Third SFCC Tractor Cruise A Success

The third annual State Fair Community College Tractor Cruise held Saturday was a success that benefitted the college's Agriculture program.

SFCC Ag Program Director Brad Driskill said the cruise attracted 14 tractors that were led by a Pettis County Deputy Sheriff for the length of the approximately 42-mile round trip through Pettis County.

A porta-potty and other support vehicles were part of a caravan through rural Pettis County, for a total of 49 participants.

Lunch was served at Green Ridge City Park, where Pettis County Cattlemen cooked up some tasty hamburgers, while Aggie students prepared the shelter house for the arrival of the cruise participants.

Volunteering their time at Grene Ridge were SFCC Aggies Christian White, a freshman working towards an Agronomy degree; Addie Berry, a sophomore who is also the SFCC AG Club president working towards a degree in Ag Business; Bailey Perkins, a freshman who is working towards a degree in Ag Business; and Macy Reed, a freshman who is also the SFCC Ag Club treasurer and working towards a degree in Agribusiness. Reed also just happens to be Miss Pettis County 2023.

Cost to enter was $30 each, and $15 for FFA members.

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“It's going very good. I think everybody's having a good time. The weather's nice, it's a little bit cool, but at least it's not raining,” Driskill told KSIS upon his arrival in Green Ridge.

No major breakdowns occurred during the tractor cruise, according to Driskill. “We didn't leave anybody along the road,” he quipped.

He added that the funds raised go to help pay for trips that the Aggies take throughout the academic year. “We do two big trips per year. We go to a state conference and a national conference every year, so any fund-raising that we do go towards paying for that,” Driskill said.

It was 24 miles from Sedalia to Green Ridge Saturday and about 18 miles for the return trip due to a slightly different route, Driskill noted. The single line of tractors took Route Y when they left SFCC, then to Sacajawea north to Main Street and eventually on to Green Ridge. They took Dove Road east to Route E on their way back to the Sedalia campus.

Driskill credited Dep. Hammond for his leadership in safely getting the cruisers to their destination on a sunny, but cool Saturday morning.

“Deputy Hammond's on campus throughout the week and works with us great, so this is actually the third year he's helped us with this, too,” Driskill said.

Driskill also noted that while the Pettis County Cattlemen were hired for the event, the organization waived all the extra costs associated with a remote cookout like the one on Saturday. “So they kind of sponsored us in that way. So yeah, they've been fantastic to work with,” Driskill concluded.