4-H Tractor Club plans busy summer!

To be less than 13 months old, the Southwest Virginia 4-H Tractor Club has grown long legs and is really running and now that one of its fearless leaders is able to walk for more than a few steps with the aid of some wheeled device, plans are being made for an active summer! Fact is, the most pain their old Ag Agent feels is from standing around, so we are going to be moving steadily now that school is out.

Our summer will be taking shape around three main events: the Old Glade Tractor Club (OGATA) Summer Show, June 15-17; the Southeast Old Thresher’s Reunion, June 29-July 4; and the Rich Valley Fair July 22-Aug. 5. Our club is set up so that our members and volunteers can pick and choose the events they wish to participate in so if you or your children or grandchildren want to take part but cannot make every activity, we’d still love to have you join us.

JuneThe OGATA Show, again running June 15-17, will be held at the Fairview Farm and Homestead at 908 Hillman Highway, just east of downtown Abingdon. OGATA puts on a great show and it is worth the trip to see all the exhibits and members’ antique tractors and machinery. OGATA is planning a kid-zone play area and they will also be holding an auction on Saturday morning of this year’s event where you can purchase your own “new to you” farm machinery.

Our 4-H Tractor Club will be busy with two events within the OGATA Summer Show. Last summer, our club was given a rather large toy tractor collection belonging to the former director of Virginia Cooperative Extension, Jim Johnson of Roanoke. The collection was generously donated as a means for the club to make money or use the toys as prizes for contests.

As a result of the Johnson family’s generosity, the 4-H Tractor Club will be offering 50 toys (mostly tractors but a few implements as well) in a silent auction format during the OGATA Summer Show. Many of the models are highly sought after “Precision” castings that are highly detailed, some right down to the rubber hydraulic hoses.

Makes include all the most popular brands such as John Deere, Farmall, Case, Ford, New Holland, and Oliver, but there are some rare ones in the collection as well such as Avery, Styer, Eicher, Zetor, Steiger and Fendt. If you would like a complete listing of the toys being offered, contact the Extension Office or look us up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/swvatractorclub.

Our 4-Hers will also be giving away our CO-OP E4 at the OGATA Show on Saturday, June 17, at 2 p.m.! We will be offering chances on the tractor right up until the drawing. The E4 has undergone extensive mechanical tweaks as well as a few cosmetic ones as well.

Through generous donations from The Bank of Marion, First Bank and Trust, Farm Credit of Virginia, Food City, and Bart Long and Associates, we were able to put over $3,000 of parts on the tractor, including new tires front and rear, seat, steering wheel, gauges, lights, lower radiator pipe, alternator, coil with internal resistor, oil, fluids and filter, and battery. OGATA members also helped the club by doing work on the clutch, air filter and air supply tube, and carburetor.

Whether you want a full-sized tractor or a keepsake of the tractor you and your Dad used in your youth, you can not only fulfill that dream but help some great young people as well. Come on out June 15-17, stop by the 4-H tent and say hello!

On Saturday, July 1, the 4-H Tractor Club and volunteers will be traveling down to Denton Farm Park in Denton, N.C., to tour the Southeast Old Thresher’s Reunion. We will be leaving the Extension Office parking lot (121 Bagley Circle, Marion) at 6 a.m. to travel down to the show.

The Southeast Old Threshers Reunion is the heart of the Denton Farm Park and the largest antique farm machinery show in the south. It is held every year on the week of the Fourth of July. Visiting this event is like stepping back in history. You see old buildings and equipment that’s all running like it did back in its prime.

Besides old tractors, machinery and steam engines, buildings like the Plantation, trampling barn, general store with post office attached in the back, shoe shop, gas station, train station, church, the radio museum, and a few others are restored and brought in from around the area await your inspection.

Plan for a very hot day. Dress casually with comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle or drinks. Again, if you would like join us, please call the office at 276-783-5175. All adults traveling with the 4-Hers must have a background check.

Just before school starts back in August, we will be hosting our second Farm Toy Display Contest at the Rich Valley Fair! Last year’s contest was a HUGE success and we welcome any young person who wants to compete! The contest is broken into age divisions and the rules of the contest are available from the Extension Office and printed in the Rich Valley Fair’s official book.

As you may recall, the contest is a challenge to the youth’s creativity. Not only do the participants have to decorate their square with a farm or rural scene, but they also have to tell a story about what is going on in coordination with their display. Last year, we enjoyed everything from a regular farm scene to a farm that had suffered storm damage from a tornado. It was just a blast to work with these young story-tellers and I cannot wait to see what they come up with this year.

We will also be experimenting with a 1/16-scale Farm Tractor Show/Display. No display will be needed. Simply bring your favorite 1/16-scale tractor and, if you like, include a small write up about what makes your tractor special to you. Ribbons will be awarded for the most-well-cared for and “most-loved” tractor but, mostly, we want to show the public that these old machines are not only a part of our past but a big part of our future as well.

Whew! That’s a busy summer! If you are between the ages of 5-19 and love tractors, come join us! We do a lot and learn a lot, but, most importantly, we do it all while having fun!

May 20-June 5—Beef Up Registration, Meat Science Lab, Virginia Tech, https://sas.vt.edu/extension/vtbeef/beef-up/beef-up-application.html

June 5—Evergreen SWCD Picnic, Waller Dairy Farm, Sugar Grove. Call 276 783 7280.

June 15-17—Old Glade Antique Tractor Association Summer Show, Fairview Farm, Abingdon.

June 15-17—Southwest 4-H Tractor Club Silent Toy Auction, 908 Hillman Hwy, Abingdon.

June 17—Southwest 4-H Tractor Club Tractor Giveaway, 2 p.m. (Tickets are $1 from any club member.)

June 19-23—Smyth County 4-H Camp.

July 1—Southwest 4-H Tractor Club Summer Trip, Southeast Old Thresher’s Reunion, Denton, N.C.

July 22-Aug. 5—Rich Valley Fair events.

July 22—Lawnmower Racing, Rich Valley Fairgrounds, 6 p.m.

July 27-28—ATV Events, Rich Valley Fair, 7 p.m.

July 27-29—Beef-Up Program, VA Tech.

July 29—Ranch Rodeo, Rich Valley Fair.

July 30—Cowboy Church, Beauty Pageant and Gospel Sing.

July 31—Lamb and Goat Show.

Aug. 1—Beef and Dairy Show, and Toy Tractor Set Up.

If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in these activities, call Andy Overbay or Pam Testerman at 276-783-5175/TDD 800-828-1120 from 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.

Dr. Andy Overbay is the agriculture and natural resources extension agent for Smyth County.