John O. FARMER III
John O. Farmer III jumped into the petroleum field with both feet when he was 7 years old and landed in the slush pond on one of the company drill sites. The rig crew pulled him out in a hurry but not before he was covered head to toe in the thick, black gunk. They stripped him down on the spot and got him pretty clean before he was put in the car to head home.
John III is a 1963 graduate of Missouri School of Mines with a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering. Following two years of active duty with the Army Corps of Engineers in Germany, John returned to the U.S. to work for Shell Oil Company in Oklahoma City, Houston, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and Denver. He worked as a well site geologist, petrophysical engineer, production foreman, and reservoir engineer. When he left Shell in 1969, John was a senior reservoir engineer.
In 1969, John III entered the partnership as a petroleum engineer, serving as Vice President in 1971 and later as President in 1989. He became a registered professional engineer (by examination) in the state of Kansas in 1971. He has served as an Advisory Board member of TORP at the University of Kansas since 1974. In 1995, a professional degree in Petroleum and Geological Engineering was awarded him by the University of Missouri, Rolla. He served as President of the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association in 1998 & 1999.
John III stepped down as President of John O. Farmer, Inc. in 2015 and currently serves as Chairman. John and his wife Dianne enjoy golfing and traveling, but the business is never very far from his heart. Even when he's not on the job, he's always in touch and available.
