Robert E. Tracy

(1912-1998)

Member #66 (Tracy & Sons)

Rock River Thresheree Class of 1969

Spreading seeds of ingenuity carried Tracy far

Janesville agribusinessman dies at age 85

By Mary Richards, Gazette Staff

John Tracy picked through a little box of lapel pins that belonged to his father.

"Wisconsin Bell," he said, holding one up.

"Chamber of Commerce.

"Rotary."

Impossible that a box the size of his palm could hold a trinket for his father's every membership or professional accomplishment.

Robert Tracy, 85, a Janesville-area seed visionary and agribusinessman, died Thursday in Pal Springs, Calif., where he spent his winters.

Tracy began developing hybrid seed corn in college and raised hybrids near Avalon for decades. His contributions to the seed industry helped change the face of farming, John Tracy said in a Saturday morning interview in his Bradford Township office.

Robert Tracy was one of the first developers of hybrid corn to expand business into South America. He and a Chilean partner built an experimental farm in 1961 near Santiago, Chile.

Semillas Tracy not only became the largest seed corn company in Chile but allowed the company to conduct research and testing year-round.

But Tracy, an Iowa native, started in the seed business in 1935, when he was still in school at UW-Madison. He rented a handful of acres to grow his first hybrid seed corn.

A pioneer crop of 137 bushels was the beginning of a lengthy career in the seed corn industry.

In 1938, Tracy and his parents formed a partnership and rented 560 acres on the Rock Prairie east of Janesville, producing about 5,000 bushels of seed corn each year.

Tracy chose the land south of Highway 11/14 because it didn't drain as well as the land to the north. The soil in Tracy's chosen glacial prairie, which John Tracy call "the gem of the state," was heavier and more clay-based, making it somewhat drought-proof.

Business was good, and, as demand rose, so did the production and land expansion. Eventually, the firm was selling about 100,000 bushels of hybrid seed annually.

Hybrid corn is known for competitive yield and other desirable qualities. The family eventually produced 18 varieties under the Tracy label.

The uncertain farm economy prompted the Tracys to sell the operation in 1986 to Arena-based Hartung Bros.

Hartung still runs the business, which spanned three generations in the Tracy family during 50 years.

Robert Tracy had six children, including Alan Tracy, who served until last year as secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. He is survived by his children, 18 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

His wife,m Frances, died last year in Palm Springs.

When asked to describe his father, John Tracy called him "a big fish in a small pond."

Robert Tracy had served as chairman of the Wisconsin Board of Agriculture; as president of the American Seed Trade Association and as head of the National Hybrid Growers Association.

He was appointed to the governor's coordinating committee for higher education in the '50s. He was elected to the board of directors of the Wisconsin Phone Co. He even hosted the state and national corn-picking contests at the family's farm.

Recently, Tracy was an avid bird-watcher and often led tours into the desert near Palm Springs, John Tracy said.

Robert Tracy's large life spanned decades and continents, and his impact isn't likely to be forgotten.

"He caught a wave," John Tracy said, "and he was able to ride it."

[Source: The Janesville Gazette, Sunday, March 8, 1998, p. 1B]

AVALON, WI -- Robert E. Tracy, age 85, died Thurs., March 5, 1998, in Desert Hospital, Palm Springs, CA. He was born Nov. 1, 1912, in Nashua, IA, the son of Gilbert and Della (Brooks) Tracy. He married Frances Daane, Feb. 18, 1936, at Little Brown Church, Nashua, IA; she died Feb. 15, 1997. The couple resided in the Avalon, WI, area since 1938. Robert was president of Tracy's Seeds, Janesville, a lifelong Rotarian, a founder of the Wis Agri-Business Council, a Wis Flying Farmer, and a past president of the American Seed Trade Assn. Robert served as a member of the Board of Wisconsin Telephone Co., and on the Governor's coordinating Committee for Higher Education under Warren Knowles.

He is survived by 6 children: Carol (Burton) Jandt of Random Lake, WI, Bonnie (Adriaan) Van der Have of Independence, OR, Phyllis (Val) Yachik of Avalon, John (Judith) Tracy of Whitewater, WI, Alan (Kris) Tracy of Dunn-Loring, VA, Linda (David) Fonda of Freeport, IL; 18 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; a sister, Ruby Mae (Ted) Walton of Janesville; and a brother, Harry (Vine) Tracy of Brooklyn, WI. Robert was preceded in death by his wife, Frances.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thurs., March 12, 1998, at Schneider Funeral Home, Janesville, with Rev. Dr. Harry Johnson officiating. Interment will follow in Emerald Grove Cemetery. Friends may call from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday at Schneider Funeral Home, Janesville. In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, memorials may be sent to Rotary Gardens or the International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, WI.

[Source: The Janesville Gazette, March 1998]