Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Purtles Are Nevada County Farm Family Of The Year

Charles and Jane Purtle have been named the Nevada County Farm Family of the Year for 2000.

The Purtles aren't the typical farm family as they raise trees instead of livestock or crops. In fact, they have 1,200 acres of woodland they've been managing since 1980.

According to the Purtles, the first part of the farm was originally bought in the 1940's and '50's by Sid and Ida Purtle, Charles' parents who taught at Prescott High School.

From the 1960's through the '80's more land was bought and the farm expanded.

Until the mid-50's, purebred cattle was the main crop, so to speak, on the farm. However, when Sid Purtle died, the cattle side went with him.

The land was either idle or rented out until 1980, when Charles, Jane and their three children, Jim, Brad and Beth, moved back to the farm.

Timber had always been on the land, but nothing was done to manage it until 1980, even though the farm was incorporated in 1975 to keep it together and manage it as a single unit.

The Purtles began reinvesting in the timber resources, and now their efforts are beginning to pay off.

Charles is the manager and does the day-to-day operations at the farm, while Jane teaches at Prescott High School.

Decisions, though, are a family matter with all members included in making them.

Charles gets most of his training through attending field days, seminars, short courses, with individual help from the Arkansas Forestry Commission foresters, the Cooperative Extension Service, industry foresters, contractors and consultants, along with trade publications.

The main "crop" is pine timber, with some hardwood grown. Pine straw is sold, while the family allows a hunting club to use part of the land as well.

Most of the acreage is plantation pine evenly staggered from two to 18 years. Plans are to keep planting every year or two until all the old pastureland is in trees, with other stands being harvested.

The Purtles have gone through many changes over the years in how they look at regenerating their pine crop.

They started by simply planting trees with no formulated plan to work with or from. Now, though, they use an aerial broadcast herbicide for initial weed control.

On old pastures, they use a ground-applied herbicide to control grasses for a few months, then plant genetically improved seedlings appropriate to a given location.

In the winter and spring, control burns are used to control brush and reduce fire danger later in the growing season. It also improves wildlife habitat, Charles said.

The biggest change, though, has been in planting fewer trees per acre by increasing the space between each tee.

This was started nine years ago with 12-foot row spacing, but they have since widened this to 14-foot row spacing, and will go to a 16-foot spacing on their next planting.

The wider spacing means they have to prune the trees. Plans are to chip the limbs cut into smaller pieces and sell them for gardening and decorative purposes.

"The wide spacing," Charles said, "gives us flexibility of mowing to control competition as well as use ground equipment to apply fertilizer in a low cost way, whether it's commercial fertilizer or animal waste."

The wider spacing, he added, also should reduce logging damage during the harvest, improve access for the loggers and allow for the mechanical harvesting of pine straw.

They plan to begin harvesting pine straw on a small basis this winter.

The spacing, he continued, gives them more options for wildlife habitat, especially birds.

They intend for the first thinning to be small sawlogs, chip and saw with little pulpwood as pulpwood has a lower sale value per ton.

The final harvest is expected to be done in 20 to 25 years. The wider spacing, he said, demands more intensive management, but gives more opportunities for quality timber production and stable economic returns while increasing wildlife.

With the exception of aerial spraying and harvesting, the Purtles do most of the work themselves. The spraying and harvesting are done by contractors.The Purtles use one tractor on the farm, a 65 horsepower, four-wheel drive model and use several other pieces of equipment for it as well. This includes a fire plow, logging winch, blade for road management, a bush hog, a bucket, fertilizer spreader, tree planter, stump grinder and trailer.

The hardwood crop, he said, has been high graded in the past. They are allowing it to grow and will have to decide what to do with it in the future.

In years gone by, the Purtles had a small sawmill on the farm and produced pallet lumber from the low quality hardwoods. However, this enterprise is inactive and has been back-burnered.

The Purtles hope to start harvesting pine straw soon to be sold as landscape mulch. This venture will begin on a small scale.

"As long as we manage our timber land," Charles said, "we'll have forest-related enterprises with some on the front burner and some on the back burner.

"We'll continue to go to field days, workshops and seminars to learn from many sources. We've had many failures, but try to keep them small, and a few successes, and try to make them big."

The Purtles have had a long-term relationship with a hunting club, though neither Charles nor Jane hunt.

Most of the members of the S-P Hunting Club have had a life-long connection with the Purtles farm and the community in general.

The camp site has a kitchen and eating area, electric and water hookups for camper trailers and recreational vehicles, a walk-in cooler, a spot for dressing game and plenty of parking.

The club members have done most of the work in developing the camping area, but give the Purtles access to it in the off season.

Purtle said the club has cooperated by not putting any nails in trees, with the family and club members jointly planting several wildlife food plots.

Timber sales are usually done through a private forestry consulting firm, Kingwood Forestry of Arkadelphia.

On the sawlog sales, Kingwood measures each tree to be sold, advertises the sale and helps with the cutting contract.

Most of the sales are done on a lump sum payment advance.

""They've done an excellent job for us," he said, "and using them has simplified our work. We try to plan the sales well in advance and carry out reforestation where needed."

Several kinds of records are kept by the Purtles, with Jane handling the financial records. A certified public accountant prepares the taxes for the farm.

When talking with the Purtles, their love of the land is evident. They make no pretense about being willing to share the use with others, asking only those who use it treat the land with respect and leave it clean when they go.

In fact, the Purtles pick up trash thrown out by others who drive down the road.

"Some of that litter washes onto our farm during times of flood," he said. "Some of the litter has come from previous tenants." The clean up jobs are done as time allows.

The Purtles have worked for decades on controlling soil erosion. They do control burns in the spring and winter when there will be less impact on air quality and to help curtail future fire problems.

Chemical applications are always done by professional contractors, or on a limited scale by the Purtles.

But, one of their biggest efforts of the past 20 years has been improving the roads on the farm, especially those at creek crossings.

"We've been trying to develop an extensive road system on the farm," Purtle said. "Roads or portions of road that have traffic during wet weather receive gravel or slightly raised road begs with grass covering. Roads used lightly during wet conditions are regularly mowed.

"We believe roads are important for several reasons. With good roads come better timber prices with less damage. Good roads give better access and make inspection easier and more frequent. Better and easier access leads to better management. Roads make good fire lanes and breaks and greatly enhance recreation and hunting."

The Purtles have tried using culverts on stream crossings, but gave them up. They found the metal ones rust and plastic ones burn, but the biggest problem with them was beavers stopping them up.On larger crossings they have two steel bridges, made from old railroad flat cars. These bridges, they say, are strong and handle flooding well, while offering safety for those using them.

One of the rail bridges replaced an old wooden bridge, as the wooden bridge required a lot of maintenance.

The other bridge improved access to part of the farm they didn't have before.

In some of the low-water crossings, the Purtles have concrete and rock bases which have withstood logging, beavers and floods.

There are also a number of small openings scattered throughout the farm used for wildlife food plots, camping and log harvesting.

One five-acre opening is planted in switchgrass, a native, tall prairie grass.

This is Charles' "playground." He takes great pleasure in burning it every year or so, watching the intense flames as they devour the grass in short order.

He said this is a hardy grass with a deep root system going down 20-30 feet. It's root system makes it almost impervious to droughts, while making sure it has access to all the nutrients it needs.

In addition, the switchgrass grows at a phenomenal rate, reaching heights of eight feet in a matter of months under certain weather conditions.

This is the type of grass that used to be on the prairies in the west, Purtle said. In movies, buffalo herds are shown walking through it.

He said the seed were obtained from a research station in Booneville. The grass takes two or three years to get established, but once it does, it produces more biomass than any other grass.

They also have some inexpensive water lines with faucets scattered around the farm, with two artesian wells.

Instead of using a pickup truck to do chores on the farm, they make use of an all-terrain vehicle.

All farm equipment is kept well maintained for peak efficiency.

Charles and Jane are members of the Prescott Fitness Center and try to live a peaceful life.

Jane handles most of the financial records, doing much of the work on a computer.

Everybody pitches in on housework, cooking and cleaning, though little yard work is done. In fact, they've been known to mow their yard using the bush hog .

Their home is heated with an outside wood burning heater, which also heats the water used.

Charles said this came in handy when Beth was home and taking 45 minute showers. They never ran out of hot water.

For fuel, they use trees blown down in storms, dead trees, logging debris, sawdust, even sticks and limbs falling into the yard.

The cooling system is a water source heat pump. A new well serves as a supply well, with an old well being the return well for the system.

Charles' mother, Ida, is a retired teacher from Prescott High School. During her career, she taught biology and chemistry. Now, she enjoys quilting, with one of her projects hanging on the wall of her son's living room.

His brother, David, is active in the poultry industry, while his wife, Judy, has operated a number of businesses over the years. They have two grown sons, Michael and Brian,.

His sister, Sara Bergstresser, is a school media specialist in New Jersey. She has four children, Kendig, Sid, Charlie and Jennie.

Charles also works part-time as a chaplain for Tyson Foods in Hope, with Jane teaching Spanish and keyboarding in the Prescott school district.

They are members of the Calvary Baptist Church in Hope, where Charles is a deacon and teaches Sunday School.

Jane is a member of the church choir and handbell choir. She is also past president of the local Delta Kappa Gamma chapter and has taught some at the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope.She is also a member of the Southwest Arkansas Foreign Language Teachers Association.

"We not only own a piece of land we identify as our family farm," he said, "but we come from people who have lived on the land. This heritage has given us a deeper understanding of what stewardship means.

"We are aware we are not the first to occupy this particular farm and have found archeological information people lived her hundreds of years before us. We are also aware someone else will own' and manage this land. Many people don't understand this, but we are the current caretakers."

While digging on the farm for fill dirt for the roads, the Purtles found Indian arrowheads and some pottery remains. Instead of destroying this find, they covered it back up and moved elsewhere to find the dirt.

"Living on a farm is a great place to raise a family, even though some young people may not appreciate it at the time. We try to share the farm with children and young people who don't have much access to being in the country. Most of these are from church groups.

"We've had hikes, overnight camping, float trips and other activities to help others gain a better appreciation for the outdoors."

In fact, the Purtles say the land can be used by anyone wanting to. All they ask is to be notified in advance and make sure the area is clean when leaving.

"Living in a rural area and working outdoors allows a person a variety of experiences including freezing weather, wind storms, fires, floods, heat, droughts, thistles and thorns and all kinds of wildlife. Rather than discourage us, we have learned to see the beauty in all of it.

"Our long-term goal is to keep the farm together by managing it in a productive way. Our desire is to leave it in better shape than we received it. Our values come from our faith in God. We are only the caretakers for a time."

Along for the tour of the farm were Mike Bosley and Terrell Baker of Kingwood Forestry.

Baker said most states have forestry programs these days, where they are put over managing timber lands for forestry, soil and water quality, recreation and wildlife.

In Arkansas, he said, more than 100 people have volunteered to help protect and preserve the land.

Arkansas also has about 3,000 tree farms, Baker said. Those involved in the Arkansas Forestry Foundation want the program to be successful, but, he added, it's not for everybody.

Certain guidelines must be met and followed to participate. This includes having a management plan, following the best management practices, protecting streams and roads.

The Purtle home is comfortable and has been expanded by Charles and Jane, though it was built in the 1930s with no indoor plumbing at the time.

This, however, has been remedied.

In the 1980's, when Charles and Jane returned with their children, they redid the foundation, rewired the house, made sure the plumbing there was modernized and expanded the structure.

The walls in the hallway are made from yellow pine grown on the farm, and treated with a clear coat finish to bring out the natural beauty of the wood.

In the living room, a large bookcase dominates one section of the wall, with all its shelves filled with books.

Another shelving unit is filled with keepsakes the Purtles have acquired from their travels and work with the church.

"We have the house fixed to suit us," Jane said.