OSAGE COUNTY — The second half of the Osage County Agritourism bus tour on June 25 began with a visit to Lavender Rhapsody, a wonderfully fragrant boutique lavender farm outside of Bland. Owners Cathy and Scott Smith, along with Cathy’s sister, welcomed guests with friendly smiles and cold bottles of water. 

Participants were encouraged to wander the rows at leisure, taking photos and noting the differences between lavender varieties. A multitude of bees, moths, and butterflies buzzed and flitted among the blooms and were the subject of much conversation.

Participants enjoyed the beautiful gift shop, featuring a wide variety of hand-crafted lavender products for home, body, and culinary use, as well as cookies and lemonade delicately flavored with lavender.

Cathy Smith’s sister manned a lavender-colored tent outside the gift shop, serving lemonade and chatting with guests about the farm.

Under another lavender-colored tent, Scott Smith demonstrated how flowers are harvested and dried and how the various types are processed depending on the intended use. From the purple de-budding machine to the seed sorter to a process similar to panning for gold, he went through each step and patiently answered questions.

Before boarding the bus, each participant received a small bag containing a fragrant lavender sachet, samples of lavender hand and body lotion, lavender linen mist, and a small bag of lavender flowers.

The Smiths waved until the bus was out of sight, causing several participants to comment on what a nice touch that was.

For more information about Lavender Rhapsody or to order online, visit lavenderrhapsody.com.

At Sassafras Valley Ranch, a 750-acre property outside Belle, Dr. Bruce Shanks and his wife, Sunshine, boarded the bus to give the first part of his talk in the air-conditioning. Dr. Shanks pointed out a small herd of South Poll cattle in a nearby field and explained that the cows usually reside on 1,200 leased acres nearby but that he moved a few to the ranch so participants could see them.

Dr. Shanks explained that Teddy Gentry of the band, Alabama, created the South Poll cattle breed. “He told me he sat on the back of the bus and read about cattle and what his dilemma was,” Dr. Shanks explained. “He lives in northern Alabama, and of course, they got heat like we’re experiencing today, fescue. And his challenge was (that) he wanted a breed of cattle that would handle that environment, yet produce a good eating experience.” 

After intensive research, Gentry bred Barzona, Hereford, Senepol, and  Red Angus together to create the composite breed known as South Poll. “And so what he tried to develop then was a breed of cattle that could handle the heat, the fescue,” said Dr. Shanks. “They’re a little bit smaller in size, more moderate, easier. Keep in mind that that works well for us. We can run them on the hills and hollers of Osage County without additional supplementation.”

The slick-hided red or red-and-white cattle are also gentle, Dr. Shanks said, noting that Osage County has more registered South Poll cattle than any other county in the United States. 

Two participants were given prizes — a hat and a copy of his wife’s book — for correctly answering questions about the cattle.

Dr. Shanks explained that one way they make their farm profitable is by conducting feed trials for Purina and other companies, which are carried out in several research barns on the property. Several participants were flagging because of the heat and elected to stay on the air-conditioned bus. However, most disembarked and walked down to one of the research barns to stand in the shade while looking at the sheep.

Another of the ranch’s income streams comes from a flock of several hundred Katahdin sheep kept on the property. Dr. Shanks explained that Katahdin are hair sheep, which means they do not have to be sheared and are raised for meat.

Dr. Shanks received a B.S. in Animal Science from Missouri State University, an M.S. in Animal Science/Animal Breeding from Montana State University, and a Ph.D. in Animal Science/Meat Science from South Dakota State University.

Sunshine teaches at Maries County R-2 and has written two children’s books, “One Thousand Black Walnuts” and “The Perfect Barn,” to help educate children about agriculture. She won the St. Louis Dairy Council Award for Homegrown Hero in 2021.

For more information about Sassafras Valley Ranch, visit sassafrasvalleyranch.com or look them up on Facebook. 

A description of this tour would be incomplete without mentioning Howard, the bus driver from USA Tours of Rolla, who navigated a full Greyhound bus over narrow low-water bridges, around tight corners on ditch-flanked gravel roads, and up steep hills, where the bus struggled to find purchase on gravel. He managed to turn the bus around in fields and farmyards with barely enough space for the bus’s length, and his delighted passengers clapped each time he successfully navigated another obstacle. 

At each stop, he stood at the bottom of the bus steps with kind words and assistance for anyone who needed help disembarking. This was not Howard’s first Osage County Agritourism bus tour, and hopefully, it won’t be his last.

The tour concluded at the Osage County Community Center on the State Tech campus, where Mary Ann Gelven reminded participants about other upcoming Osage County Agritourism events and answered questions about them.

Taste of Osage County will be held on Sept. 14 at the Linn City Park. This event is open to the public and features products, foods, businesses, and organizations from Osage County.

On Sept. 28, the first annual farm-to-table dinner will be held at Prairie Star Farm, the home of District 61 Representative Bruce Sassmann and his wife, Jan. The menu will feature food and wine from Osage County. Guests will be seated and served alfresco. Tickets are $30 each and are limited to 100. 

On Dec. 13, there will be a Christmas Country Church and Cookie Trail. Participants will travel by motor coach to five country churches in northern Osage County. Dinner will be provided at one of the churches, and participants will receive a dozen cookies at each of the other four, as well as a container to put them in.

For more information about upcoming Osage County Agritourism events, go to visitosagecounty.com