Princeton, Kansas · First-generation farmer
Meet Farmer Bob
I'm Robert Ralph, better known as Farmer Bob. I didn't grow up on a farm. I grew up in the suburbs, got curious about agriculture, and decided to grow something and bring it to market myself. I picked popcorn.
Non-GMO popcorn · Seed to Store™ · One Farmer, One Field™
How it started
Nobody in my family farmed
I grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, in the suburbs. I was always curious about farm life, so as an adult I bought some cows. Then I bought a farm in Princeton, Kansas to put them on.
The farm needed a fence. A friend cleared the fence line with his bulldozer and piled up the trees, and once they dried out I burned them. That left a patch of ground covered in ash. I figured I had just enriched the soil, so I ought to grow something in it.
I had no idea how to grow a crop. After days of thinking it over, I bought a bag of popcorn off a store shelf and planted it by hand. A week or so later it came up. I tended it all summer, picked the ears by hand in the fall and put the kernels in a hot air popper.
They popped.
Most farmers are born into it. I chose it.
That first patch turned into a business. I wanted to bring a product to market, and I wanted to handle every step myself so I'd know it was good: plant it, grow it, harvest it, dry it, package it and ship it. That's what Seed to Store™ means.
There aren't many first-generation farmers. There are even fewer who sell what they grow straight to the people who eat it. When you order here, you're buying from the farmer who grew it.
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Featured by Amazon
A small Kansas farm in Amazon's national ad
A lot of you found us on Amazon first. Amazon noticed, and they keep asking me to tell the story.
The national adAmazon chose Princeton Popcorn for its national ad about small businesses. It's on the air right now.
Amazon visits the farmIn 2026 an Amazon film crew came out to Princeton, Kansas and did a feature on the farm.
In Amazon's studio in Seattle
On the first morning of Amazon Accelerate in September 2026, Amazon sat me down in their studio to talk about building my two brands, Princeton Popcorn and Bob's Books.
On This Is Small Business
I was a guest on This Is Small Business, Amazon's podcast for small business owners. The episode is “Product Improvements Without Breaking the Bank.”
On the wall at Amazon Accelerate
At Amazon Accelerate 2026, its annual conference for sellers, Amazon put our family on the big screen over badge pickup and on the “What will you achieve?” wall.
On the farm
How I grow it
Popcorn isn't grown like the field corn you see all over the Midwest. The thing that matters most is moisture. A kernel has to hold right around 14% water to pop. Too dry and it can't build pressure. Too wet and it just steams.
So the real work comes after harvest. I dry the corn slowly, over weeks, until it hits that number. It's the reason one bag pops up big and another leaves you a bowl of unpopped kernels.
- Grown and dried on my farm. Princeton, Kansas. Not bought in and rebagged.
- Slow-dried to about 14% moisture. Bigger pops and fewer unpopped kernels.
- Non-GMO. See the testing.
- Farmer-direct. From my farm to your door, with nobody in between.
How it startedThe story of the first patch of popcorn.
Planting dayGetting the popcorn crop in the ground.
Cleaning the seedA trip to Polansky Seed to watch popcorn get cleaned.
Quick answers
Farmer Bob, in short
Who is Farmer Bob?
Farmer Bob is Robert Ralph, the founder of Princeton Popcorn and Farmer Bob's. I'm a first-generation farmer. I grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, and nobody in my family farmed before me.
Where is Princeton Popcorn grown?
On my farm in Princeton, Kansas. I plant it, grow it, harvest it, dry it and package it, then ship it straight to you.
Do you grow the popcorn you sell?
Yes. Princeton Popcorn is grown and dried on my own farm. It is not bought in and rebagged, and it is non-GMO.
What makes Princeton Popcorn different?
It comes from one farm and one farmer, and I dry it slowly to about 14% moisture. That is what makes it pop big and leave fewer unpopped kernels.
Was Princeton Popcorn in an Amazon commercial?
Yes. Amazon chose Princeton Popcorn for its national ad about small businesses, and in 2026 an Amazon film crew came to the farm to film a feature. Both videos are on this page.
Where can I buy Princeton Popcorn?
Right here at princetonpopcorn.com, direct from the farm. You can also find Princeton Popcorn on Amazon.
Taste what I grow
Three kinds of popcorn, plus Farmer Bob's whole grains and beef tallow. Not sure which popcorn? The Popcorn Picker sorts it out in a minute.
More from the farm: The Ultimate Guide to Popcorn · Farmer Bob's blog · Subscribe on YouTube
Off the tractor
A few things about me
Raised in Overland Park, Kansas.
Married, with two kids who are both grown now.
I have my private pilot's license.
Mabel is my German Shepherd. Before her came Rue and Maggie.