Arkansas native and commercial cow-calf producer Kay Casey delved into the life of cattle farming 20 years ago, and now possesses over 300 acres of land with roughly 175-200 head of cattle in Bradley County, Hot Spring County, and Garland County. Her day usually begins around 5:30 a.m. to 6 a.m., when she and her business partner split up their duties of checking in on the cattle.
"I have some farms close by where I lease land so I go there first," she said. "Then we split up if it's 20 miles or whatever. He'll go one place and I'll go the other. I have a list of all my cattle -- either their name or their ear tag. I have highlighters in every vehicle so when I go; I highlight those cows off after I lay my eyes on them because if a cow gets in trouble, you don't always have two days to get one well. You have to start administering some antibiotics or medicine if they're sick or running fever or if they're having a baby and it gets caught in the birth canal. You kind of have to be on top of things. When you lose one cow, the perspective people don't realize, it's actually about $1,500. That's what you're losing.
"I was raised on a farm. It was a supplemental farm. My parents had jobs. I just grew up taking care of cattle (and) helping my mom and dad. They sold their farm, when I was probably in college, and it just really broke my heart. I always said I was going to have cattle and as soon as I was able to get out of college and had my baby, we started buying some cattle for her show and just started our herd.
Casey is currently in her second year as Area 6 vice president for the Arkansas Cattlemen's Association. Area 6 covers six counties overall: Clark, Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Jefferson and Saline. The ACA holds four areas of focus: advocacy for Arkansas producers, development of the next generation, educational opportunities and legislative representation.
"It's a grassroots operation," she said. "You have to join and pay a yearly fee. ... In each county, they have a cattlemen's meeting. They have a board of directors for each county and they usually meet once a month. They have education programs that they bring in two cattlemen so that they have a support system for the cattle farmers so they can learn about different grasses, different types of cattle, different medicines. When you get into the state level of it, we oversee the counties and make sure the memberships are good and people who need our assistance -- that we're there for them."
She said her daughter was a member "way before me. She loved to go to the county meetings and they always have a great meal. She was the youngest person there so they doted on her and she loves cattle. ... She would have the best time. I was encouraged to go because of how much fun it would be for me 'cause I work a lot. So I went, I joined, and I loved it. Loved the people, the fellowship we had. (I) really learned some things. I started working with a friend of mine. He worked at the state office and we started working our membership. We had pretty low membership in Hot Spring County and the surrounding areas. People didn't know what we did. People didn't know how much it cost an the benefits of being a member so we started recruiting members. I won five years in a row -- a highest recruitment award ... When the (vice president) position came open, I ran for it and they voted on me. I'm actually the only woman who sits on the board."
As vice president, one of her main duties is to stay in communication.
"We aren't doing a lot, unfortunately. During a regular year, what I do is I go to each county that I represent and go to their meetings. I try to go at least every other month to each meeting. It's almost impossible to go every month because there's so many of them, but I usually go once a week. I keep communications between the state level and the county level so that they know what's going on at a state level. Like, if we were meeting in Congress or going to the legislators to promote a bill -- I take all that information back and let that county know. I also help people recruit new members and educate them on what Arkansas Cattlemen's (Association) can do for them as an organization.
"We also have state meetings and that's where we get our information from. ... We make decisions on scholarships. We have a group called The Young Cattle Leaderships class and we used to not have to go through applications, but now we have so many people who apply for this class because it's kind of a ground up, grassroots organization for these young farmers who are trying to get started. They get to go to different farms and feed lots and to sale barns -- a lot of educational stuff."
Along with her responsibilities, Casey also uses her time to help other farmers whenever they're in need -- no matter the issue.
"We are not currently having monthly meetings because they are in a small, closed, area and there are usually between 50 and 100 people and a lot of them are at an age range where they're at an increased risk," she said. "We've had to do a lot of conference meetings (at the state level) on the phone, but it really affects you because you're just hands on. I can't go to a farm and help somebody if they need it because we're trying to be careful. We're trying not spread this virus. We still have to sell beef. In the beef industry, if we don't sell our beef, then everyone sees the reflection in the grocery stores.
"Anybody that calls. I try to help. I read a lot and I spend a lot of time with my cows. ... Usually it's medical questions or stuff to do with the ground also. If you're gonna be a cattle farmer, you have to be a forage farmer also. You have to know how to raise good grass. You need to know the chemicals. Some people spray, some people don't, but you don't want a bunch of weeds to feed your cows in the winter. ... Right now, I've had somebody who's bought some bottle calves. I've probably spent, I don't know how many hours, a couple weeks at her house just getting them well. They got sick and they had temperatures and we nursed them through so finally she called me and said 'Temperatures are normal.' This is what I love. I love to be successful and teach people."
With the amount of dedication she puts into her business, Casey also considers it a lifestyle choice. An aspect of her life that she finds the most satisfying is raising bottle calves.
"It is every day. You don't get a day off hardly at all. If you plan on going somewhere that doesn't consist of dealing with the farm, you definitely have to have some help and I don't have a lot of hired help. ... My parents do help me a lot when I call. As far as a business, there's good days and bad days. The cattle industry has really been affected by COVID. The prices go up and down. They're different daily. At one time, the farmers were taking really big hits selling their cattle and they still are.
"I love to raise bottle calves. When I speak of a bottle calf, I mean an orphan calf who lost their mother or the mother doesn't like that calf. There's lots different reasons. Health reasons and environmental reasons that that happens so I end up with two or three and then I get people that call me from all over the state because they know that I raise. It's a real trick. It's not an easy job at all to keep them alive. That's the hard part of it, but I pride myself. I spent a lot of time doing it and I usually have great success at it. It's my favorite part -- raising those little babies. They get names and they're so gentle."
Having been influenced by the way her mother raised her along with the values she was taught, Casey's daughter is now in the midst of completing her second year of veterinarian school. Casey stressed the significance of educating about the food process at a young age so that everyone can fully understand where their products, such as beef, come from.
"I truly believe that her passion derived from how she was raised on the farm," she said. "I was also in 4H so my mom was a 4H leader and then I was a 4H leader. It's been a really important part of our life. It's important that we educate the younger generation about where their food comes from and I try to be an advocate. I go to some of the local schools, elementary schools and did some programs with cattle -- trying to teach them. If you ask them 'What'd you have supper?' 'A hamburger.' 'Where'd that hamburger come from?' 'It came from the grocery store.' 'Where'd the grocery store get it?' They don't know. They don't understand because we fail to educate and to keep educating. I think education is really important."