thehouse formerly stood just west of itspresent location, Gaila said. It wasmoved when the Corps of Engineersbought 70 acres that included the oldhome place. At various times after theStockton Lake upheaval of families, bothher parents and grandparents lived intoday’s rental house and another onenext door. Gaila also used the house onweekends at times. The family still ownsboth places, but rents only one. TheHunters’ son, Mark, lives in the otherhouse today. Another son, Mike, lives inLee’s Summit.

Both Gaila and Max are Stocktonnatives who left in 1959 to seek theirfortunes in Kansas City. They returned40 years later to help care for their agingparents. After the tornado of 2003 tookout their home in Stockton they built a

new, brick house on the farm east of thedam — within walking distance of TheOld Country House.

Though modern in outwardappearance, the rental house has to bemore than 100 years old, Gaila said.Before her parents or grandparents livedthere, it was home to a great-aunt. Shecan’t confirm the tale, but family loreholds that the original house was movedonce before.

Whatever its age, the farmhouse thatserved at least three generations ofGipsons is enjoying a newfound purposetoday, giving younger generations therare opportunity to spend a weekend inGrandma’s house of a half-century ago— but, with satellite TV.



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A vintage bed and furniture grace the front bedroom.

Like a weekend at Grandma’s...

Grandma’s camisole on the backof a bedroom door adds a homeytouch to the decor.

Plastic net bale wrap should be disposed of, says Extension specialist


When the market price of cattle ishigh, extra precaution is a good

idea in penning or moving livestock formarket, Polk CountySheriff Steve Brucesaid.

Bruce, co-chairmanof the state’s RuralCrimes Task Force,advises livestockowners to keep an eyeout for and report anysuspicious or unusual activity aroundpens or cattle.

“If they notice any disturbancearound their pens or their cattle, such as

feed there that they didn’t put there orfences cut or corral panels being movedaround or changed that they didn’t do, if

they will reportthat to us ormake us aware ofthat, that willgive us moresomething towatch for,knowing thatthere is some

activity in our area,” he said.Though no thefts have been reported

recently, several farmers have reportedthe same occurrences Bruce described.

“One guy found some feed that hedidn’t put out,” Bruce said. “Another guyfound some fences cut. It makes mepretty nervous,especially with theprice of cattle rightnow.”

In a recent theftin Dade County, thethieves are believedto have used horsesto round up thecattle, Bruce said.

“That’s gettingpretty brave —pretty brazen tohaul in horses toround up cattle tosteal.”

Cattle areespeciallyvulnerable to theftwhen being pennedor separated beforegoing to market,Bruce said.

“It makes it realeasy for thieves toget them penned orcorralled up to load.

“It’s not a good idea, but they’re goingto do it — [farmers] feed these cattleclose to the road and these cattle get in apattern of seeing that truck or hearingthat truck and thinking feed’s coming,”Bruce said. “Of course, no farmer likesit, but the wilder their cattle are, thebetter off they are.”

Though recent budget cuts and staffcuts reduced the number of officerspatrolling, Bruce said he still has signsand bumper stickers advertising the tip

line for the Rural Crimes Task Force —(888) 484-8477. Visit his office to pickone up, he said.

Prevent theft byalerting thesheriff’s office ofany suspiciousactivity or whensorting cattle formarket.

“If they will callus, we will makeevery effort we canto keep an eye onthese cattle untilthey’re movedout,” Bruce said. “Irealize, especiallytoday, there is somuch activity outon these roads,but if they seesomebody actingsuspicious, ifthey’ll just get alicense numberand a descriptionof the vehicle andcall us, we’ll try tocheck it out.”

Law enforcement may not always beable to make contact with parties actingsuspiciously, but it gives them a point ofreference if the same vehicle is reportedin other areas, he said.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office canbe reached at (417) 777-9020.

Story by Sarah [email protected]

Use precaution to prevent livestock theft, sheriff says

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— Sheriff Steve Bruce

Branding cattle is along-standing

tradition in manystates, a legalrequirement in someothers. Missouri,however, does notrequire cattle andhorses to be branded.

“Missouri doeshave a law (passed in1971) that allowsregistering brands inthe state,” said EldonCole, livestockspecialist withUniversity of MissouriExtension.

Initially, only hotiron brands wereconsidered legal, butin 1992 freeze branding was recognizedas an acceptable ownership brand inMissouri.

Currently about 4,800 brands areregistered and in the state brand book.

“The 4,800 brands represent a verysmall portion of the cattle and horseowners of the state,” said Cole. “Theestimated number of cattle farms isbetween 55,000 and 60,000.”

Cattle owners brand for differentreasons. For some, it's a tradition thatdates back several generations. Butbranding is also a deterrent to theft.

“It may not prevent it, but a smart,observant thief will think twice beforestealing legibly branded cattle,” saidCole.

Livestock auctions can easily identifybranded cattle and the workers mayeven recognize those selling brandedcattle as non-owners.

“Law enforcement personnelappreciate well-defined brands as theysearch for stolen cattle. To them, ablack, 600-pound steer without apermanent identification mark is hard toidentify for ownership,” said Cole.

Branding can also be used as a sort oftrademark. Cole says this is especiallytrue for seedstock producers becausethey benefit from having their branddisplayed on the animal in a show, sale,website or when he serves as a herdsirein a prominent herd or bull stud.

“A nice brand can serve to preventownership disputes in case your cattlefind their way into a neighbor's pasture,”said Cole.

Arguments against branding livestocksurface from time-to-time. The usualcomplaint is that a brand reduces thehide value. However, Cole says this tendsto be more a concern on rib-branded

cattle than with hip or shoulder brands.There is also the question of pain

during the branding and the time andskill necessary to produce a legiblebrand.

“Each cattle owner must weigh thepros and cons of branding,” said Cole.

Should a cattle producer choose tobrand, the brand must be registeredwith the Missouri Department ofAgriculture. The initial charge is $35. Tomaintain the brand on the books, $20must be paid every 5 years.

“The same identical brand can beregistered with the six different firms solong as the brand is placed in a differentlocation,” said Cole.

The acceptable locations for brandsare the shoulder, rib and hip on eachside of the animal.

“The hip is the preferred location tominimize damage to a valuable portion ofthe hide. It also is a handy location inmost squeeze chutes,” said Cole.

Persons wanting to register a brandshould check the current MissouriBrand Book to see if their choice of abrand has been assigned previously.Brand books are available in mostUniversity of Missouri Extension centers,county recorder of deeds offices andfrom the county sheriff.

For more information, contact anyMU Extension livestock specialist.


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While conventional home gardenerswere perusing seed catalogs this

past winter, John Wilson was tending hisvegetables.

John and his wife, Shirley Ann, areamong a growing number of gardenerswho have discovered the advantages ofhoop house, or high tunnel, vegetableproduction.

Their earlier crops this seasonincluded onions, bok choy, kohlrabi,parsnips, peas, rutabaga, severalvarieties of lettuce, collards, cauliflower,carrots, cabbage and brussels sprouts —all thriving in late February, more thantwo months ahead of what outdoorsplanting would allow.

By May he should have peas toharvest. “I’ll have something growingyear-round,” John said. “Hopefully, I’llhave tomatoes in May or June.”

This year’s early crops are in a 30-ft.by 84-ft. house Wilson built two yearsago from a kit he bought from FarmTekagricultural supply at a cost of $5,800.He invested another $700 in lumber forthe base and reinforcement.

This year he added an almostidentical second house from the samecompany, but the price tag hadincreased by $1,000. Beans and okrawere his first crops in the new house,planted when the house was completedthe first full week in March.

Meeting the marketIf the harvest of any of their hoop

house vegetables exceeds what John andShirley Ann want for themselves,patrons of the Marshfield FarmersMarket will benefit, as well, from theextended growing season. “I can sell allthe green beans I can grow,” John said.“I plant as many excess green beans,yellow squash and zucchini as I can.”

The Wilsons have been vendors atMarshfield for five years, starting a yearbefore John’s retirement from theMissouri Department of Social Serviceschild support division. They moved in1980 to a farm on Jones Creek Roadthey had bought in 1969. Over the yearsthey raised goats, hogs and cattle on thediverse eastern Dallas County acreage,but have no livestock today. They dohave chickens — a source of nutrientsfor both them and their vegetablegardens.

The Wilsons have ample acreagesuitable for conventional gardening, andfor years that’s exactly what they did. Infact, the newest hoop house was erectedover last season’s turnip patch. Outsidethe hoop houses they also have fruit andnut trees, grapes, blackberries,blueberries and raspberries.


Hoop houses promise early/late produce for family use and farmers market sales

John Wilson and volunteers place center span trusses in early stages of construction on his second hoop house.

HOOP DREAMS

Shirley and John Wilson on their farm near Conway.

John Wilson improvised a portable scaffold in the back of his pickupto aid in erecting trusses. He also rigged his truck battery to power an elec-tric drill.

The new hoop barn was complete and ready to plant in early March.


John Wilson’scompleted hoophouse frameawaits its fabric skin.


They will grow most of their tomatoesoutside, too — 100-150 plants of three tofive varieties. One of those is alwaysRomas for tomato sauce.

John’s tomato garden is unlike most.He doesn’t stake, trellis or prune hisvines. Planted 18 to 24 inches apart with5 feet between the rows, they are allowedto lie on a mat of hay put down when theplants are about 8 inches tall. John alsobucks convention by using an overheadsprinkler and watering at night. It worksfor him.

The Wilsons’ interest in hoop housesgrew out of contact with other producersat the Marshfield Farmers Market.“Several people at the market had them,”John said. With produce sales providingpart of their retirement income, and theprospect of enjoying fresh produce onthe home table many more months ofthe year, hoop houses had a lot ofappeal.

“The first one was for ourselves,” Johnsaid. “The second one was for themarket.” He estimates the houses willpay for themselves in five to 10 years —maybe four figuring the value of foods forhome use.

The Wilsons learned in February 2011that hoop houses were not without risk,though, when freezing rain and snowaccumulated on the roof of their newhouse and folded the rafters like paperstraws. John rebuilt, replacing all thedamaged rafters and adding additionaltrusses and supports. The twistedoriginal rafters are piled nearby andJohn will reclaim what he can to buildsomething else.

Nothing goes to waste on the Wilsons’farm. Even the excess vegetables arerecycled as food for the chickens orcomposted. Spent plants may be tilledunder to enrich the soil.

How the hoop worksA hoop house is not a greenhouse,

where plants are grown in pots. Hoophouse vegetables grow in the soil theyenclose. The ground is tilled as in aconventional garden. The plants arefertilized, watered and weeded much asif they were outside, but management issignificantly different.

John waters a half-hour a day in thewinter and 15 minutes two or threetimes a day in the summer, using driplines on the ground. He doesn’t water oncloudy days. Water is easier to control inthe enclosed environment than outside,John said.

The sides of the plastic fabric coveringare raised in the mornings for ventilationand to let bees in for pollination. Theyare lowered around noon.

Heat inside the house — rising ashigh as 145 degrees farenheit —controlsinsects, John said. High temperaturesthat kill insects don’t harm the plants.“As long as you water it, the plant willgrow,” he said.

The Wilsons use no chemicalpesticides, fertilizers or herbicides.Poultry litter, which includes sawdustspread in the houses and oyster shell fedto the chickens, serves as fertilizer.

Weed control is simple, but labor-

intensive. John pulls them almost everyday.

Hoop house gardening offers theopportunity to enjoy fresh vegetablesyear-round, and to offer those sameproducts to farmers market patronshungry for “home-grown” foods. Butthose benefits come only with acontinuing investment of time andmanagement, as well as the capitaloutlay.

Everything John Wilson does on themore than 5,000 square feet of gardenspace under hoop house fabric is

executed according to a plan. He recordsit all in notebooks, from plantingthrough harvest in numbers andpictures. The neat rows of cabbage,collards and onions may appear to havebeen planted at random, but not oneplant took root by accident, any morethan those long hoop houses builtthemselves.

Story and photos by Jim [email protected]

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