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WEEKEND, AUGUST 20-21, 2016
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Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Ione junior Morgan Orem backs up a trailer between safety cones during an FFA tractor driving contest as adviser Lenn Greer of Irrigon observers her
progress Wednesday at the Morrow County Fair in Heppner.
Teens challenge their tractor driving skills at Morrow County Fair
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Behind the wheel of a John Deere
tractor towing a 20-foot latbed trailer,
Austin Morter felt perfectly at ease.
“I’ve been driving since before
anybody that age should be driving,”
said Morter, a 17-year-old junior at Ione
Community Charter School. “It just kind
of comes second nature to me.”
Morter wound his way through a short
obstacle course Wednesday morning as
part of the FFA tractor driving contest at
the Morrow County Fair, slowly maneu-
vering around bright orange cones set up
in a snake-like pattern before backing
straight up into a tight space meant to
mimic an open barn door.
Beth Dickenson, agricultural science
teacher and Heppner FFA advisor,
watched from behind and kept a close
eye on how each student handled the
steering and controls. Safety comes irst,
Dickenson said, and the kids are judged
on everything from whether they grind
the gears to whether they remember to
wear their seatbelt.
“Lots of kids are doing this all
summer. It’s their job,” Dickenson said.
Advances in technology have
changed the face of tractors over the
decades — GPS, crop sensors and
smartphone apps have come along and
made farming a lot more automated than
it used to be. But it still takes an operator
with instincts and awareness to get the
work done.
Reinie Fischer, of Hermiston, has
worked with RDO Equipment for 40
years. He started out as a ield and
shop technician, spent 28 years as a
service manager and is now a customer
service representative for the company.
Fischer has seen tractor technology
change signiicantly over the decades,
and admits it’s taken him some time to
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Ione senior Austin Carter tries to move a bucket of water on a wooden pallet with a forklift tractor Wednesday at
the Morrow County Fair in Heppner.
adjust.
“Forty years ago or 30 years ago, it
was just buttons or handles or knobs.
Now, it’s all computer controlled,” he
said.
The basic operations, however,
remain the same. Technology can’t
account for the surroundings of the area,
and Fischer said the driver must know
how to make smart decisions.
“The computer can’t tell you all of
that,” he said. “It can get you in trouble
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Ione junior Austin Morter backs a trailer through a pair of safety cones as
adviser Lenn Greer of Irrigon observers during an FFA tractor driving con-
test Wednesday at the Morrow County Fair in Heppner.
“That’s a life skill. There’s a lot of adults
who can’t back up a trailer.”
— Beth Dickenson, agricultural science teacher and Heppner FFA adviser
real quick if you’re not safe with what
you’re doing.”
That’s where training like FFA comes
in handy, especially in predominately
agricultural communities like those in
Morrow County. Dickenson said the
tractor driving contest tests eficiency
of operating large machinery, and gives
them the skills and conidence to work
on neighboring farms.
“That’s a life skill,” Dickenson said.
“There’s a lot of adults who can’t back
up a trailer.”
Another part of the FFA contest
Wednesday involved using a tractor
and forklift to pick up and move pallets,
while balancing a bucket full of water to
measure their steadiness. Austin Carter,
a 17-year-old high school senior from
Ione, approached calmly and carefully
but couldn’t help sloshing some water
out of the bucket.
Carter has worked four summers
helping a local farmer with his wheat
harvest, driving a combine over bright
golden ields. He plans to pursue some
kind of agricultural degree in college,
but said knowing how to operate equip-
ment like tractors is useful beyond just
the farm.
“If you ever want to improve your
house or do some kind of yard improve-
ment, it’s nice to not have to hire some-
body to come drive for you,” Carter said.
Carter’s father, Scott Carter, a Morrow
County sheriff’s deputy, praised FFA
for its variety of career development
activities. Events like tractor driving are
just another way to help students bolster
their résumés and get ready for life after
school, he said.
“What they do for kids is amazing,”
Scott Carter said. “When they inish,
they’re ready to go out in the job force.”
Fischer said the latest farm tech-
nology usually comes quick to younger
generations, who are already well
versed on their computers and smart-
phones. John Deere is even beginning
to test self-driving tractors, he said. Still,
nothing replaces a smooth, conident
operator.
“In a farming community like we
have here, it’s something you really
need to know,” Fischer said. “Right here
at our high schools, our kids get summer
jobs on these farms. ... If you get out
there and don’t even know what a tractor
is, you’re kind of in trouble.”
———
Contact George Plaven at gplaven@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825.