story and photos by Michael Tilley
mtilley@thecitywire.com
Managing hundreds of acres and more than 140 Charolais cattle is truly a family affair for Tammie and Len Williams, and is also just part of what they do and have done to support the agriculture industry in the Fort Smith metro area.
Tammie and Len, both 50, are the principal owners of a cattle farm near Huntington, in south Sebastian County, and have been named the Sebastian County Farm Family of 2013.
Len began farming the land about 30 years ago, and he and Tammie have been married for more than 27 of those years.
“I had to sell a steer to pay for an engagement ring,” Len said with a laugh near the end of a media tour held Tuesday (June 11) at the farm. Len added that the steer helped pay for just part of the ring.
For about 10 years they had a dairy operation, but commodity realities forced them out.
“The milk prices and the feed prices just didn’t work for us,” Len said.
The input costs and output prices haven’t worked for a lot of farmers. U.S. Department of Agriculture data show that the number of milk cow operations have fallen from just short of 90,000 in 2003 to under 60,000 in 2012.
Prices now are good for cattle. So what keeps the Williams’ from cashing in while cattle prices are high?
“Taxes,” Len Williams replied without hesitation, adding that sometimes the economics are better to have some farm debt than a lot of farm income.
Tammie grew up on a poultry farm, and has resisted any suggestion to Len or by Len that they add a poultry operation. The cattle operation keeps them busy enough.
“It’s a 365, 24-hour a day job,” Tammie said.
Helping with that job have been their parents, Ludella and Bud Braselton and Joyce and Lendal Williams Sr., along with their two grown children, Jared and Breanna.
And a lot of help is need, because Tammie and Len have full time jobs off the farm. Tammie is a 22-year veteran with Fort Smith-based ABF Freight System. Len works for the Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department on a sign crew that covers a seven-county area.
Jared, 27, works at Alma Tractor & Supply. He helps some at nights, but mostly on the weekends. There are always fences to build or repair, hay to bale or feed, water systems to install or maintain and a laundry list of other chores that come with owning a farm.
Relatively new additions to the farm are three grandchildren. Dakota is the four-year-old son of Jared and his wife Jessie. Breanna, the 23-year-old daughter of Tammie and Len, has two active daughters, Harper (3) and Rhilynn (1).
Dakota, Harper and Rhilynn are already active with farm life, including showing animals in the “small fry” divisions at the Sebastian County Fair.
Jesse Bocksnick, a Sebastian County Extension Office agent, said two of the primary reasons the Williams family was selected Farm Family is because of their many decades of volunteer work in the regional agri industry and their willingness to pursue “progressive” farming techniques.
One of the progressive techniques has been to use a well to gravity feed several “tire tanks” with semi-filtered and cool water for the cattle. The tires are large tires used on large construction or earth-moving equipment. The insides are cut to leave the hard edges, and the tire is placed on a concrete base constructed in such a way to provide a water-tight seal with the tire.
The gravity-fed system also reduces the need for pumping equipment and the utility and maintenance costs that go with it.
Len said it’s important to provide the cattle with a water supply in which they didn’t also contaminate. The Williams have one pond fenced off from the cattle, and the well provides cleaner and much-less contaminated water for the cattle to drink.
“This is really progressive. Len and Tammie are really ahead of the curve on this. ... This is doing that (farming) with true conservation (practices),” Bocksnick said.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau has promoted the farm family program since 1947. According to the bureau’s website, the objectives of the program are:
• To give recognition and encouragement to farm families who are doing an outstanding job on their farm and in their community.
• To gain recognition of the importance of agriculture in the community and state.
• To disseminate information on improved farm practices and management.
The Williams’ volunteer work is extensive. Their more than 40 combined areas of local, state and national involvement includes serving on the Sebastian County Fair Board, the fair board’s livestock coordinator, member of the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair board, 4-H dairy judging team coach, Little League baseball coach, and serving on the Mansfield School District FFA Alumni board.
Son and daughter Jared and Breanna have served as president of the Dayton 4-H Club and president of the Arkansas Junior Charolais Association. Jared received the Arkansas State Grand Champion Award with a Charolais bull at the Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock. Breanna won a scholarship with her animal showings, with one of her efforts capturing the Supreme Ewe award at the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair.
Near the end of more than an hour of touring the farm and talking about their farm life, the Williams family was asked about any point they’d like to stress.
“Family,” Tammie Williams quickly responded. “Family is your most valuable asset, especially in farming today.”