Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Harris Family Named Top Farmers

Brad, Ralph, Heather and Claudette Harris

BY JOHN MILLER

Nevada County's Farm Family of the Year for 1999 is the Ralph and Claudette Harris family.

The couple have two children, Brad, 17, and Heather, 15, both attending Prescott schools.

The Harris's raise cattle and have a tree farm.

Ralph said farming has always been in his blood. His family bought te farm where he now lives in 1959.

His wife, Claudette, was raised in Okolona, where her family owned and managed a row crop and cattle farm.

"I spent all of my childhood following my father around the farm," Ralph said. "Cows and farming have always been something I have loved. We have several photographs of my family and the farm I found at the local Soil Conservation Service office.

He and the former Claudette Killingsworth were married Oct. 10, 1980. Harris's family deeded the newlywed couple an acre on the farm for a homestead.

The two began planting trees immediately, with the dream of being able to retire and return to the farm someday.

Harris took a job with the Soil Conservation Service shortly after he and Claudette were married. He began working in Harrison, and for the next 18 years, the family moved around Arkansas as his job required.

He and Claudette returned to Prescott and Okolona on weekends when possible so they could work the farms.

But, in August, 1988, their lifelong dream became a reality. His father was in poor health and couldn't manage the cow farm any longer.

However, he didn't want to sell the cows and quit farming. Instead, he offered Ralph the chance to manage the farm.

At the time, Harris and his wife were living in Hope. They wasted no time in selling their house there and buying a manufactured home to put on the farm.

They later sold the manufactured house and built the home of their dreams, doing most of the work themselves. Their dream came true 20 years earlier than they expected. The family moved into its new home in May, 1994.

Claudette works for the University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension Service as an associate in 4-H and water quality.

Harris is a grazing land specialist for the National Resources Conservation Service in Hope, and was recently reassigned to Little Rock as the grazing land specialist for the state. In 1981, the Harris family planted 60 acres of trees, thinning it once. But, when the March 1, 1997, tornado blew through Nevada County, 20 acres of their timber was damaged, forcing them to sell the trees for pulpwood.

Once the timber was harvested, they cleared the land to replant it again. This was done in March, 1999.

The family uses 40 acres of the timberland for Agro-Forestry, a new type of forestry practice.

Harris said this involves the grazing of cattle on the same land where trees are planted in pine timber. Grazing the forage, he continued, increases the timber production by recycling the nutrients in the soil.

This practice, he concluded, has been shown to increase production by as much as 20 percent.

The rest of the timber is on Claudette's home place in Okolona.

It had to be clear cut and replanted in pine. Strips were left along the creek and drainage ways as buffer zones for wildlife and erosion control.

The family has a small herd of 20 crossbred cows for the cow/calf operation part of the ranch.

Because of market demands for black feeder calves, they began using Brangus bulls two years ago.

The calves are vaccinated and implanted at an early age.

Harris said by holding onto the herd, it helps even out the cash flow throughout the year.

The herd size was reduced three years ago as the Harris's began backing calves. The family uses its own calves in their operation, which includes contract grazing.

They run about 120 calves annually, getting calves this year averaging 380 pounds each. Their goal is to add another 250 pounds to the animals during grazing season, starting March 1.

Brad and Heather applied for and received Youth Farm Loans in the '98 grazing season. With the money, they bought 13 calves each, grazing them and selling them to pay off the loans.

They did well enough to each make a small profit after all was said and done.

In '97, the family bought 26 Brangus heifers, breeding them to Angus and Brangus bulls.

A portion of the 26 heifers were sold as bred animals, with the balance being sold as cow/calf pairs.

The Harris clan makes use of a management intensive grazing program on the farm.

A total of 26 acres is used for pastures, with each pasture being blocked off in 2.5 acre units.

The base grasses are Bermuda, Bahia and Dallis grass. Some 60 acres are over seeded with ryegrass each fall to help provide good spring grazing for the stocker cattle.

The ryegrass is planted using the broadcast method.

Fertilizer is applied once a stand of grass is obtained. From there, the fertilizer is applied according to production needs.

The family uses a first and second grazer system, meaning the stockers are grazed first, then the cows, as the cows have lower nutritional needs.

Once the stocker cattle is sold, the family cuts hay, using some as a cash crop to sell. The hay operation provides a solid seed bed for the annual ryegrass planting.

In 1997, the Harris's installed waterlines to provide water to the cattle. By installing these lines and tanks, each pasture receives water.

An available supply of water is on hand for the livestock in all pasture and promotes grazing while eliminating wasted energy by the cattle having to walk long distances to the water.

Market demands required the Harris's to utilize Brangus bulls two years ago, as black feeder calves were what consumers wanted.

The majority of calves raised are sold at the Hope Livestock Auction, with some cattle processed and sold locally as farm-raised beef.

When the family had a large cow/calf operation, the Harris's used the Pendleton Livestock Record Keeping System.

But, when the operation was scaled back, they went to the Farm Credit Record Book method, and using the old ways of keeping up with the cattle by calendar.

Each cow is numbered with an ear tag, with data about the cow recorded by number.

Those cows not producing as they should annually are sold.

The Harris's have a separate bank account for the farm, using this account only for farm expenses. By doing this, they are able to see where the money is going and what profits, if any, are being made.

Information is also stored in a file cabinet in the home, along with having a safety deposit box at the bank.

With several checking and savings accounts, a personal computer with the Quicke