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Successful dairy operation takes more than skill

A young dairy producer says it takes skill to begin milking cows, but it takes something less tangible to make it work.  Nate Bloss milks 300 cows with his dad and brother near Fulton, Missouri.  They began just two years ago with little cash, but spending time working through how they would succeed from the start.

“The most important thing, though, is I think we had the skill to milk cows and manage those animals,” Bloss told Brownfield Ag News at the Heart of America Dairy Expo in Springfield, Missouri.

Bloss, who spent several years in the animal health products industry, concedes that the family is not successful in every aspect of the dairy business, but what they have in common is a desire to dairy.

“Having a passion and being willing to spend some years, maybe up to ten years, not making a huge amount of cash salary, or wages, but yet gaining a lot of equity, and for the long run of your life, that could be an opportunity to really, truly make a large income, if that’s what you will,” said Bloss.

Nate counts back at least 10 generations of farmers in his family.

He was part of a panel of dairy farmers at the Heart of America Dairy Expo in Springfield, Missouri, discussing ways to keep milk quality high.