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This month’s Ag Hero is Justin Knopf, who was kind enough to host me, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Thompson, and more than 150 others at his wheat farm near Gypsum for our Food & Agriculture Listening Session this month. That event exemplified what makes Justin an Ag Hero – he is a connector of people, and he understands that agriculture isn’t just a business, it’s a way of life together. For agriculture to thrive, the fabric of relationships between producers, stakeholders, consumers, and lawmakers must thrive. Justin serves as the glue that holds so many Kansas producers together.
Justin is a fifth-generation farmer who is a nationally recognized expert on sustainable, no-till farming. Alongside his brother Jeff and his father Jerry, Justin raises wheat, alfalfa, soybeans, grain sorghum, corn, and cover crops. After graduating from Kansas State University in 2000, Justin spent three years working in the seed industry as an agronomist before returning to the farm full time.
“The wheat industry is being redefined thanks to renewed interest in wheat research by private companies, the start of public and private collaborations, and increasing demand for food,” said Justin. “It is important to gather input from other wheat producers and communicate their interests and my own to provide direction and input on the future of the wheat industry.”
Justin is proudly stewarding agriculture’s heritage while he helps blaze its trail into the future. He is the immediate Past President of Kansas Wheat, he is active in the Kansas Farm Bureau and the Central Kansas Extension District, and he and his wife Lindsey live east of Salina, KS, with their three children. You can learn more about Justin here:
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