TIMBO — At 65, Larry Musick doesn’t show many signs of slowing down.
“I just work,” he said, smiling.
One of 10 children, he said he started working on the family farm when he was 8. He’s continued that work ethic throughout his life and now raises Angus cattle and hay on a 2,620-acre operation in Timbo. Musick, 65, and his wife, Kathie, also 65, are the 2017 Stone County Farm Family of the Year. The Musicks have three adult daughters and 10 grandchildren.
Larry said being named Stone County Farm Family of the Year is “quite an honor.”
“I never thought about getting it,” he said. “You’ve gotta like [farming] to do it.”
Larry was born in 1952 in Eudora, Kansas, the eighth of 10 children born to Merritt Musick Sr. and Ella Musick. His siblings include Iona Spring, Imogene Brecheisen, Norman Musick, Laverne Musick, Geraldine Wilcox, Marilyn Lindeen, Merritt Musick Jr., Janice McKenzie and Shirley Crawshaw, all of Kansas.
“I was the No. 8 kid. When supper was ready, you would find me in the middle of the trough,” Larry said, smiling.
“We all had chores to do after school. We all had jobs,” he said.
“When I was 8 years old, I began helping my father on our farm,” he said. “By then, I was big enough to drive a tractor.
“I’ve always loved farming. At age 16, I bought my first cattle.”
Kathie was born in Batesville, a daughter of Evelyn Patrick of Mountain View and the late Silas Patrick. Kathie grew up in Newnata. She has one sister, Barbara Jennings of Newnata, and one brother, Howard Patrick of Farmer City, Illinois.
Kathie attended school in Mountain View, Timbo and finally Eudora, Kansas, where she met Larry; her father moved the family to Eudora, where he worked on a power plant.
Kathie and Larry met in high school and have been married 46 years. Both are graduates of Eudora High School. The Musicks moved to Arkansas in 1983.
Today, the Musicks raise hay on 750 acres of their farm, which is a combination of leased and owned land. Their cow/calf operation includes 460 head of cows and 17 bulls. They sell the calves through local livestock auctions and the Superior Video auction.
Prior to farming, Larry worked for Ken Roberts at Roberts Ford Tractor in Mountain View. At one time, Larry also owned and operated T&L Trucking, a livestock-hauling operation.
In 1986, Larry purchased a 27-acre farm that had a house and chicken house on it. The family lived in that house for a few years until they built a new one just down the hill from the old one.
“At that time, I had 40 head of cattle and raised broiler chickens,” he said. “In 1995, I started buying yearling cattle that were preconditioned on the farm and at a later date were sent to feed lots in western Kansas. I also ran 120 head of cows on rented farms.
“In 2010, I increased my cow herd to over 300,” he said. “In 2012, I purchased a 415-acre farm” and grew the herd to what it is today.
“I’d like to grow,” Larry said. “I’d like to have more land … more cattle. I lease some land now from 12 other farmers. I hope to build more hay barns and purchase more land.”
Kathie helps Larry on the farm. She is retired from the Arkansas Department of Human Services in Mountain View, where she worked for 10 years. She also worked for 14 years as the office manager of KWOZ radio station, which was in Mountain View at the time.
The Musicks spend a lot of time with their three daughters and their families.
The couple’s oldest daughter, Teena Trammell, 44, and her husband, Travis, have two children, Tanner, 13, and Tenley, 6, and live in Mountain View. Teena is a teacher in the Mountain View School District.
The Musicks’ middle daughter, Amy Thomas, 41, and her husband, Tom, live in Mountain View. They have four children — Andrew, 19, Lexy, 17, Mason, 17, and Wyatt, 12. Amy is a hairdresser in Mountain View.
The Musicks’ youngest daughter, Khristy Oden, 36, and her husband, Lance, live in Greenbrier. They have four children — Luke, 11, Jacob, 9, Ella, 7, and Sophie, 5. Khristy is a home-school teacher.
Larry said he is fortunate to have 10 grandchildren.
“The oldest, Andrew, helped on the farm from age 11,” he said. “Mason began helping shortly after that, and now Tanner helps with the hay. I suppose Wyatt will join us later.”
Larry said Luke and Jacob live in Greenbrier and “don’t get to help much, but hopefully, they will some day.”
“The girls just like to ride in the tractors,” Larry said.
He said the family has faced, and overcome, challenges through the years of farming, including maintaining cattle numbers through drought, ice storms and armyworms.
“We’ve really had some dry spells and fought the armyworms,” Larry said. “My grandson Tanner would pray for rain, and Mason prayed against the armyworms, and with the Lord’s help, we got through it all — 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 says it all: ‘I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.’”
Larry said he really doesn’t have any hobbies.
“I just work,” he said, again. “Kathie wants me to slow down.
“She goes with the girls to different places, but I don’t usually go. They like to go to the beach.”
Kathie said they also like to go to flea markets.
Larry and Kathie are members of Timbo Valley Assembly of God. Larry has been a member of the Stone County Farm Bureau for 40 years. He has also helped in local mission work throughout the years.