Rural Missouri - October 2022 - 22

The Howerton family has been farming land in northern Henry County since 1839. Shown here from left are Jan and Phil, Jim and Phil's mom,
Margaret, and Jim and Debbie. The youngest Howertons will be the eighth generation, if they decide to continue the family tradition.
BIG ON PIGS
Howerton family finds a better way to feed the world
by Jim McCarty | jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop
O
ctober is both National Pork and Cooperative
month. Osage Valley Electric Cooperative member
Jim Howerton is one person who can celebrate
both. He is the administrator for the Howerton
family farms located in northern Henry County
on land that's been in the family since 1839.
Jim returned to the farm after a career in
state politics. He served as a state representative,
executive director of the Joint Committee on Capital
Improvements and for 10 years was administrator
of the Missouri Senate.
" I retired in December of 2014 and I had been
home about two weeks and my brother Phil said,
'You know, I think we ought to expand,' " he says. " It
wasn't what I was planning. What we ended up doing is
building Reliance Pork. "
The new operation - named for a coal mine that
once provided jobs in the area - features cutting-edge
22 RURAL MISSOURI | OCTOBER 2022
Chilhowee
technology where hogs are raised in climate-controlled
comfort. It is one of five hog facilities the family has spread
around this part of Henry County near Chilhowee.
The growth is necessary, Jim says, to ensure the family
legacy continues. " I was more of a cattle guy and Phil was
the hog guy, " Jim relates. " The hogs were what made more
money than the cattle. I let go of my love for cattle and
field work and took care of the books. It's been a good
team effort and helped us best use our talents. "
He and Phil represent the sixth generation of
Howertons to work the land. Jim's son, Andrew,
and Phil's son, Nick, added a seventh generation.
And while the jury is still out on whether
any of the 19 great-grandchildren will continue
in their grandfather's footsteps, the focus is on
keeping the farm profitable for the future.
The farm is a far cry from what it was when his dad
ran the operation, Jim says. At the farm behind the home
place where market pigs are being raised, he points to a
grassy field. " When I was a kid up until about 1990 this

Rural Missouri - October 2022

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Rural Missouri - October 2022 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - October 2022 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - October 2022 - Contents
Rural Missouri - October 2022 - 4
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Rural Missouri - October 2022 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - October 2022 - Cover4
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