Lisa Rader
Hometown: Oologah, Okla.
Family: Husband: Chris Rader; sons: Jake (18), Jeffe (16) and Jasper (14)
Town Life: “I am the lower elementary principal at Claremore-Sequoyah Schools and have enjoyed a wide variety of educational positions over the last two decades at area schools. I love working with students of any age and have done so throughout my educational career. My husband, Chris, has also had a varied, 20-plus year educational career and is currently a junior high teacher at Foyil Schools. We belong to the Oologah United Methodist Church and actively volunteer and serve.”
Country Life: “Our property joins a larger 430-acre family farm south of Oologah, Okla. We have 24 head of commercial Limousin/Angus cattle. Some are cow calf pairs and some are young heifers. We are currently using two registered Limousin bulls and also a registered Angus bull for the different pastures of cattle owned by my younger brother, my parents and ourselves. In addition, we have 12 dairy cows and heifers, mainly Milking Shorthorns and Guernsey, whose calves are primarily raised for showing. In order to make milking unnecessary, we purchase additional baby beef calves so that each cow has two to three calves to nurse. Our three sons manage the feeding and nurse calves twice a day. We select dairy bulls for AI by traits and character of body style as well as quality milk production. The unusual combination and use of our two herds came about partly because I was raised on a four-generation dairy farm. When the boys wanted to begin their own show animal projects, we decided on dairy heifers because they are such loving and gentle cattle and to carry on my family heritage. The boys show the dairy cows and calves at various competitions at the local, state and multi-state levels. We have had several breed champions and reserve breed champions. The only real accommodation for our two herds is keeping the commercial beef herd separate from the dairy herd in order to prevent dairy/beef cross breeding.”
Future: “Once the boys leave (home), we will continue raising cattle. Each of the boys is interested in retaining their animals and beginning their own herds. Perhaps one day we will be lucky enough to have grandchildren who also show interest in agriculture and cattle. We are part of the family farm that we love and enjoy and plan to keep that as an essential part of our life. There is nothing like walking in the woods around our house to push the busy world away to when and where it belongs.”
