2009: Farmer Josh Learns to Drive a Tractor

Tools

By Daren Sukhram

Story Created: Apr 13, 2009 at 5:23 PM CST

Story Updated: Apr 18, 2010 at 2:46 PM CST

Last year, over 2 billion bushels of corn were produced in the state of Iowa – more than any other U.S. state. This season, KCRG-TV9’s Josh Baynes is going to try his hand at farming corn on a 3-acre plot in rural Linn County. To do that, he must first learn how to drive a tractor.

With the help of local farmer Jim Lensch, “Farmer” Josh learned how to drive a brand new John Deere 8430 equipped with all the latest technology, including GPS for auto steering. Yes, auto steering! Though he won’t really need that for his 3-acre plot, farmers utilize auto steering these days for more accurate planting in large fields.

After a brief lesson, Jim turned over the keys to Farmer Josh and away he went. Josh was surprised at how easy it was to operate. The throttle was not as physically large as Josh thought it would be, but still felt the power the tractor had when he revved it up.

Farmer Josh also learned that this particular tractor runs on biodiesel. At first, Josh thought that meant a mixture of diesel and ethanol, which is made from corn, but Jim says that biodiesel used in this tractor is a combination of diesel fuel and soy bean oil.

In a few weeks when the weather is right and the ground is ready, Farmer Josh will attempt to plant corn on his own.

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