State SWCD Cooperator of Year receives plaque

The plaque for 2015 Moniteau County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Cooperator of the Year is Charlie and Kathy Cole, California. Pictured, from left, Resource Conservationist Ric Heckman, SWCD Board Chairman Darrell Hoellering, Charlie and Kathy Cole and District Conservationist Tony Hoover.
The plaque for 2015 Moniteau County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Cooperator of the Year is Charlie and Kathy Cole, California. Pictured, from left, Resource Conservationist Ric Heckman, SWCD Board Chairman Darrell Hoellering, Charlie and Kathy Cole and District Conservationist Tony Hoover.

The 2015 Moniteau County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Cooperator of the Year is Charlie and Kathy Cole, California.

The award was presented to the Coles April 19 at the annual open house meeting held at the SWCD offices on West Buchanan Street in California.

The Coles are owners of a beef cattle operation on Wieneke Branch Road. Their story is as follows.

City folks move ‘down on the farm’

The story of the move of Charles and Kathleen Cole from city to country is a story of how they became the recipients of the Moniteau County Soil and Water Conservation District 40th annual Cooperator of the Year award on April 19, after only nine years “down on the farm.”

The story has a number of high points, although low points are not unknown in the overall story. “After 34 years working for Ameren Missouri and living in cities and towns across Missouri, I decided to retire early,” Charles said. He and Kathy thought it would nice to buy a “little place in the country and enjoy the peace and quiet of the good life.”

They searched for a small farm of 30 to 50 acres. They finally found a “lovely farm in Moniteau County with a California address.” She liked the house and he liked the barn and the 84 acres that Wieneke Branch cut through.

His story continues:

I was finding it hard to believe that most of what we were both looking for was in this farm. And I would also be able to fulfill a promise I had made my wife through the years. My wife was born and grew up in the state of California and I had told her that someday I would move her back to California. In the spring of 2007 we purchased the farm and I got to fulfill my promise to her of moving to California (She did not think it was that funny).

After we had the renovations completed and got moved in, I started looking over the property and I thought what in the world am I going to do with all this land. I knew nothing about farming, land management or raising livestock. But I knew I needed something to keep me occupied for at least an hour or two each day. So I thought, ‘What would be better than raising cattle? This would be easy. All they do is eat grass all day.’ The previous owner told me the farm would only support about 13 head of cattle. So with big expectations, in the summer of 2007, I purchased 15 bred three-year-old cows and was now going to start living the good life.

Little did I know at this point that I should have done a lot of research before taking on this project. Half an hour after the cattle were unloaded, my dream was starting to be shattered. They were already through the fence and on my neighbor’s property. It continued to get worse as the weather became colder and it was calving time. I had made no plans for feeding hay that winter and when the cows had eaten all the grass, I was in a panic trying to find enough hay for them. The two ice storms of 2007 and 2008 further compounded my despair by wiping out most of the fences which were not in good shape to begin with. By the spring of 2008, when the grass started to green up and grow, I was reflecting on what was in front of me, if I wanted to continue to raise cattle.

I needed help!

I started doing research on the internet. I contacted the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Moniteau County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). All the agencies shared and provided very helpful literature and information about programs that would be beneficial to the overall operation of a beef cattle operation. In April of 2008, I attended grazing school which was mandatory to be eligible to apply for the EQUIP program. I met with Ed Gilmore of the NRCS and together we, but mostly him, laid out a plan to develop the farm into a rotational grazing system which would support 30 cows.

The plan included: installing one well, 12,765 feet of pipeline, six water tanks, 11,772 feet of fence, seven “heavy use” areas, 62.5 acres of pasture renovation, 62.5 acres of prescribed grazing, 8.9 acres of stockpile for winter grazing, 4.8 acres of brush management and 15.6 acres of access control.

My plan was submitted with other land owners to be ranked in point order to compete for the funds that were allocated for the EQUIP program. Things were delayed because of the 2008 presidential election and no farm bill. During this time, NRCS changed areas of work and I started working with Ric Heckman. I used the time waiting to see if my contract would be approved to upgrade around the farm. I rebuilt about 7,500 feet of perimeter fencing, added nine new gates, three culverts and installed a Priefert corral system. Everything worked out and my EQUIP plan was approved.

I signed the contract April 27, 2010 and had to have everything completed by Dec. 31, 2013. I did not follow the drawn-out time-line set up in the contract and had everything completed, except the record-keeping, in 2011. My herd was up to 35 cows and a registered Angus bull and I was feeling really good at this point because now it was easier to plan my work instead of fighting fires day after day.

So here I am retired and have a cattle operation that is almost taking care of itself. All the perimeter fencing is either new or in very good shape, except for a quarter mile. And there is a corral system that allows me to handle the cattle by myself. This is living My Dream of the Good Life. Now I can sit back and let the cows work for me. Right?

No! I wanted to expand. So in April 2012, we bought 100 acres of the old Fred Hegg farm across the road from us and here we go again.

I signed up for another EQUIP program. While working with Ric to develop a rotational grazing system for this farm, we had the 2012 drought. This farm has both Wieneke Branch and Wesson Creek running through it. However both totally dried up and I qualified for the Federal Emergency Drought Relief. I was able to get a well, up to 200 feet of pipeline and one water tank installed under this emergency declaration.

When Ric completed the design and the contract was summated for ranking, it included: installing one well, 2,825 feet of pipeline, four tanks, 10.575 feet of fence, four “heavy use “ areas, 63.8 acres of pasture renovation, 63.8 acres of prescribed grazing, 1.2 acres of critical area seeding, 35.3 acres of access control and one stream crossing.

The plan was approved and I signed the contract March 21, 2013. I had until Oct. 30,2018 to complete everything. Again, I didn’t follow the drawn-out time-line of the contract and had everything completed by the end of February 2014, except the record-keeping portion.

Now I have purchased more cows. My current herd consisted of 47 cows, 15 heifers and two registered Angus bulls. One is a Mead Farms bull.

I knew nothing about farming in plain terms and did not know there were programs available to help beginners like me. The FSA, SWCD and NRCS personnel took the time and patience to help and guide me through not only the planning and application process, but also the implementation process. We had a dream, a hope and a desire to raise livestock and be a good shepherd to the animals and a good steward of the land.

I did not grow up around cattle, so I had no choice but to listen to whom I called the experts. They had the education and the expertise. Not only did the cost share programs assist us in installing the facilities, but they educated us.

I retired from the best job I ever could have hoped for, but now I have the most rewarding job I could have ever hoped for. The FSA, SWCD and NRCS personnel and our neighbors have helped my wife and I to come home to a simpler way of life. We would not be where we are today without them.