Kansas native, Chad Epler was born into a farming family that began with his great-grandad, instilling in him a deep-rooted passion for agriculture and innovation. Combining this experience with his love for learning, he dedicated his early career to teaching agriculture to high school and middle school students and leading his community’s Future Farmer of America (FFA) program, cultivating the industry’s next generation.
However, after dedicating nearly 15 years to inspiring many young people to follow their dreams in agriculture, Chad decided it was time to take his work back home. He returned to his family-owned farm in Kansas to carry on his family’s legacy by being a steward of his land so it can be preserved and passed on to future generations.
On average, one U.S. farm
feeds 166 people annually in the U.S. and abroad. With the global population expected to increase by 2.2 billion by 2050, the world’s farmers will have to grow about 70% more food than what is now produced. To meet this growing demand, corn farmers must be willing to embrace change and support innovation.
Grit, passion and an inherent perseverance drives farmers like Chad to meet these challenges head on and with the right technology, farms can more efficiently plant, grow and harvest high-quality corn to feed the world.
Biotechnology: The numbers don’t lie. Seeds created with biotechnology open several positive soil improvement opportunities for corn farmers. As a result, farmers can produce more with less soil erosion and fewer pesticide applications. Last year, Chad’s farm experienced an extremely dry August, but with cornfed innovation, their crop was able to withstand the heat and yields were above average.
Equipment: New technological advancements have improved equipment, making essential tasks easier for farmers. Precision agriculture has unlocked a world of data for farmers that was once unimaginable. This data, when combined with equipment and software advances, allow farmers to be more exact in their management decisions – from fertilizer and herbicide application to tillage depth, seeding rates and row spacing.
Variable-rate technology: By cross-referencing tools like yield maps and soil sampling results, farmers can use agriculture technology to their advantage in fertilizer and chemical applications. Coming from a family of farmers, Chad has many stories of how his family has farmed the land he’s entrusted with today. Decades ago, his grandfather “would be tickled” if he could drill 40 acres per day – today, because of innovations like variable-rate technology,
Chad can farm 600 acres per day. Even though he is no longer a full-time teacher, Chad is dedicated to reminding the next generation that the agriculture industry is strong and will remain strong because of the dedication of farmers across the country to embrace change and implement more sustainable practices. That’s cornfed innovation.
