Terri Wells (Photo by Sarah Jones Decker)
By Frances Figart
Terri Wells is first and foremost a farmer. The owner of Bee Branch Farm, she represents the ninth generation of her family to live and farm on her land in the scenic community of Sandy Mush, in Leicester.
Those who know Wells describe her as a community leader, event organizer and farmland conservation advocate. She was instrumental in launching Northwest Buncombe County’s new Farm Heritage Trail—which includes six farm stops and 11 conserved farms, farm-totable dinners, hikes and workshops—and helped organize the Fall Farms and Artisans Tour in partnership with the Asheville Bed and Breakfast Association and Addison Farms Vineyards.
“Terri literally buzzes with passion for her community. She masterminded the right destinations for visitors, got everyone excited, and then gathered and cajoled as we pulled the first tour together,” says Susan Dosier of the Asheville B&B Association. “She’s an organizer, a doer and a dreamer—all in the most wonderful of combinations.”
While she was growing up, Wells helped her family raise tobacco, tomatoes and beef cattle. After receiving an undergraduate degree in English Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill and teaching high school English, she set off on her own in 2001 to explore the western US and Canada. This trip culminated in a move to Boulder, CO, where she earned her masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
“I loved exploring the rugged mountains of the west,” she says. “Since my youth, I had valued keeping family farms intact, but it was while living in Colorado that I learned of the very useful tool of conservation easements as a way to help preserve family farms.”
Wells missed what she calls “these wise, beautiful mountains” and eventually moved back home, and continued her career as an educator, working for Asheville City Schools Foundation for five years. It wasn’t long before she returned to her farming roots, starting Bee Branch Farm, where honey and vegetables are grown utilizing organic practices and the resident beekeeper is her husband, Glenn Ratcliff, a chemistry instructor at A-B Tech.
“Our family has been farming in Sandy Mush for over 200 years, and I was very pleased that our family made the commitment to preserve approximately 600 acres of our farm in conservation easement with Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy,” says Wells. “Local farmland conservation efforts will have lasting benefits for our access to healthy food, clean water and air, habitat for wildlife, scenic views and economic sustainability.”
Wells says fortunately the Sandy Mush of today looks very similar to how it did when she was growing up. She treasures the many hours spent with her grandparents working on the farm and even then was known as a project instigator.
“I have known Terri all her life, and she has always been the type of person who figures out how to overcome the barriers between her and her goals,” says Steve Duckett, Buncombe County Extension director. “That determination has not changed since she was little.”
Wells’ favorite memories are of listening to her grandfather, Charlie Wells, sing old ballads after the family finished with work for the day. “My love of farming, and people, came from my Papa,” she says with an affection that is palpable. “Papa loved every moment of his life spent farming, and he always had time for people.”
While working to launch the Farm Heritage Trail, Wells enjoyed talking with farmers and local historians to learn more about this region’s farming culture. She hopes the Trail will increase local farmland preservation efforts by bringing more awareness to conservation and by improving the financial sustainability of regional farms.
One Sandy Mush neighbor, Suzanna Denison, land access coordinator for WNC FarmLink, describes Wells as “an incredible go-getter and make-it-happen type of woman.” Another, Paul Gallimore, director of Long Branch Environmental Education Center, says, “Her sense of commitment to community wellbeing is unparalleled. If an idea or practice can benefit our community, Terri wants to hear about it, and if it can be proven effective, then she’ll want to share it widely.”
Wells is passionate and optimistic about the future of farming in Buncombe County. “Farming is integral to our health, our quality of life and our local economy. It is my hope that people will grasp these connections and place great value on this important resource.”
Bee Branch Farm will be participating in the Sandy Mush Cycle To Farm on October 1. Part of the route will follow the Farm Heritage Trail with farm stops including Carolina Bison and Addison Farms Vineyard. Learn more at beebranchfarm.com, farmheritagetrail.org and cycletofarm.com.
