Tractor Driving Contest

We finished up harvest on Wednesday, I was looking at my first Sunday off from work in over 5 weeks. So what to do…what to do…well the rest of the responsibilities in my life crept right back up and I headed off to the state fair to help judge a tractor driving contest. This might seem totally normal to about half of my readers, to the other half this might seem like a completely ridiculous thing to do on a Sunday afternoon, either way, I was headed out to go and help my Young Farmer and Ranch State Committee find the best FFA Tractor driver in the state.

Corduroy Jackets Filled the Tent yesterday

Slowly the tent started to build up with participants, some had driven hours that day just to put on their blue corduroy jackets, ties with black pants and shoes just to show off their maneuvering skills. The contest has different pieces, a written multiple choice exam, a tractor identification section, and then the actual driving of tractors. We had an area where they had to drive a course without hitting steaks in the ground, hook up to an implement, balance on a teeter totter of sorts, and move a pallet that had a bucket full of water from one side to the other.

The day went great! It was also nice to see a lot of great old friends who I never see during the summer days of harvest! Getting back together and catching up is always a fun time with this group. We haven’t announced the winner, that will be today at 2pm, but I think everyone did great and we all had a lot of fun!