2025 - Volume #49, Issue #2, Page #21
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Cross Country Tractor Trip Raises FFA Funds
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Koehn says, “I got the idea several years ago when I read about a guy who drove a Deere tractor from Oklahoma to North Carolina for an Army reunion. Then I bought a tired old Farmall M at my parent’s auction and decided that someday I’d fix it up and make a long-distance trip with it.” The idea didn’t reach fruition until nearly eight years later when Koehn retired.
To get the tractor ready, Koehn replaced the narrow front end with a wide front and added a large metal box to hold a generator. He added a step on the side of the tractor frame to make filling the gas tank easier. The OEM seat was uncomfortable, so he replaced it with a more comfortable suspension version for a smoother ride. He added fenders and extended the exhaust above a large canopy he built for protection from the weather.
Other improvements included rearview mirrors, safety flashers, a cup and cellphone holder, a gas can box and a larger floor platform. New tires, paint and decals had the tractor spiffed up for the trip.
Koehn pulled a camper behind the tractor so he could rest and sleep during the nearly 2,000-mile, three-week trip. On the back of the camper, he mounted a slow-moving vehicle sign, a flashing yellow safety light, turn signals and a large sign identifying the trip as an FFA fundraiser.
Koehn participated in FFA during high school and says it helped him with public speaking and helped him mature as a young man. He and other local graduates organized an FFA alumni group in Upsala, and Koehn thought this trip would be a good way to raise money and awareness for a worthy cause.
His route was due south from Lancaster on the Canada-Minnesota border to High Island, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico. Before starting the trip, he took a 50-mile test drive out and back from his home and learned he could easily travel 120 miles on one tank of gas. He aimed to drive eight hours and travel 100 miles daily.
He left Lancaster the first day after news media interviews and drove until heavy rain forced him to park at a farm site. It rained nearly 3 1/2 inches that night, but he wasn’t discouraged. The following day, he was flagged down by a lady in a mobility scooter alongside the road. She’d heard about his trip and wanted to offer him encouragement, prayers and molasses cookies. She also gave him a $10 bill and said her daughter would call her daily and let her know how his trip was going.
Koehn says that was the beginning of great connections along his 2,000-mile route. In northern Iowa, he had problems with the tractor’s starter. The Case dealer in Storm Lake, Iowa, replaced it without charging for labor. Ed’s DX station in Webb, Iowa, filled his tank with a fuel donation. In Kansas, he stopped at a campground where a family offered him a hot evening meal. Further down the road, he stopped to wash his clothes at a laundromat and encountered two ladies who told him he should probably add laundry detergent before he started the washer. They asked if he knew how to fold clothes, and he said he usually stuffs things in a drawer, which they thought was crazy.
He was interviewed by newspapers, radio and TV stations at multiple stops along the trip. He also encountered many people who shared their experiences in FFA and how important the organization was to them.
Nearing the trail’s end in Texas, he stopped to have Owen’s Welding in Kirbyville reweld the brackets holding the generator box on the front of the tractor. He also worked on the transmission for four hours in the hot Texas sun.
Koehn says driving from Galveston to Port Arthur across the Intercoastal Canal was a nerve-wracking experience. There was a 30 mph wind on the steep bridge, but he made it safely. At the end of the trip, he’d planned on selling the camper, but instead, he rented a pickup and pulled it back to Minnesota. However, he sold the tractor to two men who will keep it in a Winnie, Texas, museum. His trip raised over $6,000, with 50 percent donated to the Upsala FFA and the remainder to the Minnesota FFA Alumni Association and the National FFA Alumni.
Throughout the trip, Koehn says he had to concentrate very hard on driving, so he couldn’t really take in the scenery. He needed both hands on the wheel and found it difficult to use his phone. Still, he says he’d make the trip again if he were younger.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mark Koehn, Upsala, Minn.
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