T
he Lawson Mooneyham family of Yukon was recognized as Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s District 3 farm and ranch family of the year at the organization’s 84th annual meeting Saturday, Nov. 8, in Oklahoma City.
Whitney Lawson and Robert Mooneyham each come from a typical farm and ranch family upbringing. However, both Whitney and Robert moved away from the family farms where they were raised to pursue individual corporate careers in large cities around the United States.
The pair has now seized the opportunity to return to the Yukon-area family farm and ranch where Whitney grew up with the goal of revitalizing the operation.
What is now Wah Wah Ranch was founded in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889. Throughout the generations, the farm and ranch has carried a proud legacy of raising cattle, running a dairy and producing wheat and crops. Today, the two work to restore the homestead, raising barrel racing American Quarter Horse prospects, manage a black Angus herd and produce quality hay.
“The thing that I think is so different about Robert and I is the choice to come home and revitalize the farm and lean in and make a life of it,” Whitney said. “It’s a lot of work to come home and try to revitalize a farm.”
Utilizing her background in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, Whitey blends modern business and scientific principles with their hands-on ranching. Whitney manually inputs and analyzes multiple qualitative data sets, developing a predictive cross-analysis model to help identify the best animal pairs to maximize potential, marketability and value.
While Whitney focuses mainly on their horse operation, Robert oversees the cropland and hay production in addition to managing building projects and day-to-day manual labor that keeps the operation running smoothly. The couple is also focused on introducing a black Angus cattle herd to the farm.
“I think what brought us back to the farm and ranch life, country life, are the values and the morals that are taught in a farm and agriculture community are a little bit different than like a city,” Robert said. “You can always move away, but you know, the old saying is, ‘You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.’”
With their hands full with the farm and ranch, the two continue to hold full-time jobs off the farm.
“Robert and I made the decision to move back, revitalize the farm and we have full-time jobs in addition to taking on everything that we do on the farm, so a lot of people think we are crazy, but we absolutely love it,” Whitney said. “We have full-time jobs and take on full-time farming, and we are full-time happy.”
Whitney and Robert raise their daughter, Stella, on their farm and ranch. Much like the couple, Stella balances her life on the farm with her busy life as a high schooler with musical theater pursuits off the ranch.
“Seeing how happy it’s made Stella being able to come out to the farm, to be stewards of the land and teach her something that she may not have ever thought about or seen,” Robert said. “From being in the city most of her life, it’s something that hopefully we can instill in her to carry on.”
The two still make the time to stay plugged in and serve their local communities in addition to full-time farming with full-time jobs. Whitney serves as a board member for the East Canadian County Conservation District and was recently appointed to the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture board. She also is a member of the American Quarter Horse Association and the American Paint Horse Association. Additionally, Whitney serves on the Oklahoma City Ballet advisory board, volunteers actively at West Point Christian Church and is a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority.
“There is no closer front seat to God than being on the farm, and agriculture forces a person to stay in the moment and to stay close to their faith and relinquish control,” Whitney said. “Being on the farm is just extraordinarily grounding to me.”
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 family farmers and ranchers across Oklahoma work each and every day to feed and clothe our state and country while caring for the land and natural resources that we all depend on,” said Mignon Bolay, OKFB WLC chair. “Our Women’s Leadership Committee is honored to recognize these nine farm and ranch families and share their stories of agricultural achievements and service to their local, rural communities.”
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 2025 OKFB convention with a video sharing their agricultural operation and heritage.
