Farm & Ranch
Ken Farmer: Western Storyteller
College football player, Marine, salesman, wildcatter, cattle and horse rancher, professional television and movie actor and team penner – that is not a list of the careers of multiple individuals, but the accomplishments of a single man by the name of Ken Farmer. However, these careers only led
him to his true passion, when at the age of 69, he found his calling as an author.
Since that time, he has written more than 30 novels that frequently top the Amazon best seller list in the western science fiction and military action categories.
Not many would be daring enough to begin a new career so late in life, but failure is something that never crossed Farmer’s mind.
“It was very fulfilling. I am very heavy right brained, and I have a lot of creativity, and it wasn’t going anywhere after I retired from acting. I was not a happy camper. I do speaking engagements, and my theme is usually ‘it ain’t ever too late,’” explained Farmer. “My daddy used to tell me ‘If you think you can or think you can’t…you’re right.’ It never occurred when I started writing that I would fail at it.”
Farmer has written more than three million words since he began writing. The humorous 78-year-old makes his home near Gainesville, Texas, where he has been spinning out bestselling novels for nearly a decade, but his journey to success began long before that.
Farmer was born in Kilgore, Texas, the younger of two sons to Robert Reese and Johnnie Vertis Jolley Farmer. Robert Reese Farmer was a driller for Shell Oil, and at the time Kilgore was the big boom town. His father’s career choice meant a lot of moving for the family, and as a child he attended 21 schools in seven states. Farmer took a somewhat unique approach to fitting in at new schools.
“You learned to adjust,” said Farmer. “When I was in second grade I figured out I was going to be the new kid, so I would find out who the school bully was and pick a fight. You win some you lose some, but you’re instantly accepted. I tried being the new kid for a while and that wasn’t working, so I learned to
adapt.”
Farmer wrapped up his high school education in Gainesville in 1959 and made his way to the University of Oklahoma to play football, but he hit a spout of bad luck when he came down with mono and missed his finals. Around the same time, his best friend from his high school days, Dennie Clark, called and urged Farmer to join the Marine Corps with him.
To read more pick up a copy of the October 2019 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Hannah Claxton, Editor
As the sun rises each day, so do the dozens of mouths that Meghan McGovern is responsible for getting fed. Rather than the sounds of a rooster crowing, McGovern hears the bellows and bleats of a variety of exotic deer, the chortle of kangaroos, the grunts of water buffaloes, and the chirps of a lemur.
Nestled against the banks of the Red River, the Double M Ranch and Rescue, with its high game fences and deer sprinkling the landscape,s its in stark contrast to the surrounding ranches.
“Having deer is kind of like eating potato chips- you can never actually have just one,” said McGovern with a laugh.
McGovern has several herds to take care of- fallow deer, axis deer, water buffalo, goats, and bison. In smaller numbers, there’s also a few kangaroos, a lemur, a potbelly pig, a pair of zebras, a watusi, and a few horses.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Barry Whitworth, DVM, MPH
With the prolonged drought, most pastures in Oklahoma end up in poor condition. With the lack of available forage, animals may go in search of alternative foods.
If oak trees are in the pastures, acorns may be a favorite meal for some livestock in the fall. This may result in oak poisoning.
Oak leaves, twigs, buds, and acorns may be toxic to some animals when consumed.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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