Roscoe Bishop was actually born in Iowa at a time “when there was no work in the Ozarks.” His mother, Cleo (Gregory) Bishop was from Sweet Holler near Eldridge and his father, Green F. Bishop was from the Lead Mine, Mo., area. His parents met at Mountain Creek Church but left the area for his father to find work. He grew up with four sisters and a brother.
“My father died when I was just a baby and my mother moved back here,” he explained recently at his home outside of Eldridge in rural Laclede County. Roscoe and his wife, Phyllis farm 1,850 acres and rent another 560, part of which is also in nearby Camden County. They keep about 425 mixed breed cattle, the majority of which are Angus, on that land. “We sold 75 this last year,” Roscoe continued, “because of the drought. Most of the time, we background our calves and send them to the feed yard but this year the costs just got too high.
“We were dairy farmers for 18 years, milking 100 cows a day. We also kept a few stock cows at that time. It was a good living for us, a good way to raise three kids. They all had chores while growing up and I think that was good for them, too. Have to say, these days it would be too much work for just me and Phyllis.”
Roscoe is the first to admit that farming is not for everyone. “A lot of folks think, farming means you get to be your own boss and that’s true but it is a lot of work and you’ve got to keep after things. If you’re not willing to work, you’re not going to last. Not everybody is cut out for the farm. The worst part is the weather when it’s against you, like the drought. We don’t deal with that every year but you can’t just take off and go when you want. On the other hand, the best part is keeping your family together, being at home and eating supper together every night.
Roscoe served on the original ASCS Board, the Agricultural Stabilization Conservation Service which became the current Farm Service Agency (FSA), which manages the Federal farm programs. He has also been a 30-year member of the local MFA Board of Directors for the Lebanon-Conway-Richland-Grovespring area.
Over the years, Roscoe and Phyllis have raised all their own hay. “When we milked, we also chopped silage. We’ve had enough hay each year and that’s been a good thing. We haven’t bought any hay in 25 years. Last year, we had enough left over to get us through this last year despite the drought. A lot of folks were not that lucky.
“When I first got married, you couldn’t make any money on the farm. I did custom dozer work and I thought, I don’t want a farm, but I changed my mind. Phyllis and the kids did the milking when the kids were younger while I was still dozing. For the last 45 years, it’s been just the farm.”
Those lifelong lessons have not been lost on their grown children. Darrel is the owner of Metaltech Products in Eldridge, Vicki is the director of nursing at Clinic Operations and Physicians Billing at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar, and Jim works at Ft. Leonard Wood, and all three and their spouses keep cattle on the side.
