MARIES COUNTY — Kurtis Butler says he would not want to do anything else for an occupation except farm. He and his father, Dale Butler, operate a large farm in Maries County. He says on some days on the farm, he gets to choose what work he will do that day. On other days, the farm “kind of picks it for you.” 

Butler, 27, along with his wife, Kayla, are a young family raising young children. They are part of a generational farm, which first entered their family in 1967.

His grandparents, Herbert “Heb” and Ellen Butler, moved to Maries County and this farm, then 950 acres on the high prairie along Highway Z between Highways 28 and 42. The Butlers came from Indiana. They were dairy farmers there and had grown tired of the ups and downs of milk prices and trying to make a living that way. Ellen, besides farming, was well-known in the Belle area as the Belle High School business teacher, teaching a whole generation of high school students how to type, take shorthand  and do accounting. 

Kurtis said he’s not sure why his grandparents chose Maries County. It could be because they had family in Clinton, Missouri. Or possibly it was because when Herbert Butler was in the military, he was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County. However, to get there, he was flown into the airport at Vichy, which is not far from their family farm. Butler suspects they liked the area, too. 

The farm was purchased from the Donnon sisters as found in an agricultural real estate listing. Kurtis said he was told the farm “looked tough” and needed a lot of work when Heb and Ellen first bought it. He says this sort of suited his grandfather, who enjoyed working on things to fix them up.

Herbert added another 60 acres and Dale and Kurtis added acreage as well to bring the farm to about 1,500 acres. The two men work the farm, running quite a lot of cattle, which are commercial cattle they raise themselves. They have a JBS contract finishing hogs and 90 head of sows they raise from farrow to finish. His dad started with dirt pigs. In Oct. 1999 he put up a confinement building to raise hogs. Kurtis said the confinement barn helps them control the variables and have better outcomes. 

The Butler farm is the January featured barn on Maries County Collector Jayne Williams 2022 Maries County Historic Barn calendar. Williams knows this family as neighbors and friends. She said they are among the many farmers and ranchers who work seven days a week in their dedication to put food on the tables for many people. She said they are good, honest people who work hard every day. 

The photo Williams took of the barn, was on a cold, snowy day when ice decorated the barbed wire fence like lace and the taller grass stood upright, frozen in place, while on the ground a smattering of snow painted it white. Kurtis said they were pleased to be part of the calendar. His family is good friends with Denny and Jayne Williams. 

The original barn is old, as it was built in 1940, but its in good shape because they have kept up with its maintenance. It is used for working cattle throughout the year, and when they have a sick cow. Herbert added the lean-to on the barn. It is a useful structure.

Kurtis said he hopes the farm can remain in their family and that it will be passed to his kids or his sisters’ kids. Right now, with his children so young, he and his dad are the main farm workers. And, as he said, “I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”