Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Couple Changes Lifestyle, Takes Up Farming
FORMER ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR TAKES UP FARMING
FARMINGTON — When Bill Gray retired in Fayetteville six years ago as associate athletic director with University of Arkansas, he thought he was ready to travel with his wife, Peggy, enjoy life, maybe play a lot of golf.
Two months later, Gray, who played quarterback and defensive back on the undefeated 1964 Razorback national championship team, was bored.
“I told Peggy I was going to go out and find a job whether it paid me or not,” Gray recalls.
He ran into Jimmy Lindsey with Lindsey & Associates and began working in property management for Lindsey. Then one day, he told his wife, “I think I’m going to find a hobby to do. I’m going to raise goats.”
Peggy Gray said her first reaction was, “I would never in a million years thought that.”
Yet, two years ago, the couple, neither with any farming experience, purchased a home in Farmington with 10 acres and began raising Katahdin sheep and Alpacas to sell as breeding stock. They bought two Pyrenean Mastiff dogs to guard their animals and even have some Pygmy goats running around the farm, just for fun.
They recently named their farm, Arise and Shine Farm, and the name comes from Isaiah 60:1 in the Bible: “Arise! Let your light shine for all to see for the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.”
Twenty years ago, Gray said he would not have imagined he would be running a small farm, living as self-sufficiently as possible. They are raising three Jersey cows for meat and have mostly eaten vegetables this summer out of their own home garden.
Now that he’s changed his lifestyle, Gray, who is 71, said he wished he had done it years ago.
“It’s the best thing we’ve done,” said Peggy Gray, 66. “It’s been the best thing for our marriage.”
She said it was her husband’s idea but both have been surprised that she loves the farm as much as he does.
Bill Gray said he read quite a bit before deciding what animals to purchase. The sheep are their main product and he chose Katahdin sheep because of their low maintenance and because they are a “hair” sheep, not wool, so he doesn’t have to worry about shearing the animals. The females will birth on their own, not requiring any assistance. Katahdin sheep also are parasite resistant animals.
“They are good mothers,” Peggy Gray said. “Our first ones were triplets and the mother had all three by herself.”
The lambs are weaned at 8-10 months of age and can be sold as breeding stock after that.
Gray wants to raise quality stock and said his ram, named Wildcard, comes from a father in Virginia that is described as one of the top rams in the state. He said Wildcard probably weighs close to 300 pounds.
Gray said he chose to raise Alpacas for basically the same reason. They are low maintenance and take care of themselves. The breeding season for Alpacas, though, is much longer. It takes a female almost 12 months to birth and a female is not ready to breed until she is two years old. Alpacas are harder to breed, he said, because they miscarry and do not deal well with stress.
He also had specific reasons for choosing Pyrenean Mastiffs as his guard dogs. The breed is not aggressive toward children, important to the Grays because they have grandchildren who come to visit and grandchildren who live in Farmington. The dogs need space to run and their natural instincts are to protect livestock and the family.
“They are amazing,” Peggy Gray said.
The male’s name is Samson and the female is Delilah. Gray said they probably will breed them in the future.
Gray said he is trying other strategies on his farm. He has divided his land into 11 pastures with fences and is practicing rotational grazing with his animals. Katahdin sheep, for example, like a particular kind of grass and will eat their favorite grass down to the dirt and leave other types of grass alone. By rotating the animals to different pastures, he is able to give the grass time to recover and grow back.
“We are learning as we go,” Gray said, adding he’s talked to other farmers for advice and additional information.
The Grays traveled while he was working for the University and Peggy Gray said she thought this would continue in retirement.
“I thought we’d like to travel but we don’t want to go anywhere. We’re perfectly happy here,” she said.
Their travel now is to attend conferences for Katahdin sheep and Alpacas.
Otherwise, Gray said, he stays busy on the farm and has everything he needs in Farmington or on Martin Luther King Boulevard in west Fayetteville. He added that he is running the farm as a business but notes, “It’s fun.”
Their website is ariseandshinefarm.com and on it, Peggy Gray invites visitors to come by.
“Come sit awhile on our deck,” she writes. “Enjoy the view as we watch our animals and talk.”