Donations of new Kubota equipment to FFA chapters are helping rebuild the ag programs of schools that were severely damaged or, in some cases, totally lost due to hurricanes Katrina, Charley and Rita. The equipment donations from Kubota Tractor Corporation are part of the company's pledge of a $200,000 in-kind donation, in partnership with FFA and local Kubota dealers. Kubota's in-kind donation is in addition to the company's cash donation of $200,000 to the American Red Cross for relief efforts.

The in-kind donation of equipment enhances the FFA's Seeds of Hope regional campaign that was developed to rebuild the agricultural education programs and assist FFA chapters in disaster relief efforts in the Gulf States. National FFA staff worked with state agricultural education leaders to determine schools needing assistance in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas.

During this past school year, Kubota dealerships made presentations of the donated equipment--primarily RTV900 utility vehicles and generators--to the selected FFA chapters at schools in Louisiana (Erath High, Erath; Grand Lake High, Lake Charles; Johnson Bayou High, Hackberry; Hackberry High, Hachberry; South Cameron High, Creole; Starks High, Starks; Sulphur High, Sulphur); Mississippi (Forrest County Agriculture High, Brooklyn; Green County Vocational High, Leakesville; West Harrison Vocational Center, Long Beach; Pearl River High, Carierre); Florida (Northview High, Bratt; Clewiston High, Clewiston; Charlotte High, Punta Gordon), Alabama (G.H. Bryant Career Technical Center, Irvington); and Texas (Woodville High, Woodville; Silsbee High, Silsbee).

Participating dealers for these donations included Toomey Equipment Co., Theodore, Alabama; Creel Tractor Co., Fort Myers, Florida; Baldwin Tractor & Equipment, Robertsdale, Alabama; Henderson Implement Co., Welsh, Florida; Watts Brothers Tractor Co., Columbia, Mississippi; Lee Tractor Co., Biloxi, Mississippi; Jasper Farm & Ranch Supply, Jasper, Texas; and Beaumont Tractor Co., Beaumont, Texas. Several of the dealers had multiple stores participating in the donation program.

The following is a sampling of what the advisors of the recipient FFA chapters and Kubota dealers had to say about the donations and how the equipment was and is being used.

Employees at Henderson's three locations in Welsh, Abbeville and Lake Charles, Louisiana, delivered utility vehicles and a generator to FFA chapters at John Bayou High School, Hackberry High School, Grand Lake High School, South Cameron High School, Erath High School, Sulphur High School and Starks High School.

"Many of these schools' ag departments lost everything in the storm and were not financially able to replace the items," said Steve Eastman, Ag Division General Manager of Henderson Implement, Welsh, Louisiana. "I know they appreciated what Kubota and other vendors were doing for them," Eastman told Implement & Tractor.

Gary Pool, FFA advisor of the Grand Lake Chapter, agreed with Eastman's assessment. "Members of the community have made equipment available in the past for school projects," he said. "However, all local resources and manpower have been stretched to the limit. The donation of an RTV900 was a major benefit to the school and the community during the recovery from Rita."

Pool said the donated RTV is getting a lot of use in FFA's school and community projects. Members have been and will be using it to haul shrubs and move mulch for new and replacement flower beds and to assist with landscaping the campus of a new elementary school.

Erath's FFA advisor, Kirk Soileau, said the RTV 900 they received from Henderson Implement saved the chapter a "tremendous amount of physical labor" and gave the school a morale boost. In fact, he said the community is getting used to seeing the bright orange "buggy" being used around the campus. "Everybody wants to know where we got it, and when we say it is a donation from Kubota, people are surprised and impressed," he said. "I think Kubota has received a ton of positive publicity from this donation."

With the addition of a purchased trailer, Erath FFA members have hauled trash, moved steel to the welding shop for a new extension and transported equipment and supplies for other departments of the school. The RTV is also being used to create an ATV safety lesson and driving course and will be used to haul supplies for the ag department's new greenhouse.

After losing all equipment and supplies to Rita, Soileau said he is greatful for all the response from businesses and charitable groups. Thanks to such donations as the RTV, he said, "We are now back in business."

Each of Henderson's three Louisiana locations in Welsh, Abbeville and Lake Charles reopened quickly after the storms. Despite no electric, phone or internet services for one to almost three weeks, Eastman said business has been good because of individuals buying equipment to use in the clean-up. However, he does not believe the increase in small equipment sales can be sustained for many future years. "At some point, the clean-up will end and many of the units sold (for clean up) will end up back as late model used equipment competing for new sales," he explained.

Henderson's agricultural equipment sales have been negatively impacted by the hurricanes, Eastman said. Several thousand rice acres are not being planted due to salt water intrusion, and the crawfish acreage has also been reduced for the same reason.

"It will take several years for the agricultural community to rebound from these events," Eastman predicted.

Reagan Pillack, Agricultural Science teacher at Woodville High, Woodville, Texas, advises the school's FFA chapter, which received a Kubota RTV900 through Jasper Farm and Ranch Supply in Jasper, Texas. The school's Ag Science Department runs a 36-acre farm that received severe damage from Rita. Pillack said the RTV has been used extensively in clearing blown-down trees, mending broken fences, feeding cattle, hauling supplies to the corrals and moving equipment around the term. She also spoke of an even bigger picture of Kubota's gift.

"The donation taught our students about the importance of giving and helping your neighbor. Because Kubota was generous enough to donate to schools and students who were affected severely from the storms, the students saw the kindness of companies and individuals who value education and hands-on learning." Pillack said.

"The people at Jasper Farm and Ranch and the regional Kubota office were extremely helpful in preparing us to use the RTV. They know the students here will continue to use this equipment as a learning tool for vehicle maintenance, understanding how engines operate and basic safety. This donation will serve as a lasting testament of the generosity of Kubota and its affiliates."

One of Jasper Farm and Ranch's owners, William (Bill) Morian, said he agreed with Pillack. "Kubota, as always, has been very generous to those in need. And we are thankful to our employees for the extra effort and time they have spent getting other people's equipment up and running while sacrificing their own needs."

Morian said that other than being without electricity for three weeks, their facilities were spared major damage. "Because of the massive clean up in our area, our sales have been brisk," he added.

Beaumont Tractor Co., Inc. presented a Kubota RTV900 utility vehicle to the Silsbee FFA Chapter. Advisor and ag science teacher, Karen Eaves, said the camo paint and hydraulic dump bed are especially popular with the students.

"Our Ag Department does not have a truck, so before getting the RTV, we used personal vehicles to move equipment and trailers," she said. "Now it seems everyone wants a Kubota because they see how strong and hard working it is."

The Silsbee students have used the RTV to stand up and re-stake the live oak and Bradford pear trees which had brown over. They also have used it for landscaping projects and clean up, and by carrying a 200gallon tank in the RTV's back, they are able to take water to thirsty plants throughout the campus.

Ted Lynn, FFA Advisor at Charlotte High School in Punta Gordon, Florida, told Implement & Tractor that after Hurricane Charley, students and teachers alike were awed by the overwhelming amount of support from other FFA chapters and individuals: that the students saw firsthand how Corporate American personally shares in support after a crisis.

Lynn said the RTV has come in handy for a lot of jobs, especially transporting materials and equipment to and from the ag science department's land lab, which is a half mile from the new classroom. It has also been used to haul the debris still in the pastures.

"The RTV was very helpful in the rebuilding of our shadehouse. Moving soil from our potting soil pile to our shade-house, it saved us millions of steps," Lynn said. "This has been a real Godsend to us and will be used by our school and community for a long time."

Mark Creel of Creel Tractor Co., Fort Myers, Florida, was the dealer assisting with the donation to the Charlotte FFA Chapter. Creel also delivered an RTV900 utility vehicle and a generator to the FFA chapter of Clewiston High School.

The FFA Chapter of Green County Vocational Technical High School, of Leakesville, Mississippi, received its RTV900 utility vehicle and a Low Boy diesel power generator from Toomey Equipment of Mississippi, located in Lucedale. Tom Wallace, chapter advisor and agriculture instructor, said the biggest use of the RTV so far has been to move debris out of the pastures and hauling mulch made from Katrina's debris to spread around the acre of blueberries growing at the center.

Wallace said the RTV has definitely made the students' jobs on the farm easier. However, he sees an even bigger affect it will have on the school and community if another crisis happens.

"We are working with local officials on developing our vocational center into a critical needs shelter," he said. "If we get our school set up for this, the donated equipment will be crucial."

In addition to offering thanks for corporations like Kubota for donating equipment, 90 volunteers from the FFA Chapter in Mr. Pleasant, Texas, came quickly after Katrina to help rebuild fences on local farms. Wallace said these are just two examples of the generosity that permeates throughout the agricultural industry.

"Any time there is a major crisis, it is a great feeling to know there are people who are thinking of you and the problems you may be encountering," he said.

"I am proud to be part of American Agriculture."

Editor's note: Thanks to all the FFA chapters and dealers who participated in this program. We're sorry we don't have identifications for all photos or photos of all the chapters. Each responding chapter advisor asked me to extend their thanks publicly to Kubota and to the many other manufacturing companies that donated equipment.