Family History // VFF

Vulgamore Family History

The Vulgamore family’s roots run deep in western Kansas soil. For six generations and over 100 years, the Vulgamores have farmed in western Kansas, growing their operation and raising families along the way.

The Beginnings

In the early 20th century, Jesse Vulgamore and four of his sons, Jess, Dewey, Awl and Newt, began farming for the Shallow Water Sugar Beet Company. Another of Jesse’s sons, Charles, moved to the Shallow Water area in 1923 and broke out some land northwest of the town of Shallow Water, KS, for the Collingwood brothers in addition to running a small cowherd on some of their grass. While his father and brothers left the area in the 1920s, Charles remained with his wife Chelsea and two children, Earl (1922) and Ermalea (1924).

Sugar Beet Company

In 1932, Charles Vulgamore began farming for the Smith family one mile west of Shallow Water. He moved his family into a previously-constructed Sugar Beet Company house. This original homestead still exists today and has served as the home of four generations of Vulgamores, as well as numerous VFF employees. During the 1930s, Charles Vulgamore, a true “sodbuster,” used his 1927 John Deere D (the first tractor he ever owned) to turn many acres of native sod into fertile farmland in the Shallow Water area for various landowners.

A Growing Family

Charles was joined on the farm by his son Earl in 1946 following Earl’s heroic military service in World War II, in which he was awarded the Silver Star. Shortly after returning from the war, Earl married Clara Nonnamaker and they moved into the original homestead. Over the years, the house was expanded numerous times to make room for their growing family, Larry (1948-2016), Diana (1951), Charles (1954-1954), Linda (1956), Connie (1961-1983), and Robert “Bob” (1963-1982).

Beef Belt Feeders

Earl’s passion was feeding cattle. During the 1960s, he experimented with feeding cattle on his home operation as well as placing cattle on feed at commercial feedyards. In 1969, Earl joined with partners to form Beef Belt Feeders, a commercial cattle feeding operation located 1.5 miles east of Shallow Water. Earl continued feeding cattle commercially and maintained an ownership role in Beef Belt until just prior to his death in 2003.

Farm Expansion

In 1971, Earl saw his son, Larry, return to the farm after completing a degree in agronomy at Kansas State University. Consisting of a few hundred acres of rented land, the farm needed expansion to accommodate the additional family. Larry and his wife Judi Crist, who grew up on a farm 12 miles southwest of Shallow Water near Friend, KS, began to look for opportunities to add rented land and enter the cattle-feeding business. They also began to add to their family with Heidi (1973), Brian (1976), and Myles (1981).

Hill Top Hogs, Inc

In 1971, Larry constructed the first fence line bunks at the homestead location and began building a small private feedyard. By slowly growing the farming and cattle operation, Larry and Judi were able to purchase the first quarter section of land owned by the Vulgamore family in 1976. Larry and Judi used their equity in this land to establish Hill Top Hogs, Inc., a small hog-feeding operation. After a few years of feeding hogs, Larry returned his focus to farming and cattle. As a result, Hill Top Hogs, Inc. was changed to Vulgamore Land & Cattle, Inc. and the hog feeding ceased. Larry remained actively involved in the farming operation until his passing in 2016.

Vulgamore Land & Cattle

Vulgamore Land & Cattle expanded over the following decades to include more than 7,000 acres of cropland and a 2,000-head feedyard capacity. In 1998, the Vulgamore family had the opportunity to purchase much of the Smith land that Charles Vulgamore had broken out in the 1930s, and in 2000, the Vulgamores were able to trade for the original quarter section and homestead that had been the “Vulgamore place” for more than 70 years.

VFF

After completing their education at Kansas State University, Brian and Myles Vulgamore, the 5th generation of Vulgamores, returned to the farm. While making the most of their complementary personalities and leadership skills, the brothers began expanding the operation in both size and scope. Over the years, their focus has shifted from adding acres and enterprises to adding great people. As a result, Vulgamore Family Farms transitioned into VFF, a team of families sharing a common vision.

The Next Generation

Brian and Myles are most proud of the 6th generation of Vulgamores that have shown interest in the continued success of VFF, working alongside long-term VFF employees and their children. The Vulgamores and their team continue to seek out opportunities wherever they present themselves as they look for ways to ensure the sustainability of their operation for generations to come.

Crist Family History

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HISTORY HIGHLIGHT 4

In the early 20th century, Jesse Vulgamore and four of his sons—Jess, Dewey, Awl and Newt—began farming for the Shallow Water Sugar Beet Company. Another of Jesse’s sons, Charles, moved to the Shallow Water area in 1923 and broke out some land northwest of town for the Collingwood Brothers in addition to running a small cowherd on some of their grass. While his father and brothers left the area in the 1920s, Charles remained with his wife Chelsea and two children – Earl (1922) and Ermalea (1924).

HISTORY HIGHLIGHT 5

HISTORY HIGHLIGHT 6

Harkness Family History

Much like the Vulgamore family, the Harkness family has a long history in western Kansas agriculture. The Vulgamore and Harkness family merged operations in 2009, and the new farming partnership, Dry Lake Farms, originated in the location of the Harkness farm. Much of the farm’s acreage, including the original homestead, is in the Dry Lake area.

The Beginnings

The legacy began with Brannon Harkness, a baker who lived in Colorado Springs, CO, in the 1920s. Seeing no future in his culinary career and tiring of city life, Brannon and his wife Reba packed up and moved out to Scott County, KS, in search of a new beginning. They found it on three quarters of land with a house that had been repossessed by the bank.

A Leap of Faith

With no previous farming experience, it was a true leap of faith for Brannon. He immediately began meeting with local producers to collect as much advice and information on farming techniques as he could. He soon established a small cow herd of less than a dozen cows and more than one hundred chickens, and raised wheat and barley to feed them.

Farm Growth

Brannon’s ambition began to pay off, and the farm grew. Reba and Brannon had six children—five girls and one boy. All of the children were actively involved on the farm, but it was the boy, Robert (a.k.a. “Bob,” born in 1930), who would go on to join his father on the farm after finishing high school in 1949. By that time, the total acres Brannon was farming had reached more than 2,000.

Cattle Feeding Operation

In the mid-1950s, the pair’s operation, formally known as BB & Son, began purchasing land and growing their operation even more. Their cow herd reached a total of 75-100 head. They started irrigating select parcels in the 1960s and continued to look for new opportunities for their farm. Such an opportunity would come about in the 1970s, as Bob began taking over the farm from his father. Bob and his wife Deloras had a daughter and two sons, and one of those sons, Mike, returned to the family farm in 1972. Soon after, Bob and Mike built a 3,500-head capacity feed yard and launched a cattle feeding operation that would eventually grow large enough to include commercial feeding.

Crop Production Techniques

As they continued to expand, Mike and Bob placed an increasing focus on their crop production techniques. At the time, the Harknesses were practicing the wheat-fallow-wheat rotation typical to the area. However, they soon adopted an innovative wheat-fallow-milo/corn rotation in an effort to achieve greater production from their fields. They also left stubble on their fields for moisture conservation long before that practice was commonplace.

Innovative Applications

In the 1980s, Mike took a strong interest in the possibilities of applying chemical herbicides. One of the first producers in the area to undertake spraying, Mike soon found that it was highly advantageous in western Kansas farming conditions and adopted it broadly across the farm. He was seen as an area expert in the technique and was often requested to speak at presentations and meetings into the 1990s as chemical application became widely practiced by farmers across the region.

A New Partnership

Mike began purchasing additional acreage in the 1980s, and the farm grew in size from the approximately 3,000 acres when he joined the operation to the 10,000 acres of its current state. Looking for unique ways to grow their operation and capture additional economies of scale, the Vulgamores proposed a merger with the Harkness family in late 2009 that allowed patriarch Bob Harkness an opportunity to retire, while keeping the Harkness family’s hard-earned equity at work. The merger also came with the added benefit for Bob’s son Mike who could focus on the aspects of farming that he loved most, while leaving the management duties that he disliked to the Vulgamores.

Dry Lake Farms

The new farming partnership that was created as a result of this merger, Dry Lake Farms, originated in the location of the Harkness farm. Much of the farm’s acreage, including the original homestead, is in the area of Dry Lake, a very large playa approximately three miles in length and located in eastern Scott County. Playas are depressions in the plains that fill with water during times of precipitation and are considered one of the most vital water resources for wildlife in the High Plains.

The Dry Lake Farms partnership represented another new beginning for the Harkness Family Farm as it brought new individuals and new dreams, while ensuring that nearly 90 years of history and hard work would continue to flourish into the future.