Ryan Stewart of the Washington County FFA chapter won a drawing for a John Deere Gator 625iXUV at the 88th Kansas FFA State Convention, June 1-3, 2016, on the Kansas State University campus.

Stewart’s name was drawn from 10 finalists, which were randomly selected from a pool of members who completed one of the following requirements for entry: submitted an application for the American or State FFA Degree, participated in the Agriscience Fair, received an agri-entrepreneurship award, or were honored as a proficiency award winner or District Star winner.

Stewart was eligible for the drawing because he received the state proficiency award in Agricultural Communications. His advisor is John Kern. Stewart’s SAE is with Mid Continent Farms and Stewart Family Farms, LLC. At first his duties were limited to general farm chores, but as his skills with technology and communications evolved, so did his job duties. He has taken photos which he uses to create sale catalogs, flyers and promotional ads. Stewart has also created educational crop videos. These videos were made possible with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) he purchased for crop scouting, which led to photos and videos being used in newspapers and on TV stations.

“I’m really excited to have the Gator,” Stewart said. “I can use this in my SAE. I check fields frequently, so having it around for crop scouting is going to be a nice addition.”

The drawing is sponsored by Kansas John Deere Dealers and the John Deere Agriculture and Turf Division.

“Having FFA in small hometowns across the state is one of the best leadership training programs there is,” said Troy Leith, a CTI John Deere representative. “We’re proud to keep supporting the program.”

“With continued support from the John Deere Dealers in Kansas, we are able to recognize and reward the outstanding accomplishments of our members,” said Kyler Langvardt, Kansas FFA reporter.