Sebastian County: Leonard Family Farm

This year’s Sebastian County Farm Family of the Year is Tracy and Julie Leonard of Huntington, who have owned and operated the Leonard Farm for 23 years. They started with 200 acres that they owned and have grown to 801 acres owned and 454 rented.

“I was raised on a dairy operation that borders the original purchased 200 acres,” Tracy said. “I attended college and double-majored in animal science and agricultural business. I began working for Superior Livestock Auction in 1998 and marketing cattle for customers in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. I purchased my own ranch in 2000 and began ranching with 20 head of cows while still working for Superior Livestock Auction.”

Julie was raised on a diversified livestock operation and cutting horse ranch in Boone County. She attended college and got a degree in Agricultural Education and went to work as a county extension agent. While an agent, she completed her master’s degree in Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences.

Tracy and Julie were married in 2010 and Julie left her job to work fulltime on the ranch.

“At that time, there were approximately 40 cows and 100 stockers, and we owned 250 acres,” Tracy said. “The cow-calf pairs were the only cattle on the ranch and feeder pens were rented from our in-laws to receive and grow the stockers.”

A passion for agriculture and teamwork and a focus on growth has led to the size and scope of their ranch in a remarkably short period of time.

The Leonard’s major crops include 139 acres of Bermuda grass hay and 263 acres of mixed grass rounds, with each crop yielding four to five tons an acre. Today, their livestock operation includes 250 head of low calf pairs, 500 head of 500-800 pound stockers and 20 head of farm-to-table beef.

The Leonards are also dealers for BioZyme.

“In 2016, we were approached by the regional sales director for BioZyme about becoming a farmer/dealer after we ordered several tons of mineral to begin using on our ranch,” Tracy said. “As a dealer, we are listed on their website and customers can contact us for the mineral. However, our greatest customer base has been producers that we do cattle business with. This is our most volatile enterprise because it is an upper-level mineral and in difficult farming years, it is one of the easiest things for customers to modify to cut costs.”

From the beginning, the farm had some unique issues that needed to be addressed.

“The original farm of 200 acres was over 80% forested and it took 6 years to clear and reestablish pasture to support livestock,” Tracy said. “The farm needed to be designed to sustain both a cow-calf and stocker cattle operation. As the land was cleared, it was stocked with the cow-calf pairs. In 2013, we moved all of our cattle to the existing ranch and no longer rented feeder pens from our in-laws. We kept as many 40acre pastures as possible to allow the cattle to have a forage-based diet and cut down on feed costs.”

They designed and built the barns, shop and cattle working facilities.

“It went in stages as we were able to afford the expansion,” Tracy said. “The working pens at headquarters were built in 2008 and have undergone several upgrades to handle sorting larger amounts of cattle and safety. The upgrades have allowed the opportunity for all family members to safely help sort cattle. The horse barn and lab were built in 2011, the hay/feed barn was built in 2012 and the shop was built in 2014, with an addition added to the shop and hay/feed barn in 2020. We built everything ourselves except the shop.

“We love that we can watch our

work grow. Whether it’s a field that we cleared and planted in Bermuda grass ourselves, seeing barns where there was brush and standing water, or our calf crop grow from 40 to 250, you can see what your life’s work has become and have something to show for it.”

Another thing Tracy and Julie love watching grow are their five children, Shelby, 26, Isaac, 11, Scarlette, 10, and twins Alanna and Levi, 9. All have been an active part of the farm and involved in 4-H and more.

“We tend to stay incredibly busy between the kids and keeping up with everything on the farm,” Julie said. “We don’t have a lot of opportunities to socialize and attend functions with others in our community and being named Farm Family of the Year and to know that our hard work is seen and acknowledged is an honor.”

Anyone who knows the Leonards will tell you that they have big hearts and are always ready to share.

“We were foster parents for 7 years,” Julie said. “While the journey was full of so many heartbreaking stories, it was an honor to have children who could come to the ranch and interact with the animals, play in the creek, breathe fresh air and let their hearts find some peace in the situations they had been faced with.”

One time, their Sunday school class brought their families to the farm to have a family day and cook out.

“We were the only family in our class that lived in the country,” Julie said. “The kids and parents loved playing in the creek, getting dirty and relaxing. Some of the kids had never been in a creek or played in the mud. It was such a blessing to see the smiles and hear the laughter.”