4.9 MB - Bobcat

CompaC t traC tor C ontest C overagerunner-upwinner!Back in Businesssecond-place contest wInner puts 2200 to work on famIly daIry farmLL Lucas Greff is no stranger to hard work. He grew up on a dairyLfarm in western North Dakota with 50 head of dairy cattle, 50 head of rangeLcattle and 1200 acres, helping his family with the demanding daily chores.hands-on learningexperienceServing in the U.S. military gaveLucas Greff the opportunity tolearn how to operate compactequipment, specifically a Bobcatskid-steer loader. Greff servedwith the 141st Engineer CombatBattalion in 2004, and his unit hadtwo Bobcat skid-steer loaders.“I fell in love with skid-steerloaders there,” he says. “Mybrother and I were assigned tolook for IEDs and ambushes, andwe repaired bridges and providedsupport to the Iraqi police.”Greff brought that operatingexpertise home with him andstarted a part-time job on nightsand weekends.Below, Greff operates askid-steer loader in Iraq.“I think that I grew up on the only dairy farmin North Dakota that didn’t have a skid-steerloader,” he says, “and I thought I could do alot of work with something like that, as mybrother and I shoveled out each stall by hand.”According to Greff, large loans, low milkprices, and tough years took a toll on hisfamily and they had to get out of farming.His parents found jobs away from the farm,although they retained most of the land.In 2008 a neighbor asked the Greffs to feedhis cattle during the winter in exchange fora share of the calves. They jumped at theopportunity and fixed fences, prepared a newcorral and got running water to the cattle.Greff entered the 2009 Great Bobcat TractorPull contest with the dream of winning anew tractor for his family’s renewed farmingoperation. He finished in second place andreceived a new Bobcat ® 2200 utility vehicle.The 2200 quickly made its way to the familyfarm where it was driven to check on cattle andrepair fence lines. “My family has two fourwheelers,but the problem with a four-wheeleris you can’t carry anything, and pickups arejust too big and they are a rough ride,” he says.“The new utility vehicle fits in nicely betweenthese two. We like the IntelliTrak ® drive systemthe best when we’re chasing cattle, because wedon’t have to worry about switching from twowheeldrive to four-wheel drive.“My mom will enjoy the electric dump bedwhen she does her gardening,” Greff says.“I will be pulling a fencing trailer a lot thisyear. The diesel engine will come in handyfor that.”Aaron Kleingartner (left) presents secondplace winner Lucas Greff with a new 2200utility vehicle.Back to farmingToday the family farm is slightly smallerbut the need to get the work done right, anddone on time, is just as important as ever. ABobcat 2200 utility vehicle ensures the Grefffamily can get chores done faster and betterthan other equipment.“Seeing the homestead farm actively runningcattle again after 10 years of dormancybrings me great pride,” Greff wrote in hiscontest entry. “The Greff family farm washomesteaded in the 19th century and after ashort hiatus is back in action.6 WorkSaver Homeowner with Acreage Early Spring 2010