Tracy Robinson served 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps with deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Desert Shield before returning home to Blakely, Georgia, in 2010 to do what he loves most—farming. Despite operating his farm on 500 acres of land, Tracy didn’t own or lease a tractor, rather he helped out a neighboring farm in exchange for use of their tractor. Until now, that is, because last month, Kubota and local dealer Southern Tractor & Outdoors had the pleasure of delivering a brand new M8 Series tractor to Tracy’s property for a free one-year loan through the “Geared to Give” program in partnership with the Farmer Veteran Coalition.
Established in 2015, “Geared to Give” is Kubota’s flagship philanthropic program that recognizes current and past U.S. military servicemembers for their continued service to their communities through farming, many of whom need the gift of Kubota equipment to help them achieve self-sufficiency and take their farming operation to the next level. Tracy, who was an ideal candidate for the program, will put his new M8 Series tractor to use on his farm, where he grows peanuts, cotton, corn, soybeans, and wheat.
In addition to the tractor delivery last month, Tracy was honored during a special ceremony at the Sunbelt Ag Expo on October 20 in Moultrie, Georgia.
Each year, five Veteran Members of the Farmer Veteran Coalition are selected through the FVC Fellowship Fund application process to receive donated Kubota equipment. Since the “Geared to Give” program was established, 41 farmer veterans have received equipment and grants to further their agricultural careers.
For more information about the Farmer Veteran Coalition and their Fellowship Fund, visit www.farmvetco.org. For more information on the “Geared to Give” program, visit Kubota Cares. See Lashley Kubota for details.