Drive Green

2010 Drive Green – See it. Drive it. Own it.

Get an up-close look at our extensive line of compact and utility tractors, implements, attachments and more during the Drive Green Tractor Experience … coming to a John Deere dealership near you.

The 2010 Drive Green Utility Tractor Show is underway. You can find the full schedule on the John Deere website.

Building on the success of last year’s Drive Green Utility Tractor program, John Deere announces it is holding Drive Green Tractor Experience events at more than 50 locations across the southern and eastern United States for 2010. The dealer-sponsored events, which kick off in Texas, are designed to give rural property owners, agricultural producers and other interested consumers a chance to operate and ask questions about the latest models of utility tractors and other equipment available from John Deere.

Like last year, a uniquely detailed semi-tractor and trailer that will transport several utility tractors and other equipment to each of the major Drive Green Tractor Experience events. In addition, the legendary designer Chip Foose has customized a 1970 John Deere 4020 Tractor, which also will be featured at many of the events scheduled after early March.

In conjunction with the nationally scheduled Experience events, many John Deere dealers are hosting smaller Drive Green Experience activities at their local dealerships across the country. At all the Experience events, John Deere tractor specialists will be on hand to demonstrate the equipment and answer questions.

We’re winding down our coverage of the John Deere Drive Green Utility Tractor Show and I thought I’d bring things full circle with an interview with Eric Hodson, John Deere Senior Writer, Public Relations. The photo is also from one of our first stops in Gainesville, FL.

Eric says that the program has been real successful. The opportunity to get the truck on the road and deliver these new utility tractors to dealers around the country provided customers the chance to get on them which is what it’s all about. He says that one of the things that stood out for him was how the program got people into John Deere dealership who had never been there before. Attendance was way higher than they had hoped for overall. In fact, Eric says the program was expanded after the early success of the show stops.

When the show first started there was some limited availability on certain models so dealers were really happy to have some of these tractors on hand. The truck also provided a great promotional opportunity when it was parked outside dealerships.

Eric appreciates the staff and instructors who traveled along with the show around the country since it provided good consistency of information that was available at each stop. Looking ahead he says that they’re changing the tires on the truck and hope to have it back on the road again in the future.

You can listen to my interview with Eric here: Interview with Eric Hodson

We have a winner of the Reno Branch “Ideal Drive Green” package.

Kasey Holden from Missoula, MT is the winner and a customer of Triple W Equipment.

Here’s what she wins.

Products: John Deere 5065 E (65HP) Tractor, John Deere Loader, Frontier Implement

The sweepstakes were held May 4 – June 13.

Our Drive Green Utility Tractor Show is winding down for the time being. But that doesn’t mean I won’t have some more new information posted here. Take today for example.

I just received photos from multiple western U.S. stops and have placed them into a new photo album which you can find here: Reno Branch Photo Album.

There are photos in there from cities like Odgen, South Jordan, Grand Junction, Yuba City, Chico, Salem, Pasco and Missoula. Thanks to Sarah Ruth for getting them to me.

So in coming days we’ll get a wrapup report from our truck driver, find out the final contest winner and even more. In the meantime, enjoy all the photos, videos and interviews.

Here are the latest updates from Sarah Ruth, Reno Branch, John Deere.

After finishing up the state of California, the caravan traveled to Redmond and Salem, Oregon. Floyd A Boyd hosted their Drive Green event in conjunction with their Grand Opening celebration in Redmond while Fisher Farm and Lawn hosted their event in Salem on Memorial Day weekend.

Thanks and see you down the highway!

Our Sales Promotion Coordinator for John Deere in the Reno Branch is Sarah Ruth. She has once again sent in a summary of our show stops way out west.

Ogden and South Jordan, Utah

Thanks and see you down the highway!

This is the back end of a customized John Deere Gator that was on display at our Fresno Equipment show stop. It was promoting the John Deere Tech Program.

Speaking of Gators, they are one of the types of equipment in use at the Fresno Unified School District. A number of their folks attended out show stop including Ernie Martin. He says they’re involved in the heavy equipment part of the school district which includes all their tractor work. He says the utility tractors are very handy for the type of work they do.

You can listen to my interview with Ernie here: Interview with Ernie Martin

I just received this picture of one of our winners in the Drive Green and Win promotion from the Southeast region of the country.

Pictured at the Lasseter Eq Group, Unadilla, GA location, manager Steve Hughes (left) presenting the prize to winner Kenneth Dixon (right).

Kenneth wins a John Deere AC2-CG35H-P Compresserator with electric start valued at more than $2,500 (USD). Dixon registered for the prize at a Drive Green Utility Tractor Show event that took place in Tifton, GA earlier this year.

At every show stop I’ve been able to attend I really enjoy talking with the local John Deere Territory Manager. They are a great resource to learn more about the area and the people.

In Lynden, WA last week that guy was Rich Hubbard. Rich says he’s got a pretty diverse territory with a lot of property owners and small ag operations. I thanked him for having us there on a beautiful sunny day. He says feedback on the new utility tractors has been good.

In fact, he says they quoted a number of new tractors during the show stop at North Washington Implement.

You can listen to my interview with Rich here: Interview with Rich Hubbard

North Washington Implement Photo Album

One of our visitors to the show at North Washington Implement was a retired engineer, Doug Smith. He actually still does some work as a representative of the local port district.

He came out to purchase some blades for his wife’s John Deere mower. Doug says he’s got a John Deere 720 which he uses in local parades. When it comes to the new utility tractors he’s impressed with their safety. He says they’re really good for people who don’t run them every day. He also likes the fact that they run so long without needing adjustments since so many people aren’t mechanically inclined. So he likes the safety and longevity of the new tractors.

You can listen to my interview with Doug here: Interview with Doug Smith

North Washington Implement Photo Album

Speaking of berries in the Lynden, WA area, I met Annette Mayberry (right) and her “Green Grandbabies.” You’ve got to love that term! She says her green grandbabies like to see the John Deere tractors.

I’m thinking that the Mayberry farm is very much a John Deere type of operation. And that’s what I found out when I interviewed Annette. She says they use all sizes of John Deere tractors including these utility tractors and lawn mowers.

You can listen to my interview with Annette here: Interview with Annette Maybeery

North Washington Implement Photo Album

The man in charge at North Washington Implement is Max Smith (left). He was the first person I interviewed at this week’s show stop.

Max says they’ve been doing business as a John Deere dealer in Lynden since 1916. He says their customer business is “dairy and berry.” Max says this is the raspberry and blueberry capital of the world. Since they have so many dairies in their area he says these new utility tractors really work well in their business.

You can listen to my interview with Max here: Interview with Max Smith

North Washington Implement Photo Album

We have had a great event here today at North Washington Implement in Lynden, WA. The weather has been picture perfect. And so I took a lot of pictures.

In this one you can see Dick Bedlington (left) who is a local farmer. I got to speak with him after he enjoyed one of the hamburgers being served for lunch.

Dick says he farms about 2,200 acres that includes potatoes and grain. He came out to look at the new utility tractors. Dick has a lot of John Deere equipment on his farm. In fact, he says “We’re all John Deere. Our company swears by John Deere.” When it comes to the utility tractors he says they use them on a small farm for early germination seed which is a mostly two row application.

You can listen to my interview with Dick here: Interview with Dick Bedlington

All my photos from today’s event can be found here: North Washington Implement Photo Album

Well we’re on location once again. This time at North Washington Implement in Lynden, WA. This is beautiful country here in an area I haven’t personally visited before. I added a couple of photos I took on the way here this morning to show some of the scenery.

Our show event is now underway and I’ll be conducting interviews and taking more photos throughout the next several hours.

You can find the beginning of my event photo album here: North Washington Implement Photo Album

While I attended our Fresno show stop I not only saw some big equipment but also some equipment that enhances the accuracy of certain applications like planting and harvesting. Precision agriculture has become increasingly important and widespread and it was on display.

While I was at Fresno Equipment I found out that in their ride and drive lot they had a precision guided tractor demonstration being run by local AMS Consultant, Joey Todd, pictured here. So I climbed in the cab with Joey and had him explain what was on display. To start with we were in an 8230 wheel tractor running RTK using iTEC Pro. Joey set up a field with boundaries so that the tractor would turn at the appropriate spot and raise and lower the implement. He said we were getting sub 1 inch accuracy. In California Joey says the need for precision is “a must” especially because of water restrictions. He also says that he’s seen this equipment being put into Gators for applications like spraying.

You can listen to my interview with Joey here: Interview with Joey Todd

We’ve had the friendliest group of presenters at our Drive Green Utility Tractor Show stops that you’re ever going to find. It’s been a real pleasure to get to know these guys and I thank them for their hard work and fellowship. While I was at the Fresno Equipment stop I interviewed the two presenters who were there to get their perspective on how the show has been going.

First in the interview is Allen Ewards pictured here. He says they’ve “seen a little bit of everything.” He talks about how the weather has played a big role in how many people attend at our show stops and like the weather he says, “You just never know.” The feedback from people he’s met has been very positive. He’s met a wide cross section of people from first time customers to existing customers who want to see the latest and greatest. He’s been able to help the dealers at our show stops since he’s got the factory training which allows him to answer their questions too. He says that in general all the people he’s met have had a very positive attitude. As he puts it, “Nobody is quitting in the farming business.”

Joining us in the interview was Jim Stoffregen. Jim has teamed up with Allen at several locations across the country. One of the questions he gets hit with most is to explain the new numbering sequence which he says makes it so easy for people to know what kind of tractor they’re looking at.

Even though the show has been put on in a variety of venues from dealer locations to large arenas he says they’ve all seemed to work well.

He’s also seen that sales are happening even with concerns about the economy. Part of that may be that these new utility tractors are so versatile and can work in so many applications.

You can listen to my interview with Allen and Jim here: Interview with Allen and Jim

Fresno Equipment Photo Album

It’s time for another edition of the Truck Driver Diary with Tim Pol. Tim has driven the truck all the way across the country now so it was time to catch up with him and see how his journey is going. You can see Tim reflected in the window of Fresno Equipment getting the truck all shined up.

We started out learning about his experience getting the truck stuck in some mud in Maryland. All went well even though Tim says it was kind of a nightmare for a while. He says he’s met a lot of people and had an opportunity to hand out a lot of business cards. Tim says that other than having some different accents the people he meets all have similar questions and issues.

You can listen to my interview with Tim here: Truck Driver Diary

Fresno Equipment Photo Album

This is the view that untold thousands of people have seen on America’s highways this year.

It’s the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show truck rolling along. This photo was taken by Sarah Ruth, Sales Promotion Coordinator for the John Deere Reno Branch. Sarah promises me photos from stops in her territory that I can’t make. I’ll be at one more event next week in Lynden, WA fyi.

Sarah would like to remind everyone of their Ideal Drive Green Promotion, which includes a John Deere 5065 E (65HP) Tractor, John Deere Loader, Frontier Implement for one year or up to 225 total hours, whichever occurs first. Come on out to one of our events and get yourself registered!

I just got a photo of our compresserator winner from the Dallas Branch of John Deere in the Drive Green and Win Promotion.

Pictured is Karen Rottman, the winner of a new John Deere AC2-CG35H-P Compresserator with electric start valued at more than $2,500 (USD).

Rottman registered for the prize at a Drive Green Utility Tractor Show event that took place in Ft. Worth Texas earlier this year.

She’s being presented her prize by Brad Horn, Sales Mgr., Fish & Still Equipment Company, Inc. In Marshall, TX.

We’ll try to get photos of all our winners and post them here for you when we can.

Although the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show is all about tractors in the lower horsepower range it doesn’t mean we can’t mention some bigger equipment! Fresno Equipment had it all on display including new combines.

One of the people attending the show stop was Jason Langstraat. He just ordered four 9770 combines which he’ll be putting to work in his custom combining business. He says they already had 2 combines but needed more as his business has expanded. Those machines are still in the process of being built but while he was at the event he showed off a display model to a couple of friends who were probably curious about what he had ordered.

You can listen to my interview with Jason here: Interview with Jason Langstraat

Fresno Equipment Photo Album

A commodity that I don’t have any experience with is almonds but in Fresno, CA we were in almond country. I met an almond grower, Tony Ramos, who says he’s farmed all his life and used to be in the cotton and row crop business.

He says these new utility tractors work great for his type of operation and would love to see a custom cab for orchards. He’s been a customer of Fresno Equipment for all of his career so coming out to our event was a chance for him to catch up with people he’s been doing business with while seeing what’s new. Besides the new tractors he said he had a new Gator XUV demo and is very interested in it.

You can listen to my interview with Tony here: Interview with Tony Ramos

Fresno Equipment Photo Album

It was a bright sunny day in Fresno, CA but the wind picked up. I was told that meant that many area farmers couldn’t be in their fields to spray crops so I think we had quite a few show up at Fresno Equipment.

However, local folks weren’t the only ones who attended. I spoke to Jerry Jaeckels who said he drove 5 hours to get here since he missed a closer event to where he lives. He just felt like the opportunity to see the new equipment, get a chance to drive the tractors and talk with John Deere representatives was too important to pass up. He’s interested in the new 5 series tractors and I’m sure that by the end of the day he got all the information he needed. He’s getting ready to start a horse arena on his property so one other item that caught his eye was the Riata Rake we had out in the ride and drive area.

You can listen to my interview with Jerry here: Interview with Jerry Jaeckels

You can see a whole set of photos from today’s event here: Fresno Equipment Photo Album

I just learned that we have a special promotion going here in the Reno Branch of John Deere. Basically you can register to win a three piece package that includes a John Deere tractor, loader, and rear implement.

Products: John Deere 5065 E (65HP) Tractor, John Deere Loader, Frontier Implement

Sweepstakes Dates: 4 May – 13 June
Winner will be notified on 26 Jun 2009 following the conclusion of the Drive Green events.
Entrant must be a minimum of 18 years of age to enter and win
See web site for complete details – www.johndeere.com/drivegreen

I just arrived at Fresno Equipment for another Drive Green Utility Tractor Show event.

We have beautiful sunny skies and a nice ride and drive area set up for people to get on the new equipment and get some time in the dirt. I think we’re going to have a nice lunch served today too.

I’ll begin taking more photos and doing interviews here shortly and want to thank the folks at Fresno Equipment for getting me set up in a conference room and online so I can bring you the activity while it’s happening today.

I’ve started a photo set which I’ll be adding to throughout the day: Fresno Equipment Photo Album

I’ll be back on the road with the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show this week in California and am looking forward to our event in Fresno. I thought I’d do a little searching on the web to see where our show has been mentioned. Here’s a few examples. Also found in the search is quite a few John Deere dealers who have mentioned the show on their websites. That’s good to see.

Southeast AgNet
Equine Gear
Tractor News Now
Dixie Deer Classic
HorseCity.com
Appaloosa Blog Spot

If you’ve found us in any interesting locations let me know. And if you’re on Facebook, just do a search for our group page and join us there.

Signing up for our drawings was only one activity during our show stop in Oxford, PA at Atlantic Tractor.

We had the full line of utility tractors, mowers, implements and more on display and available for riding and driving. On hand when I arrived were Gregg Rebar and Mike Asche. They pretty much run the operation. I think these guys had one of the best displays for our show that I’ve seen.

They’ve got quite a few stores which Mike says allows them to have a very wide range of John Deere products immediately available to customers. They’re in a very diverse market which ranges from row crop farmers to large property owner, vegetable farms and even poultry. He says that the rural lifestyle market has become a significant part of their business.

Gregg and Mike are good examples of the great folks I’ve met working in John Deere dealerships around the country.

You can listen to my interview with Gregg and Mike here: Interview with Gregg and Mike

Or you can watch the interview here:

Besides the new utility tractors, you’ll find others on location with the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show. Like in Oxford, PA at Atlantic Tractor where the Waterloo Boys Rough and Tumble Club had a 1948 John Deere “M” on display. Harvey and Tom were on hand with a charitable raffle which they said is their 17th year doing it.

You can listen to them talk about the Model M and the Waterloo Boys. Harvey says the club was formed in 1991 as part of the National 2-Cylinder Club. He says they want to keep the heritage of the 2 cylinder tractor alive and likes the contrast of them displayed alongside new ones. He says the their raffle tractor is in high demand to be displayed at a variety of events.

I asked them what they think of the new tractors. They’ve looked at them and even have “some in the shed.” Harvey says they’re his “toys to play with.” He says his pride and joy though is being able to show people how farming has been done in the past.

You can listen to my interview with these Waterloo Boys here: Interview with Waterloo Boys

Or you can watch the interview here:

One of the reasons why the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show is so important to our dealers is the traffic it brings out to the event says Richard Miller, TriGreen Equipment, manager for commercial and consumer equipment. He says that in a typical dealer store it’s not easy to get a couple hundred people out and the show provides a great opportunity to attract more people to see what they’ve got to offer.

I interviewed Richard when we were in Murfreesboro, TN. He says they had people with everything from 1 acre up to hundreds of acres of land. He was surprised to see how many people came out who had never been up close and personal with a tractor.

You can listen to my interview with Richard here: Interview with Richard Miller

Or you can watch the interview here:

Your DriveGreenTractors.com blogger was on the road in Washington, DC this week working on a project but now he’s back in action.

I just received in these photos in my in box from our event in Shelbyville, KY. It’s always nice to have photos sent in that we can share with you.

Limestone Farm Lawn Worksite sponsored the event that took place at the Shelby County Fairgrounds.

They had beautiful weather and had a good customer turn out in the heart of horse country between Louisville and Lexington, KY.

There was a great deal of interest in small ag tractors and implements, specifically machines that meet the needs of equine enthusiasts including John Deere and Frontier hay tools and attachments.

If any of you dealers have photos of an event at your facility that I wasn’t able to attend please let me know and I can give you the contact information of who to send them to so we can add them to our growing library.

The “TS” in the John Deere Gator™ TS name could stand for “Tough Stuff” – but it’s actually shorthand for “Traditional Series.” That means that it’s designed for heavier duty work around the farm, making it an ideal utility vehicle.

The Drive Green Utility Tractor Show event last month in Ottawa featured a drawing for one of these great Gators, and the recently announced winner is John Montgomery of Newington, Ontario who registered at the event.

Congratulations to John – enjoy!

Another one of our ride and drivers in Oxford, PA at Atlantic Tractor was Tom Hoffman, Flemington, NJ. Tom says he’s got about 300 acres of hay to manage and some beef cattle. He thinks it’s pretty nice to get out and try these tractors out before making a buying decision.

I spoke to him right after he got off a 5 Series tractor which he thinks is a nice handling smooth riding tractor with a nice turning radius. He especially appreciated the placement of the controls which make it easy for the operator to get to. He had some more looking around to do after I spoke with him but he thought this tractor would suit his needs just fine.

You can listen to my interview with Tom here: drive-green-oxford-hoffman.mp3

Or you can watch the interview here:

It was definitely a rainy day in Monkton, MD when the Drive Green Utility Tractor show displayed at My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase race. Here’s most of our crew who were on hand to answer questions and we really appreciate the people who stopped by even with the weather challenges.

One of them is Scott Brotherton, Territory Manager for John Deere. Scott and I hid out from the rain in the trailer of the truck for a short interview. Scott’s territory includes the Delmarva Peninsula where the crops are very diverse, including row crops and specialty crops and of course horse farms. Scott’s been in the territory for over a year and he says these horse owners are very dedicated to their animals and farms and this show stop provides a great opportunity to showcase the new John Deere tractors and utility vehicles for them. The hay tools like the rotary cutter and square baler we had on display would be other good examples of equipment that’s available to large property owners, especially those who cut their own hay.

You can listen to my interview with Scott here: drive-green-monkton-brotherton.mp3

Don’t forget to visit our event photos: Drive Green Utility Tractor Show Event Sets.

The latest winners in the Drive Green and Win promotion are from the Southeast region of the country.

From Georgia, Kenneth Dixon of Macon wins John Deere AC2-CG35H-P Compresseratorwith electric start valued at more than $2,500 (USD). Dixon registered for the prize at a Drive Green Utility Tractor Show event that took place in Tifton, GA earlier this year.

In Tennessee, Freddie Cagle of Athens is the lucky winner of a 1-year, 100-hour lease on a new John Deere 5055E Utility Tractor with a 553 Loader – a prize valued at nearly than $12,000. Cagle registered for the prize at a Drive Green Utility Tractor Show event that took place in at Ritchie Tractor Co., in Athens, TN.

Congrats to both!

While I was in Oxford, PA with Atlantic Tractor I met Melvin Horst. He lives right down the road and has a couple of pieces of John Deere equipment. He’s got an 8130 and a 1590 grain drill.

He really likes the opportunity the show provides to test drive the new utility tractors. He likes the looks of the 5M Series and 6D Series tractors. He uses his tractors for raking hay and picking up bales as well as mowing. In fact, he says they’re handy for just about everything on the farm. He brought his boys out since they’ll be helping him out.

You can listen to my interview with Melvin here: drive-green-oxford-horst.mp3

Or you can watch the interview here:

I’d like to announce the first two of our winning Deere fans who attended recent Drive Green events. They got lucky in our Drive Green and Win promotion.

Kenny Adams, Claremore, OK, is the winner of a 1-year, 100-hour lease on a new John Deere 5055E Utility Tractor with a 553 Loader – a prize valued at almost $12,000 (USD). Adams registered for the prize at a Drive Green Utility Tractor Show event that took place in February at P&K Equipment, a local John Deere dealer in Owasso, OK.

Karen Rottman, is the winner of a new John Deere AC2-CG35H-P Compresserator with electric start valued at more than $2,500 (USD). Rottman registered for the prize at a Drive Green Utility Tractor Show event that took place in Ft. Worth Texas earlier this year.

This edition of the Truck Driver Diary comes to you from Monkton, MD.

It was a wet day at the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase races but I found truck driver Tim high and dry in the trailer so I got an update from him on how things have been going on the road. He says that things have been going really good during his portion of the schedule. People have had lots of questions and seem very happy to have the opportunity to see the new utility tractors and get on them to test them out.

Tim says our “Kicker Gator” utility vehicle has really been getting a lot of attention. Here at this location there were a lot of Gators in use which was especially helpful in the rainy, muddy conditions. Tim says our show goes west next and I’ll be at a couple of those stops. Before then though I’ve got lots more interviews to post in coming days.

You can listen to my interview with Tim here: drive-green-monkton-driver.mp3

Don’t forget to visit our event photos: Drive Green Utility Tractor Show Event Sets.

I met some great people on location at Atlantic Tractor in Pennsylvania and Maryland last week. Some of them drove a long way to get to the show stop in Oxford, PA like Brian Good.

Brian says he farms about 400 acres with a hay cash crop operation and some small grains. He says that raking, tedding, mowing and baling call for some smaller tractors and that’s why he drove about 60 miles to attend the event. He says he’s got a few John Deere tractors already. He likes some of the features on the new utility tractors that will allow him to perform all the operations involved in hay production. It was a cool breezy day and Brian says he’s “got to have a cab.” It rained a lot the next day and I’m sure he would have been even more emphatic about having a cab on a cool, breezy and wet day!

You can listen to my interview with Brian here: drive-green-oxford-good.mp3

Or you can watch Brian here:

Thanks Wright Implement for sending in photos from the show stop in Hardinsburg, KY.

The event took place at the Breckenridge County Fairgrounds. The turnout was excellent. Local media were on hand to report from the event. In addition to the ride and drive, there was information available from a local antique tractor club. Plus, customers were able to test drive several new John Deere Utility Tractors, and John Deere Gator™ Utility Vehicles. Numerous John Deere and Frontier hay tools were also on display.

You can see the other photos here: Hardinsburg Photo Album

It was a wet and wild day at My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase races today in Monkton, MD but the Drive Green crew was on the job. We had a beautiful display set up right across from the owners and judges tower which is the finish line for the big race of the day – My Lady’s Manor.

I took a number of photos of the races and you can find some of them in my online photo album.

The race was pretty exciting and I was fortunate to be able to get a spot on the tower right above the finish line for this shot. I don’t have the winner’s name but if anyone knows they’re welcome to leave it in the comments.

Before the events got started I met and interviewed Turney McKnight, direct of the Manor races since 1978. He says this is the 99th running of the race. He says the race evolved from the horse and buggy days and was a real source of sport. The distance hasn’t changed and is still over 3 miles with 16 jumps. The crowd can be as many as 7,500.

Turney is a John Deere man himself on his farm and even had his own tractor out on site today.

You can listen to my interview with Turney here: drive-green-monkton-mcknight.mp3

I have a photo album for this event which you can find here: My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase Photo Album

This is what the John Deere Drive Green Utility Tractor Show is all about. Driving John Deere equipment. Today’s show stop is set up perfectly for people like Carl Daly. He’s here to test drive the new line of utility tractors and vehicles. We’ll meet Carl in an upcoming video interview.

The grounds here at Atlantic Tractor are just perfect for people to come on out and test drive one of these new utility tractors. In the photo Carl is on a new 3E series tractor.

I’ve got a photo album started for this event which I’ll be adding to later today: Atlantic Tractor Photo Album

Welcome to Atlantic Tractor in Oxford, PA. I’m on location on a partly cloudy morning.

Our set up here is beautiful. We’ve got a big ride and drive area set up right in front of the dealership. Photos are already uploading and I’ll point you to our event photo album as soon as I can.

I’ll be doing interviews again today for posting over the coming days. I think we’ll have some really interesting ones to offer so please stay tuned.

Although I did not attend the events sponsored by Carmichael Equipment in Bidwell, OH (pictured), Huntington, WV and Wurtland, KY we got pictures.

They had a great customer turnout and ride and drive. The emphasis was on Frontier attachments and products which were appealing to their customer markets surrounding the Ohio River (equine, part-time farmers, livestock and hay producers).

You can find a few photos from these event in this album: Carmichael Equipment Drive Green Stops.

Marty Gibson is a banker and a farmer. He farms with his dad and his brother on about 219 acres. The have cattle and bale their own hay. He says he’s not a current John Deere equipment owner.

He likes what he sees from John Deere though, including the variety. At our Danville, KY stop he was most interested in the 6D Series and 5E Series tractors and likes what he sees. Depending on the time of the year he says they would use a tractor to feed hay, roll hay and bush hog with it. He was one of our ride and drivers and thinks the 5E would best fit his needs because of the transmission options on it.

You can listen to my interview with Marty here: danville-gibson.mp3

The wind really kicked up in my interview with him in, so you’ll hear a little of that in the middle.

Don’t forget to visit our event photos: Drive Green Utility Tractor Show Event Sets.

This edition of the Truck Driver Diary comes to you from Danville, KY.

Our newest driver of the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show truck is Tim Pol, standing here next to the 6D, 5D, 5E, 5M, 5E Limited and 3E Series numbers on the cab. I spoke with him at the end of our event in Danville, KY. He says he gets asked by people when he stops to let them take photos of the truck. I wonder how many pictures of this truck are out there.

Tim says he gets asked a lot of questions since people assume he knows everything since he’s driving the big rig. His first road anecdote is pretty funny. He says that his first stop he had a kid come up to him just let him to know that he didn’t like John Deere. Tim says he should have given him a shirt and cap. I agree. He is an on the road evangelist for the brand!

You can listen to my interview with Tim here: danville-truck-driver.mp3

Don’t forget to visit our event photos: Drive Green Utility Tractor Show Event Sets.

The Drive Green Utility Tractor Show was on location in Marietta, OH this week.

Our host was Bridgeport Equipment and just like at most of our stops, visitor were able to see for themselves all the new utility tractors and available implements, plus the new “Kicker” Gator™ utility vehicle.

Area residents interested in riding, driving and learning more about the latest in new utility tractors and other property maintenance equipment came out to participate in the fun.

Our specially outfitted Drive Green Utility Tractor Show semi-truck and trailer was getting lots of attention as usual.

I’ll have another edition of the Truck Driver Diary coming up soon so you can meet our third member of the truck driving team.

I’ll be back on location next week as we wind up our tour dates in the eastern part of the country.

So I’ll see you from the road again then.

David Williams was one of our visitors at the Danville, KY show stop. He visited with me outside the arena where we had tractors available for riding and driving.

Dave says Deere equipment is known for it’s quality and durability. He’s also happy to have the local support of a reliable dealer in Greenline Equipment, who sponsored our stop in Danville, KY. Dave has an active thoroughbred breeding farm. He says John Deere Gators are very handy for feeding. He says it’s a handy utility vehicle and it causes less ground damage than a pickup truck. He says they also employ other equipment for their forage production as well.

Dave thinks the intermediate sized utility tractors would be good for his operation since they’re strong enough to do the job while being really easy to use. He also appreciates some of the incentives being offered by John Deere

You can listen to my interview with David here: danville-williams.mp3

Danville, KY Photo Album

I know we’re all about utility tractors here but I just found out about an interesting website called Tractor Chasers. It’s about the new 8RT which hasn’t been officially announced yet.

Thanks to some alert readers who told us about the 8RT on Route 45, the Tractor Chasers headed out and got a first-hand look at the new track machine. We sat for a while waiting for it to come by. And when it did, well, you’ll see what happened while watching our video. All we can say, and all we want to admit, is that the front of the machine looks mighty powerful. By the way, we’ve heard a number of you asking what the “R” and “T” stand for. Is it “row-crop tracks” or “rubber tracks”? We’re working to get you the answer. More later!

Check out the first of two videos so far here – check out the website or YouTube for others:

I guess having a few years under your belt running a tractor does show even when you get on a new one you’ve never driven before. Paul Napier came out to our Danville, KY stop and put several machines through a good workout. In fact, I think he would win the award for most riding and driving! Here’s a picture of him on one of the new 6 Series tractors.

Paul made a point of saying he’s in his 70’s but still has a cattle operation and actively farms. He loves John Deere and has a 6420. He uses them for mowing, hay, feeding and general farm work. He says these new utility tractors are very convenient to use. He liked the pricing being offered by John Deere right now too. He recommends that people come out to one of our show stops and get on them and drive.

It seemed like many of the people I spoke with at this stop are involved in hay production and John Deere has a whole line of equipment to choose from.

You can listen to my interview with Paul here: danville-napier.mp3

Or watch him trying out some new equipment here:

Danville, KY Photo Album

Our Danville, KY show stop at the Boyle County Fairgrounds was hosted by Alec Russell, Greenline Implement.

Here’s Alec next to our display of new utility tractors.

Alec says that the Danville area has mostly tobacco, cattle and hay farms and is on the southern fringe of the Kentucky Bluegrass horse farm region. I like his anecdote that “we eat more corn than is grown around here.”

He says that because many of the area farms would have multiple operators of their equipment, these new utility tractors would be a great choice since they don’t have as many controls to deal with like much larger tractors. He also says these new 5D and 6D and 5E tractors provide him a product for his customers that makes him more competitive with a price range he’s never been able to offer before.

You can listen to my interview with Alec here: danville-russell.mp3

Danville, KY Photo Album

I don’t think we could have had better weather today in Danville, KY for our show stop at the Boyle Country Fairgrounds.

Greenline Implement served a nice lunch to the folks who came out to ride and drive the new tractors, mowers and Gators.

I will be featuring more stories for you from the event. I did get photos from the show put into an online photo album for you.

You can find them here: Danville, KY Photo Album