By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
An annual Tractor Cruise is scheduled to leave Maysville High School on the 16th, raising money for the Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture.
Former Missouri Farm Bureau board member Vernon Hart organized the first Tractor Cruise in northwest Missouri in 2014. Hart says the cruise doesn’t just raise money for the foundation, but also raises awareness about agriculture at a time when farming is becoming more and more remote for most.
“Back in the old days, 20 years ago, ‘Oh, my grandpa used to farm,’ ‘Oh, my uncle farmed,’” Hart says of comments he hears from time to time. “You’re getting further away from that every year, because the farmers are fewer. They’re larger farmers. They’re still out there and maybe the larger farmers don’t have as good a connection. People are seeing it as factory farms, but they’re not, they’re still family farms.”
The Tractor Cruise normally attracts about 75 drivers. Entry fees are $35 for open tractors and $50 for cabs. The money raised benefits the Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture.
Hart, Missouri Farm Bureau board member Jason Kurtz and Bryant Kagay with the Missouri Farm Bureau Young Farmer Program spoke with host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline recently.
Kurtz says the Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation does many things, such as raise awareness of the importance of farming.
“The main mission statement of the foundation is that only 2% of the population left on today’s farms must provide the necessary food, resources, fiber for the rest of the 98% that do not live on the farm,” Kurtz says “So, it is very important for us to keep people educated and keep promoting agriculture.”
The foundation also sponsors the Young Farmer Program.
A member of the program, Bryant Kagay, says the program encourages young people to take a stab at farming and explore creative ways to begin an operation.
“One of the most popular seminars we had was on direct-marketing beef,” Kagay explains. “So, rather than thinking you need to be this large-scale, huge producer that takes a lot of capital to get started, well, you can start small and direct-market the own beef you produce. It’s a way that you can work within the ag industry, work within farming, within ranching, to generate an income without some of the hurdles that would come with starting a very large operation.”
Check in on July 16th at the Maysville High School is at 8:30am with a driver’s meeting set for 9:30am. The Tractor Cruise leaves the high at 10 o’clock. There will be a break for lunch at Tri County Alternative Energy Museum in King City. The cruise will return to the Maysville High School.
Click HERE for more information on the 2022 Tractor Cruise.