by JoAnn Alumbaugh

Tracy Brader is an accomplished pitcher, but not for a baseball team.

Whether helping her daughter Sydney with her sheep project, assisting with farm records, driving the tractor, fixing lunches and dinners or running for parts, she pitches in to help wherever she’s needed. She and her husband Regan run a farm operation outside of Mediapolis, a small but thriving southeastern Iowa town. To her humble surprise, she was recently named a 2024 Iowa Master Farm Homemaker.

Brader started out as a pre-4-H leader before her kids could officially join. As they got older, she became a leader for the Barnyard Boys and Girls and then the Town & Kountry Kids. This petite, blond-haired, blue-eyed mom could easily pass for one of her 4-H’ers.

“I enjoy helping the kids with projects and teaching them about agriculture,” she says. Brader also serves on the Ag Advisory Committee for the area FFA chapter, and previously served on the Farm Bureau board and Southeast Community College Ag Advisory Board.

Brader attended Iowa State University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy and plant pathology. She put her education to good use as a crop consultant for Golden Furrow (now Nutrien) where she entered yield data, wrote variable-rate prescriptions, did soil tests and other tasks. As the demands of the farm and her family became greater, she decided to stay home.

Family of five

Tracy and Regan are proud of their family and pleased their two boys, Dawson and Dylan, have chosen to be part of the farm operation. Dawson graduated from ISU in May 2023 and Dylan is starting his junior year at ISU. Sydney is still in high school, but also loves farm life. She enjoys showing horses and sheep at local, state and national shows. Tracy enjoys her “vacations” at livestock shows and supporting her kids in all their endeavors.

“We’ve been to Idaho to show sheep and Texas to show horses, among other places along the way,” she says. They enjoy taking their camper to the fairs and appreciate family time together.

In addition to raising corn and soybeans, running a cow-calf operation as well as a 300-head feedlot, the Braders own finishing buildings for Tri-Oak Foods (now JBS).

The Braders met at ISU, when Tracy was a freshman and Regan was a junior. They married after college, built their beautiful home in 1999 and had Dawson in 2001. They still enjoy supporting their alma mater and cheering on the Cyclones.

Regan is not surprised that his wife is being honored as a Master Farm Homemaker. “It’s well-deserved,” he says. “She works really hard to keep everything moving.”