Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Wards Earn Farm Family Honors

Utilizing new and innovative methods of ranching is nothing new to this year's farm family of the year.

Everett and Anice Ward were selected to represent Nevada County in the annual competition honoring farmers and ranchers. This contest is sponsored each year by the Entergy Corporation, formerly Arkansas Power and Light.

The Wards operation totals 1,570 acres, with 825 in timberland and 745 used for pastureland.

Through the years, the Wards have expanded the scope of their farming system after beginning with a modest 200 acres in 1948, after Everett returned from World War II and resigned from the Navy.

The two were married in 1945, and lived as frugally as possible, according to Anice. She said each month there were several envelopes set out. These were marked for items such as rent, utilities, groceries and, as she said, the most important, savings.

At the time, she was a "city girl," who didn't know the difference between a cow and a bull.

Her husband's enthusiasm for owning a farm was contagious and the Ward's worked toward this goal.

However, while in college on a basketball scholarship, World War II broke out. Everett quit school and joined the Naval Air Corps.

He stayed with the Navy until 1947, when he resigned and returned home to work for his dream.

Anice said he has always believed the best investment a person could have was land.

But buying a farm didn't happen right away after he returned from the service.

In fact, when he got back to Prescott, they used their savings and bought half interest in a grocery store (now Taylor's Big Star).

Still, the Wards dreamed of owning land and farming.

Their dream began to come true in 1948 when someone took a chance and loaned them the money to buy their first 200 acres.

Once the land was in hand, the Wards bought some breeding heifers to start a cow/calf operation, adding polled Hereford bulls to their small herd.

With the passage of time, a lot of hard work and some good fortune, the Wards were able to buy more land and expand their farm.

However, while enjoying farm life, the Wards were still in the grocery business. This was done, Anice said, because their small cattle operation didn't pay the bills.

Unbelievably, running a grocery store and farming wasn't enough for Everett. In 1952, he entered the world of politics, running for, and winning, the office of Nevada County Sheriff and Collector. He served two terms in this capacity.

After four years, the Wards decided they had better concentrate more on their grocery and farming interests.

They had outgrown the original 2,000 square foot grocery store, building a 7,200 square foot facility, which was later replaced with a 13,000 square foot structure.

In addition, they bought enough land to build a pharmacy beside the grocery store, which was rented out.

In 1957, they joined Affiliated Foods, with Everett serving on the board of directors of the organization for 23 years, until he retired from the grocery business in 1981.

When he retired from the grocery business, Ward "went back to basics," and concentrated on his first love -- raising cattle and timber.

The Wards tried their hand at row crops in the 1970's in an effort to diversify their operation. They planted 100 to 150 acres of rice, 600 acres of soybeans and 100 acres of wheat.

Crops were discontinued because of the drought in 1980.

Still, just one operation wasn't enough for Everett as he and a partner obtained a general contractor's license in 1986 and began bidding on fencing jobs.

All the while, though, he continued working on his herd, doing everything possible to improve it.

However, when the drought of '80 forced the Wards to rethink their plans, they decided to use their farmland for timber.

They bought a tree planter and planted 735 acres in pine seedlings, along with 110 acres of hardwoods.

An extra bonus with the trees is they helped control erosion of the land.

Where the cattle were concerned, the Wards studied different kinds of grasses for their pastures. They became interested in Tifton 44 Bermudagrass and visited ranches in Arkansas, Texas and Georgia to study their methods.

Convinced this was the best grass for them, the Wards returned and planted 120 acres of Tifton 44. Each spring, they spread a commercial fertilizer at a rate of 300 pounds per acre.

Following each cutting, they refertilize with 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre and average cutting every 30 days.

After each cutting, they run a tedder through the hay to speed the curing process. The hay is baled as soon as the moisture level is right. It is then moved from the fields into the barns.

In the mid 1980's, the Wards began an intensive grazing program with about 10 paddocks, using 12.5 gauge steel wire with an electric fence charger.

At this time, they have 32 paddocks to handle 240 head of cattle on 330 acres, with minerals available to the animals at all times.

The cattle are rotated from paddock to paddock every day or two, with some paddocks in the cell grazing system skipped so the grasses can be cut for hay.

In the fall of 1995, the Wards planted 15 acres of Matua grass and another 15 acres of endophyte-free fescue to use for winter pastures.

Each fall, 10 of the paddocks are sod seeded with Marshall rye grass for winter pasturing as well.

The cattle, during winter months, are fed round-baled hay with a super slicer putting the feed in windrows.

By changing the feeding location daily, the cows help spread manure over the farm, which also helps fertilize the ground.

The cows and calves are raised completely on pasture and forage with no supplementary feed.

Annually, the Wards buy 1,200 bushels of feed corn directly from the farmer's combine, storing it in their grain bins to be used in the feeding of weaning heifers and bulls.

In 1989, the Wards drilled a deep well, installing a water system for their livestock. This provides the cattle with fresh water in all paddocks, and appears to have improved the overall health of the herd.

In the mid 80's, the Wards had about 100 brood cows of various breeds. They sold all the bulls and purchased full blood Salers bulls for breeding.

In 1993, working to improve the herd, they added some composite bulls. These bulls were bought from Leachman Cattle in Montana.

These animals are composed of 25 percent Red Angus, 25 percent Gelbvieh, 25 percent Simmental and the remainder is Hereford.

The Wards use a 90 day controlled breeding season with their herd. Sixty to 90 days after the breeding season ends, they have a veterinarian give the cows pregnancy tests.

At this point, all open cows are then sold.

The cattl