Yuma, Colorado to look at calves based on a classified ad in the High Plains Journal. He purchased five or six head with the money and covered the expenses. So, with some quick math one can see that the average was a lot different than it is today. One of these calves went on to win reserve at the Arkansas State Fair in 2001. Jeremy, while at the U of A, took a part time job in the show barn under Frank Jackson and Pat Haley at Jac’s Ranch a purebred angus operation in Bentonville, AR. This job would be a catalyst for their future, by allowing him to make connections in the show world with multiple seed stock producers. In May of 2002, Jeremy and Andrea were married. To say they didn’t have much would be an understatement. Jeremy worked full time at Jac’s while Andrea continued school. Their first daughter, Chancee, was born in the fall of 2002. They moved their small family to Mulberry, AR, by Andrea’s parents. They sold cattle private treaty that they bought, or that Jeremy had raised out of some of the cattle at his parents. That same year, they produced another reserve champion at the Arkansas State Fair. Jeremy clipped sale cattle and followed their families around to Jackpots, while also doing custom fitting at major shows for different ranches. With another reserve steer at the 2003 Arkansas State Fair, they then were able to convince a banker to loan them the
money to purchase the set of cows that had produced the last two steers. They were Maine influence which Jeremy liked because they could not only produce steers but also replacement heifers. In 2004 they moved to Romance, AR, where they purchased a working 100-acre dairy farm. They converted the milk barn to a cooler and clipping room, and the calf barn into a show barn. Unfortunately, the show cattle sales were not enough to support their growing family. Jeremy grew up raking and bailing hay with his father and grandfather, so they purchased two 7210 John Deere tractors, a John Deer bailer, 2 Cutters and the rest of the hay equipment necessary to start a custom hay-bailing business. With the help of Jeremy’s parents, they used the new equipment to run the business. Carlee was born in the fall of 2004; they also got their first big win at the Arkansas State Fair. The winning steer was a Dejavu calf purchased from a college friend named Jacob Tusa. They continued their annual fall private treaty bid-offs throughout the early 2000’s, and added females into the mix around 2006. With things still being tight financially, they used Kodak disposable cameras to photograph. They made photo duplicates and glued to poster boards for their advertisements at shows. Although they were doing
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