FFA tractor raffle
‘Tractor’ raffle has become a visual symbol of Idaho FFA
This year’s Idaho FFA “tractor” raffle program raised more than $100,000 for the Idaho FFA program this year.
Maybe just as importantly, the raffle program continues to raise awareness of how important the FFA program itself is.
“The awareness that we’ve gained from this program is immense,” said Carly Jordan, executive director of the Idaho FFA Foundation. “Our raffle efforts have had a huge impact on just gaining awareness about what we’re trying to do through the FFA organization.”
Half of the money from each raffle ticket sold goes to fund scholarships for FFA students heading to post-secondary education. The other half goes back to the FFA chapter that sold the ticket.
“It’s a win-win for both,” said Notus High School ag teacher and FFA advisor Kevin Barker. “It’s a fantastic program.”
“When we give away tens of thousands of dollars each year for college scholarships, it has a huge impact on these kids that are going on to post-secondary education; it’s fantastic for them to have that extra support,” he said. “The other $10 of the ticket goes back to the chapter that sold the ticket and that’s a fantastic thing for local chapters to be able to do things that they need to do on a local level.”
There are currently more than 6,400 FFA members in 102 chapters across Idaho.
As he randomly drew the names of this year’s raffle winners from a large bucket July 8, Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke thanked the people who supported the FFA program with their pocketbooks.
“Thank you to the (thousands of) Idahoans that bought the raffle tickets,” he said on a cattle ranch near Star. “This signals statewide support for a very, very worthy cause and that is the FFA Foundation and the scholarships that it provides.”
The winner of this year’s grand prize, a 2024 Polaris Trail 900 Ultimate, is Glenn Dodge of Parma.
The second-place winner, of a Traeger Grill courtesy of Campbell Tractor Co., is Elmer Thomas of Nampa.
Sherri Babbitt of Boise won the third-place prize, a $500 D&B Supply gift card courtesy of D&B.
Fourth-place winner, Angela Demeyer of Wilder, won a cooler and BBQ essentials basket courtesy of Valley Wide Cooperative.
Bedke, a rancher and farmer from Oakley, said FFA students are the future of agriculture and he pointed out that when he gets stacks of resumes, the ones with FFA experience float to the top of the pile.
“Whenever we get stacks of resumes, we always set aside the ones from individuals that have FFA experience because we know they know how to work, we know they are accomplished, we know they know how to speak, how to show up on time and do all the soft skills that our workforce needs,” he said.
“I’m telling you, your experience in FFA will set you apart from others,” he added.
Later, Sid Freeman, a Middleton farmer who started the raffle program with his wife, Pam, in 2011, said the lieutenant governor hit the nail on the head with those comments.
“With businesses throughout the nation that know what FFA is all about, if a student comes to them and has their FFA experiences on their resume, usually those will sift up to the top of the selection pile,” he said. “Today, the word is out and people are looking for these kinds of people for employees.”
With the help of ag-related businesses, Sid and Pam Freeman in 2010 refurbished a 1941 Farmall tractor and hauled it around the state on a borrowed trailer to promote it. It was raffled off in April 2011.
That was the humble beginning of the raffle.
After the first raffle in 2011, other farms and agribusinesses donated tractors in subsequent years. In 2020, raffle organizers started offering an off-road utility vehicle as the grand prize as a way to appeal to a wider potential audience of ticket buyers.
Also in 2020, FFA officials raised ticket prices from $10 to $20 and began directing half of the money back to individual FFA chapters.
At that time, “People were questioning whether the public would pay $20 for a ticket,” Freeman said. “But once they find out 50 percent of that ticket goes directly back to that FFA chapter that’s selling it, they have no problem whatsoever.”
Heading into its 16th year, the raffle is now a visual symbol of the Idaho FFA program.
“The awareness that we’ve gained from this program is immense,” said Jordan.
She said the “impact of the FFA program is hard to measure just because it’s so vast.”
“There are benefits to the workforce, benefits in just developing that person as a leader, developing their confidence and technical skills, benefits to teaching kids from an urban background about agriculture,” Jordan said.
“FFA is not just cows and plows,” Jordan said. “FFA can be a great thing in just growing well-rounded citizens and responsible employees. It really turns out some great individuals into our communities.”
