This story was produced in partnership with the Logan County Economic Development Corporation in Sterling, Colorado.
Agriculture is one of the world’s biggest industries. We’re all reliant on farming of some sort for our food, the fibers that make our clothes, and even some of the fuel that powers our machines. But field farming has a huge problem that wastes seed, money, and time. When a lifelong farmer and his sons — a computer scientist and an entrepreneur — approached this problem, they tapped into an unexpected opportunity.
A “Seed” of an Idea
Jerry Graham had been farming the land outside Wray, Colorado, since 1973. For decades, his work followed the steady, demanding rhythms of agricultural life—its ups and downs. His son, Toby, took a different path. Drawn to computers and data, Toby earned a degree in computer science and found his way into a world fueled by speed and precision: drag racing.
Toby specialized in data acquisition systems, applying his background in computer science to optimize performance on the track. His work took him across the country with General Motors’ Formula Two racing teams. But when the 2008 economic crash hit, that momentum came to an abrupt stop, forcing Toby to reconsider what came next.
As Toby searched for his next chapter, an unexpected connection emerged. Together with his father, they began to look at a long-standing problem in row crop farming, one that had gone largely unchanged for more than 80 years. What if the same data-driven precision used in racing could be applied to planting? That question sparked an “aha” moment neither of them had anticipated.
In 2008, Jerry and Toby Graham founded Graham Electric Planter. From its origins to its current global distribution, Graham Electric Planter (GEP) is proving that the future of agriculture is not in bigger machines, but with smarter ones.
The Problem and the Graham Electric Planter Solution
Picture the circles you see when flying over agricultural regions. Those circles are created when center pivot irrigation systems (introduced in the 1940s) rotate and irrigate only within the set radius. The problem is that farmers don’t sow seeds in circles. With tractors towing specialized seeders, they drive the length of a field injecting seeds in adjacent straight lines. This pattern creates a square.
When you put an irrigated circle inside the square field, the corners aren’t irrigated. Before GEP, seeders had either a mechanical ground wheel drive or a hydraulic drive controlling the seed injection. Because farmers could not shut these down while planting, the non-irrigated corners were overseeded. That’s a waste of money and seed.
The GEP solution was to build an electric drive that allowed farmers to adjust seeding rates from the cab of their tractor. No more overseeding corners.
While competitors offer similar technology, GEP was the first to market and is the only brand using wireless technology. With its patented wireless protocol, GEP electric drives are operated by an Android tablet installed in the tractor cab.
Another point of differentiation is that Jerry has farmed his entire life and understands the financial challenges. In his own control studies, using the GEP electric driver saved 9% in seed costs. When he used the driver to control variable rate seeding and liquid fertilizer, his yields increased 23%.
“We’re proud that our product can meet farmers where they are,” said Marty Graham, managing partner of GEP. “We can retrofit older planters so that farmers can update their machines at a fraction of the cost of buying a new one. And when someone is ready to buy new, we sell to manufacturers who install our product on their new equipment.”
The Evolution of the Product and the Business
Sadly, Toby passed away unexpectedly in 2015. His brother Marty stepped in to lead the company with Jerry. Before joining GEP, Marty attended business school at Georgetown and co-founded the athletic apparel brand, 3n2. Toby was the tech phenom who was happy writing code all day on the computer. Marty brought an operational acumen that would help evolve GEP from a great product idea to an international business.
With a mission to improve farming practices through technology, today Marty and Jerry lead a team of eight focused on making agriculture more efficient and profitable.
When Marty joined the company, GEP products coordinated with other brand’s planter controllers: the software systems that control seed driver variables. This required the GEP team to become experts in competitors’ systems, instead of devoting time to their own technological innovation.
“We knew we could offer better performance with more attributes, and deliver more economic and performance value to the customer,” said Marty. “It took four or five years of development, and we introduced a really solid software package.”
The proprietary software opened up new channels and product opportunities. GEP could now offer modular (or à la carte) options for add-on hardware and functionalities. It could build new products for different types of farming. The upsell opportunities have resulted in higher dollar per transaction sales, plus more benefits for the customer.
“Investing in our own software and in extra resources and capabilities allows us to compete in the marketplace."
“Investing in our own software and in extra resources and capabilities allows us to compete in the marketplace,” said Marty. “We’re providing farmers with a valid value proposition to pick our product versus somebody else’s.”
It’s been working. GEP’s turnkey solution has attracted new factory partners that are sustaining and hopefully, fueling future growth.
Global Challenges
John F. Kennedy famously said, “The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.” That was in the 1960s. Today, tariffs, geopolitical instability, and climate change are complicating the realities of agricultural production.
In 2022, more than half of GEP sales were international. The company sells in 12 global markets to countries across five continents. The war in Ukraine and new tariffs have upended sales and input costs, and mandated a “wait-and-see” uncertainty that’s rippling across the entire agriculture industry.
Commodities prices have flatlined. Many farmers’ best hope is to break even at best. Major manufacturers, like John Deere, have laid off workers and retail markets have been glutted with existing inventory that no one can afford to buy.
Marty and the GEP team are standing by. They are personally and professionally invested in farming, so the uncertainty hits hard. But the business model is built for resilience.
Marty’s Vision for the Future
Marty sees diversification as a way through the current uncertainty. GEP can leverage its low overhead as a competitive advantage. The company is focused on promoting its core products, and has reined in investment in new software development for the time being. Several new products already in the pipeline will soon be available and will create a new wholesale revenue stream.
Plus, the longtime model of focusing on farmers’ needs remains strong. “Our products help farmers generate more revenue per acre and keep their fixed costs steady. We help them squeeze out a little bit more profit from each acre they farm.” This is what farmers need at this moment and in the future.
Like many rural businesses, the GEP story is one of ingenuity, innovation, tenacity and community. They’ll keep working to find scalable solutions for their industry and for their business.
Marty sums it up: “It’s a long, fun journey, but it is not a straight line.”
Written by Brook Sutton, with Margaret Hedderman
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