Country Lifestyles
Dying is easy; it’s living that’s hard- Profile on Freddy Vest
(Video: CBN showcased Vest’s story in 2012. The piece was entitled, Life beyond the Gave.)
By Jessica Crabtree
Freddy Vest was born in Celina, Texas, in 1950. His parents, Bud and Bessie were farmers who raised their 18 kids picking and hoeing cotton. Being the 17th child, Vest’s family was made up of nine boys and nine girls. As Vest said, “Momma and Daddy raised their own help. We would work the rows and the older ones would always finish before me. They would come catch me up. We always helped one another.” It was a welcomed gesture with such back-breaking work like picking cotton.
Vest grew up as some would label poor, but to him and the other 17 kids, they didn’t know it. Their mother put three square meals on the table daily all while canning and doing chores. Where some people had two to 10 foot gardens, she had two acre gardens. Her garden was full of beans, tomatoes and fruit trees. When Vest was eight, his father took a job with Wells Bros. Seed and Grain and moved the family to Plano. Shortly after, Vest’s father began his own sharecropping and relocated them to Frisco where Vest graduated high school.
With dreams of being a rodeo cowboy, Vest and best friend, Scotty Cobb related on their upbringing and dreams. His driving desire was to one day be a calf roper like his uncle, Vest started with the least expensive, bull riding. He remembers well going and buying a $15 rope and $5 pair of spurs, for at the time, calf roping was the most expensive. By the age of 25, Vest had single-handedly taught himself and horses how to calf rope and be competitive at it. To read more pick up the July 2015 issue of NTFR.
By: Martha Crump
Most cattle producers can tell you quite a lot about balancing cattle diets for energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals based on the specific needs for their herd and type of operation.
A key factor, and one that is often overlooked, is that how your animals perform is also directly affected by their water intake.
Now many of you may already be thinking “well of course water is necessary, anybody knows that!”
In many years, as September marches into October, we are beginning to experience some return of rainfall. But as many of us know, that is not always the case. Often we are still experiencing hot and dry weather, and water supplies are dwindling.
When we find ourselves experiencing those types of fall conditions, it is critical to not only understand the daily water requirements for cattle, but also the impact that the quality of water can have on herd health and development.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By: Annette Bridges
A friend and I were recently talking about our husbands. She made a comment that I felt also perfectly described me and my hubby.
“He slows me and I hurry him. I’m sure that is why we do well together,” she said.
“Precisely!” I thought. Why?
Because when two different worlds collide, it can be magical.
No matter what those two different worlds are- a man and a woman with very different personalities, beliefs, or backgrounds, two partners with contrasting passions, strengths, or talents, or when a country boy marries a city girl.
To read more, pick up a copy of the October edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
Watauga, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, is known for its rich history as a railroad stop, but over the course of the last year, one teen girl has put it on the map for agriculture as well. Emma Harvey has lived in Tarrant County her entire life. Despite being highly involved in her local 4-H chapter, she still felt there was more she could do. In the spring of 2023, she stepped up to the plate to take over the title of Tarrant County Teen Miss Agriculture USA.
“It all started when I put in an application for the teen title here in Tarrant County,” explained Harvey.
The Miss Agriculture USA program is a national non-profit, age-inclusive pageant program that offers both competition and non-competition titles to women dedicated to the promotion of agriculture.
Read more in the October issue of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available online and in print. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive NTFR in your inbox each week.
Photo by Hannah Claxton.
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