Last Dairy Farm

Two cows graze on the land behind the Moser’s farm in Excelsior Springs, Mo. There are 30 cows actively milking on their home property, which altogether yield at least 40 gallons a day.

Rachel calls for Athena, a pregnant cow, who she keeps an eye on to see when she might give birth. “The vet can give us a pretty good idea,” Rachel says. “But we check them periodically because sometimes there are surprises.”

Scott carries a calf across a field. Even though the calf was born at 1:00 am that morning, Rachel was up until 3:00 am. “It was a late night for both of us,” Scott says.

Scott and Rachel clip a calf’s ear while testing for and vaccinating against BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhea).

Rachel puts alfalfa into a wheelbarrow to feed the cows. The alfalfa costs $200 a bale. “We never waste it,” Rachel says. Because the cows graze in the patches behind the house, the alfalfa adds more variety to the diet and is necessary for a healthier animal.

Scott sells milk to a walk-in customer. “So many people with health issues come to us and say ‘your milk is the only milk I can drink,’” Rachel says. “There are no other farms in the region like ours.” The Moser’s cows produce a milk that does not have a protein which many people associate with lactose intolerance and other dairy related health issues. Many customers seek out the Moser's milk because they can drink it without a problem.

Enoch Moser, 9, pours raw milk from the farm into his cereal for breakfast.

Scott carefully checks each egg with his phone flashlight before cooking them for breakfast. “We get the reject eggs from our farm,” he says. “The not-so-pretty ones. So I have to check them to make sure they haven’t gone bad before we eat them.”

Grace, 11, talks to her mom after arriving home from school. The two had just finished cleaning rags from the barn that were full of alfalfa.

Three of the Moser kids and a boyfriend gather around the dinner table to eat a pork rib dinner in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. The ribs came from pigs that were raised on the farm. “Family is a really big part of our faith and is what matters most to us,” Rachel says. “It’s hard that we sacrifice family time and life balance for the business.”

Scott calms a cow while he works late at night in the barn. “I work 110 hours a week,” Scott says. “Farming isn’t for everyone.”

In an effort to discover why their cows keep getting sick, Scott and Rachel prepare for a trip to the vet. The same week as the vet visit, the Mosers loaded Rachel’s favorite cow onto the same trailer to take it to the butcher.