The Grinnell Lions Ag Appreciation Day is slated for Thursday, Aug. 25, from 3 — 7 p.m., in and around Central Park in Grinnell.
Ag Day will offer food, fun, exhibits, activities for kids, a guest speaker, music, tractors on display, a tractor parade and just good family-friendly fun. A farm family will be awarded the Jim Urfer Spirit of Farming Award and an agribusiness will also be recognized. Al Maly will present the awards.
Route 66 will provide the tunes. Jon Hubbert, state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Iowa is the guest speaker (see separate story for details).
The Grinnell FFA will be hosting a petting zoo while the HLV FFA is offering a kiddie tractor obstacle course and the Montezuma FFA is hosting a scavenger hunt.
Grinnell Historical Society will have a display of Grinnell artifacts with Bill Hammen. The Iowa Corn Growers will have a trailer display showing corn production and the Iowa Lions Eye Bank will be on hand to share info on the eye bank and more. Grinnell’s Dari Barn will have their mobile food truck on site.
Bill Menner is the Ag Day emcee.
The event will end with the Larry VanErsvelde Tractor Parade, which starts rolling at 6:30 p.m.
“Please encourage any and all tractor owners to bring them to Ag Day,” noted Maly. “New, old, show quality or right from the field. The bigger the tractor parade, the better.”
Schedule
12 noon to 3 p.m.: tractor registration
3 — 6 p.m.: exhibitor displays open
Old and antique tractors on display including the featured tractor — a 1959 Oliver 770 owned by Montezuma’s Frank Helm.
Also featured are: Alliant Energy — electrical safety; Bayer Crop Science — farm and household safety; Community 1st Credit Union — business info; Dura Crop with Jayson Gaunt — company info; J.J. Nichting Company, Case IH — equipment display; Lowry Motorsports/RV/Construction/Rental — equipment display; New Century Farm Service — business info; Rocoza LLC, Sam Rockwell — drones and spraying service; Steve Link Ford — vehicle display; Sunset Hills Bison Ranch — business info; Van Wall Equipment — equipment display; Wes Finch Auto Plaza — vehicle display; Farm Bureau Financial Services, Jenny Bos — providing free water;
Theisen’s — free popcorn and gates for petting zoo; Cub/Boy Scouts — information on Boy Scouts; Child Care Resource and Referral of Central Iowa — business info; Grinnell Fire Department — firetruck and fire safety display; Poweshiek County Extension/4-H — extension service and 4-H info; Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation (GPCF) — foundation info; Mid-West Ambulance Service — ambulance; Poweshiek County Conservation Naturalist — archery trailer; Poweshiek SWCD/NRCS — soil conservation display; Practical Farmers of Iowa — organization info; Unity Point Health — Diabetes Awareness and COVID shot.
4 — 5:45 p.m.: Route 66 to provide the tunes
5:50 — 6:15 p.m.: Program and featured speaker — Jon Hubbert, state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Iowa
6:15 — 6:25 p.m.: Spirit of Farming and Ag Business Awards — Al Maly will present the awards
6:30: Tractor parade announced
6:35: The Larry VanErsvelde Tractor Parade will wrap up the evening led by Frank Helm and his 2022 featured tractor — a 1959 Oliver 770. The parade starts on 4th Avenue west to Broad Street, north on Broad Street, west on 5th Avenue, south on Main Street, east on 4th Avenue, south on Broad Street and will finish at 1st Street.