Kate Geppert

Kate Geppert has been involved with the dairy industry her entire life, from feeding calves when she was very young and milking by herself in junior high, to obtaining leadership responsibilities as she grew older. She and her brother Tim grew up on the family Holstein farm near Kingdom City. The dairy had been started in the 1950’s by her grandfather Raymond Atkinson and had been passed down to her parents, Harlan and Judy Borman. Growing up, Kate was very active on the farm and was able to earn many awards, including her FFA State Farmer Degree, being a member of the 1984 Missouri State 4-H Dairy Judging team, and a Holstein USA National Distinguished Junior Member Semi-Finalist.

A 1989 graduate of the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Journalism, Kate has spent her career working as a free-lance journalist in the dairy industry. She is Managing Editor for the Mid-States Holstein News, a regional Registered Holstein magazine for Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. In addition, she creates dairy sale catalogs for consignment and dispersal sales in the Midwest. These publications assist producers and dairy sales managers as they promote and market their herds.

Educating the public about the dairy industry has always been important to Kate. With their farm located close to a local elementary school, as well as the University of Missouri, she and her family have had the opportunity to tell dairy’s story to hundreds of people through the years, from young school children and University students to local businessmen and international visitors.

Kate has served in leadership positions for several Holstein organizations in Missouri and nationally. As a member and a past president of the Missouri Holstein Association, she provided leadership to the Registered Holstein activities in Missouri. She represented the Missouri Holstein Association as a voting delegate at National Conventions and their junior advisor. In addition, she represents them on the Missouri Dairy Hall of Honors Board of Trustees. In 2008, she was presented with the John Cooper Award, an award presented for service and dedication to the Southern National Holstein Show.

From 2005 to 2011, Kate was a member on the Holstein Association USA Board of Directors where she served on the Executive, Junior Advisory, Genetic Advancement, Audit and National FAIR committees. Since her tenure on the board, she has also served on Holstein’s Nominating and Legislative Committees. In 2010, she received the Young Dairy Leaders Institute (YDLI) Distinguished Alumni Leader Award from the Holstein Foundation. Currently she serves as President of the National Holstein Women’s Scholarship Board of Directors, a foundation that has awarded over $100,000 in scholarships to Holstein Junior members.

Kate has also held leadership positions in other dairy industry organizations. For 13 years, Kate was the dairy superintendent at the Missouri State Fair, a role that allowed her to communicate extensively with the general public about the dairy industry. She served three terms on the Missouri State Milk Board, serving as one of four dairy producers appointed by the Governor. She was also a member of the Agriculture Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) Class VI and served on their board of directors.

As an Alumni of Mizzou, Kate has given back to her alma mater in many capacities, especially through the MU Ag Alumni Association where she served as President of the Ag Alumni Board of Directors from 2009 to 2010. During her tenure on the Board, she also served as Chairman of Ag Unlimited, the Association’s fundraising banquet. Due to her service and leadership with Ag Alumni and the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR), she was named a member of their Agricultural Alumni Leadership Society in 2015.

The Missouri Dairy Association Board of Directors submitted the nomination for Kate. In a letter of support, Lloyd Gunter said, “If there was a designation for the “first lady of Missouri dairy,” you would be hard pressed to find someone as dedicated to Missouri dairy as Kate.”

Kate and her daughter, Sophie, live on the family farm in Kingdom City where she serves as a 4-H Dairy Leader and is very active in Sophie’s school activities. In addition, she serves as a Sunday School teacher for Memorial Baptist Church.