By JIM FARIS
The 13th annual Keep Missouri Farming Tractor Cruise is coming up July 18th,
Giving local farmers and Farm Bureau members together and show off their tractors in a cruise around Buchanan County.
Registration is open for drivers until 8:30 that morning, open-air tractors are $35, with modern air-conditioned tractors $50. The cruise was originally designed to show off older tractors still in operation, and still is mainly models from the 50s-70s.
Jason Kurtz, District 1 Board Member for the Missouri Farm Bureau, says the money collected from the cruise goes to several causes in the Show-Me State, by way of the Foundation for Agriculture.
"The money raised from this event goes to support the Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. We do all kinds of things around the state.. like collegiate Farm Bureau chapter. Think of it like in high school there was FFA, they do a really good job of getting kids invovled in agriculture, what they're going to do with their careers, post-education. The Collegiate Farm Bureau gets kids involved in an activity that's still aorund the farming and ranching community, and gives them an outlet to get started and keep growing in those careers."
"Another big one that the foundation does is supplies grants to teachers to do ag curriculum in the classrooms... since farming and ranching are starting to get further and further away from generations of families growing up on the farm, to keep kids involved in knowing where their food and fiber comes from."
On the 18th, Kurtz and Hart want to remind drivers of a few rules: Tractors with dual wheels can't go, in case they're too wide on the roads of the route, and tractors must be able to run more than 10 miles per hour, for safety reasons. The tractor cruise will be supported by flaggers with the San Antonio and Agency Fire Departments, and certain intersections will be controlled by the State Highway Patrol and Buchanan County Sheriff's Office.
Due to ongoing construction on U.S. 36, the route will be different compared to previous years. Moving from Ag Power to East Saint Joseph, before taking a rural tour to the town of Saxton, where they'll take a break at Herzog's Rail Department. From there, farmers will drive on Saxton Road to Easton, and the Buchanan County Fairgrounds.
A pork lunch will be held at the old East Buchanan Auditorium there, and the fairgrounds will also be hosting The Barn and Beyond Showcase, with animals on show from the youth of local counties. Kurtz and Hart encourage people to come out, see the tractors and the animals at the fairgrounds.
The cruise will then turn back towards Ag Power by way of Saint Joseph, with a break at Ebenezer Methodist Church off U.S. 169.
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