Pleasant plains and rolling meadows: Gordon Farms: 2005 White County Farm Family of the Year

Jimmy Gordon, left, and Randy Phillips ride out in search of the herd to bring it to the feeding area. The dogs are specially trained to work with the cattle and help the ranchers control the herd. The Gordon Ranch has over 800 head of cattle spaced over 900 pastures in White and Independence counties. (photo by Greg Benenati/The Daily Citizen)

Jim Gordon watches from the window of his pick-up truck as he points to a group of yearling cattle gathered in a sweeping summer meadow. He talks of the cattle, full of pride like a father, a little quiet, but confident.

It is a scene his father probably shared with friends as he watched the same meadow more than thirty years before, Gordon said.

Gordon tells of the history and development of his family's Pleasant Plains farm, now called Gordon Farms, telling how it was his father that started it all, how Gordon and his wife got involved, and how now his brother and others have joined them.

Jim Gordon and family, owners of Gordon Farms, are the 2005 White County Farm Family of the Year.

The Arkansas Farm Family of the Year award, sponsored by Entergy and the Arkansas Press Association, recognizes excellence in farming and farming lifestyle in Arkansas counties.

Now in its 59th year, the award is in cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education, Entergy, Arkansas Farm Bureau, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, USDA Farm Service Agency, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and USDA Rural Development.

Quite often the award goes to crop farmers, which makes the award that much more important for the Gordons.

Gordon Farms sits alongside Highway 167, 25 miles north of Searcy, and includes 900 acres of pasture and 100 acres of woodland. Here, close to 2,000 head of cattle will come and go through the land during the course of a year.

The farming life has always been a family affair for the Gordons, as the land was first cultivated by Gordon's parents Alvin and Aunine Gordon, who in 1939, bought the first 160 acres for the farm. Here he raised the first herd of cattle along with several row crops and custom hay.

Find out more about NRCS in Arkansas.

Jim Gordon was born on the farm, literally born in the first small farmhouse they built on the land. It is a land he knows well. He grew up here, along with his younger brother Glen. The two worked closely with their father and through the years the farm gained momentum and acreage, making the Gordons' dream of a successful farm a reality.

Gordon took the reigns of the farm in 1990 after Alvin Gordon passed away. Jim Gordon has since built a new house overlooking the land where he lives with his wife of 42 years, Linda.

The operation began by the farm operators feeding the calves by hand. As the farm grew through the '90s, Gordon purchased a total mixer ration machine in order to feed more cattle in less time. The mixer is set on a 2-ton truck that both mixes and transports the feed to the various trough spots on the farm.

The Gordons also built a commodity barn and began planting grass silage to accumulate extra feed supply.

These improvements allowed the Gordon farm the chance at growth and to move a large amount of cattle through their operation on a regular basis.

While cultivating his brand of cattle, Gordon also worked in education for 25 years, teaching agriculture at Pangburn High School.

He retired from his job after 25 years and hasn't looked back since, or sat down for that matter.

Gordon, who still gives advice to students on agriculture, said he didn't really retire in the usual sense of the word.

"I never really went into retirement, I just cut down from two full-time jobs to one," Gordon said. Now Gordon spends his entire day on the farm, with each intricate decision running by him for approval, and he loves it.

The family has one full-time hired hand named Randy Phillips, a life-long cowboy, who came to the Gordons in March from Northeastern Oklahoma. Phillips works mainly by riding his horse, Paintbrush, into every pasture and checking for sickness and injury within the herd.

"I've ranched and rodeoed all my life -- it's the only lifestyle I know," Phillips said. "There's never a dull moment."

Phillips said the Gordons are already "like family" to him and he enjoys the work.

Phillips usually rides along side three hard-working border collies trained to keep the cattle herds in check.

Jim Gordon said a good cattle dog is hard to find, and the three of his have been doing the job for a long time.

"They're just trained to bring the cattle to you -- they're not really aggressive dogs that are chasing for the fun of it," Gordon said. Gordon added the hot weather of late tires the dogs more easily.

A usual day for the Gordon Ranch starts at 7:30 in the morning. Gordon, Phillips and Gordon's brother Glen Gordon, who now has cattle integrated into Jim Gordon's herd, start their day by feeding the hundreds cattle.

With a usual head count of between 600 and 800, the Gordons feed the animals till around the noon hour. Afterwards they then spend the rest of the day working on repairs, miscellaneous things around the farm and getting feed stock ready for the next day.

The Gordons also work each month separating and shipping their brand of cattle to various livestock auctions around the state of Arkansas. There they retain ownership of the livestock until they are sold.

"When we sell we usually ship 62-65 head -- all they can get on the truck," Linda Gordon said.

Linda Gordon, a retired elementary teacher who worked in the Bradford and Pangburn School systems, accomplishes on the task of feeding the workers, keeping the books for the ranch -- the old-fashioned way, by ledger, not electronically -- and helping to manage the health of the cattle, she said.

Like her husband, Linda Gordon said she never retired, only moved from two full-time jobs to an all-consuming job.

"He just has to have something to look forward to every day," Linda Gordon said about her husband's work on the farm. "He's not one to sit down."

Although the ranch is set in the usually lush fields of northeast White County, this year's weather has been less than obliging. Gordon has dealt with the problem like many farmers.

"Sometimes different things make it harder [to raise cattle, like] bad weather, rainy weather or freezes," Gordon said. "But I think the worst is the extreme hot and humid weather with no rain fall -- it provides a good environment for germs."

Buying right is another intricate part of the Gordons' business. An animal usually comes to the ranch as a yearling, weighing about 500 pounds.

"We like to buy calves that have good bone and length," Linda Gordon said. "If these two factors are present, good quality will also be there."

Linda Gordon said buying strong cattle makes for a small percentage of sickness and death within the herd later during the year.

They are then nourished to 800 pounds before put on the market again, with the Gordon seal of approval.

Jim Gordon said he has also experimented with a couple of varieties of feed, but likes to stay with the same one for long periods of time. Gordon said he tries to maintain an expensive means of feeding that will also maintain a cow's appropriate weight and health.

Gordon does stress, however, that all his feed supply is organic and none is animal-originated, as is the government's standards.

Gordon said, in short, American beef is more than safe to eat.

"I have confidence in our beef here that it's OK," Gordon said. Gordon said it is by fatty deposits from infected cows that leads to the spread of Mad Cow Disease. Gordon has confidence that in the future, the government will begin making an animal identification system to further insurance the safety of the nation's livestock.

"It's in the works -- it's going to happen," Gordon said. "But I'm afraid it's going to be expensive."

Linda Gordon said the family also makes every effort to stay up to date on the latest livestock methods and technologies by Internet research, veterinarian consultations, cattle trade publications and discussions with other cattlemen.

"Healthy cattle is something that we have to work really hard on," Gordon said. "We have to check frequently and doctor early."

Farm operators also communicate using a two-way radio system and use their own transmission tower, so they can communicate from any part of the land.

The Gordons have one daughter, Shawn Benefield of Searcy who works as a pharmacist at the Wal-Mart Pharmacy in Newport. The Gordons also have one grandson, Luke Davis, who, at 10 years old, helps his grandfather check and doctor the cattle.

Though proud of his grandson, having worked in education, Gordon said he worries about the future of farming and young people.

"I worry that not many young people are going into farming and those that are [getting into agriculture] aren't going into the production end," Gordon said. "It's very hard for anyone to get land anymore."

The couple is also active in the livestock handlers community.

Gordon is the acting president of the White County Cattlemen's Association and has been on the Farm Bureau Board for three years.

The Gordons are also active in their local community and are members of Independence Baptist Church in Midway.

The Gordon Farm works under the mantra, "make the best better," and with time plan to implement even more efficient equipment and technologies.

Gordon said he never plans to fully stop doing the work he loves, which is ranching and raising his own brand of livestock.

"Everybody's got a job to do," Gordon said, and he knows the work of a ranch owner is his.
Story by Amber Dillon from the Daily Citizen.