LOUISVILLE, Ky. — This year was the 43rd for the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville – at the Kentucky Exposition Center – which touches on every aspect of farming, whether big livestock or small acreage.<br>

This is the biggest indoor show in the United States, and the huge machines on display reflect the aspect of large farming operations that seem to be prevalent in the Midwest. Although new machines seem to share the “bigger is better” message, there were some smaller operators on hand, such as Zetor Tractor, which has its origins in the Czech Republic.<br>

“‘Zetor is Better’ is the motto. Zetor has been in business since 1946. They began after World War II, when mechanization began in Eastern Europe,” said Keith Cross of Zetor.<br>

The company came to the U.S. in the early 1980s and it produces 65-132 horsepower tractors. “A lot of these tractors are used in livestock and haying operations,” Cross said. “Ninety percent of Zetor tractors are sold with loaders.”<br>

While Zetor and the lawn and garden tractors reflected the smaller equipment, some old iron that had been reinvigorated could be found in the tractor-pulling pit. This year was the 40th Championship Tractor Pull, an invitation-only event in which drivers and crews compete for more than $200,000 in prize money. On the floor to compete with other super-pullers was Mowery Auctions of Milford, Ill. <br>

It had a John Deere 8420 Super Farm that was one of the newer JD tractors at this year’s pulling arena. <br>

The tractor is called Deal-N-Deere, and Jon Mowery was its driver. The crew is comprised of Ty Mowery, Jim Mowery, Brad Johnson, Matt Bauer and Don Hartman.<br>

“We had the chassis built, but otherwise, we do all our own work,” Ty explained. “The tractor has a Lemke motor.”<br>

This is the second year the team has been pulling, but its first in Louisville. “We are very thankful to be invited,” Ty said.
Ty and Bauer started in this hobby a couple of years ago. Jon put up the money for Deal-N-Deere, so the crew was in business, and he has been driving for the past three years. In 2007, he was the Illinois points champion.<br>

When asked how he was selected as the driver, Jon said, “Because I bought it.”<br>

No one argued with that.<br>

Not far from Deal-N-Deere was Rapped Up, a JD 5020 built in the late 1960s. Andy Lawyer of Hagerstown, Ind., said, “This tractor has a diesel engine that fits the turbo limits of our class.”
This was the second year Rapped Up has come to Louisville.
“We built it ourselves. The frame front has all been hand-built. There is very little of the original parts left,” Lawyer said. “We pulled farm stuff, then moved into the Pro Farm, then on to this,” he explained of his pulling tractor progression. “Then we got into this. You start, and keep progressing.”<br>

Mark Lawyer is Rapped Up’s driver and Andy said last year, they received second at Louisville and made it to the finals. He said the biggest challenge to pulling in Louisville is the downtime before the show, and pointed out the previous pulling season had been a while and at Louisville, the teams were back in the pulling saddle without a lot of time since the last pull.<br>

He added, “I think quite a bit of luck goes with it.”
Along with Andy and brothers Tim and Mark, Mark’s wife and stepson are also part of the Rapped Up team. The Lawyers are farmers who raise corn and soybeans when they aren’t pulling.
Why John Deere for the Lawyers? “It is all we’ve ever known. It is what we farm with,” Andy said.
Getting ready to pull, Mark said, “It’s a tough place. There are a lot of good tractors and stiff competition.”<br>

The same could be said for nearly all the vendors – with more than 800 of them competing in 216,000 square feet, the annual show is anyone’s game.<br>

<i>This farm news was published in the March 19, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.</i></p><p>