Casually flipping through STATE magazine, Norman Statz saw an article about Mark York ’12 and his efforts starting Tractors for Africa. After reading the article and talking to a few others at the Pius XII Newman Center on campus, Statz, Brad Wittrock and others got the idea to donate their time and talents to the cause.
The students spent several months refurbishing two John Deere 3020 tractors to send to Ghana in time for the 2019 growing season. They had one tractor nearly complete when the first semester ended and were working on fundraising efforts to ship it. The students then shipped both tractors March 14 to Minneapolis with the help of Tractors for Africa. The tractors then were shipped to Ghana.
“We will continue next year. We plan on fixing and shipping one tractor instead of two,†Statz said. “We learned a lot about the John Deere 20 series tractors and formed good relationships with some people and businesses that will be helpful for the upcoming year. Understanding time frames in terms of finding and fixing the tractor will also be beneficial to us so that we can do a better job of breaking the tractor in and making sure there aren’t any unknown issues.â€
Statz, a junior civil engineering major from St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Wittrock, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Sioux Falls, said the work was hard but worth it.
“The best part has been getting the group together and seeing everyone work together, seeing the benefits of what we’ve put into it,†Wittrock said.
“When we finally got the engine set to go, it felt really good,†Statz said, noting others had spent many hours working on the tractor. “We’d like to add three or four students next year to help build continuity. Our plans are to see this continue beyond us.â€
For more information on their efforts, contact them via sdsunewmantfa@gmail.com. Donations can be made at: gofundme.com/TFAStudents.
– Matt Schmidt
