By Bev Flatt|2021-03-22T09:31:34-04:00March 22nd, 2021|Categories: The Feed|
Kylie Epperson, a farmer in northeast Missouri, is known by her followers as The Grateful Farm Wife. Raised in a rural community with no ties to farming, she took a chance and joined FFA in high school, which launched her agriculture journey. Today, she shares her life on the farm with her broad audience on social media and beyond.
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Her Beginnings in Agriculture
Kylie joined the Mark Twain FFA Chapter in Center, Missouri, her freshman year and immediately fell in love with the camaraderie and social aspect of the organization.
“I love FFA because we were not only learning about agriculture, but because we were serving others. In 2008, a local town was experiencing record flooding along the Mississippi River. Our chapter loaded up and helped bag sand to hold off the rising water.”
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A Match Made in FFA
“I’m in Love with a Boy in the FFA” is more than just a song sung by the National FFA Choir during the National FFA Convention. Kylie counts herself lucky to have met her future farmer husband at a career development event (CDE) competition. During a poultry judging contest, Kylie and Jordan connected and traded phone numbers – simply to see where one another placed in the poultry judging event, of course. Jordan is a fourth-generation farmer, and Kylie has fallen in step with his passion for agriculture. Today, they run their own farming operation in Missouri.
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Life on the Farm
In 2014, Kylie transitioned from teaching school to working full-time on the farm when the Eppersons built a 5,600-head farrow-to-wean sow unit. Tragically, four years later it burned to the ground. After wading through the devastation and hard times, they decided to rebuild and now partner to own 5,000 sows in a sow unit equipped with turn-around farrowing crates, big pen gestation areas and electronic sow feeding systems.
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A Family Affair
Work on the farm never ends. Kylie's family owns and operates an independent 1,200-head farrow-to-finish operation. They raise pigs from birth until they're sent to market.
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Advocate for the Pork Industry
Because the Eppersons are independent hog farmers, Kylie wanted to make more of an impact and tell her farm story. Through her involvement with the Pork Leadership Institute, Kylie learned how to advocate for and serve hog farmers across the U.S. In 2019, she went to the fall Legislative Action Conference for Pork Producers in Washington, D.C., and met with legislators to express her wants and needs regarding laws and pork production. She has also traveled to Bogota, Colombia, where she learned about international trade and its relevance to the pork industry. Kylie now serves as a board member on the Missouri Pork Producers Association.
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Getting Social
While she may not drive a tractor often, Kylie is always happy to fill in on the farm when needed. She chronicles her experiences through a blog and social media accounts called "The Grateful Farm Wife."
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Raising Future Farmers
One of Kylie’s favorite parts about farming is sharing her farm experiences with her kids. Though she was not raised on a farm, Kylie learned about agriculture through FFA and later by farming with her husband. She is grateful she gets to raise her children on the farm, so they understand from a young age about the importance of agriculture.
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“FFA truly gave me so much…”
“It is so important that EVERYONE understands agriculture and the hard work farmers and ranchers are doing. We literally feed the world. Had I not stuck with FFA, I’m sure my path in life would have been totally different. FFA equipped me with knowledge about the agriculture industry. FFA filled me with joy through community service projects. FFA taught me leadership and speaking abilities that I can now use on my social media, blog and to educate my peers. FFA truly gave me so much, and I am thrilled to raise our mini-farmers in a rural setting where they love farming and rural life.”
