Page 14 - MWC 2-2-2023s

The Midwest Cattleman · February 2, 2023 · P14
FROM SPECIAL OPS TO A SPECIAL FARM
Ron Locke has been to al- thought process at the time.
most every country in the
world, but few people knew
exactly where he was or why
he was there. He won’t tell
you — even if you ask. But
for the past 24 years, it’s been
much easier to locate the am-
icable and loquacious cow-
calf producer. You’ll find him
in the foothills of Missouri’s
Ozark Mountains near the
rural community of Long
Lane; it’s the only so-named
community you’ll find on a
U.S. map.
Locke’s childhood was
spent just outside of Chica-
go in urban Hammond, Ind.
When he was 8 years old, he
spent two weeks of the sum-
mer visiting his aunt and un-
cle’s beef farm in Missouri. He
never missed another sum-
mer of vacating the city for
the country and eventually
stayed in Missouri for the en-
tire summer between school
years. According to Locke, “I
got hooked on farming and
beef cattle pretty early. I
didn’t know it at the time, but
I was being groomed to farm.”
He still has his uncle’s 8N
Ford tractor that he learned
to drive as a kid.
Immediately after high
school, Locke married his
high school sweetheart, Judi,
and within two months,
packed up for their trek to a
beef farming career. “We rent-
ed an apartment in Buffalo,
Mo., not far from my uncle’s
place, and I was going to be a
farmer,” Locke recalled of his
Ron Locke’s portable shade proved to be a game changer for his rotational grazing
system. It allowed him to use additional paddocks during Missouri’s hot summers.
Photo by Hay & Forage Grower
By Mike Rankin
although they, too, found
themselves living at
Into the wild blue yonder various military bases
The young couple got a loan throughout the world.
from the bank and bought 40 “After retirement from
acres next to his uncle’s farm. the Air Force in 1998, I
Locke soon learned that a was ready to come back
steady paycheck wasn’t part to Missouri and grow
of the deal, and they needed grass,” Locke reflected.
money to live on. While visit-
ing with a different uncle who Learning grass and
was in the Air Force, Locke beef
became convinced that he, Upon returning to the
too, should enlist and build Show-Me State, Locke
some financial equity. and his family had a
Locke joined with the recently-built house on
promise that he’d be trained his 40 acres, a pond that
as a heavy equipment — was dug before joining
think bulldozer — operator. the Air Force, and lots
This was a skill that would of toxic tall fescue grass.
be useful when he came back His aunt and uncle also
to the farm. While still in had their farm, but they “I don’t understand why a cattle producer
basic training, he was offered were elderly by this wouldn’t rotationally graze once the water
infrastructure is in place,” Ron Locke said. “The
the opportunity to become time, in declining health benefits are ten-fold.” Photo by Hay and Forage
an explosives specialist. He and needing help, which Grower
accepted the offer, and out of was a major reason why
basic training in 1973, Locke Locke retired from the phy. “I don’t understand why
was sent to Korea for a year Air Force and came home. a cattle producer wouldn’t
to blow up unused munitions In the military, a lot of time rotationally graze once the
that remained from the Viet- is spent training, either in water infrastructure is in
nam War. As you might ex- the classroom or field. Unfor- place. The only other limiting
pect, Locke interjected, “We tunately, there wasn’t a coor- factor is time, and that’s only
had a blast.” dinated boot camp for graz- 10 minutes a day to move a
Once back in the states, ing beef cows, at least at that polywire. Other than that,
Locke was trained as an Air time. there are no excuses, and the
Force combat controller. This “I was always a big believer benefits are ten-fold.”
was a group known as the in education,” Locke noted. “I Through the years, Locke
“quiet professionals.” Little immediately hooked up with has added some unique fea-
of what they did was public extension and the USDA. tures to his beef grazing sys-
knowledge, and Locke led a They put me on to the Show- tem. He has lanes that eas-
life of secrecy for 26 years, Me-Select Replacement Heif- ily allow him to move cattle
providing air cover and sup- er Program, and I bought a and get to paddocks that are
port for units such as Delta dozen animals at their sale ready to graze. The water in-
Force and the Navy SEALs. to start my herd.” Eventually, frastructure is also such that
Not even his wife and young he started operating his un- it can be tapped from any
family knew where he was, cle’s 200 acres as well. paddock, regardless of size.
Early on, Locke attended Both above and below ground
a grazing school and became waterlines are used.
sold on rotational grazing. For years, providing shade
Like most beginning gra- in some of Locke’s paddocks
ziers, he admitted to making proved to be a challenge and
his fair share of mistakes limited his ability to move
and chuckled as he recalled cows to certain areas during
the first fence he built. “I the hot Missouri summers.
had posts every 6 feet with Trained to be a problem solv-
three strands of electric wire. er, Locke found his solution
It’s still out there, but now with a heavy-duty portable
I build a fence with posts shade unit that he’s been uti-
every 90 feet and one strand lizing for the past four years.
of polywire. One strand is all As the cows move, so does the
that’s needed to turn a cow if shade, which he can hook to
you have a good charger,” he his utility task vehicle (UTV),
added. move, and set up in a matter
After years of trial and of minutes.
error, the Air Force officer These days, the Locke’s
turned beef producer is stead- R&J Ranch consists of 400
fast in his grazing philoso-
acres with multiple fields and