CJ Morgan and Molly Sowash are co-owners of MoSo Farm. Together, they raise swine and cattle only about 15 minutes southwest of Athens.
The farm began in 2020 after Sowash bought eight calves. Six months later, Sowash met Morgan and the two married in 2023.
“For the first year or two, Molly was the main farmer,” Morgan said. “I was living an hour south of here, working for the Wayne National Forest. In 2022, I moved up here, and (we) started farming more, Molly and I together. In the spring of 2024, I quit my job at the Wayne National Forest and started farming full-time.”
In the beginning, MoSo sold half and whole-freezer beef. Over the years, more people became interested in buying smaller, individual cuts of meat, so the couple branched out and got the proper health department licenses.
As the team expanded its products, Morgan and Sowash also developed relationships in Athens.
“We started going to the farmers market our first year in 2024 and that really got a name out there and got people to know us, (we) started building relationships with local customers,” Morgan said.
Beyond the individual customer market, MoSo also started to work with restaurants. MoSo is the primary pork supplier for Little Fish Brewing Co. and the primary ground pork supplier for Casa Nueva.
Jon Slater, the marketing coordinator at Casa Nueva, said developing a relationship with MoSo and receiving the pork was a smooth process.
“They are very communicative,” Slater said. “They're a shining example of a local producer, and they're genuinely excited to work with us … For the last couple of years, having a solid local pork supply has been difficult. (MoSo) came onto the scene and had really reasonable price points and clearly care about what they do, so it was an easy decision to start sourcing our pork through them.”
According to the MoSo website, prices vary depending on the type of meat and package size. A 1lb tube of ground beef costs $9.75, with a quarter beef deposit costing $100, six to seven strips of Canadian bacon costing $7.50 and a package of four chicken drumsticks costing $6.50.
MoSo also supplies Casa Nueva’s pork shoulders and pork butts, which are used in some seasonal dishes and weekly specials. Slater said part of Casa Nueva’s mission is to stay local, since it benefits both the restaurant and Athens by investing in the area’s economy.
MoSo also sees value in supporting local businesses. When the farm purchases various supplies, such as hay and animal feed, it buys from places in Southeast Ohio.
“We're here because the community supports us,” Morgan said. “Everybody at the farmers market and people who choose to eat at local restaurants make our livelihood possible. So we try to give back … What we spend goes back into the local economy.”
Ed Brown, the agriculture and natural resource educator with The Ohio State University Extension for Athens, said farms impact local economies more than many people may realize.
OSU Extension is part of the university’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, offering 4-H youth development programs in agriculture and other areas, according to OSU.
“In the whole southeast region of Ohio, it's several million dollars when you add in all the secondary supplies and equipment and inputs that they're getting from our region,” Brown said.
In February 2025, the Ohio Department of Agriculture reported food and agriculture was Ohio’s number one industry. Overall, the agricultural business added $124 billion every year to the state’s economy.
Despite this, many farmers are not drawn to the industry based on a salary.
Morgan was exposed to the world of farming as he was growing up in Randolph, Ohio. He picked vegetables, baled hay and did other sorts of farm work as early as eighth grade.
“I was in 4-H growing up, so I took pigs to the Portage County Fair, showed pigs there,” Morgan said. “That was really instrumental in my learning about agriculture and being involved in agriculture a lot. So I didn't grow up on a farm, but I was surrounded by them, and (it) always was close to my heart, something I was interested in doing.”
Sowash’s interest in farming stemmed from her care for the environment.
“One of her favorite sayings is, ‘It's not the cow, it's the how,’” Morgan said. “It's how cattle are raised and managed. Management intensive grazing, rotating cattle (and) letting pastures rest is what builds soil health.”
MoSo focuses on practicing sustainable farming. Morgan and Sowash are using a free-choice, cafeteria-style mineral program, with 20 minerals available for cattle to choose to consume from; this helps replenish nutrients the farm’s soil is lacking. The cattle can supplement themselves, and eventually the soil, based on what minerals the plants are not providing.
“There’s way different plants in August than there are in April,” Morgan said. “The cattle can select for what they need depending on different times of the year … It's pretty interesting the cattle's innate ability to select for exactly what they need. That's been a great way for us to improve our soil and keep our animals healthy at the same time.”
Using sustainable practices contributes to more than the ecosystem and the animals.
“There's a really kind of a domino effect there, where, when you take care of the soil, everything else falls into place,” Morgan said. “It also makes our business viable economically. Healthy soils require less inputs for fertilizer … Having healthy soils allows our land to be productive on its own.”
As Morgan and Sowash continue to expand MoSo, care for their animals and practice sustainability, Athens and the ecosystem can continue seeing the benefits of the relationship.
“Seeing diversity flourish on the landscape, seeing happy animals and happy customers, that's what makes it all worth it,” Morgan said. “It's great to be able to manage this little chunk of land here.”
