Of course some of us got tired during the summer sitting in our tractors and driving around in circles. These boys: Jon Sprague, Joe Carlon, Avery Overton, Andrew Miles, Conley Kittredge, Brad Libolt, and Wyatt Smith didn’t. They took this contest very seriously and tried to beat out their competition.
The Equipment Operation and Safety Contest or Tractor Driving Contest, involved three parts: the safety test, where competitors took a written exam on common safety precautions and practices, the parts identification, in which competitors had to identify parts on the tractor, and the main event which consisted of the members actually getting behind the wheel of a tractor and swather.
There were five different courses the members had to complete. The first course involved driving the tractor with a short trailer attached. Members were graded on how quickly, yet safety they could maneuver through course without knocking over the flags, and how accurately they could back the trailer into a simulated shed.
In the second course, the competitors had to operate a swather. Much like the short trailer course, they had to maneuver through a maze of flags as quickly and safety as possible.
The third course, entailed loading pallets on a truck while balancing a bucket of water on top. In this course competitors were judged on how many inches of water was spilt from the bucket, how many inches the furthest corner of the pallet is from the stimulated headboard which is measured in inches, and other safety precautions such as riding the clutch and stalling the engine.
In the fourth course, the members had to balance a tractor on a trailer. Students were judged on how many pounds off-balance they were, and how centered on the trailer they got the tractor.
In the final event students had to attach an implement to the tractor. When attaching the implement, the students were judged on the number of attempts at hook ups, if they made sure the linch pins were secure and other safety measures.
All the courses were very challenging and were judged based on speed, skill, safety, and general equipment operation, but this wasn’t a problem for the North Lake team.
The advanced team: Avery Overton, Joe Carlon, and Jon Sprague, and the beginning team: Andrew Miles, Conley Kittredge, Brad Libolt and Wyatt Smith, both came out on top by placing 1st. This is the 3rd consecutive year both North Lake’s beginning and advanced teams have earned the blue banner in this event. In the beginning contest Sherman County placed 2nd, and Culver placed 3rd. In the advanced team competition Madras placed 2nd, and Crook County came in at 3rd.
Our North Lake FFA members did an outstanding job in this contest. Mr. Waldron said, “We have an edge over the other schools because we require all 8th graders to go through Tractor Safety Class and we have such a large number of experienced FFA students to choose from who have spent their whole summer in a tractor seat.” Five of the North Lake members also placed as individuals. Conley Kittredge placed 1st, and Brad Libolt came in 3rd in the beginning contest. Avery Overton placed 2nd, Joe Carlon placed 3rd and Jon Sprague placed 5th in the advanced competition.
Tyler Meyer, Kori Worthington and Hunter Kittredge attended the contest. Kori is the Central Oregon District Reporter. Tyler and Hunter will be the core of the advanced team next year after Joe, Jon and Avery graduation
Wyatt Smith, Brad Libot. Top Row: Jon Sprague, Conley Kittredge, Joe Carlon, Andrew Miles, Avery Overton.
Hunter, Tyler, Avery, Joe and Stetson discuss stragety before they compete in the tilt trailer event.
