8 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | December 2024 Beyond the Barn Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) students hosted their annual Tractor Tug for Tots at the University of Guelph on Oct. 24. The event, run by the Student Federation at the OAC, started in 2008 and has run every year since to raise tens of thousands of dollars for local children’s charities. This year, the goal was to raise funds for the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington. The 2024 event raised around $14,500 for the foundation’s Food & Friends student nutrition program. U of G students, faculty, and alumni came together in teams of eight to 10 to pull two full-sized tractors down Reynolds Walk. Some 20 teams competed for a trophy and annual bragging rights. “Tractor Tug for Tots is really reflective of the passion that the Aggie students here on campus have,” says Mike von Massow, a professor of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the U of G. This year’s tractors were a Case IH Vestrum 130, provided by Equipment Ontario, and a John Deere 6120M, provided by Premier Equipment. The Vestrum 130 was the heavier of the two, weighing 12,900 pounds, while the 6120M weighed in at 12,522 pounds. Each team pulls both tractors so that both heats are fair. “The two competing teams have a coin flip to decide which team picks the pulling order, and there’s some strategy there,” says Kurt Brown, marketing coordinator for Equipment Ontario. “Do you start with the light one so you don’t get tired, or the heavier one while you still have energy?” The winning group was a team of engineering students named ‘The Engineers.’ “With the OAC and the U of G, it’s such a long history of agriculture, and it’s nice to have these public events in front of more students. You have a diversity of different people pulling,” Brown says. This program helps ensure young students are fed both at school and at home. BF TRACTOR TUG RAISES OVER $14,500 A FARMING LIFE: CARL MOLLARD Fifth-generation farmer, husband, father, grandfather, and Ridgetown graduate. Born Jan. 4, 1964; Died Oct. 8, 2024. Carl Mollard was proud to have lived his whole life on his family dairy, beef, and cash-crop farm in McGillivray Township (Middlesex County). He was a fifth-generation farmer who farmed alongside his dad, Eric, and brother, Jeff. Carl was passionate about caring for his livestock, always ensuring his herd was happy and healthy. “He loved his ‘girls,’ his dairy cows. He knew them better than any other women in his life,” wife Anne Mollard tells Better Farming. “And he had the patience of Job with them. If a calf was born and wasn’t sucking, he’d be on his hands and knees trying to help it.” Though he was very busy with the farm, Carl always made time for his family and relaxing in his La-Z-Boy recliner. “His kids were always involved in the operation, and they’re stepping up,” Anne explains. “He has six beautiful grandchildren who loved to come to the farm, go to the barn, and drive the tractor with Grandpa.” Carl was diagnosed with lung cancer as a non-smoker in 2020. At the end of his fight, Anne and the family advocated for Carl to come home from the hospital to spend his last days on the farm. “He was on the tractor, helped fill the silo, and then on the last Saturday, he went to the field and watched them combine the beans and plant wheat. “He passed away peacefully in his La-Z-Boy, watching the neighbour plant through the window.” BF - Leslie Stewart Carl Mollard Kurt Brown photo
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