The McClendon family of Wardville was recognized as Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s District 5 farm and ranch family of the year at the organization’s 83rd annual meeting Saturday, Nov. 9, in Oklahoma City.
David and Haley McClendon run a 150-head cow-calf operation in Atoka and Pittsburg counties on 140 acres of owned land and 1,100 acres of leased land. They also bale 2,500 bales of haylage and 1,000 bales of dry custom hay, along with bailing their own hay and haylage for their cattle operation.
“For me, agriculture is a passion,” David said. “I got into doing it because my dad did it, then that turned into something more than that. It’s a love of the land, it’s a love of being able to raise the cattle, to see the babies and the need to provide a service to the community and to leave a legacy.”
The McClendons raise their three children, Jett, Cooper and Hadley, on their farm and ranch. Each child has a vital role to keep the operation running. Jett works in the processing facility, Cooper works on the ranch and Hadley, while completing her senior year of high school, works in the storefront.
“I just wanted to teach our kids that the food that we are raised on, and that people eat every day, comes from agriculture,” Haley said. “The beginning of that and where it starts is at the farm and with their own hands, they can do that and so they can generate something to help with the next generation.”
In 2023, they began construction of their processing facility. After finishing that October, they began processing wildlife. In June of 2024, their second processing facility was completed where they now process livestock on a custom basis.
“We started our processing plant in 2023 because we felt like there were not enough outlets to provide enough services for the folks in our area,” David said. “In building the plant, that was our main goal, to be able to use this as an outlet for our own cattle and to help our local farmers ranchers in the area having outlet for theirs.”
Along with their processing facility, the McClendons purchased and renovated the building adjacent to the processing plant for their “Daylight ‘Til Dark Processing” storefront. They now market inspected beef and pork along with locally grown produce.
“With the processing facility here, this building was handy, so we decided to renovate it,” David said. “We put a small market for our local people. We thought we could sell some of our home-raised beef.”
The McClendons take pride of being involved with their community through their church and multiple county organizations. David serves as a board member for Pittsburg County Farm Bureau and associate board member for the Pittsburg County Conservation District. Haley is a steward of their church board and helps decorate the church for special occasions.
“Faith, family and community is a big deal, it’s the main deal,” David said. “That’s what we want to extend to all of our local ranchers and farmers here in the area.”
OKFB’s Farm and Ranch Family Recognition program celebrates nine farm and ranch families from around the state who carry on the best traditions of Oklahoma agriculture and our rural communities.
“Our state’s family farmers and ranchers do so much for our state from feeding and clothing Oklahomans to taking care of our natural resources,” said Mignon Bolay, OKFB WLC chair. “Our Women’s Leadership Committee is proud to recognize these nine farm and ranch families and share their stories of agricultural excellence and rural community involvement.”
As part of their recognition, the family received a cash award and a custom sign to hang at their farm gate. The family was also recognized at the 2024 OKFB convention with a video sharing their agricultural operation and heritage.
