Deere tractor gets pink paint job

Oct 04, 2018

Atlantic Tractor provided the equipment in support of breast cancer awareness

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a U.S. tractor dealer supported a breast cancer advocate by fulfilling a unique request.

Beth Steeley, who raises goats, bees and chickens on about 21 acres in Queenstown, Md., walked into the Atlantic Tractor dealership in Queen Anne, Md. looking to purchase a John Deere 2032R.

She committed to buying the tractor on the spot if the dealership could do away with John Deere’s iconic green for something a little different.

She got the idea after reading that John Deere provided different colored tractors for customers in the past, including a white one for the Queen of England and black one for the Pope’s guard, she said during the tractor’s Sept. 19 unveiling in the dealership’s showroom.

Steeley’s connection to breast cancer is personal as her aunt experienced the illness twice.

She wants to use the tractor to raise awareness among all women – especially women in agriculture.

Receiving the pink tractor “took a community to come together and start supporting women in farming, which has been very hard for me because I am a widow, I have 21 acres and I want to farm,” she said. “It’s all part of a conversation that I am hoping this tractor will start.”

Other equipment manufacturers have also made exceptions to equipment colors to support breast cancer awareness.

Valtra unveiled a pink tractor in May to support the cause.

In 2015, AGCO rolled a pink Challenger MT865E tractor off its assembly line to bring attention to breast cancer awareness.

Beth Steeley and salesman Hunter Allen stand beside the pink John Deere tractor.
Hannah Combs photo

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.