2010 Citizen of the Year Award
Don Crawley – Valley View Milking Shorthorns

Don Crawley was born on the family farm near Gravette, Arkansas on August 10, 1925.  As a young boy he was very active in the daily chores on the family farm.  While attending high school he was active in sports but always put the farm work first.  After graduation, he joined the US Air Force in 1943 during the heigh of World War II, completing 35 combat bombing missions over Nazi Germany in his B-17 Flying Fortress. After the war, Don would return to the family farm and never again leave.

While they had a mixed farming operation, Don was most interested in the dairy cows.  Desiring a larger breed with better salvage value and larger calves than the Jerseys they previously had, Don and his father began a long partnership Valley View Farm when they bought their first registered Milking Shorthorns (a bred heifer and a bull calf) from WP Ranch near Owasso, Oklahoma.

In the years following that initial purchase, the herd grew as more females were added. In the early 1950’s, Don adopted programs like DHIA, artificial insemination, and herd classification that would improve the genetics and value of his cows.  Don married his wife Jewel in early October 1955. They would soon have three sons, Russell Don (1956), Dennis Dean (1957), and Timothy Lee (1960).

Most great registered cattle herds are known for a strong cow family. Valley View Farm was always known for the “Jewel” cow family. Most people have mistakenly assumed that the cow family was named for Don’s wife, Jewel. It wasn’t. The cow, Valley View Jewel, was born in 1954 and was the daughter of the original bred heifer purchased in 1948. “Old Jewel” would receive Don’s first Bronze W.J. Hardy Award and would be classified Excellent. What made her special was that her good genetics for type and production were passed down to her daughters and their descendents. The “Jewel” family received numerous W.J. Hardy Bronze, Silver, and even a Gold award with most being classified either Excellent or Very Good. One of “Old Jewel’s” daughters, Valley View Jewel Jo, was one of the Milking Shorthorn breed’s greatest cows in the 1960’s. She was classified Excellent, and as a junior four year old produced 23,410 pounds milk and 867 pounds fat in 365 days which was within 100 pounds of a breed milk record and did set a breed fat record.

By 1960 the Crawley farm was no longer diversified like it once was. All income for both Don and W.C.’s families came from the dairy operation which was fairly unusual in the 1960’s, especially in the Milking Shorthorn breed. This sole dependence on his dairy cows for income had a unique impact on how Don chose to breed his cows. He loved to show at county, state and national fairs but show winnings wouldn’t support the family. Milk in the tank did, so Don chose bulls to sire his herd from cow families with high milk production and strong sound udders. He insisted that other type characteristics like dairy character, body capacity, and feet and legs would take care of themselves if he stayed focused on those two breeding goals. The outcome was a herd known for high production and long lives but still successful in the show ring.

Don always looked for “new blood” to improve the genetics of his herd. When Australian Illawarra Shorthorn semen was imported into the U.S in 1969 he was one of the first breeders to use it. Valley View Farm and other herds that used these bulls were transformed as soon as daughters were born. The availability of Illawarra bulls became difficult by the early 1980’s. At that time options for improving genetics within the Milking Shorthorn breed seemed limited. Don and sons, Dennis and Tim, who were by then actively working on the dairy, decided to utilize a breed program that had been around since the mid 1960’s but had not been used by most breeders: the Grade-Up Program. They purchased several high producing grade black and white Holsteins who were bred to the best Milking Shorthorn bulls available.

Don Crawley was always very involved in the American Milking Shorthorn Society activities, serving two terms on the Board of Directors from 1964-1970 and another two terms from 1982-1988. He was elected president during his last board term. He also served on many committees over the years. He decided to disperse his Valley View herd of Milking Shorthorns in 1989. At that time he sold the cows, he had received 22 Progressive Breeder Awards (more than any other breeder), 24 Bronze W.J. Hardy Awards (more than any other breeder), 4 Silver W.J. Hardy Awards and 2 Gold W.J. Hardy Awards.

Throughout Don’s life he has been very active in his local community. He was always active in the Church of Christ serving as a Bible Class teacher and was an Elder for many years. He also served many years on the Benton County Fair and Arkansas State Fair Boards of Directors.  Over the years he helped many local kids start 4-H or FFA dairy projects with a Milking Shorthorn heifer. He often transported them and their heifers to show at state and even national shows.

Today, the farm has more than 300 milking cows and is more diversified than it once was with the addition of a 20,000 breeding hen operation that produces hatching eggs. Russell and Tim and their families live and work on the farm. The 450 owned and 250 rented acres produce most of the forage consumed by the milking herd and replacement heifers. Don is now 84 years old but is still involved. Almost every day he spends some time on the tractor baling or mowing hay. Don and Jewel have been married 55 years this October and most of all enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren.