CALMER - What started out as a hobby has almost turned into a calling for the 2026 Cleveland County Farm Family of the Year, John “Allen” and Beth Rippy of AB Cattle in the Calmer community.
The Rippys have made it their goal to develop a breed of cattle that will thrive in southern heat and humidity, and their journey to reach that goal has taken them deep into learning as much as they can about cattle genetics, pasture management and pest control.
The cattle business started out as a hobby for the Rippys. Allen works as a contractor while Beth is dental hygeniest. Their first farm consisted about about 50 acres in Bradley County, 35 of which they owned with another 15 that they leased.
After raising cattle as primarily a hobby for about 14 years, the Rippys said they made the decision to become serious ranchers about 11 years ago. That meant finding the right location to expand their operation, and they found that along Hwy. 114, just east of the Calmer community. Today, the Rippys manage about 240 acres, most of which is pasture land.
During the hobby phase, the Rippys said they started out with a few head of Longhorn cattle before transitioning to Black Angus and eventually brought in some Brahmas as well. It was that mixture of breeds that Allen said he had an observation about how each breed reacted to the heat and humidity of the South. That observation would influence the direction of his cattle business.
“We’d be riding around, and I’d see the black baldies standing in the pond fighting flies,” Allen told Arkansas Cattle Business magazine in a feature story they did on the Rippys in October 2025. “The Brahman cows we had didn’t have flies on them. Same pasture, same conditions - that was the turning point for us.”
Allen said he also picked up on the fact that black-hided cattle would often been found in the middle of a pond during the hot summer months trying to cool off while the light-colored Brahmans were never in the pond.
Some of his neighbors convinced him to attend a Arkansas Cattlemens Association conference, and it was there that the Allens met longtime Brahman breeder Carey Clay. That connection ended up playing a vital role in how the Rippys have carried out their cattle operation ever since.
While Brahmans remain a major part of their operation, the Rippys have been cross breeding them with American Reds as well as Red Angus and Santa Gertrudis. “These breeds of cattle are bred for excellent heat tolerance and resistance to insects and disease,” Allen said. “These cattle on our farm are designed to be better together providing high quality replacement females and high performance steers.”
He said they produce high quality beef traits and marbling while seeing increased growth at the same time.
While they once used to process some of their own beef to sell directly to consumers, Allen said they have since shifted their focus mainly to producing replacement stock as well as show cows for youth. When they did sell meat, the Rippys said Richard Wilkie would take care of the processing and they would market their beef through Facebook.
That transition from beef to livestock production has resulted in youth from as far away as Florida and Missouri buying calves from their farm to enter into shows, Beth said. As a result, the Rippys said their main goal now is improving their herd genetics. “With good or great genetics, you will always have superb mama cows with awesome offspring,” Beth said.
“We started out with a handful of commercial Brahman cattle which had bad dispositions,” Allen said.
It would be easy to assume that all Brahmans are naturally that way since variations of that breed happen to be the most commonly used for bull riding. But Allen said he learned from some of the registered Brahman breeders that the bad dispositions were a result of bad genetics.
“This advise turned our ranch around,” he said. “We have found a true love for the Brahman breed when we started acquiring great genetics. This was a game changer for our farm.”
“Bloodlines matter, genetics weed out the crazy,” Allen told Arkansas Cattle Business magazine. “A lot of folks think Brahmans are wild, but that comes down to poor genetics. We want to show people they’re not crazy. It’s all about genetics.”
The Rippys have built their herd focused on stock that shows maternal ability, fertility, sound feet and calm temperaments.
“I’ve seen it proven time and time again, a gentle bull throws gentle calves every time. A hot bull throws hot calves. It’s genetics plain and simple,” Allen said.
When they decided to go all in with the genetics, Allen said they sought out some of the top breeders in the country for their livestock. Those included the famed King Ranch in south Texas, and V8 Ranch near Wharton, Texas, which is southwest of Houston.
“Our ranch has achieved an excellent quality of registered show cows and calves through our breeding program,” Beth said. “Our registered Brahman cows are from V8 branded bulls and cows, and our American Reds come from the King Ranch. V8 Ranch and King Ranch have helped us improve our genetics.”
Along with genetics, their other goals are to continue to improve the grass/pasture management, fly and parasite control, shelters for their animals in the pasture, and erosion control along the creek bed that runs through their property.
The Rippys said they have improved their pastures through chemicals and fertilizers over the years, noting that their tractors are equipped with GPS for more precise spraying and have recently started using drones as well. As for the forage, Allen said it is mostly Bermuda and Bahia grass, and they have included some clover as well for pasture development.
Beth points out that they have also planted some wildflowers like milkweed for butterflies and meadow birds. The four ponds on their ranch are stocked with bass, bream, crappie and catfish.
Cross fencing has been installed for rotational grazing, and while there are ponds scattered throughout the property, the Rippys have built fresh water troughs in each paddock.
Ear tags and lick tubs have been beneficial in parasite control, and the Rippys said they continue to learn more through their county and state Cattlemens Association meetings.
The Rippys are members of Center Missionary Baptist Church at Rowell, and have been active members of the Cleveland County Cattlemens Association, and the Arkansas Cattlemens Association for 15 years.
Allen and Beth are the parents of three adult children, Dillon Rippy, 35; Wesley Kleiser, 33; and Allyssa Rippy, 33.