This past Saturday, Linda and I loaded up several of the grandchildren and took them to visit Shubat Farms. The farm is located at 16000 Peterson Road in Gentry, which, as the crow flies, is not far from our place. We drove to Springtown and followed the GPS from there.
Matt and Ava Shubat, together with their son, Mitchell, have a nice farm out in the country. They raise sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and some cattle, as well as rabbits and probably a few other critters I'm not remembering right now. The farm is spread out over 60 acres, most of which is pasture. The land is mostly rolling hills with a number of cross fences for better pasture management. There are a few outbuildings and a garden spot not far from their modern new home.
The grandchildren who came along (Annie, Jamie, Laila and Landon) were quite excited to go and see the animals. Mitchell, who seemed very knowledgeable for a seven-year old, gave them a grand tour of the farm. The tour began in the garage, where they had a large box with some day-old chicks inside. Each child got to hold a baby chick, including Mitchell. You can tell he really loves the animals and has a steward's concern for them.
From there the children went out to see the goats and sheep and rabbits. The rabbits were running loose and live that way. Matt said he calls them his "free range rabbits." We saw several hopping here and there as we strolled around. The grandchildren were simply fascinated with everything they were seeing. The adults followed along a bit more slowly as we visited. There seemed to be animals in every direction a person chose to look. The sheep and goats all appeared content and, as we approached them, they greeted us in a friendly way. You could tell they were used to a lot of human interaction.
Matt and Ava were very helpful in answering our questions. We were in the market for a couple of goats to add to the sheep we just purchased from a different farm last week. Linda and I are bringing a few animals onto our place for the grandchildren to play with, as well as to help keep down the grass and the need for mowing.
As we passed through the gate from the yard to the first pen, a rather large, intimidating-looking billy goat, with really long horns, approached us. Matt said his name was Bill E. Goat, per Mitchell's naming him. Bill E. is nothing but a big pet who, I soon found out, likes to stand as close to you as he can get and lean his head on your leg, just waiting to be rubbed. There were several younger goats around us and they all seemed to want to chew on my jeans. They weren't hungry -- they were just being friendly, and curious.
It wasn't long before the children had caught a young rabbit. Each child had to take a turn in holding it and, in the end, Matt said we could keep the rabbit if we wanted it. So now Linda and I have a pet rabbit. He is living in a large box in our garage until I can build something a bit more permanent. His name is Hazel. If you are a fan of the book, Watership Down, you'll know why we chose that name. I'm hoping to build a couple of rabbit hutches that will stand over my raised beds so the droppings go directly into the garden. That way, I can place a hutch over a raised bed that isn't in production and can rotate the hutches around my garden as needed. I'm also hoping to raise a few rabbits for the table since I love rabbit meat.
As we walked along, there were two young goats that kept tagging along. One was brown and white and the other was black and white. Matt said they were brothers. I liked their personalities and thought that if they were for sale I would be interested in buying them. Matt said they were for sale if Mitchell wanted to sell them since they belonged to him. He asked Mitchell if he wanted to sell them to us. Mitchell had to think for a bit. He asked his dad, "Can I buy more with the money I get from these?"
"Of course you can. That's how it works," his dad told him, "When you sell an animal you can take the money and buy a bottle calf or lamb and then raise it up to sell."
"Well then, I guess I want to sell them then," Mitchell said and the deal was completed. I actually made the check out to Mitchell. Matt was kind enough to drop the goats off at our place on his way to work Monday morning. It was interesting to watch them interact with our sheep, but they are getting along just fine now. They were all kind of cautious at first.
At Shubat Farms, Matt and Ava offer their customers several options when it comes to buying meat from them. When available, you can buy cuts of USDA processed pork, beef, lamb and goat frozen in family-sized portion packages.
You can also come to their farm and butcher your own chickens and ducks using their facilities or you can bring your own animal and they will grow it out for you and take it in to the processing plant of your choosing or, just as a for instance, you can purchase a quarter or more of a beef from them and, when they butcher a steer, they will take it in to their preferred butcher and let you know when to pick up your order.
They offer beef, lamb, chickens, ducks and pork. They also sell eggs, baby chicks, chickens, rabbits and square-baled hay. Plus, they can hatch your eggs for you. According to their website, Shubat Farms offers custom brush hogging and will build, manage and maintain food plots for you on your own land. This includes taking care of feeders, cameras and blinds for hunting purposes. Matt can be reached at 479-283-7724. Their email is [email protected]. The website is www.shubatfarms.com.
And for all those children and grandchildren out there, their son Mitchell offers one of the most interesting tours of any farm around. You really don't want to miss it.
Sam Byrnes is a Gentry-area resident and weekly contributor to the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 04/27/2016