As the representative of Missouri dairy farmers on the 2024 Race To The Plate Farm Team, Bethany shares with consumers that farmers care for the well-being of their livestock 365 days a year.
Missouri farmers, like Bethany Bloss, are good stewards of their livestock. Bethany works hard so that her family’s dairy cows are healthy and happy. Alongside members of her family, Bethany operates a dairy business near Sarcoxie, Mo. Working as the herdswoman of her family’s dairy business, she is an unwavering advocate for animal health.
“It is essential to micromanage our cows daily to make sure they are healthy and happy because our job as dairy farmers is not just to produce the most milk; it is to produce high quality milk,” Bethany shared.
As representative of Missouri’s dairy farmers on the 2024 Race To The Plate Farm Team, Bethany shares that farmers care for the well-being of their livestock 365 days a year.
Bethany’s Advocacy Efforts
Bethany is the youngest member of the 2024 Race to the Plate Farm Team, an advocacy partnership with the St. Louis Cardinals to promote Missouri agriculture. Bethany has had the opportunity to interact with consumers in Ford Plaza before Cardinals games and answer their questions about dairy products and the Missouri dairy industry. “It is fun to share that dairy is a good part of a healthy diet,” Bethany said
Meet Bloss Family Dairy
The Bloss family milks more than 150 ProCROSS dairy cows. The herd’s health is monitored twice daily by Bethany as the farm’s herdswoman.
“It is my job to pay attention to our animals and know how they should behave – which is the best indicator of their health,” Bethany said. “Each of our cows is not just another animal. Each one is important to our success.”
Bethany’s duties include milking, performing artificial insemination (AI), administering veterinary care for the cows and many other jobs. Bethany’s daily attention to the details of her cows’ health guards and safely manages the family’s herd against concerns such as the current potential spread of the H1N1 influenza. When illnesses in livestock are detected early by attentive herdsmen like Bethany, animals can be treated promptly, and farmers continue to keep the food supply safe.
A Legacy in the Dairy Industry
The Bloss dairy farm legacy began with six cows. Bethany’s great-grandmother and her dad (as a boy) each milked three cows by hand each day. Although Bethany wasn’t present when the farm began, the stories of its beginning shaped her as she grew up milking cows on the family’s expanded dairy. As one of five siblings in her household, Bethany cherishes growing up in a farm family. “Everyone should get to experience the life of a farm kid, where things aren’t just handed to you and you have to work for what you want,” Bethany said. “It makes you appreciate things more.”
Winds of Change and New Beginnings
Bethany’s farm story has taken some interesting turns. As a junior in high school, her family had to leave the generational dairy farm near Sarcoxie to pursue different endeavors near Fulton, Mo. The family missed farming together so much that Bethany’s oldest brother spearheaded the conversation and effort for the family to begin milking cows again. A love of agriculture, dairy, and unity provided the Bloss family with the drive to set up a new dairy business with a new herd of dairy cows in their new community on leased property. Recently, unexpected circumstances forced the Bloss family to leave that property. The family has turned to their faith to help them make each transition.
“If we hadn’t moved to Fulton, we wouldn’t have met people who are now in our family. We made lifelong friends while we lived in that community. There was a plan for us to be there when we were,” Bethany shared. “And there is a plan for why we got to move our cows back home.” Bethany’s grandfather retired from the dairy business during 2023, so her family had the opportunity to move their dairy herd to the family’s original homeplace near Sarcoxie in May 2024. The family is pleased to be back together in southwest Missouri.
The Future of Bloss Family Dairy
Bethany eventually plans to become a financial partner in the family dairy so she can help grow the business. “I don’t just want our farm to grow to financially support the family; I hope it will grow in a way that it becomes something sustainable that we will be able to pass on to the next generations,” Bethany said. “We won’t just be passing on the family business, we will pass along a family legacy and the history of our community. We want to keep all the stories alive that we have grown up hearing.” Bethany is recently engaged to her fiancé, Curtis Humphries, and the couple are excited about their wedding in June 2025. The Bloss family are members of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Midwest Dairy, both partners of Missouri Farmers Care.
Originally appeared on Missouri Farmers Care
Reprinted with permission
