LANTY — Their brand – a “lazy” G — might indicate that Mike and Beverly Gadberry don’t like to work too hard, but a recent visit to their Lazy G Ranch in the Lanty community found just the opposite.
The Gadberrys, both 65, raise chickens and cattle on their 127-acre farm and do most of the work themselves.
The Gadberrys are the 2016 Conway County Farm Family of the Year. They raise approximately 651,000 chickens per year and maintain a cattle operation of registered Angus cows and calves, replacement heifers and bulls.
“They reached Beverly first when they called to tell us we had been selected as the Conway County Farm Family of the Year. I was out on the farm somewhere,” Mike said.
“I was sorta surprised … and pleased,” he said. “They asked if we would accept it, and I told them we would think about it and get back with them. … Of course, we accepted.
“It’s just nice that they thought of us. I sure do appreciate everybody considering us. I always try to meet everyone and call them my friend. I never want to do anybody wrong.”
Beverly said the couple were “enjoying” being the Farm Family of the Year.
“We’ve had a lot of friends stop by and congratulate us. Mike’s parents would have been proud and happy for us,” she said.
“We work together,” Beverly said, smiling. “I’ve got to have him, and he’s got to have me.”
The Gadberrys raise broilers for the Dardanelle campus of Tyson Foods Inc. Mike said they raise about seven flocks a year.
The Gadberrys also raise Angus cattle.
“We raised commercial cattle first but wanted to raise a registered breed, so we decided on Angus,” Mike said.
“We now have about 15 mama pairs [with calves] and six to eight replacement heifers,” he said, adding that they sell the cattle at local sale barns and to private
individuals.
“We also go to the Northeast Angus Association’s sale at Charlotte. We’ve had good luck there. It’s a slow build-up of our herd,” he said. “The Angus cattle are more costly than commercial breeds.
“My goal is to produce the very best — to have a product that is healthy, safe for the consumer, to raise the best cattle for farmers or ranchers that need a replacement herd bull or heifers. And to do that, the ranch is focusing on genetics of cattle. To achieve this goal, it takes hard work and planning.”
Mike said he is trying to become better educated about cattle production. He has just completed a program to learn about artificial insemination of his cattle. He has also attended the Beef IQ Program through the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, and has attended other conferences sponsored by the Extension Service.
Mike is also working to improve the condition of his chicken houses.
“We have completed updates, such as adding stirring fans and switching from incandescent to fluorescent and now to LED lighting,” he said. “We do our best to operate our houses based on Tyson Foods’ recommended programs to raise a healthy chicken.”
Mike was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, a son of the late L.N. and Zella Gadberry. Mike has one living brother, Rusty Gadberry of Conway; two siblings — Emmett Gadberry of St. Vincent and Virginia Stroud of Tucker Mountain near Solgohachia —
are deceased.
“Dad and Mom moved to Tucker Mountain, and Dad started farming there,” Mike said. “I grew up there.”
Mike graduated from Sacred Heart Catholic School in Morrilton in 1970. He attended Petit Jean Vo-Tech (now the University of Arkansas Community College at
Morrilton), where he studied the mechanics of diesel engines.
Beverly grew up in Morrilton, a daughter of the late Faril and Opal Brents. Beverly has four siblings: James Brents of Hattieville; Thelma Jo Darter and Carolyn Swaffar, both of Morrilton; and Ola Shannon of Atkins.
“I’m the baby of the family,” she said with a laugh. “They still treat me like one, too, but that’s OK. We are all close. We’re blessed.
“I was a city girl. I said I’d never move to the country, and look at where I am today.”
Beverly graduated from Morrilton High School in 1969. She and Mike married soon after high school and have been married 45 years.
“We moved to Van Buren, where we lived for six years, then to Little Rock for four years and finally back to Conway County,” Beverly said. “We lived on Tucker Mountain until we moved here to the Lanty community in 1989.”
Mike worked as an auto mechanic, first in Van Buren, then in Little Rock and finally in Morrilton, where he worked for Allison Ford for 20 years. He also established West Side Auto Service through a partnership.
“I always wanted to farm. I helped my mom and dad. Dad had chicken houses for 45 years and raised chickens,” Mike said.
“Then we decided to get our own place and moved away from Tucker Mountain,” he said.
“Beverly found this place,” Mike said, adding that the house in which they live is a 100-year-old house that the former owner had moved from Conway in Faulkner County to the property in Conway County. “We’ve remodeled it.”
While Mike worked off the farm as an auto mechanic, Beverly also worked off the farm for a time, first at Arrow Automotive, then for the Arkansas Area Agency on Aging office in Morrilton.
Mike said that after the sale of West Side Auto in 2006, he and Beverly built the three chicken houses.
“I was able to make farming my sole source of income,” he said.
Mike said the couple have no plans to grow the farm “landwise.”
“But we want to grow our cattle operation and raise
better-quality cattle,” he said.
“The chickens are our main income,” Mike said. “The Angus cattle are the second source of income, and hay, the third source.”
The Gadberrys have two adult children — Michael Shane Gadberry, 44, and Tammy Gadberry Bright, 42.
Shane and his wife, Heather, live in Plumerville. They have two children — Mary Ann, 20, and John Ryan, 18.
Mary Ann is in her second year at the University of Arkansas and has been accepted into the nursing program. When she was younger, she showed chickens and lambs at the Conway County Fair.
John Ryan will attend Arkansas Tech University in the fall and plans to become a wildlife biologist. When he was younger, he also showed chickens and lambs at the county fair and raised a garden and sold produce. For the past four years, he has shown Angus cattle at the county fair. He is a member of the Junior Angus Cattle Association and has his own herd. He is a volunteer firefighter with the Hill Creek Fire Department and works at Beechfork Ranch near Petit Jean Mountain.
Shane was a member of 4-H when he was young and started showing Brangus cattle through 4-H and going to the country fair, state fair and the junior national
Brangus shows.
Shane helps his parents on the farm when he can, but he also has his own 40-acre farm and has a full-time job as a state beef specialist and an associate professor in the department of animal science at the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock. Heather works for Acxiom Corp. in Conway.
Tammy and her husband, Randall Bright, live in Benton. They have three children — Bella Crabb, 10, Madyson Bright, 11, and Randall Bright III, 9.
Bella is in Girl Scouts and participates in competition dance. Madyson is also in Girl Scouts and participates in competition cheerleading. Randall III in in Boy Scouts and plays soccer.
Tammy was also active on the farm when she was younger, working in the chicken houses and with cattle. She showed a Brangus heifer at the county and state fairs and was active in 4-H.
Tammy works for Southwest Power Pool in Little Rock. Her husband, Randall, is a pharmaceutical
representative.
“The younger grandkids enjoy the farm now,” Beverly said. “They like the cattle and jumping on the hay. They like to be able to yell as loud as they want to and not get in trouble.
“They also like those baby chickens. It’s a treat for
city kids.”
Beverly said their children “come out when we need them, but it’s just us on the farm. If we need to, we hire young people to help us.”
Mike and Beverly attend the First Pentecostal Church of God in Morrilton, where they are involved in the nursing-home ministry and
the choir.
Mike is a member of the Conway County Cattlemen’s Association, the Arkansas Cattleman’s Association and the National Cattlemen’s Association, as well as the Northeast Arkansas Angus Association and the American Angus Association. He is also a member of the Conway County Farm Bureau.
Beverly spent several years as a 4-H leader when the couple’s children were younger.