TracyPlace
his endeavor, initiated by the third generation of the Tracy family, is more than one person or one family can undertake. There are barns to raise and fences to build; seeds to plant and beans to pick; chickens to feed and eggs to gather; grains to grind and bread to bake; goats to tend and cheese to make. Business plans must be written, produce must be marketed, websites must be designed. There are sunsets to watch, meadowlarks to hear, and camp songs to sing.
TracyPlace
HERITAGE FARM
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HERITAGE FARM
Sustainability, which may refer to actions and applications, is fundamentally a change in attitude … a new mindset which involves the belief that individuals must take responsibility for the impact of their own existence and must care intimately for the land.
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The future of rural America belongs to those who are willing to claim it.
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People with that new attitude will come … the ones who see the vision … the ones who hear the beckoning of the cottonwood trees. They realize that the current scenario has nearly run its course. They don’t need to read the last pages … they have a pretty good idea of how the story ends. They’re ready to start a new chapter … ready to be part of a new beginning. They don’t grieve for the past because they see the false promises that supported it. They have hope and aspiration for a future that is honest, inclusive, and forgiving. Those people will find their way to Tracy Place Heritage Farm, and together we will begin the process of restoration, reweaving the threads of life that surround us.
—Dr. John Ikerd Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics University of Missouri
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HERITAGE FARM History ,
racy Place Heritage Farm is situated on 167 acres of native wetland meadow in the North Platte River Valley in west central Nebraska. The property, previously a tree claim, was purchased in the early teens by Arch J. Tracy. He milled lumber from cottonwood trees on site, and in 1918, moved his wife, Nora, and their young daughter, Oleva, into a built-by-hand bungalow. For the next four decades the Tracys made a living and enjoyed a tranquil life in their tightly knit community of farmers and ranchers. They raised beef cattle, hogs, and chickens. They kept a team of horses for working the hay meadow. They milked cows and churned butter. They made jam with fruit from apple, cherry, mulberry, and plum trees. They grew potatoes and peas, rhubarb and radishes, cucumbers and corn, with coreopsis, batchelor button, and sweet william scattered about. They canned tomatoes and okra, made watermelon rind pickles, and got together with neighbors at Christmas to make big batches of fondant and fudge. Nora played the piano by ear and, together with a fiddle player, pounded out “Turkey in the Straw” and other toe-tappers for country dances. She also played the guitar and sang … love songs were her favorite. Oleva rode her horse to a one-room school. She and her dog Scout played in the woods and waded and fished in the spring-fed pond. In the 30’s times were hard, and they nearly lost everything. Three generations lived in the house and boarders were taken in for whatever they could pay. Oleva, now a third grade teacher, moved back home to help support the family.
Eventually the crisis passed and the next few decades saw recovery and the return of a stable rural economy. In 1961, a small group of family and friends gathered in the well-worn bungalow to celebrate the Tracy’s 50th wedding anniversary. When Arch and Nora retired and left the farm several years later, the world was a very different place from the one they had known as young farmers. World population had grown from 800 million to over 3 billion. Large, corporate-controlled operations were beginning to dominate the rural landscape. Industrial farming methods depended on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, large amounts of irrigation, major transportation systems, factory-style practices for raising livestock, and machine technology. As more and more small farmers were moving off the land, the Tracy Place fell into disrepair. It was representative of the state of many small farms across the country. The hay meadow was leased, and the house was rented to people who worked in town. The shop building was no longer safe and a tree fell on the garage. The barn deteriorated, was deemed too expensive to repair, and was taken down for the lumber. The last of the original trees were gone and the tree claim was full of volunteer trees, not much more than large weeds. The pond was filled with silt and grew a fine crop of cattails. As the little farm sat idle, the merits of modern intensive agriculture were beginning to be questioned. It was damaging the land, draining water supplies, and polluting the environment. And it was requiring more and more fossil fuel to pump irrigation water, run machinery, remediate the environment, and transport the products.
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Today ,
y the eve of the 21st century, the problems of industrial agriculture had given rise to the idea and practice of sustainable agriculture. All across the country people were returning to farms and starting new farms based on a way of raising food that is healthy for people and animals, does not harm the environment, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports the farming community. The concept of sustainable agriculture embraces a wide range of techniques, including permaculture, organic, free-range, low-input, and holistic. The common thread among these methods is an embrace of farming practices that mimic natural ecological processes. Beyond growing food, the philosophy of sustainability also espouses broader principles which may include environmentally conscious design and construction techniques, a water catchment and reuse system, and an educational component. The Tracy Place is ripe with potential to enter the new era of local, small scale, sustainable agriculture. The 1918 bungalow is being restored. The tree claim is being cleaned out and replanted as a forest garden with nut trees, fruit trees, and berry bushes and shrubs. With help from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the pond and wildlife habitat are being restored. The best soil for farming is being identified. Straw bale buildings are being planned. Educational curriculums are being written. Thus begins the legacy of Tracy Place Heritage Farm.