Five Farmer Veterans Received Keys to New
Equipment Through Kubota's "Geared to Give"
Program
GRAPEVINE, Texas, May 20, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Military Appreciation
month, Kubota Tractor Corporation and the Farmer Veteran
Coalition (FVC) today announced the selection of the 2024 "Geared
to Give" farmer veteran recipients of new Kubota equipment. This
year's five awardees, which include both veterans and currently
serving members of the Armed Forces, were honored during a special
ceremony on the dirt at the 2024 PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
World Finals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday's commemoration
of Armed Forces Day. This year's honorees are:
Kubota awarded five new pieces of equipment
to veterans at the 2024 PBR World Finals at AT&T Stadium on
Saturday.
- Adam Cason, U.S. Army veteran,
Sulphur, Oklahoma
- Lt. Col. Rob Moore, U.S. Marine
Corps, Fredonia, New York
- Chris Pedersen, U.S. Army
National Guard veteran, Almena,
Wisconsin
- Capt. Blaine Underwood, U.S. Air
Force, Westville, Florida
- Master Sgt. Pangia Xiong,
California Army National Guard, Fresno,
California
"The 'Geared to Give' program is Kubota's way of honoring
our Nation's veterans for their service in the military, but also
to empower them with the tools they need as they serve their
communities a second time, by helping to feed them," said
Alex Woods, Kubota Senior Vice
President and a veteran of the Army National Guard. "Veterans play
an important role in strengthening our rural communities and we are
honored to be a part of their journey by providing them with
much-needed tools to build their farming operations so they, too,
can give back to the areas they serve."
In addition to receiving new Kubota equipment, the five farmer
veteran recipients and their guests received an
all-expenses-paid trip to Arlington, Texas, to attend the 2024 PBR
World Finals in Kubota's dirt suite. As part of the weekend's
events, the group also met with Kubota executives, received a
behind-the-scenes PBR tour at AT&T Stadium, and were brought
out onto the dirt for a special ceremony during the PBR World
Finals. Kubota is the Official Tractor of the PBR Unleash The
Beast, Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, and Camping World Team
Series.
"PBR wants to thank farmer veterans for their service to our
country and their hard work putting food on our tables," said
Josh Baker, Chief Revenue Officer,
PBR. "We also extend our gratitude to our valued partners at Kubota
for supporting farmer veterans in a meaningful way through
the 'Geared to Give' program."
The 2024 "Geared to Give" program received more than 500
applications through FVC's Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund, and in
the end, one recipient was selected by and for each of Kubota's
five operating divisions across the U.S.
- Central Division: Adam
Cason served seven years in the U.S. Army which included
four deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Adam and
his wife, Stephanie, own and operate Little Coos Cattle Company, a
cow/calf operation, in Sulphur,
Oklahoma, where they raise American Highland Cattle
Association-registered, mini- and micro-mini Scottish Highland cows
and beef cattle. Kubota is awarding Adam an M7060 utility tractor
and a Land Pride bale spear and rotary tiller. Adam is supported by
his local dealer, Great Plains Kubota in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
- Northern Division: Lieutenant Col. Rob Moore currently serves in the U.S. Marine
Corps and has more than 19 years of combined service in the Marines
and U.S. Army, which includes two deployments in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom and one deployment in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom. Rob and his partners, Marine 1st Lieutenant
Ryan Deas, and Markus Deas, a commercial airline pilot, own and
operate Range Ranch in Fredonia, New
York, where they raise chickens, dairy cows, and bees, and
grow concord grapes and hay. Kubota is awarding Robert a BV4160
PREM hay baler and he is supported by his local Kubota dealer,
Monroe Tractor in Springville, New
York.
- Midwest Division: Chris
Pedersen served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army National
Guard which included two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation Spartan Shield. Chris and his wife, Abbey,
who currently serves in the active-duty Army, own and operate
Snowshoe Valley Christmas Tree Farm in Almena, Wisconsin. Kubota is awarding Chris an
L3902 compact tractor and a Land Pride rotary cutter, stump
grinder, and pallet forks. Chris is supported by his local Kubota
dealer, Johnson Tractor in Baldwin,
Wisconsin.
- Southeast Division: Captain Blaine Underwood is in his eighth year of
service as an engineer in the U.S. Air Force. Blaine and his wife,
Robin, own and operate Underwood Farm LLC, a grass-fed cattle and
sheep farm, in Westville, Florida.
Kubota is awarding Blaine an MX5400 utility tractor and a Land
Pride bale spear, rotary cutter, and rear auger. Blaine is
supported by his local Kubota dealer, Crystal Tractor &
Equipment in Panama City,
Florida.
- Western Division: Master Sgt. Pangia Xiong has been serving in the California
Army National Guard since 2005. Pangia and her husband, Ge, who
also currently serves in the California Army National Guard, own
and operate Sunshine's Farm, a U-Pick strawberry farm in
Fresno, California. Kubota is
awarding Pangia an RTV-X1140 utility vehicle and a variety of
accessories including a canopy, winch kit, and front and rear LED
work lights. Pangia is supported by her local Kubota dealer,
Pioneer Equipment Co., in Fresno,
California.
"Kubota is an amazing longtime partner of the Farmer Veteran
Coalition," said FVC CEO Jeanette
Lombardo. "Over the years, our work together on the core
mission of FVC has continued to expand and the original project
that started it all was the 'Geared to Give' program, which is the
highlight of my year. The impact that Kubota makes on the lives of
our beginning farmers and ranchers and their families is
lifechanging. To witness someone being given keys to a new tractor
is heart-warming and a moment filled with emotion and hope. I'm so
grateful for Kubota and its continued support for our members,
their futures, and their dreams."
Every year, one veteran from each of Kubota's five operating
divisions is selected to receive new Kubota equipment through the
"Geared to Give" program, and since it was established in 2015,
Kubota has provided more than $1
million to FVC in the form of organizational support and
grants to veterans, along with an additional 46 pieces of donated
Kubota equipment to farmer veterans.
The Kubota program also offers exclusive discounts to Veteran
Members of the Farmer Veteran Coalition with instant customer
rebates for purchasing select Kubota equipment at all 1,100
authorized-Kubota dealerships nationwide.
Each year, farmer veterans can apply to the FVC Fellowship Fund
to be considered for donated Kubota equipment through the "Geared
to Give" program. For more information on FVC's 2025 application
process, visit farmvetco.org. For more information on the "Geared
to Give" program, visit Kubota Cares.
About Kubota Tractor Corporation
Kubota Tractor
Corporation, Grapevine, Texas, is
the U.S. marketer and distributor of Kubota-engineered and
manufactured machinery and equipment, including a complete line of
tractors of up to 200 Gross hp, performance-matched implements, hay
tools, compact construction equipment, consumer lawn and garden
equipment, commercial turf products and utility vehicles. For
product literature or dealer locations, contact: Kubota
Tractor Corporation, 1000 Kubota Drive, Grapevine, TX 76051, (888) 4-KUBOTA [(888)
458-2682], Ext. 900, or visit KubotaUSA.com.
About Farmer Veteran Coalition
Based in Waco, Texas, Farmer Veteran Coalition's
mission is to assist service members and Veterans transitioning out
of military service into careers in the agriculture sector or
assist them with starting their own farms or ranches. Established
in 2009, FVC's in-house programs include the Farmer Veteran
Coalition Fellowship Fund small grant program, the nationally
recognized Homegrown By Heroes label for Veteran-grown products,
and national and regional conferences. As the nation's largest
nonprofit assisting veterans and active-duty members of the U.S.
Armed Forces embark on careers in agriculture, FVC works to develop
a new generation of farmers and food leaders. This is done through
expanding viable employment and career opportunities with support
and collaboration of the farming and military communities. For more
information, visit www.farmvetco.org or follow them on Facebook and
Instagram at @FarmerVeteranCoalition and on YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/@farmvetcoalition/videos.
About PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
PBR is the
world's premier bull riding organization. More than 800 bull riders
compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR
Unleash The Beast tour (UTB), which features the top bull riders in
the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR
Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR's international circuits in
Australia, Brazil, and Canada. In 2022, PBR launched the PBR Team
Series—now 10 teams of the world's best bull riders competing for a
new championship—as well as the PBR Challenger Series with more
than 60 annual events nationwide. The organization's digital assets
include PBR RidePass on Pluto TV, which is home to Western sports.
PBR is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment
company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook
at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube
at YouTube.com/PBR.
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SOURCE Kubota Tractor Corporation