Energetic teen-ager takes advantage of government loan to build beef herd
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Life is full for 16-year-old Allie Will of rural Lost Springs. The energetic teen-ager is involved in a whirlwind of activities, of which the most important is her growing herd of cattle.
In addition to numerous school activities, she tends the herd, raises turkeys, travels the show circuit, and holds three jobs.
Allie acquired her first cow, named Princess, from her parents, Roger and Jody Will, who raise purebred and commercial Herefords. She bought two more Hereford cows in October and has a half interest in another.
This past spring, she applied for and received a five-year, $5,000 loan from the federal Farm Service Agency to purchase six eight-month-old heifers to add to her herd. She also purchased a half interest in an Angus bull. The heifers are Angus, or a cross between Red Angus and Limousin or Charolais.
One heifer will calve this year, the others next year.
Each animal has a name, such as Elenor, Cry Baby, Henrietta, and Darla.
Allie said she is not good at bookkeeping, but the loan from FSA has forced her to do it. An FSA representative checks on her operation once a year.
This is the second year Allie has a contract on a flock of approximately 220 turkeys. They belong to Danny Williamson of Tampa. She will feed and care for them until two weeks before Thanksgiving, when they will be shipped to a processor and sold fresh as organic or free-range turkeys.
Allie will get a percentage of the market price.
She said start-up costs were $900 for feeders, shelter house, fencing, and fence posts.
"The $900 is all paid off, so this year I will have more profit and less expense," she said.
She plans to use the profit to make her first payment on the FSA loan.
She credits her father for putting in a lot of time and labor to help her launch the enterprise.
Allie has been a member of Tampa Triple T's 4-H Club for eight years. She shows Hereford steers and heifers at local fairs as well as state and national Junior Hereford shows.
The show circuit begins in April at the Kansas Beef Expo and continues for two weekends a month until January.
She also buys a hog or two every October in hopes of showing them at the National Western Stock Show in Denver.
As a member of the National Junior Hereford Association and the Centre High School FFA chapter, Allie competes in speech contests. She will be a junior this fall. When she turns 18, she plans to run for a national office in the Junior Hereford Association.
This past year, she placed fifth in the district FFA speech contest and was a member of the CHS par-law team which placed second in the state.
Allie also participates in cross country, band, and golf, and is treasurer of the Centre FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) chapter.
"And she still makes the honor roll," said her mother Jody.
As if all those activities aren't enough, Allie also maintains three jobs.
"They give me a steady income," she explained.
She works full-time at Pizza Hut in Marion and part-time at The Chipped Cup Café in Lincolnville. She also works part-time at Danny Williamson's turkey farm, cleaning out pens.
Allie hopes to maintain her cowherd (with the help of her parents) even after she graduates from high school and as she prepares for a career.
She plans to attend the University of Kansas medical school and become a trauma surgeon.
"Then I'll find a place to keep my cows," she said.
