“I was raised on the farm,” observes a smiling Jennifer Davis McMeans, “and I’ve always helped on the farm. Fourteen years ago I made the decision to leave my full-time job and make the farm my career.”
McMeans joined her father John Davis in the day-to-day operation of their 3500-acre farming business. Ten years ago her husband Oliver became part of the team.
“After about five years of us three working together, I decided to pursue a couple of my life-long passions,” McMeans explains. “I have always loved cooking and decorating. In fact, I considered majoring in interior design in college, but at the time, that didn’t seem like a very practical choice, so I opted for business administration instead.”
With the support of her family McMeans opened a restaurant/catering service and gift shop in downtown Puxico. However, that was only her daytime job, and the evenings would find her back in the fields, or at her desk handling the farm’s finances and record-keeping.
“I absolutely loved my business and my customers,” McMeans asserts a bit emotionally, “but I also love the farm. As my business grew, it became more and more difficult to keep doing both. I reluctantly realized I was going to have to choose one or the other.”
McMeans says as she struggled and prayed over the decision she faced, her perspective eventually cleared and the choice became obvious.
“God knew where I needed to be,” McMeans states candidly. “I have been drawn back to my roots. It’s who I am. Walking away from the land would be very hard for me to do, and I am at peace with the decision I made.”
McMeans says she still indulges her fondness for cooking and interior decorating. She occasionally caters events for close friends or family, and is always happy to assist friends who seek her advice in choosing paint colors, accent pieces, or interior design suggestions.
In addition, she also is an avid photographer who enjoys recording family and farm events through pictures. And even though she has not had an extended vacation since her honeymoon, she looks forward to taking short trips with her family—when they are able to get a few days away from the farm.
“As a teenager I never envisioned myself as a farmer. Like most rural, small-town youth, I pictured myself somewhere far away, living an exciting fast-paced life.”
McMeans stresses that although she and her siblings were raised on the farm and grew up working the land, it was never assumed that they would automatically become part of the full-time operation.
“We were free to pursue our own interests,” explains McMeans. “As I said, I studied business administration, my brother Jeff teaches at Puxico High School, and my sister Janelle Stewart works at WW Wood. However, even though I am the only full-time farmer, they and their families still help out during planting and harvest.”
McMeans points out that as the three siblings became old enough to help in the farming operation, they were schooled in all aspects of farm work.
“My dad taught us all three the same. There wasn’t any differentiation between what my sister and I learned and what my brother learned. So, with that said, there isn’t much I can’t do.”
McMeans recalls that fourteen years ago when she first made the decision to become part of the full-time farming operation, many people were skeptical of her abilities and her commitment.
“You know,” she observes matter-of-factly, “if it had been my brother who made that decision, I doubt that anyone would have questioned his motivation or his ability to carry his share of the load. I don’t know why it’s so difficult for people to understand that a woman can love the land as much as a man does, and can possess the same abilities to plant and harvest.”
Three J Farms, LLC (named for Jeff, Janelle, and Jennifer) is a family-owned farm. McMeans explains that their farm raises rice, corn, and beans on land that her paternal grandparents bought when they moved to the Dudley area from Savannah, Tennessee, nearly 70 years ago.
“The original farm, which is still part of the now 3500-acre operation, was all woods when they moved here,” McMeans explains. “They ran a sawmill and spent several years clearing the land. They eventually closed the mill and began farming. We refer to the area where the sawmill was located as Sawmill Farm.”
McMeans says that there is no typical day in farming, and her duties vary depending on the season and time of year.
“During school, our workday doesn’t begin until the kids have left for the day,” McMeans explains. “Our daughter is old enough to drive now, and is active in school, so she tends to take care of herself during busy times. My mother Janet sees to our 12-year-old son, and many times has a meal waiting for us when we finish for the day—for which I am very grateful.”
McMeans says among the field jobs she has assumed in the farming operation are field prep work, planting rice, laying poly-pipe for irrigation and getting the irrigation started, and running the grain cart during harvest. She handles all the financial bookkeeping and record-keeping for the farm, as well.
“There is never really a downtime in the bookwork,” McMeans laughs. “At the end of the year I have to complete all the financial and farming information, and then it begins all over again. I already have 90 percent of the seed bought for this year.”
McMeans says they are gearing up for another year, and any day could be the day that work begins on this year’s production.
“We’ve been working on the machinery and getting everything serviced, cleaned up and restocked, so that we’re ready to go when the time is right.”
Reflecting on the only life she’s ever known, McMeans is realistic in the challenges that farm families face every day.
“We’re at the mercy of God and the weather,” she affirms. “As I get older, I realize more and more how risky farming is: the drought, the never-ending-rain, the markets, and all the other factors we can’t control.
“I try to be the optimist, and look for the positive,” McMeans observes, “but honestly, sometimes you can’t help but get discouraged. Those are the times I look to my parents. They have been doing this for nearly 55 years, and both the farm and their marriage have survived it all—over and over again—so I know, when the hard times hit, they will eventually pass and everything will be okay.”
Jennifer and Oliver McMeans are parents to three children. Dakotah Hancock is married to Timothy Hancock, Madison is a junior at Puxico High School, and Jacob is in fifth grade.