Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

John Deere donates new tractor to ISU

 

Iowa State University kicked off its annual Ag Week on Monday morning with the donation of a state-of-the-art tractor from John Deere, valued at about $200,000.

 This year marks the fourth such donation from the company, which agreed in 2005 to give one new tractor to ISU and replace it with the latest model every year.

 The Deere 8245R came off the assembly line last week, said John Deere representative Tony Kajewski, and features a 9-liter engine that meets Tier III emission standards and has an Infinitely Variable Transmission and an embedded GPS system.

 “The tractor could plant the whole field without the operator touching the steering wheel,” Kajewski said.

 The tractor also features a heated leather seat that automatically levels as the tractor goes over bumps in terrain, which was one of ISU Dean of Engineering Jonathan Wickert’s favorite features.

 “I’m very pleased to hear that it has leather, heated seats,” Wickert said. “I don’t even have that in my car.”

 Kajewski presented a gold key to Wickert and invited him and Joe Colletti, senior associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to hop into the cab of the tractor. The crowd of about 50 faculty, students and community members then cheered as the tractor roared to life.

 Wickert said the university’s relationship with John Deere is important because more of Deere’s employee recruits come from ISU than from any other university. “We are so thrilled by the donation

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