Kubota Tractor Corporation, in partnership with Farmer Veteran Coalition, awarded the sixth tractor of the “Geared to Give” program August 30 in a special ceremony at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa. Aaron White, a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, was the recipient of a Kubota L-Series compact tractor presented by Todd Stucke, Kubota senior vice president of sales, marketing and product support, and FVC Executive Director Michael O’Gorman.
White and his wife, Dana, own and operate White Stock & Produce in Carlisle, Iowa, where they manage 150 acres of row crops, a cow-calf operation, and a small garden plot. The White’s, who sell their beef and produce at local farmers’ markets under the Homegrown By Heroes label, expect the new tractor to provide a major boost to their operation.
“Honestly, I’m still lost for words,” White said earlier this month after being told he was selected to receive the tractor. “I’m just so grateful that I was chosen. There’s so many things the tractor will help me accomplish within my operation. There’s things I’ve had to put off to the side because I don’t have my own tractor. This is fantastic.”
After serving four years in the Marines as a machine gunner, White returned home to Iowa in 2005 to attended school to become a grade school teacher. Raised on a small-scale livestock farm, White returned to his agricultural roots in 2012 when he established White Stock & Produce. In 2015, he was awarded a Farmer Veteran Fellowship thanks to support from the Bob Woodruff Foundation which he used to purchase a bull and trailer to expand his operation.
Established in 2015, the “Geared to Give” program works to provide financial support and donated Kubota equipment to U.S. military veterans pursuing careers in agriculture. White is the sixth farmer veteran to be awarded a donated tractor through the program.
“Aaron’s experience growing up on his step-father’s farm taught him to raise cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and chickens and this experience was just the beginning of what developed into a lifelong commitment to agriculture,” O’Gorman said. “We are pleased to be able to award this tractor to Aaron today and we know that his dedication to farming and these new tools will be able to grow his farm well into the future.”
In addition to the tractor, which was donated through authorized Kubota dealer Capital City Equipment in Des Moines, Iowa, White also received a Kubota-orange canopy donated by Firebird Products, a Kubota supplier for aftermarket accessories.
In order for a farmer veteran to be eligible for the “Geared to Give” program, they must be members of Farmer Veteran Coalition who have applied for, and received, a Farmer Veteran Fellowship during the current year.
To learn more about the Farmer Veteran Fellowship, please visit https://farmvetco.org/about-us/our-programs/farming-fellowship/.
