Auction proceeds to benefit Farm Rescue, FFA

HAMILTON, Ill. — Farm Rescue and FFA will be the beneficiaries as part of a larger auction during the Farm Progress Show on Aug. 27.

BigIron Auctions/Sullivan Auctioneers will host the auction starting at 3 p.m. on the eastern edge of the Farm Progress Show grounds, at Booth 707.

Proceeds from the sale of the following tractors will be donated to Farm Rescue:

• 1976 John Deere 4230 two-wheel drive tractor with 2,944 hours, donated by Dan and Kacey Sullivan, Hamilton, Ill.

• John Deere 755 two-wheel drive compact utility tractor, 595 hours, donated by Swindell Farm Equipment, Wilkinson, Ind.

• 1970 John Deere 112 patio garden tractor, donated by Mark and Ron Stock, BigIron Auctions.

• 1986 Ford 1710 two-wheel drive tractor, 617 hours, donated by John and Joan Sullivan, Rushville, Ill.

In addition, 100% of the “hammer price” for the sale of two new EZ-Trail 50 gravity wagons, each filled with corn and donated by Joe and Dawn Sullivan, of Rushville, Ill., will be donated to FFA.

The auction will also featured a long list of classic tractors and trucks, all of which can be found on the BigIron/Sullivan websites.

Sullivan Auctioneers hosted a media day Aug. 14 to showcase the long list of classic tractors and trucks that will be auctioned, along with highlighting the work of Farm Rescue.

What started as an idea to have an auction at the Farm Progress Show grew quickly to a big endeavor.

“It’s turned out to be a larger event than kind of what we thought of. When we started out, we figured we’d maybe have an antique tractor and a collector truck auction in conjunction with the Farm Progress Show. Then one thing led to another, and we thought there’d be maybe a handful of consignments and we finally had to shut it off. I think there’s 60 or 70 items,” Dan Sullivan said.

“So, one morning we were visiting in the office and thought maybe we could think of an item we maybe could donate to some organization. We try to spread it around when we have benefits or fundraisers and we decided this year to do something with Farm Rescue.

“We reached out to those folks and my wife and I decided to donate the 4230. It’s kind of unique tractor — 2,400-some hours — and everybody kind of likes that size of a tractor in that vintage. We decided to do that with 100% of the proceeds going to Farm Rescue.

“Then Mark and Ron Stock decided to donate a riding lawnmower, one of those patio mowers, and then my brother, John Sullivan, donated an item. My brother, Joe Sullivan, donated. It just kind of elevated from there, and we’re just excited to be part of the event.”

“Farm Rescue is an unbelievable organization of giving back. To me, it’s always been an example of what I’ve seen in 35 years and Mark Stock has seen and Dan Sullivan has seen in rural areas — take care of your neighbors. Farm Rescue is living that mission,” said Machinery Pete’s Greg Peterson.

“Dan and Kacey Sullivan’s tractor they donated is a 1976 John Deere 4230 with 2,944 hours on it. I can tell you from 35 years doing my gig, being the scorekeeper on what this stuff sells for, people will be talking about that tractor all over the world. Dan and Kacey are donating 100% of the ‘hammer price’ to Farm Rescue.”

Program Awareness

Mark Stock, cofounder of BigIron Auction Company, said the auction items not only benefit Farm Rescue financially, but also bring more awareness of the program.

“Most of the time when people have some sort of a stress or a tragedy in their life, farmers are humble and quiet by nature. So, one of the reasons why we’re trying to help Farm Rescue is to get the word out that if you do know some family that’s had some sort of issue, to reach out and ask for help on their behalf, because they won’t call and ask to help themselves. They won’t do it,” Stock said.

“So, if you’re a neighbor or if you’re a relative, and you know that they need some help, you make the phone call to Farm Rescue, and then they will start reaching out to that particular family and start working some sort of a plan to help them.

“We’re looking forward to helping getting the word out for Farm Rescue folks. We’re also looking forward to see a lot of the people at Farm Progress because there’s a couple shows throughout the year in the United States that bring a lot of people in to learn about what’s the latest and greatest and to ask questions about what can we do to help them or what do they need to know if they’re going to retire. Because we are having an enormous amount of retirement sales right now, and that’s what we go to these farm shows for, to help them answer questions.”

The auction is now open for bidding. Anyone who doesn’t want to buy a tractor can make a donation through the Farm Rescue website.