Ron Suppes, a life-long wheat producer, of Dighton, Kansas, understands the importance of relationship-building with his clients. Suppes along with his family have resided in the Scott City area for over 70 years. Over the course of Suppes’ lifetime, he has gained a niche for foundation, registered and certified seed. Suppes, his wife, Shirley, and son, Shayne, own and operate the seed, and with the help of Jace Gibbs, along with other hired help, many hands make light work at the Suppes’ farm.
The Suppes operation consists of solely Kansas Wheat Alliance varieties. They currently offer KWA’s Joe and KS Silverado varieties. Ron and his family are committed to only offering and growing foundation, registered or certified seeds. Each of their fields can potentially be identified as preserved since 90% of their land is no-till. Suppes has the seeds cleaned and then sells them to their local customer base in southwest Kansas.
By offering two hard-white winter wheat varieties from KWA – KS Silverado and Joe – it opens the doors to Suppes’ customers for high-quality grain. The two varieties are designed to be utilized with whole-grain foods.
Only offering KWA varieties makes for a smaller customer base; however, Suppes enjoys the local customer base that reaches people via word of mouth to build a stronger connection with the customers, which will last a lifetime.
“It is my belief that I can make a difference and with wheat being a part of my livelihood, I should do my part to do just that,” Ron Suppes.
Ron Suppes has been a Kansas Wheat Commissioner since 2003, serving as Chairman in 2013-2014 and is currently the Chairman of the newly formed Wheat Innovation Center Research Foundation. He was Chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates from 2007 to 2008 and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors.
