Herman White’s parents came to Platte County in 1922 from rural Clay County, Missouri. They settled on a farm four miles north of Platte City along Elm Grove Road and in 1947 they managed to buy the farm. Today, Herman, 85, and his wife, Jeanee, 80, live on the showcase property, but they’re finding it harder and harder to keep up with the physical labor of farm life as they grow older. Their son, J.D., is 54 and is taking over his father’s duties. He has never been married and lives in Platte City.

Herman’s daughter also lives in Platte City and has two children and three grandchildren, none of who are involved in the farming. The future of White Farm seems to be uncertain.