Kloppe Dairy

Kloppe Dairy was established in 1948 by Lee and Laverne Kloppe after being purchased from Lee’s parents.  Today, they are a third-generation farm.  Lee and Laverne raised nine children on the farm with Kim, Neil, Rick, Craig, Lynette, and Keith still being involved in the operation today.

Kloppe’s farm about 1,100 acres, 800 acres in row crops and 300 acres in grass.  What started out with a mixture of cows from different breeds, today they have 270 Jersey cows and 160 replacement heifers.  They have built their herd and farm to be efficient and sustainable.  The family prioritized reproduction, health and nutrition and have received national awards reflecting stellar conception rates and calving intervals.  Kloppe Dairy Farm is one of only four farms from Missouri that have won a national award for reproduction from the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council. In fact, they have won five times, achieving platinum three times.

Kim’s daughter, Jill Gehring, oversees the breeding and reproduction of the herd.  Jill utilizes an artificial insemination program and breed association classification program to improve the production and type of the next generation. With diligent record keeping, the herd has also been nationally recognized for its reproduction efficiency.  Other family members involved in the operation: Keith Kloppe, farm hand; Neil Kloppe, milk barn manager, Craig Kloppe, farm hand, Kim Kloppe, farm manager, Barbara Kloppe, calf manager, Rick Kloppe, nutrition manager; Lynnette Kloppe, assistant milk barn manager; and Karl Kloppe, farm hand.

Kloppe’s are members of Prairie Farms since 2002 and has received the Prairie Farm Gold Quality Award for producing high quality milk for consumers.  They also utilize Mid-South Dairy Records (DHI).  The Kloppe’s help sponsor the New Haven Youth Fair and the local FFA dairy cattle judging contest.  They have done several research projects with University of Missouri.  They also provide farm tours for local businesses and schools and hire high school age kids to help milk and work in the fields.