Meet the Owners – Art Ozias
Art grew up on Breezy Hill farm, a Missouri Century Farm. His father was a farmer, his mother, a school teacher. The farm-raised poultry had a dairy for many years and, finally, a beef herd. Art has a master's degree in engineering from Texas A & M. He served twenty years in the US Air Force, retiring in 1986. His first assignment was in meteorology, where he provided weather briefings in Germany to Army aviators and to Gen. Patton (George's son). He was involved in Research and Development, designing and testing electronic warfare subsystems for the F-15 and B-52. He served on the Inspector General team and as Director of Plans for the Eastern Test Range. His final assignment was in developing digital weather instruments. After retiring, Art taught math and physics at a local high school. While teaching, he started his cowherd, caring for his cattle either early in the morning or late after returning home. Building a good herd took time to develop. Art is a voracious reader of many books on genetics, animal husbandry, poultry, and sustainable agriculture. He attended many cattle sales, meetings, and other farm-related events. After several years of researching the existing literature, he became convinced that good health should focus on food production. At that time, he discovered pasture-finished (as opposed to grain-finished) beef. Since the beginning, Art had been selecting his replacement cattle based on how well they converted grass to protein, so it was a relatively easy step to leave the commodity beef market and concentrate on improving his herd's grass-based genetics.
Debra Ozias
Debra is an integral member of the Breezy Hill "staff." Debra grew up in Highland, IL, near St. Louis. Her family lived on the edge of town, and finally, when she reached the age of 13, she got her first horse. Riding, showing, and caring for horses was her love. Debra attended Stephens College in Columbia, MO, during which she met Art. After two years and an associate degree, she attended the University of Missouri and graduated with a degree in secondary education. After graduation and a wedding, she joined Art (who was an AF officer) in Germany. Following that were six moves to and from various bases and two sons and a daughter. When Art retired from the AF, they moved to the farm, and she finished her studies to be certified as an elementary teacher and earned an MS and special reading certification. Debra taught at the local elementary school for 18 years, retiring in 2006. Her interests are her family, health, nutrition, gardening, farming, and her "birds."
