Growing up in northwest Omaha, Morgan Wrich watched as the quiet cornfield behind her elementary school gave way to a concrete parking lot and a bustling Lowe’s, a clear sign of the city’s rapid growth. But even as the city spread, Wrich’s heart was rooted in the country, where she spent weekends and summers on her grandparents’ farm in Washington County—just 25 miles from her home, but a world away. “That’s where my love of agriculture came from,” she says. “And I knew growing up that I wanted to go to rural America and not go back to Omaha.”
When she enrolled as an agriculture major at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, she felt more comfortable claiming Kennard, the town were her grandparents farmed, as her hometown. “If you told somebody in the ag college that you were from Omaha, they would look at you funny and think, ‘Well, what are you doing here?’ So I fibbed a little,” she says with a smirk.
Choosing Small-Town Life
After graduation, Wrich married and began farming corn and soybeans with her husband, eventually putting down roots in Nuckolls County, where they partner with her husband’s cousin, who runs a wheat and cattle operation. Wrich said that, “Moving back to the small town was the right decision for us because we love the community aspect. And we also really wanted to be close to family. We are so happy with the community that we’ve built and continue to build.”
While the shift from city life came with some challenges, Wrich finds the opportunity to create community deeply rewarding. “There’s not a Target five minutes away from my house, but there’s so much more. People say, ‘Oh, there’s nothing to do in the small town,’ but you could find something to do every single weekend if you wanted to.”
For Wrich and her family, staying involved isn’t just about having fun. It’s about giving back to the place they call home. “We try to attend local community events,” she says. “My husband sits on the fair board. I’m on the extension board. I also volunteer for CommonGround Nebraska. We want to make sure we’re supporting our small town—because if we’re not, then who is?”
Wrich notes that most rural communities are built around farmers and ranchers, and it’s their responsibility to help local life thrive. “We’re the ones that utilize the hospital and the restaurants and all of those things that these small towns provide. And I want to make sure that my kids have those opportunities as well, so that we’re not losing these businesses that help make our small towns run.”
Lessons from the Land
One of the biggest lessons Wrich has learned is that life on the farm is anything but predictable. What works for their operation might look completely different for a farmer in another part of the state—and even her own routine may change from one day to the next.
“In agriculture, you learn to go with the flow,” she says. “I like to have a plan, and I like to know what’s going to happen. But with farming, you do not know what’s going to happen. You might have a lot of grand plans for your day. You think you’re going to go out and get that field planted, and then you get in the tractor, and something’s broken. So you run to town, but town doesn’t have the part, so you drive to another town to find it. And by the time you get back, you’ve lost half your day. I’ve really learned to just take what the day brings.”
Farming for the Future
Wrich’s willingness to adapt has helped her discover the most sustainable ways to care for her land and ensure its long-term health.
“We are mostly dryland corn, but we have had some irrigated fields in the past. When we first started farming that field, it was in pretty rough shape,” she says. “We utilized the EQIP program through the USDA to put cover crops across all of the acres. Those cover crops help keep the soil together, keep something living in the soil all season long, and prevent runoff. So when we have those massive rainstorms come through, it helps prevent the soil from washing away on that field and on our dryland fields.”
They have also adopted no-till practices to protect the soil, reduce runoff and improve moisture retention, ensuring her fields stay productive for generations. “I love thinking about how we are protecting this soil for years to come, so that in 30 years, this soil is still in great shape and is still able to be farmed. And if my daughters make the decision to come home, they have something that they can use.”
Balancing life as both a farmer and a mom can be tough, but Wrich loves that her daughters already share her enthusiasm for farm life. “My kids love the farm,” she says. “After work, we’ll get the kids from daycare, load them up, go to the field, find the tractor, find the semi truck—whatever we are working on. We want them to be involved—of course while being safe. And we want to show them what a great life it can be.”
While Wrich can’t predict what farm life will look like when her girls are grown, she’s sure of one thing. “The world is still going to need farmers,” she says. “We want to make sure that we’re leaving a legacy we can be proud of. And I want my girls to know that they can be anything they want to be. Including a Nebraska corn farmer.”
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