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Grand-prize winner

John Shepherd, Porter, Ind.

Week 20

Remember “Green Acres,” the 1960s television show? Welcome to our 21st-century reality version. My wife is a city girl, and I'm kind of country. We found middle ground on the southeastern shore of Lake Michigan, about an hour’s train ride to Chicago for her, and about 25 acres within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore — prime fruit-growing land — for me. I started my midlife apple orchard venture for reasons too many to list here, the kind most land- and nature-loving folks all share.

We grow mostly apples — Honeycrisp and Pink Princess. We also have enough cherries, plums, peaches, pears, and blackberries, so as folks don't forget about us while waiting for apple season. And every orchard needs bees, right? So we do that, too. This year we are up to 12 hives. Now, we don't push our bees too hard here. They work quite well without supervision. After all, they've been in the business for quite a little while, I hear. Our bees generate surplus honey for the table, friends, and family, but not enough to make us known for our honey. We like it that way, and the bees do too.

So, how would I use a Bobcat compact tractor? Wow, where to begin.

The pallet fork will make lifting and moving hive bodies around a lot easier on my 55-year-old bones. The auger will help me put up fence posts without vibrating my brains out with the one-man, hand-held type. It might even prove useful for starting tree holes. Once a hole is dug, it’s easier to expand it with a little spade work. A compact tractor will pull the sprayer quite easily and it’s got a nice tight turning radius, which is very helpful in the orchard. A rear tine rake will easily gather freshly cut clover and native grasses we use for mulching. The box blade, cultivator, and tiller will nearly make me a new man! The city girl will like that. And, lest I forget, we are in the snow belt here. Winter winds bring several feet or more of that wonderful white stuff. A snow blower and/or blade will make quick work of this. The results: a well cared-for orchard, happy bees, and sticky smiles on city kids’ faces as they bite into an apple that Tom Jefferson once grew. And, a very grateful city-girl wife as we ride the South Shore into Chicago to catch a show together.

I won't have that tired old excuse, "I'm too worn out to go into the city.” I'll just have to get used to sitting in those puny bolt-upright seats at the theatre/orchestra hall. Is a Bobcat tractor a worthy trade-off? You betcha!

Second-place winner

Lucas Greff, Elgin, N.D.

Week 7

We grew up on an active dairy, ranch, and small grains farm. My parents raised us five kids with a strong work ethic and we learned what a good day’s work meant. The downside was that by the late '90s, large loans, low milk prices, and tough years took their toll, and my family had to get out of farming.

While we stayed on the family homestead farm, my parents had to work off the farm. When asked if he would do anything over if he could, my father simply replies that everything happens for a reason. The only regret he’s had is this: that my little brother never got to experience the joys and memories only an active farm can give a boy. We quit farming when I was 17 and my brother was 4. He grew up on a farm that nobody farmed on.

That all changed last year when a neighbor who is getting older realized he could not over-winter all his cattle. He offered my dad a share of the calves if he would take 12 head for him.

My family jumped into action. We put up fresh corral, fixed fence, and got the water running to the cattle. We filled the hay loft with square bales for the winter and moved down the feeders. My brother called me every time a calf was born healthy to give me a detailed account of what happened. This spring he is headed out to fix fence and he is looking forward to putting the cows to pasture.

The only problem with the whole operation is my father’s tractor. It’s old and doesn't have the power anymore to do anything. The turbo is going out and the hydraulics take two hours (not kidding) to be useable. We know he needs two things: a tractor big enough to do the small work (cultivating, mowing, farm maintenance) and a tractor big enough to pull tillage equipment.

Seeing the homestead farm actively running cattle again after 10 years of dormancy brings me great pride. The Greff family farm was homesteaded in the 19th century and after a short hiatus is back in action. There is talk this year of sharing 32 head for next winter and the extra burden that will put on the current tractor will be too much for it.

This is a true family farm. I come home when I can and clean barns, grade the road, remove snow, and landscape with my Bobcat skid-steer loader. My other brother comes home and does electrical work. My brother in-law is a carpenter by trade and has done much of the carpentry work. I have two cousins that are plumbers and they have done most of the work in the barns. But most importantly to the family is that my little brother is experiencing the work that made the older kids what we are today.

Fifteen third-place winners

Raina Anderson, Holt, Mo.

Week 1

My family and I live on a small acreage outside of a small town in Missouri. We moved here primarily for our dogs, because we had four Labradors at the time. We now have 12 dogs. The property was once used for cattle but had been allowed to grow up unattended once the owner passed away. We have been slowly reclaiming the property from weeds, poison ivy, thorny locust trees, and brush.

The property also has a small creek running down through the middle of it. The spring rains turn it into churning whitewater rapids, carving the banks by erosion and dumping trash and branches along its path. Our plans are to widen the creek with gently sloping banks protected with riprap in areas to slow down the water flow and rate of erosion. We also need to put in an access road so we can get to the back half of the property. In order to do this, we need a compact, heavy-duty tractor with the muscle and accessories to pull out tree stumps, move large rocks, grade tough sod, and replant native grasses.

Once the stream flow has been addressed, we plan on enlarging our existing farm pond to make a technical water feature for dog training — including channels, islands, and points. Since the existing pond is currently stocked with bass and bluegill, we would also need to incorporate fish habitat by strategically placing trees and rock in the new pond to facilitate breeding. Adding catfish spawning areas is something that we would also consider, and this involves large concrete or rock slabs stacked to make caves and shelves.

Since maneuverability is a must, a compact tractor is needed, but it still has to have the power and equipment to get the job done right.

Since the back half of the properly consists of an open hillside with tall grasses that need mowing, we need to keep that area mowed down fairly frequently. In order to cut down on the workload this presents, we have planned on planting food plots for the residential deer population. It is our goal to provide enough nutrients and food for these deer to hold them on the property and possibly develop some really large bucks, come hunting season. A compact tractor with plow and planting implements would sure go a long way in helping develop that plan.

Finally, we are on the receiving end of some really wet, heavy snowfalls. Lately, we have been relying on the good nature of our neighbors and their generosity when it comes to snow removal from our driveway and parking area. It sure would be nice to reciprocate that kindness some morning. Or, maybe we can help out the neighbors with their fall trimmings and branches that need to be hauled. And then there’s the annual parade in town with all those floats that need to be pulled …Halloween pumpkin rides for the kids … Christmas caroling in hay wagons …

There are just so many uses for a Bobcat tractor; I think that everyone should have one!

David Stephens, St. Joseph, Mo.

Week 1

We are the Stephens family, and we want to win your tractor for our mom and dad. We live in a double-wide trailer house on an acreage right outside of town. Our parents need this tractor for many reasons.

Mom push-mows our large lawn and corral and along fence lines, and she moves yard tools and garden supplies in a small pushcart, with us helping. She also plants a big garden and does most of the work by hand. We have pastures that we would like to mow (we joke that we need goats!) and a wooded area to keep up and harvest for firewood. To move the logs and wood out of the pastures, we use Dad's small pickup. It’s not four-wheel-drive, so we can only move wood in dry weather, which is tough because our main heat source is wood with a propane furnace for backup. We have a lot of wood waiting for us to cut, split, and stack.

A tractor with a plow would also let us clear our long driveway in muddy and snowy weather. Our mom tries to do what she can to help Dad and make things easier on him. You see, when Mom was expecting Jacob, now six years old, Dad (38 at time) had a massive heart attack and had to have heart surgery. He gets tired easily and can't always keep going as fast as a normal person. When he was recovering from his heart attack, the medical bills were so high that our parents had to give back Mom's car and the house in town. It's been a rough six years, but now we have this country home that gives Dad the relief of safety and security for his family, and he is trying to raise us to appreciate and take care of each other and the land we have.

We kids want life to be easier for them, and winning your tractor would be a dream come true.

Charissa Wertz, Red Lion, Pa.

Week 2

My husband and I knew the moment we met in high school that we were motivated by the same dream. We pictured ourselves on a plot of land in Pennsylvania, living in a small log cabin and raising our children to respect the Earth and the simplicity of the wild outdoors. Seventeen years later, here we are, nestled on a little slice of heaven: 12 acres in southern Pennsylvania, in a small hunting cabin that we built by hand during our first year of marriage.

Since then, I have witnessed my husband work tirelessly to keep up with the land. With no more than a chainsaw, a Ford F-250, an ax, a non-self-propelled push mower and a 1939 Farmall H tractor, he has attempted to manage our six acres of pasture, six acres of woods, uncontrollable field grass and our driveway, which is a quarter-mile long at a 30 percent grade. He hand-dug more than 100 postholes in our field to put in horse fencing without the use of any implements or tractors and hand-planted more than 100 trees on our property. He cuts and stacks firewood — our main source of heat — from the downed wood on our property, which is often inaccessible except by foot. While he has slowly improved the quality of our land each year, he is limited to using his God-given strength for all the projects. What’s more, he’s limited to completing outdoor tasks on the weekends because he works full time as an art teacher.

We have discussed the need for owning a tractor.

Since the moment our boys were born (ages 4 years and 18 months), we began introducing them to the outdoors. We mapped out a nature path through three adjoining properties that all neighboring families will eventually benefit from. Unfortunately, until we have a tractor, the path will have to wait.

Each winter is a struggle with our driveway. Because of its poor condition this past winter, the oil company notified us that they would no longer deliver oil to our house. Every four years we’ve hired someone to re-grade it and spread new stone, but that’s costly, and we had to go without the service this year. We do not own a plow of any sort, and our Farmall tractor does not have four-wheel-drive, which renders it useless during the winter (did I mention it is a 1939 model and has the same temperament as our 18-month-old?).

Each spring, I have watched the nearby farmers preparing their gardens for planting and wished that we would be able to start one of our own. Feeding my family fresh vegetables and fruits … Who could ask for more?

A new Bobcat compact tractor would not only help us with all of these tasks, but it would also help us teach our children about the preservation of land, the responsibility of maintaining a property and importance of hard work.

Jeb Baum, Gardiner, N.Y.

Week 3

I am the proud owner of a 20-acre wood lot, bamboo farm and pottery studio in the Shawangunk Mountains in upstate New York. There is so much that I could accomplish more efficiently and easily with a new Bobcat compact tractor.

I would use my Bobcat compact tractor to help fell oak, ash, and hickory trees and skid the logs to my mill site. Harvesting firewood for our wood stoves and wood-burning kiln would be made infinitely easier with the Bobcat tractor — and a log splitter hooked up to the PTO system would make short order of restocking the wood pile. The Bobcat compact tractor would also be an essential tool for digging out stumps, clearing brush, and preparing hillsides for my bamboo plantings.

My driveway is a quarter-mile long, and because it is so steep, it requires constant maintenance. The four-wheel-drive Bobcat tractor, with its three-point hitch, would be fantastic for back-blading, pothole filling and snow plowing. We have a shale outcropping on the property, too, and a Bobcat tractor equipped with a front-end loader would be perfect for digging out, piling, and spreading shale.

I plan to surround our bamboo orchards with a fence to keep out deer and provide attractive boundary markers on the property. The Bobcat tractor equipped with an auger would make digging postholes a breeze, and its four-wheel-drive system would allow me to access areas that I currently can't reach with my pickup. We are also fortunate to have a year-round mountain stream, and I have long dreamed of installing a micro-hydroelectric plant. If I had a Bobcat tractor with a backhoe attachment, I could dig a 1,000-foot trench to lay piping that would supply water to the turbine, bringing eco-friendly power to our home and barns. The Bobcat tractor with backhoe would also be great for digging the clay from our stream bed that we use in our pottery studio.

Lastly, mowing our five acres of lawn could easily be accomplished with a Bobcat compact tractor and mower attachment. All these things and certainly many more would make having Bobcat tractor a dream come true for managing our 20 acres of mountain land!

Mike Sublett, Sanford, N.C.

Week 7

I am retired from the U.S. Army. My wife will retire soon. Her dream has always been to live on the river. It became my dream as well, and the hope of having a place on the river, a paradise of our own, has sustained us through good times and bad. Sometimes, when it seemed we didn't have anything else, we had our dream.

We used all our resources to purchase 77 wooded acres last year on the Deep River. It doesn't look like a dream right now, but it’s ours, and we see what it will become with planning (we've been doing this in our minds for years), lots of work, and our love for the land and the river. We are planning to build our retirement home; prepare the land for a family garden; plant apple, pear, and peach orchards, and pecan, walnut, and chestnut trees for future production; and prepare a recreation site along the river frontage for our children, grandchildren, and friends.

What can a Bobcat compact tractor do for us? We have a big job ahead of us. It is the one machine that can do nearly all the jobs on the place using the attachments available. We will be building more than two miles of fence. More than 750 postholes will be required for the perimeter alone, and at least that many will be required for cross fencing. We will be planting hundreds of trees and maintaining them afterward. Planting, mowing, trimming, fertilizing, and spraying: All can be accomplished with the right tools.

Our proposed retirement budget depends on producing much of our own food, and the Bobcat compact tractor is ideally suited for gardening. This includes yearly land preparation, planting, soil and crop maintenance, harvesting, and establishing winter cover.

A Bobcat compact tractor also will enable us to establish grassways and other protection for the river's water quality. We love the river, and we cherish its stunning beauty and majesty. It is vitally important to us to protect it. We are now stewards of its quiet grandeur. We know that we are only caretakers of this treasure. We want the river and its water quality to be better for our having been there even if only for a short time.

We have friends, and there are others too, who say we're too old to be taking on something like this now: building a new life at our ages. Why would we want to be working when we should be resting? Don't we know that in a few short years we will be 70 years old? Of course we do. In a few short years, we will be 70, then 75, then 80 — you get the idea. But when we are 70, 75, 80, we will have the dream of our lifetimes. After all, life is for living, building, and making dreams come true. And it's never too late for that.

Donna Cobain, Camp Creek, W.Va.

Week 10

I take in "throwaways." Horses and ponies that have been beaten, starved, abused, and sometimes tortured. I rehabilitate them physically and emotionally and then find good homes so they can continue to live a productive life. I make no money from this, and like many others, I'm on a tight budget.

I live on a mountain and don't have equipment, so sometimes rolling a 1,200-pound bale of hay out to the pasture when it's muddy or icy is difficult.

If I had a new Bobcat compact tractor, I could use it to bring hay out to the horses. I could winter the horses in a wooded area far from the barn and use the pasture where I currently winter the horses to plant alfalfa and other grains. This would cut my costs greatly and allow me to take in additional animals that need help.

In addition, I'd use my Bobcat tractor to remove rocks from my pasture land and grade my pastures. I'd dig a root cellar and a foundation for a greenhouse.

Another important job I could never do without a Bobcat compact tractor is maintain my quarter-mile-long gravel switchback that serves as a driveway. Often, I have to unload abused horses at the bottom of the mountain and then walk them up to the barn. Sometimes a horse is so weak that I wonder if it will even make it to the top. With a Bobcat compact tractor, I could grade and maintain my driveway so it's safer for a truck to pull a horse trailer up to the barn.

So to answer your question, “What could I accomplish with a new Bobcat compact tractor?”

My dreams.

Will Ashlin, Springfield, Mo.

Week 14

A year and a half ago my wife and I decided to leave city life behind moving us and our five children to a 15-acre farm. We soon found ourselves buying five Boer goat does. Then later a couple more does and a buck. Our dream is to add to our herd until our farm becomes self-sufficient and we can earn a living selling the goat kids we produce. We named our farm “The Oasis Ranch” because compared to living in a house in town on a half-acre lot, this is an oasis.

But we had no idea what was in store for us and our oasis isn't much of an oasis anymore. Besides the daily chores, there are so many things that have to be done. We are now up to 22 does and starting to get a little payback, but without equipment and with no extra money, some of our chores are impossible to do. Have you ever had to roll a 1,500-pound round bale of hay across a two-acre paddock because you don't have the right equipment? We have. Have you ever tried to mow a 10-acre field of 3-foot tall grass with a riding lawn mower because you don't have a brush hog? We have. Have you ever hired someone to cut and bale hay for you because you don't have equipment, and after counting bales realize you don't have enough money to pay the agreed-upon amount? We have. Have you ever cleaned out a 30x40 barn with a shovel? We have. Have you ever had to ask a grumpy neighbor to come pull your two-wheel drive truck out of a mud hole because it's the only way you have to get fencing supplies to the bottom of the field? We have.

During our adventure in goat farming, someone has given us a Pygmy doe that was within days of dying due to malnutrition and lack of basic care. She is slightly deformed and doesn't walk right, and has lost all her hair. We have named her “Pearl,” and she is on a road to recovery and a happy life. During the process of helping this doe recover, we discovered she is very loveable and friendly. During our time with Pearl, another dream has been bestowed upon us. This dream is that if and when our goat farm becomes self sufficient, we would like to start a shelter for neglected and unwanted goats. The “Pearl Foundation” would be a great name for a dream come true.

The question definitely is not, What could I accomplish with a Bobcat compact tractor? The real question is, What can't I accomplish with a Bobcat compact tractor? If I had a Bobcat compact tractor, I would be able to bale my hay, brush hog my field, haul fencing supplies, move round bales with ease, and clean out my barn. The list is endless. I could even use it to make extra money doing these same things for other farmers. The extra money would bring us closer to realizing our dreams of a self-sufficient goat farm and The Pearl Foundation.

Mike Mitchell, Berlin, Mass.

Week 15

The question really is, how could I have possibly existed on a farm without one?

To the casual observer, I've got it made: A beautiful, 9-acre farm in a small town called Berlin (with the accent on the first syllable), population 3,800 — one of the last farming towns in Eastern Massachusetts.

I've got a beautiful quarter-acre pond that is stocked with healthy bass and a blue Heron who has visited our visited our pond for the last 25 years. The turtles sun themselves on the 30-foot island (we named it "Duck Island") and quietly slide down the embankment when anyone gets within 30 feet of them. Years ago, we raised koi in the pond, and they grew to be 34 to 38 inches long. We could see them from our house, 300 feet away, as they were large and orange (and looked like submarines when they surfaced).

In the beginning, when raised hay, our grass was so tall that when we got off the tractors for lunch we had to search for them when we were finished, as the hay was taller than the tractors.

You might ask, How could hay grow that tall?

The answer is the very unique nature of my land. I really don't have any "dirt” like most people. My field is all peat, having been a swamp 100 years ago. It is so full of nutrients that things grow extremely well in it. Think of it as "potting soil.” I have nine acres of potting soil!

In the past, the only thing that could get in there was a team of horses, as everything else would sink out of sight!

The land is actually a layer of peat, sitting on top of a thick layer of clay, which is sitting on top of ledge. This land is perfect for holding water and making ponds. To make things worse, I'm the source of the stream that flows down from my farm to the lower lands. My land has about a dozen natural springs that are constantly wet.

This is the ultimate challenge to any farmer trying to work the land. I am an expert on getting stuck in the mud! I can't tell you the number of times I've had to have two tractors, one pulling the other, with 50 feet of cable between them, just to get through the field. I've buried just about every piece of equipment I own. And I’m blessed to have trees around the field that I can attach my 4-ton (each) come-a-longs to, so I can ratchet the tractors to higher ground (I've got five 4-ton come-a-longs and often need to use them all).

Can you imagine how much better my life would be if I had a four-wheel drive vehicle to help pull my attachments and other equipment out of the mud?

I don't normally enter contests, but this is one that I really wanted to. If I had a CT230, I could cut my grass without getting stuck. I could buy a roto-tiller, mount it on the 3-point hitch, and start planting fields that I can only now admire from a distance. With four-wheel drive, the CT230 could float along the surface, get the traction needed to pull the tractor and plows, and I could finally make the farm pay for itself, which would make my wife happy (and probably keep me out of divorce court).

The problem with my land is that a two-wheel drive tractor just doesn't have the traction needed to keep it moving. I really need a four-wheel drive. I'd love to have either the CT230 or the 2200 4x4 … I'd be happy with either.

Daniel Bieger, Manassas, Va.

Week 17

"Look at the Jungle!" were the truest words my 3-year-old son has spoken. In truth, our neighborhood is called a forest, but he's onto something when he calls it a jungle. We moved out here from the city suburbs about five years ago, half joking about putting a "mini golf course" in the backyard, complete with 18 holes. But after living in this home for five years — and a new chainsaw, three chains, endless amounts of sharpening, and $20,000 worth of tree work later — we can see our home from the street. But, that still leaves the "jungle."

That said, it's not really safe for our children to play in our front yard, with cars whizzing by. We've dreamed about removing the extensive thick underbrush, which now is about 6 feet high and sheltered under the cover of tulip poplars that are 125 feet high. Plus, the fencing is deteriorating.

Did I mention the earth is eroding off the back of our home?

With the Bobcat tractor, we could make easy work of clearing out all the underbrush. We could also shore up the earth that is eroding and build tiered retaining walls. We could pull out dead old tree stumps, maybe plant a garden, and we could build a play set or fort for our kids before they graduate from college!

My husband is working late again tonight, and most of his family lives in Buffalo, Va. Much of the work would go quickly with family help, but since it is just he and I and our two children (for most projects), he's on his own with a wheelbarrow and his own personal "manpower." So, it's just not getting done.

I could rattle off all the different things he could do, but I think the neatest thing would be the bonding he could do with our son and daughter, playing in our backyard (once the work is done). At this time, only our dog enjoys the backyard. We aren't interested in removing all the trees — just in taking down the dead ones, removing old stumps, building a better fence, installing retaining walls, making a stone fire pit area, creating a culvert for rain water to travel down and away, and adding handicapped-accessible ramps so my grandma can safely visit. Did I mention that I have an enormous backyard, and I do all my gardening in old recycle bins on my deck —because the back is so out of control?

Kenneth Rohlfing, Drakes Branch, Va.

Week 18

A Bobcat compact tractor would never sit idle at Durable Fire Vineyard. As the owner of a new tractor, I could accomplish a hundred tasks. I’m a full-time farmer raising wine grapes, and the Bobcat compact tractor would help.

With the auger attachment, I could drill new holes for planting new or replacement vines. Using a portable auger or a trailer-mounted model is not suitable for the varied task of drilling a hole. With the pallet forks on the tractor, I would be able to move bins and lugs full of grapes during harvest. The fruit has to be placed into a refrigerated trailer to ensure freshness. It also has to be off-loaded for delivery when harvest is complete. Don't even get me started on moving around winery equipment — the crusher/distemper, bladder press, wine barrels, and small tanks …

Upkeep of more than 10 acres of wine grapes is a constant chore. In a vineyard, there is grass that requires cutting throughout the growing season, which would be easier with the Bobcat mower attachment. The Bobcat compact tractor would be used to trailer fruit out of the vineyard, move wooden and steel fence posts, and move high-tensile wire bundles, all of which require a sturdy and strong tractor. We typically trailer eight to 10 tons of Chardonnay during harvest.

A reliable tractor for maneuvering in narrowly planted rows of vines would be just the thing for running a sprayer. Every two weeks, the vines are sprayed to keep disease and insect pests at bay. With a Bobcat compact tractor and a three-point tine rake implement, picking up winter prunings from the grapes becomes a snap. My property also has acres of timber. Clearing and hauling out deadfall is a large winter chore. After cutting, the trees are taken to central location and assembled into a bonfire on New Year’s Eve. Many friends and family assemble around the fire, enjoying friendship and trying last year’s new vintages from the winery.

Have I mentioned the horses? Five at last count. My mare had her first foal. Another barn will go up in the winter. I build pole barns. An accurate reliable method of drilling the hole is what a Bobcat compact tractor and auger attachment provides. I would use the tractor to move round and square bales out of the fields to various pastures and to move pallets of feed and grain.

I have a three-acre pond. The Bobcat compact tractor and a box blade and front-end loader are perfect for erosion control. I had two hurricanes go through here last fall, with more than 10 inches of rain in five days. My spillway needed major repairs. The ability to move earth quickly and with minimal impact to saturated ground, leaving no scars, is what the Bobcat compact tractor would provide.

Reg Patchell, Baltic, Conn.

Week 20

For the first 23 years of my life, I was a herdsman on a dairy farm. Then, for the next 24 years, I worked as a police and correctional officer and raised Scotch Highland cattle. My life changed on June 20, 1986. While riding my motorcycle, a car broadsided my Honda Gold Wing. I didn’t even realize the accident happened until I went to downshift, only then to notice that my left leg was hanging on by a flap of skin. I underwent about 70 operations, fighting staph infections, and rebuilding my leg with parts from cadavers — bones, veins, skin grafts, etc. Finally, after four years of operations, the leg had healed and I was working in physical therapy and back to working with my cattle (while on crutches).

Around 1991, I was back to work at both jobs again. Unfortunately, complications set in. A doctor was attempting to stretch my leg, which had healed 2.5 inches shorter then the other. The external fixator broke while I was asleep, pulling bones out through the skin and causing me to lose a lot of blood. I was now back to square one.

I had to sell everything to try and get by and become healthy again. Five years ago, I purchased a home in Baltic, Conn., with the hopes of raising Scotch Highland cattle again. Today, I am still having a lot of problems with my leg; I have lost a lot of the movement of the foot and am in extreme pain. Even so, I do as much community work as I can, helping with trees and clearing land. I can still handle a chainsaw, so I cut trees for folks when I am able to do so. A four-wheel drive tractor would enable me to carry the wood out to the roadway, where the town has set up a system for the residents to get wood for free.

This is all done in between my many doctor and therapy appointments. Because of the loss of movement and the extreme pain, I am going to have to retire from the careers that I had loved so much. All that I have left are my dreams of building a new barn and raising my cattle. I really need a four-wheel drive tractor with a front loader to put up and maintain fence, bring up the feed, and do many other farm chores.

I also burn wood to heat my house. The wood is dropped off several thousand feet from my back door. Currently, I need to have someone to push a wheelbarrow and bring it to my home in the winter, which is a real bear to do in the storms and snow.

My last reason that I need this tractor is one I am very proud of: As a police officer, I used to run a program on Halloween. Last year, we had more than 700 kids attend this program. The one thing that I have not been able to do yet is give the kids and parents a hayride.

LuAnn Johnson, Mount Pleasant, Iowa

Week 23

I have recently purchased a 64-acre property that is meadow and timber with a creek. This property will be used for a non-profit ministry in my community.

I plan to dig out an amphitheater — with terraced grass seating for the audience. There will also be a tournament-grade 18-hole disc golf course, and if insurance will allow, a zip-line hike. In addition, we would like to install a playground that is handicap-accessible and a walking path through the timber with little health stations for various stretches and exercises.

To accomplish all of this, we will need a hard-working tractor. There are many tree limbs in the creek that need to be pulled out and towed up the hill with a chain and loader. The loader will also be used to carry many items from one end of the property to the other. The enclosed cab would be icing on an already-perfect cake!

The amphitheater will be carved into an existing hillside, but we need an attachment to manicure the terraced shape into the hills, and a seeder and water sprayer to replant with. The need for a brush cutter is the most urgent, and then a finish mower once an area has been prepared and needs maintenance.

The auger is a must, not just for fencing, but to plant hundreds of landscaping plants and trees, and to put in the disc golf basket posts. We will need a dump trailer to haul the mulch or crushed lime to create the walking paths, and a blade for maintenance and snow removal. The blade will also be used in the parking area because the gravel will need constant upkeep in a newly created lot. I doubt there will be a day that goes by that the tractor isn't used. And it is the first item that we’ll need to purchase to even begin our project! Currently I am paying the neighboring property's landscaper to mow part of the meadow for me, because I don't have any equipment yet to do it myself.”

Luis Vergara, Brooksville, Fla.

Week 23

It was a cool March morning as I tried to dig a 4-foot hole and begin placing the first of 12 corner posts.

I had purchased a shiny new posthole digger and just knew that the hole would practically dig itself. I grabbed the handles of the posthole digger and dug into the ground. The soft brown dirt yielded to the sharp blades of my brand new posthole digger. Everything was going as planned. I pulled out my tape measure to gauge my progress — 1 foot down, 3 more to go. I put the tape measure down and grabbed my shiny new posthole diggers and put all of my 65 years of strength into the next stab into the ground, only to discover that I struck clay! Hard clay, rained on and dried by the Florida sun.

I pulled out my trusty root bar to soften the clay so the posthole diggers could continue the work they were intended for. Needless to say, progress slowed to a crawl. What should have taken an estimated 30 minutes now stretched into two hours.

With the auger attachment on the Bobcat compact tractor, my work would have been reduced to a fraction of the backbreaking two hours that I put into the first of many holes. Unfortunately, with the daunting task of digging more holes ahead of me and only having dug some of the corner posts, I have had to put this aside until the temperature cools down. The next post hole provided a new challenge: the need to remove trees from the heavily wooded acreage that I live on. I tackled that with renewed vigor and a new chain saw. I felled the trees with relative ease.

But then I realized I had to cut the tree into 65-year-old-man-size pieces so I could put them on my trailer and transport them to the dump. The Bobcat compact tractor would have certainly made quick work of lifting the logs, limbs, and debris.

Lastly, removing the roots of all the trees that I so easily felled still loomed ahead of me. My tools for this task consisted of a shovel, axe, chain, and my pickup truck. Three days were “all” I needed to extract the first root from the ground. With the front loader on the Bobcat compact tractor, this chore would have been reduced to an hour.

Remember the hard clay from the beginning of the story? Well, it seems to now be impacting the drain field of my septic system. The clay takes so long to dry out, that rain floods the drain field causing backups in the septic tank. The septic tank now has to be emptied out about three times a year. One solution is to dig a swale, which will divert the rain around the drain field, allowing the drain field to absorb as it was intended to. This swale will have to be constantly kept free of debris and cleared so it channels the water around the drain field.

Did I mention that I live on the side of a hill? That fact causes my driveway to wash out whenever there is a heavy rain. Periodically, my 150-foot driveway has to be re-leveled. So, as you can see, the Bobcat compact tractor would get plenty of use by me — daily, weekly, and monthly — not to mention that my wife and I have the dream of having a “you-pick” blueberry farm, but it isn’t something we can start without the help a Bobcat compact tractor! That alone will cause more trees to be removed from the ground, along with plowing and tilling. Wow, the Bobcat compact tractor will not rest in this household.

Brian Becker Sr., Shushan, N.Y.

Week 26

Recently, I received a copy of WorkSaver magazine in the mail. I never subscribed and wondered how it came to me. On the back it was addressed to David Becker with my address. Sadly, my brother Dave passed away nine years ago. When my 13-year-old son, Lukas, came home later that day, I showed it to him because he is very interested in anything with a motor. He said to me, “Dad, you have to enter this contest … uncle Dave is watching from heaven and he sent this to us because he knows how hard you have worked on this land for the past 11 years, and he wants you to win!”

Now Lukas is not an ordinary teenager who thinks that if you can’t do it with a mouse or a text message, why bother. He has many lawn care jobs and works on a farm doing chores part time.

He is one of the hardest-working kids I have ever known, and it is because of him that I am writing this. So, what could I accomplish with a new Bobcat tractor? Anything and everything.

My wife, four kids, and I have lived in upstate New York all our lives. Eleven years ago, we purchased our land and began building our house and future. Since that time, I have been persistently working the land trying to landscape our yard, keep the driveway plowed, and do all the other chores that go along with being a homeowner with acreage. The ground is 85 percent shale and not easy to work. I have dug 12 holes 12 inches in diameter, 4 feet deep for a deck and addition — all with a manual posthole digger. I have excavated and leveled the land for an above-ground pool using a shovel, rake, hoe, and wheelbarrow. I have removed much rock to level out the backyard using a pickaxe, logging chain, and an old Datsun truck. This is only 40 percent complete.

I sometimes wonder if I will have grass to mow before I die. In the winter, I will go out and try to fire up my 1956 International Cub to plow the driveway. This requires much effort, a hair dryer, and jumpstart. It is exhausting just trying to get it started, not to mention driving it. Again, what could I accomplish with a new Bobcat tractor? All of the above and more in much less time and with much less effort. I would go on to level and grade the backyard, spread topsoil, plant grass seed, dig more holes for the remainder of the deck, grade the driveway, plow and remove snow, till a garden for my wife, grade a mini basketball court for the kids, and finally build a much needed garage for myself. A new tractor would truly be my “WorkSaver,” and when the time comes, it would be the same for Lukas.

Robert Rand Russell, Kerrville, Texas

Week 26

Because of the severe drought here in the Hill Country of Texas, we must harvest rare rainwater. Recently, I came up with the idea of efficiently taking that rainwater directly to the roots of my vegetable plants and to our newly-planted pecan tree orchard. Here is how: We exhumed some abandoned PVC water pipes buried on our land. After perforating them with a hand drill to make them seep, we reburied them beneath where we planted our seeds. It’s slow, hard work digging those pipes up and later planting them in the ground again. The Bobcat CT230 tractor pulling a disc would be the ideal tool to break up and loosen the soil, and it has enough pull to drag up the pipes.

After hitching to a small middle-buster plow, the tractor and I could make the shallow level ditches needed to bed those recycled seep pipes. As for trees, I build triangle-shaped frameworks (to support deer-proof fencing) out of larger diameter PCV pipe and fittings. The three legs of the frameworks are buried more than two feet below the soil surface. Since the frameworks are plumbed, they provide volume to hold water. After filling the entire structure with water, there is a time-release moisture that trickles down to root zones away from tree trunks. A tractor-driven fence-post digger is the ticket for fast, accurate holes.

All pipes installed below the surface are bedded in pea gravel for better percolation and spread. The results of this irrigation method are spectacular! The plants love having root water. Most importantly, there is no wastewater to evaporate. Watering time is also shortened. After plant sprouting, every square foot of growing area is covered with shredded cedar mulch approximately 4 inches thick. For hauling mulch and pea gravel, we use a wheelbarrow now. But Bobcat mechanical helpers are certainly welcome here. Oh yes, if Mother Nature saw me wearing that Bobcat jacket among the plants and trees, she might just send us some rain!