Moss Farms
Justin Moss’ grandfather moved from Carmel, Iowa to farm north of Luverne in the 1950s, he started milking cows and raising pigs and chickens. Justin’s grandparents raised six children on the farm. The family milked cows in a tie-stall barn and later built a parlor and free-stall barn milking 150 cows. Justin’s father, Jake, and his Uncle Neal, now run the farm with Justin.
The Mosses milk 600 Holsteins three times a day in a double twelve-parallel parlor. The family raises all their own replacement heifers. They also grow about 500 acres of corn for silage and 120 acres of alfalfa. The Mosses have 200 acres of pasture where their heifers are grazed each summer.
Neal and his wife, Char, handle all the farm’s bookwork and payroll. Jake and Cheryl are Justin’s parents. Jake takes care of all the feeding. Justin takes care of the baby calves and oversees the health of the cows. He and his wife, Daci, have four children: Brooklynn, Makenna, Zachary, and Tage. They all help when they are needed and not in school.
Jake and Cheryl have been on the American Dairy Association board for many years, promoting the dairy industry. Jake is also on his church council as an elder. Justin is involved in a church boys' program called the Cadets. He’s also president of the Pipestone/Rock Dairy Herd Improvement Association.