Missouri School FFA Drive Your Tractor to School Day is a success

Each year, Missouri’s Carrollton High School FFA members get an extra taste of freedom and celebration as they drive their tractors to school. Drive your tractor to school days are a high holiday celebrated by high school students in rural America. Some schools choose to celebrate during National FFA Weekwhile others celebrate the fall after the harvest.

Carrollton’s chapter dedicates an entire week to celebrating FFA, kicking off FFA Spirit Week with a barn warm-up meal and game night during which the Barn Warm-Up King and Queen are crowned.

Then there are no hold bars as the tractors start lining up at one of the school’s lower parking lots. While John Deere green is one of the most prominent colors in this school holiday favourite, the lot is also lined with Case, Ford and even an antique International.

Carrollton Councilman Jeremy Dodds said: “We’ve been doing this once a year for as long as I can remember. I was doing it when I graduated in the ’90s and I remember it was done before I was old enough.”

No tractor? No problem. A student got creative and drove his lawnmower into town.

While the students enjoy the opportunity to taste some freedom and show off their operational skills, it is a positive activity for the school and the community.

“It’s a fun activity that the students really enjoy and it’s good to see the kids in town. [The town] is very supportive. The parents of the tractor driving students are also very supportive,” said Dodds.

We couldn’t choose just one to feature, so here’s a look at the cars and students in the spotlight on Drive your Tractor to School Day.