The Jepson Family, a story firmly rooted in Simpson County

SIMPSON COUNTY, Ky. – Out in the county, there’s a storied family that has been in the area since 1806.

The Jepson family has been farming for going on 220 years, and through that time, they’ve cycled through different crops and livestock, always trying to be a good neighbor and support their community. Over that time, many things have changed, like technology and, of course, the world itself.

Willis Jepson, a managing partner for the family farm, said the world stage has been on a downward slope for farmers over the last 10 years, and even more so over the last five years, as everyone navigated COVID.

Jepson said, “We are the luckiest generation of humans right now if you really think about it,” saying that we live in a time of overabundance and take many things for granted.

Farming is a lifestyle for him and thousands of others across the country, as only around 2 percent of Americans are production farmers.

Though it’s a lot of work, he said he and his children are proud to be multi-generation farmers and with the possibility of making bio-fuels or growing materials for building, the future in his eyes is bright.