People Behind the Power – Meet Wally Childress
Whether he is running a successful row crop operation, sharing the rural lifestyle on a podcast or embracing the local community at his restaurant and local electric cooperative, Wally Childress prides himself in leaving things better than he found it.
“Now with that I am talking about our farmland and community but also with who I am as a person and how I interact with others,” Childress said. “I want to be a better person tomorrow than I was today.”
Childress lives in Bogota, a small farming community in Dyer County, with his wife, Tracy. Together they have a daughter, a son and a beautiful granddaughter. Childress himself is a farmer on a century farm that began in 1906.
“I’ve known since I was a young boy that farming is all I’ve ever wanted to do,” Childress said.
On several thousands of acres, Childress raises cotton, corn, soybeans, rice and wheat while also creating a suitable wildlife habitat for many species. Through his work, he incorporates precision agriculture and conservation methods. Childress was even named Quail Forever’s 2024-2025 Farmer of the Year.
After many long days in the fields, Childress and his employees decided to open a restaurant in town to provide somewhere close to eat breakfast and lunch. While its primary purpose is to provide the workers on the farm a meal, it also attracts the Bogota community as well as many duck hunters in the winter season.
“No Limits Café is not a money maker, but you can’t buy the experience and happiness that it brings me and my family,” Childress said. “Plus, I get to eat with my mama every day and you can’t beat that.”
Childress is all about the rural way of life. That passion stemmed the “Bogota Boys” podcast. Childress and three others can be found monthly on all listening platforms talking about hunting, farming, history and their rural community.
“We are sharing the rural lifestyle with people, and we hope they enjoy it,” Childress said.
“Bogota Boys” has sponsors and the four involved take the money raised and host a big youth event for their community. They spend all the money to buy gifts for a youth waterfowl banquet which has expanded to helping with youth hunts too.
“We’re just trying to give back to our community,” Childress said. “We are fortunate to have a lot of ground that we can share with people to try to keep the lifestyle of the rural people going.”
“Bogota Boys” recently hit their 50th episode and it had a very fitting special guest — Childress’ 84-year-old mother.
There is one other place one would find Childress, and that’s at Forked Deer Electric Cooperative. He serves on the board of directors and helps anyone in his district. Childress also helps make decisions about the direction the co-op is heading. His latest victory is helping FDEC members receive broadband access.
“I feel like I am helping people get something they wouldn’t have at an affordable price,” Childress said. “We are able to help our community have a good, comfortable living the cheapest and safest way we can. I am happy I get to be a part of that.”
