FFA Alumni farm toy show a good draw

Weston Leaver took his time strolling up and down the rows of farm toys at the Forreston FFA Farm and Toy Show on March 12.

The nine-year-old had plenty of time to plan his purchases on the ride down with this family from St. Charles, Minnesota, but pulling the right tractor trigger proved a bit tough.

“I like John Deere, but I like Oliver too,” said Weston referring to the ‘green’ tractor choices at the show. “But in my opinion John Deere is better.”

Weston’s mom, Rachel, said they made the 247-mile trip to Forreston because Weston loves farming.

“All he says is that he wants to be a farmer,” she said. “His dad is a dairy farmer in Juda, Wisconsin.”

The sharp increase in fuel costs didn’t deter the Leaver family which included Boop their 8-year-old Yorkshire terrier, from making the trip. Boop watched all the action while sitting in a backpack.

“Everybody tried to talk me out of it, but it is worth it drive down. We usually hit all the shows, but it has been awhile since we’ve been here,” she said referring to cancellations due to COVID-19. “We’ve missed the shows so much. We’d rather do this than go to a theme park.”

The event is a fundraiser for the Forreston FFA program.

To celebrate this year’s event, two show tractors were highlighted from local dealerships in the area.

The first 2022 show tractor was a 1/16 scale 2270 White Oliver highly detailed priced at $75. The second 2022 show tractor was a 1/64 scale 1955 Oliver with loader priced at $30.

This year the Hometown Series featured DeVries Implement Company, which was owned by Derald DeVries. DeVries purchased the Ratmeyer dealership, which was located in Forreston on the corner of Rt. 26 and Cherry St., in 1971. In 1974, White Farm Equipment became the main brand.

DeVries handled Oliver, White, New Idea, Gehl, Glencoe, Simplicity, and Bush Hog over the years. In 1978, a new dealership was built on Rt. 72 just east of Forreston. He sold the business to Read Bros. in 1990.