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Devon and Cornwall Police introduced Optimus Crime to the public

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Nickname contests have been gaining in popularity over recent years.

In Minnesota, for example, a 2022-23 winter contest to name snowplows around the state garnered such entries as Blizzo, Clearopathra and Sleetwood Mac.

Or in 2016, Boaty McBoatface was the winning entry to name a British polar research ship.

And recently, a British police department unveiled the nickname for its police tractor.

The Devon and Cornwall Police Department held a contest for kids 12 and under to submit entries to name the John Deere 6110M tractor it received as a donation from Masons Kings, a local equipment dealership.

Optimus Crime
Reuben and Optimus Crime (Devon and Cornwall Police photo).

Of the more than 500 entries it received, the winning submission came from a four-year-old named Reuben.

A big Transformers fan, Reuben suggested the name Optimus Crime – a reference to Optimus Prime, the leader of the good guy Autobots.

And given Prime’s characteristics, it seems like an apt suggestion for his crime-fighting ag counterpart.

“Optimus is kind, caring, selfless, serious, highly intelligent, calculating and wise,” a Transformers fan site says. “He has a strong sense of justice, honor and good morals.”

The Devon and Cornwall Police’s Rural Affairs Team will have the tractor stationed at local farm shows to raise awareness about how police can support rural residents concerned about theft.

Officers will be “sparking conversations with farmers, highlighting crime prevention strategies, and engaging with those who might not interact with police teams normally,” Constable Clark Orchard said, the Wales Farmer reported.

In Ohio, a historical society recently received a tractor donation.

The Delaware County Historical Society welcomed a restored 1941 Ford Ferguson tractor.

The tractor, named Violet, worked in Michigan before arriving in Ohio where it did more fieldwork and gave hayrides.

The tractor, and others like it, “serve as an homage to our county’s agricultural heritage,” the historical society said.

According to TractorData.com, Ford Fergusons, also known as the N-series, were manufactured between 1939 and 1942.

Just over 99,000 were built during that time, selling for $585 in 1939.

Adjusting for inflation, that tractor would cost about $12,000 in 2023.


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How women saved agricultural economics and other ideas for why diversity matters | Jill J. McCluskey

Video: How women saved agricultural economics and other ideas for why diversity matters | Jill J. McCluskey

Dr. Jill J. McCluskey, Regents Professor at Washington State University and Director of the School of Economic Science

Dr. McCluskey documents that women entered agricultural economics in significant numbers starting in the 1980s, and their ranks have increased over time. She argues that women have increased the relevance in the field of agricultural economics through their diverse interests, perspectives, and experiences. In their research, women have expanded the field's treatment of non-traditional topics such as food safety and nutrition and environmental and natural resource economics. In this sense, women saved the Agricultural Economics profession from a future as a specialty narrowly focused on agricultural production and markets. McCluskey will go on to discuss some of her own story and how it has shaped some of her thinking and research. She will present her research on dual-career couples in academia, promotional achievement of women in both Economics and Agricultural Economics, and work-life support programs.

The Daryl F. Kraft Lecture is arranged by the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, with the support of the Solomon Sinclair Farm Management Institute, and in cooperation with the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.