Hometown: Westville, Okla.
Family: Wife, Renée Vaughn; daughter Paula, 30; and granddaughter Brilee Bell, 5.
In Town: “One of our family traditions is to supply our children with the means to make a living. A few years ago a restaurant/convenience station on Chewey Road in Westville, Okla., came up for sale. Our daughter, Paula, graduated from college with a business degree, so creating Double R&P Gas & Grill seemed perfect. Just before my father, Paul, passed away two years ago, he advised me to diversify my income. Taking Dad’s advice, we soon expanded the facility with a rustic but gleaming Western decor that went from 3,000 square feet to more than 10,000 (square feet). We just opened the addition, which now seats a spacious 132 rather than a cramped 88. People used to have to wait over an hour, sometimes outdoors during inclement weather. My wife Renée always wanted a fruit and vegetable business while I always wanted a Western store, so we ended up with a hamburger joint.”
In the Country: “We have a medium-sized farm. One part is a four-house Cobb chicken facility which raises pedigreed breed chickens for Tyson. We raise the grandparents of the chickens people buy in stores. Our chickens are raised for 22 weeks to a weight of 4 to 5 pounds instead of five weeks for a traditional broiler so we have only two flocks per year. The birds leave just before they are ready to lay. We use a low-calorie feed to slow growth so we can produce optimal breeding birds. Our health protocols and biosecurity are the strictest in the industry including showering and changing clothes before entering. My wife and I are trained and certified to care for these special chickens.
“On the cattle side, we have an Angus/Brangus commercial momma cow herd with Angus bulls. We have both spring and fall calves and round them up twice a year, generally weaning at 450 to 500 pounds and following Pfizer cattle herd health protocols. We try to keep calves for additional 45 to 60 days for added value and sell them at our family-owned Benton County Sale Barn. Because of rotational grazing, little weed care is necessary except for spot spraying for thistles. As expected, the chickens supply litter for fertilizer which is occasionally supported by urea according to frequent soil testing.”
