In 1876, Wilhelm Splitter moved his family, livestock and farming equipment by rail from Wisconsin to central Kansas. At this same time, 17 other families moved to homestead the prairie with a desire to build a community based on a Baptist tradition. The next year, the small village of Lorraine was established. They purchased 160 acres in Green Garden Township, Ellsworth County, KS - land that is still owned by the Splitter family today.

Louis B. Splitter, Wilhelm’s youngest son, became manager in 1904 and increased the farm's size. 

L. Vernon Splitter, eldest son of Louis, became manager in 1944.

Melvin, son of Vernon, and his wife, Janet, returned to manage the farm in 1976 after completing their PhD's at Cornell University and working overseas in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

Together, they expanded the family farm, broke out pasture land, began irrigating and planted a new crop in this part of Kansas - soybeans. They were still actively farming when Matt was finishing up his time at college in 2009, and the farm of 1,400 acres was not quite big enough to support two families. As a result, Matt pursued a position with National Sorghum Producers in Texas. The following year, Melvin passed away and this began the transition to Matt and Janna.

Matt, son of Melvin, and his wife, Janna, became manager in 2011 and they farm the same soil Wilhelm homesteaded five generations ago. 

They returned to the family farm in March 2010 when Matt's father, Melvin, died. When they returned to farm as new graduates from Kansas State University, Matt was just 24 years old and Janna, 22. In 2011, Matt and Janna sowed their first crop and saw opportunities to grow their operation with a full load of custom work for neighboring farms and landowners. They added to the foundation built before them and grew their operation in the early years, but then markets took a dip and they knew that they had to make a strategic change for the farm. 

Call it a turning point, moment of truth or divine intervention. In reality, it was a simple question, but what followed was decisive and momentous change. Matt approached fellow producer Lee Scheufler, from nearby Sterling, at a community event in 2015.

Matt's question was: "Why do you plant your soybeans with an air seeder on 7.5" rows?” Lee and his wife, Margaret, are pioneers in no-till and technology on their farm. Lee didn't give a direct answer, but told Matt he’d like to visit further.

Unbeknownst to Scheuflers, the Splitters were in a precarious financial situation due to expanding their asset base just as commodity prices took a nosedive. They needed education and guidance to lead the charge and change on his farm.

Unbeknownst to the Splitters, the Scheuflers were looking for a young family to take over their farm and help them retire. From that first question-and-answer session, the Splitter-Scheufler relationship has grown into a lifelong mentorship and multiyear farm transition. It's been extremely successful, boasting a 100% landlord retention rate. 

It was the turning point that allowed Matt and Janna to grow their family’s farming operation from 1,400 acres in 2010 to today’s 7,000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and grain sorghum. Add in custom farm work, and the Splitter Farm team covers up to 15,000 acres annually.

As sole owner-operators of Splitter Farms, Matt and Janna have grown and enhanced the operation built before them. For the last 15 years, they have made significant progress during difficult times of drought, high inputs and low commodity prices. Now in 2025, they are focused on building a business that can provide opportunity for their daughters, Laikyn and Landry. 

They believe there is a clear distinction between heritage and legacy. Matt has been quoted several times saying, "Heritage is the assets you can inherit. Legacy is what you did with it." This mindset should ensure that Matt and Janna hold an important middle chapter in a long book.