I don’t know why I hang on to it, but I have a cast metal John Deere toy tractor at least 75 years old. It is a rust color now and the wheels are long gone. It belonged to my deceased older brother. I am guessing most of the readers of the Friday Footnote have some model toy tractors in their possession.
I also have five toy tractors in the original boxes sold by the Tractor Supply Company in cooperation with the North Carolina FFA Foundation. They were sold between 2003 and 2007.
A number of states have had toy tractor sales as a fundraiser for their FFA programs. One of those states was Kentucky. Matt Chaliff, Agricultural Education Consultant/FFA Executive Secretary in Kentucky returns this week to describe the Kentucky FFA toy tractor program. Take it away Matt.
The Kentucky FFA Model Tractors
In the early 1990’s, Scott County Agriculture Teacher Brenda Oldfield suggested that the Kentucky FFA Foundation and Kentucky Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association (KVATA) partner to sell collectible toy tractors. Iowa and a few other states were beginning similar programs around this time and Ms. Oldfield believed it would be a good way to raise money.
Ms. Oldfield worked tirelessly to get the program off the ground. She managed to convince Foundation leadership to go along with the program which was no small task as the Foundation had no staff. Farm Credit Services (now Farm Credit Mid-America) agreed to loan the Foundation the money to purchase the tractors from Ertl. Selling the tractors and managing logistics was a huge concern. Finally, an agreement was reached with Southern States to market the tractors. In exchange for being the exclusive retailer. Southern States would keep the tractors in their Louisville warehouse and sell them through their Kentucky stores with all proceeds going to the Kentucky FFA Foundation.
Figure 1 & 2. The First Kentucky FFA Tractor – the Farmall Super MTA
The first tractor came out in 1995- a Farmall Super MTA. One thousand tractors were purchased from Ertl while all involved prayed and crossed their fingers! The tractors turned out to be a big hit and the 1995 tractor soon sold out. Plans were made for a new tractor in 1996 and the quantity was increased to 1500. It was harder to sell 1500 tractors than it was 1000 and many people didn’t want to buy a second edition tractor if they didn’t have the first (this actually drove up demand for the first tractor and it is still common for Foundation staff to get a call asking “do you know of anyone with that first tractor for sale?”). To help move inventory and create a wider demand for the collectibles, Southern States allowed the FFA Foundation to sell tractors at their booth at the National Farm Machinery Show.
The toy tractor program continued through 25 editions- 20 with Ertl and 5 with Spec Cast. Although no tractor was as popular or as desired as the first edition, the John Deere 4020 turned out to be a close second (if you know someone who has one for sale, there are people looking). Although the program was eventually discontinued due to a shrinking profit margin, it raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Kentucky FFA programs. Money from the tractor program funded the first full time Executive Director of the Kentucky FFA Foundation and paved the way for many other great accomplishments of the Foundation in the years since.
Figure 3. The 2006 Kentucky FFA Tractor – the Ford 8N. Notice the FFA emblem on the fender.
Following is a list of tractors over the years:
| 1995- Farmall Super MTA
1996- Farmall 706 1997- Farmall H 1998- Farmall 140 1999- Farmall C 2000- John Deere A 2001- John Deere G 2002- John Deere 60 2003- John Deere- B
|
2004- John Deere 4020
2005- John Deere 520 2006- Ford 8N 2007- Ford 901 2008- Allis Chalmers D-21 2009- Allis Chalmers D-19 2010- Oliver 1950T 2011- John Deere 720
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2012- John Deere 201
2013- Farmall 1256 2014- Farmall 656 2015- John Deere 62 2016- Farmall 350 2017- IH 544 2018- Oliver 1850 2019- Case DC-3
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Thank you, Matt.
Additional Information
In working on the Footnote I found a news release from the Kentucky FFA Foundation dated March 8, 2021 about the end of the toy tractor program. If you want to read the entire news release you can at https://kyffa.org/news/163. One section of the news release said:
The most essential thing to our success are the hundreds of folks that bought our tractors every year. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many of them at trade shows and have delighted in your stories. Many grandchildren have been commemorated by KY FFA Tractors and we sure have made Christmas presents for many dads and grandads easy! Thank you for supporting this program for 26 years.
Though some will be sad, I know this will come as a relief to the many wives who say without fail, “Where are you going to put this?!” And they describe their kitchens, living rooms, closets that are full of FFA tractors.
Though we are sad to see this collection come to an end, I sincerely hope the support of the hundreds of folks that bought one each year does not. I invite you to include the $10 donation on your Ag Tag bill, to make a gift during Give FFA Day at www.kyffa.org and continue to proudly share your support of FFA with your friends.
Whatever it is worth to you today, I can promise you the investment you made in Kentucky FFA has came back ten-fold. 26 years ago the tractors started with a goal that maybe one day… the Foundation could raise a collective $75,000 or so a year. I’ve been told stories of “passing the hat” at State Convention to get us there. Not to boast, but to share the impact of your gifts, we closed 2020 by raising more than $1,000,000 for the third year in a row. More dollars means more impact to FFA chapters and members in Kentucky. If you have shelves full of FFA tractors, thank you. Your investment and support matters deeply and its made an immeasurable difference to young people in Kentucky agriculture. If you see me at a trade show, I hope you’ll still stop and talk, even if I don’t have a new tractor to sell you!
The Spencer County FFA Toy Tractor Show
Not only has Kentucky sold a bunch of model tractors over time, some of the FFA chapters have sponsored toy shows. The Spencer County FFA has sponsored a Farm Toy Show for the past 33 years. This is a popular event with attendance in the thousands. Kids especially enjoy riding the pedal tractors.
Figure 4. A poster advertising the Spencer County FFA Farm Toy Show in 2023.
The show attracts more than 100 vendors from 11+ states. In addition to the toy tractors and farm equipment, there are miniature farmscapes depicting life on the farm. The show is held a few weeks before Christmas, so smart parents could pick up some Christmas gifts. The show has expanded to include crafts made by local and distant artisans.
Figure 5. Newspaper article from the Spencer Magnet (Taylorsville, KY), December 15, 2021
Curator’s Comments
FFA chapters and alumni groups in various states have sponsored farm toy shows. It requires a lot of work but can be a great public relations tool and a fundraiser. Might be something to consider.
Matt indicated that Iowa was one of the first states to start a toy tractor program. The Iowa FFA Foundation produced the first limited edition toy tractor in 1991. And there is a reason that Iowa was the early leader. Dyersville, Iowa is the home to three major companies producing toy tractors – Ertl, SpecCast and Dyersville Die Cast. Dyersville is also home of the National Farm Toy Show which started in 1978. You can also find the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville. So stay tuned. Next week the Friday Footnote will take a slight detour and focus on the history of toy tractors.