We were lucky to catch up with Kate Bishop recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?
I had a very challenging childhood. I thought the best way to escape that and the demands it put on me, mentally and emotionally, would be to enlist in the Air Force. In some ways, I went from the frying pan into the fire! But my time in the military gave me the skills to navigate life, it gave me the drive and determination to never fail or give up. Initially, I started out my career working on the flight line on aircraft but after realizing my post-military job opportunities would be limited, I changed careers and entered into law enforcement. With the job change came challenges I’d never faced before. Higher physical and mental fitness standards, long hours, emotionally draining days. Without my drive, determination, and discipline, I know I would have quit or failed early on. It takes a lot of commitment to keep going in that life. Coupled with two hard deployments, one in Iraq and the other in Afghanistan, it put me fully to the test of what life could throw at me. Those days, those events created the person I am today, the person who continues to push through challenges, do the right thing every single time, even when I’m tired or worn down, and continue to get up early every day to run this farm.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
After my life in the military, I struggled to find a place in the civilian world where I felt I truly belonged or to find my purpose. I spent 5 years homesteading, working odd jobs, feeling unsatisfied with the direction I was heading. I enrolled in the Soldier to Agriculture program, and despite the amazing wealth of knowledge they provided, I still was uncertain of where I was going. During my homesteading days, I realized food sovereignty, knowledge of how my food was raised or produced, was very important to me. We raised and harvested our own chicken, turkey, and also did gardening, canning, and preserving. But I had to find local sources for beef, and raw dairy. In December 2021, I did as much research as I could and decided I wanted to raise cattle, for milk and beef production and sell any excess milk to customers. This entire endeavor wasn’t without challenges, even at the beginning. New fences and infrastructure had to be completed. My requirement was everything needed to be in place before the first dairy cow arrived on the farm to be milked. I didn’t want to run a race with both hands tied behind my back! That first day was a nightmare. Nothing went according to plan. Even though I had done my homework, went to farms and watched and tried to learn as fast as I could, I was completely and totally unprepared for the first and second milking session and it was awful. That’s where my drive, determination, and discipline came into play. I wasn’t going to quit. I refused to give up. I could do this!!! Since we began in 2022, I’ve made a lot of changes, experienced the birth of so many amazing calves and losses as well. I’ve been tested, tried, and pushed beyond the breaking point. Over the winter of 2024, I realized my plate was too full and cracking and it was time for some self care, so we scaled back. We have four amazing cows and one heifer. We have less customers than we’ve ever had and life is easier than it was. We still sell a lot of raw milk and amazing farm raised beef but not near at the scale we were last year. I teach so many people how to make their own dairy products at home, how to preserve their own garden harvests, and even how to milk a cow. I never want to see anyone struggle like I did that first day and into that first year. If someone can learn from my mistakes and have a successful operation, that’s what I’m striving for! I want to see others succeed, to milk a cow for their own family or for their community. I share my passion for proper nutrition, sanitation, and storage of their products. Without the support of my community or my family, I wouldn’t be where I am today and I try and pay that forward every chance I get.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
With an industry such as agriculture, building that experienced team of individuals to consult with is key. When things go sideways at 2 am, do you have a vet to call? Do you have a mentor to lean on when you’re ready to throw in the towel? When you have a problem you can’t solve, do you have someone who might have the answers or know where to find them? Struggling along is the worst feeling in the world. I’ve experienced it so many times. While I was in the military, I had a team I could rely on, or people to go to for answers. That’s not the case when you’re a civilian again. So I built my own team. I did my own research and determined what fits for my operation and what doesn’t. And I share all that knowledge so the next farmer isn’t alone.
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