RACINE, Wis. — As part of its ongoing commitment to help agriculture
producers be ready to address the challenges and opportunities confronting the
industry, Case IH awarded nine new Farmall® tractors to the runners-up of the
2012 American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Young Farmers & Ranchers
(YF&R) awards. One of those tractors was delivered to Travis and Renae
Gebhart of Meadow, S.D., for being a national finalist in the YF&R
Achievement Award. The Gebharts chose an optimized Farmall 45 compact tractor to
better meet their growing operation’s needs.
The winners, announced at the AFBF’s 93rd Annual Meeting on Jan. 9 in
Honolulu, Hawaii, were selected based on the success of their operation combined
with the strength of leadership skills they demonstrated.
“These finalists truly represent the kind of leadership that farmers will
need to keep up with the evolving agriculture industry,” says Scott Raber, Case
IH Regional Sales Director. “We are proud to sponsor them as they continue
growing in this rewarding business.”
The Gebharts have been expanding their operation since 2002. Along with their
three children, Shannon, Katelyn and Kyle, the Gebharts manage several thousand
acres of pasture land, hay, corn, sunflowers and wheat, along with several beef
cattle. They own a commercial cow/calf operation where they retain ownership
through finishing at a custom feedlot.
“Our experiences in Farm Bureau certainly gave us a better perspective on the
world of agriculture versus local agriculture,” says Travis Gebhart. “Becoming
an Achievement Award recipient has been rewarding. We spent a lot of time
getting to this point and it’s rewarding to look back and see how well we have
done.”
Case IH dealer West Plains, Inc. in Hettinger, N.D., delivered the new Case
IH Farmall tractor to the Gebharts on April 13. They plan to use their new
tractor for grain augers, large mowing tasks and general yard work.
“I’m a loyal Case IH person to start with and this certainly solidifies
that,” says Gebhart.
The Gebhart’s local Farm Bureau insurance agent convinced them to get
involved in the organization and they soon joined the state Young Farmer and
Rancher committee. Both Travis and Renae have competed in the Discussion Meet,
with Renae finishing in the Sweet 16 a couple of years ago.
Active in their community, the Gebharts are involved in FFA and 4-H. Travis
volunteers with the Glad Valley Fire Department, and he serves on the dean’s
advisory board for South Dakota State University’s College of Agriculture and
Biological Sciences. Renae is on the Jr. Livestock Board and volunteers at the
local school. They are also both active in their county Farm Bureau and are
past state YF&R committee members and the state YF&R chair.
“I’m a loyal Case IH person to start with and this certainly solidifies that,” says Gebhart.
Case IH is a global leader in agricultural equipment, committed to
collaborating with its customers to develop the most powerful, productive,
reliable equipment – designed to meet today’s agricultural challenges.
Challenges like feeding an expanding global population on less land, meeting
ever-changing government regulations and managing input costs. With headquarters
in the United States, Case IH has a network of dealers and distributors that
operates in over 160 countries. Case IH provides agricultural equipment systems,
flexible financial service offerings and parts and service support for
professional farmers and commercial operators through a dedicated network of
professional dealers and distributors. Productivity enhancing products include
tractors; combines and harvesters; hay and forage equipment; tillage tools;
planting and seeding systems; sprayers and applicators; site-specific farming
tools and utility vehicles. Case IH is a brand of CNH (NYSE: CNH), a
majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Industrial S.p.A. (FI.MI).