DAMASCUS — Matt and Kortney McMahan grew up around cattle and are continuing the farming tradition with their children. The McMahans, along with their young daughters, Karley, 5, and Kinley, 3, are the Van Buren County Farm Family of the Year. Baby No. 3 is due in October.
The McMahans operate MM Cattle Co. and McMahan Enterprises Inc., which specializes in trailer sales, on 162 acres not far from the South Side Bee Branch School District on U.S. 65.
They currently have approximately 75 cow/calf pairs and three bulls, as well as some registered Shorthorn cows for their daughters to start their own herds. The family also has a few registered Angus cows. Angus crossbred cattle make up the remainder of the herd.
“We are excited about being named Farm Family of the Year,” Matt said. “We never really
thought about it. We are kinda shocked.”
Matt, 32, grew up in the area and graduated from South Side Bee Branch High School in 2003. He attended Arkansas State University-Beebe, where he studied agriculture science.
“I didn’t make it very far [in college],” he said, smiling. “I grew up farming and came back to it.”
Matt is a son of Charles and Christy McMahan of Clinton and Theresa Parish of Damascus, and a grandson of Reba Parish of Damascus and the late Ralph Parish.
Kortney, 31, was born in North Little Rock but moved to Naylor when she was 10. She is a daughter of Steve and Sandy Bargiel of Vilonia.
“We always had cows,” she said.
Kortney graduated from Mount Vernon-Enola High School in 2003. She graduated from ASU-Beebe in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in middle school education and from the University of Central Arkansas in 2010 with a master’s degree in school counseling. She has worked for the Jacksonville, Greenbrier and Nemo Vista school districts.
“I’ve been helping Matt with the business for the past couple of years,” Kortney said. “It’s just us. Sometimes we get summertime help, but for the most part, it’s just the two of us who do the work.
“I grew up with cows and love being outside every day. I love to go out and feed the cows and ride around the farm. We have a miniature horse named Wild Thing for the girls. It’s fun to see them enjoying the farm and the upbringing like we had.”
Matt and Kortney have been married for seven years.
“Cattle farming has always been a big part of our lives. Not only do we raise cattle, but so does my father and stepmother and my wife’s parents, so we have always been around cattle farming,” Matt said.
“Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my grandfather [Ralph Parish] checking and taking care of his cattle. I would say that my grandfather encouraged me to pursue cattle,” Matt said.
“When I was in high school, he loaned me some money to purchase 15 registered Angus heifers that I ran on the 40 acres where my barn currently is. We bought the heifers, had them bred through [artificial insemination] to the top prospect bulls of that time, kept the heifers to grow my herd and kept all the bull calves and sold them as breeding bulls at 15 months. As soon as I got those cattle paid for, I bought more,” Matt said.
“As my grandfather got older and in bad health, he and my grandmother decided to sell their herd,” Matt said. “I ended up buying several additional cows from them. After he passed away back in 2011, my mother and I inherited 100 acres, which she has allowed me to use to continue the growth of our cattle operation.
“When it comes to growing up in the cattle-farming industry, I am extremely thankful now for the experiences and guidance of my family.”
Matt said his cattle business was hurt by the drought of 2012.
“We are still down,” he said, adding that they managed to overcome the effects of the drought by purchasing high-priced hay and feed, and selling their calves earlier than normal. They also decreased the size of their cattle herd.
Matt said he hopes to grow his cattle herd.
“I’d like to get back to 100 head,” he said. “Then I hope to expand. … I hope to have 150 head some day.
“It’s kinda hard to make money in this cow deal right now. You really have to watch what you’re doing.”
Matt said the family
practices rotational grazing in its cattle operation.
“Rotational grazing is important to us,” he said. “We have split our fields up into 10- to 15-acre paddocks. These paddocks contain both shelter and water for our cattle. The Farm Services Agency in Clinton helped us with putting in water tanks so our cattle get fresh water all the time.”
Matt said they continue to make improvements to the soil and vegetation in the fields by spraying weeds and fertilizing the land. They are also trying to improve the fences.
“We do have a barn with a working facility to help us work and/or doctor our cattle,” he said. “We continue to make improvements to this setup so that we are able to take care of our cattle more effectively and efficiently.
“Cattle farming is something that runs deep within our families, so we definitely see acquiring more land in our future for cattle expansion.”
In addition to raising cattle, the McMahans sell livestock trailers.
“I’ve been selling them for about 10 years. We got big about four years ago and incorporated in 2011,” he said.
“We specialize in Neckover livestock trailers and truck beds. We were named the Neckover 2015 and 2016 Dealer of the Year,” Matt said.
“We also sell Delco livestock trailers, Wilson livestock trailers, Featherlite aluminum trailers and Top Hat flatbed and utility beds,” he said.
“Customer service is our top priority,” he said. “We have the largest selection of steel stock trailers in the state of Arkansas. For the cattle farmers especially, we try to keep 30-plus livestock trailers in stock at all times.”
Matt said that in addition to the cattle company and the trailer-sales company, the family also specializes in selling and installing Neckover truck beds — platform beds, skirted truck beds and hauler beds.
“Just like with our livestock trailers, we try to keep a variety of truck beds in stock for our customers,” Matt said. “We also sell truck accessories, which can be essential to the cattle farmer as well. The truck beds, along with our trailer-sales business, help us to be able to grow our cattle operation.”
Matt and Kortney have involved their children in several aspects of cattle farming and trailer sales.
“Even though they are just 5 and 3 years old, our two girls, along with their border collie, Frosty, help us work and take care of our cattle,” he said. “Our girls attend state and local cattlemen’s conventions, where we advertise our trailers, and attend local fairs and state fairs, local cattlemen’s meetings and other events.
“Since our girls are interested in Shorthorn cattle, we have bought some heifers and a bull over the past couple of years,” Matt said. “Some of these heifers were taken and shown at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky. This has given our children the opportunity to see what it takes to show cattle and the hard work needed to compete at that level.”
Both children are members of the American Junior Shorthorn Association.
“We plan to get our children involved in the local 4-H chapter as soon as they are old enough,” Matt said. “The girls cannot wait for the opportunity to showcase our cattle when they are old enough to compete at the state and national levels.”
Karley and Kinley will attend South Side Bee Branch schools when they are old enough. Karley will be in kindergarten this year at the First Baptist Church Christian Training Center in Clinton.
Matt and Kortney are members of the Van Buren County Cattlemen’s Association, platinum members of the Arkansas
Cattlemen’s Association and members of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. They are also members of the American Angus Association and the American Shorthorn Association.
McMahan Enterprises sponsors monthly meetings of the Van Buren County Cattlemen’s Association. The business sponsors local FFA and 4-H programs and sponsors buckles, provides donations for local FFA benefit auctions, buys premium livestock at local fairs and provides donations to set up its trailers at local fairs. The McMahans also attend and display trailers at the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association’s state conventions.