Cooper Emler graduated from Potosi High School in 2023. Emler knew what he wanted to do when he was in his senior year of high school. Emler wanted to walk in his Grandpa Joe’s footprints and go into farming. He planned on moving out a month or so after graduating. He knew that he wanted to have more responsibility and wanted to live in the country, allowing him to be able to go hunting out of his backyard.
Emler knew that farming wasn’t going to be a walk in the park; he knew the fall and spring were going to be a lot of hours. Cooper made the decision the summer going into his senior year that he wanted to be a farmer. “I knew I wanted to be a farmer after working a job that I didn’t like,” said Emler. Emler gets to help his grandpa farm all over the area; they farm in Lancaster, Darlington, and Mineral Point, “We run our own ground; we also rent some ground,“ said Emler, with Darlington being where their home base is. “I like farming because it doesn’t feel like work to me most days,” said Emler.
Emler has learned a lot since he started farming, “The biggest thing I have learned is to be prepared for anything,” said Emler. He does a lot of things on the farm, depending on the time of year. In the spring, he runs a seed cart, picks up rocks out of the fields, and runs the roller on the tractor. In the summer he will run the tractor and rake, and pick up bales with the skid loader. In the fall, Cooper will run a grain cart and help with anything that needs to be done on the farm. No matter what time of the year, he also has cows that need feed.
When Emler isn’t busy farming, he is outside hunting and fishing. He loves to go turkey hunting, deer hunting, and rabbit hunting. “My long-term goal of farming is to learn something every day, and I would like to start my own beef herd in the next 3 to 5 years,” said Emler. Emler then said that he never planned on taking over the farm, but he does plan on doing everything he can to help himself succeed.