Welcome to the Ehmke family farm!

Our family is made up of Vance and Louise with sons Cole, Tanner, Layton and daughter Marit. Our farm is in west central Kansas near the beginning of the high plains.

Vance is the fourth generation of Ehmkes to farm. The family came from Germany to Lane County in 1886. Not only does Vance farm; he also is an agricultural journalist. He writes for farm magazines in the winter. Louise grew up in California. She is a farm partner, homemaker, volunteer.

Cole is a 1997 graduate of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas with a degree in business management and economics. In January he will continue studies at the University of Sidney in Australia as a Fulbright Scholar studying how farmers are thriving under world trade policy. He is currently at Kansas State University picking up some graduate hours to prepare him for his year in Australia.

Tanner is a sophomore at Kansas State University where he is studying agricultural economics. He spent the summer working at our local co-op elevator, which is a storage facility for our wheat. Cole worked for us on the farm. Layton, the third son, is a junior at Dighton High School with interests in music, forensics, football, photography, and 4-H. Marit is a second grader who loves school, playing outdoors, and 4-H.

Our primary crop is dryland hard red winter wheat followed by grain sorghum (Milo is a feed grain for livestock) and triticale (wheat/rye cross) used for cattle forage. Besides bulk wheat, we grow certified wheat and triticale for seed for farmers to plant or drill which is what we call it.

Our farm practice in the high plains is called summer fallow. Because rainfall is only 18 inches a year, we plant wheat every other year. The ground soaks up moisture during the year of fallow although we still have to control weeds. Wheat is planted September, harvested in late June, early July then planted again 14 months later. It takes lots of acres in our region because you only get a crop on half of your acres at a time. So one half of the farm is in crop while the other half rests.

For livestock we have 2 farm dogs and 5 mules. We use the mules for pleasure riding as well as for roguing seed wheat. Roguing means to pull out off types of wheat in a field of certified seed. 

Go to the Ehmke diary entries
Contact the Ehmke's at info@wheatmania.com