Terra Patre Farm in Belen, NM, consisting of about twenty acres, is all that remains of the original two hundred acre farm, part of the two hundred thousand acre Belen Land Grant of 1742. Donald A. Chavez y Gilbert is a descendent of, among others, Belen Land Grant founder, Diego de Torres. The owner of the farm the year the Mexican American War ended (1848), and owner at the time the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed soon after, was his great-great-great grandfather, Juan Nepucemo Chavez. He married Telesfora Baca in 1848. Both their names still appear on the Middle Rio Grande Maps (102-103) for Terra Patre farm and surrounding area. The farm has piece by piece been passed down from one family member or another to the other through the generations.

Chavez y Gilbert runs the farm in the tradition of his ancestors and has taken special steps to make it available to the community and local schools as a teaching farm. Like his ancestors, he has had to strive to preserve what remains of this farm and protect it from government intrusion, and confiscatory taxes and ordinances. The long-term plan is to place this farm in a perpetual trust as a Spanish Colonial Heritage Park to be dedicated to teaching the children and grandchildren of New Mexico for many generations how the Old West began and how the first cowboys and ranchers lived.

Terra Patre Farms was honored to be able to display our New Mexico Dahl Sheep at the State fair this year in Albuquerque. Our display was in the “Red Barn.” We were also privileged to participate in the State Fair parade on September 13 (2014). The theme for the parade was “Celebration On Route 66.” Below are a couple of photos from the parade.