John Deere Extends Partnership With First Tee Through 2026

Jul 13, 2023

John Deere continues to support the next generation of golfers with the extension of its partnership with First Tee.
The new contract will run from 2024 through 2026, where John Deere will support the annual all-female academy, the First Tee Scholars program and continue to invest in First Tee Quad Cities.

SILVIS, Ill. – John Deere and First Tee announce today a three-year extension of their partnership. As a trustee-level partner, the funding from John Deere will continue to support the First Tee Scholars' program, annual all-female academy, and its investment in the First Tee Quad Cities.

"As a committed Trustee Partner of First Tee since 2012, John Deere is dedicated to celebrating the next generation of young golfers through supporting various educational endeavors that champion the sport and help instill positive life lessons," said David Thorne, vice president, turf and compact utility business, John Deere. "Our renewed partnership with First Tee allows those both on and off the course the opportunity to engage with these individuals and make a difference, whether they be active within a current First Tee program, an alumni or Scholar, or a member of our home community chapter."

The First Tee College Scholarship Program helps provide additional support, life skill development and mentorship opportunities to alumni through their journey. Higher education continues to be a critical factor in unlocking opportunities for young people to thrive, and First Tee and John Deere are committed to their success.

Continuing to recognize the next generation of leaders, the First Tee Drive Your Future Academy presented by John Deere is a female empowerment event honoring young women motivated to influence positive change within their chapters, schools and communities. The five-day academy focuses on the importance of building a strong network and how to approach mentorship opportunities, navigating post-graduation and career planning, and appreciating the value and impact of volunteerism. Those selected to participate can partake in workshops with female industry leaders in technology, STEM, and business development, as well as on-course experiences alongside female mentors.

"Seeking to impact and grow the game of golf is a common thread between both Joh Deere and First Tee," said Greg McLaughlin, CEO, First Tee. "We are thankful for the continued partnership with John Deere, allowing us to innovate and chart the path forward for the future industry leaders who are making a positive impact within our local schools and communities."

Source : John Deere

Video: Western Canadian Agriculture: Hard Times Made the World's Best Farmers

Western Canadian agriculture produced the most advanced farmers in the world not through abundance but through adversity. The crow rate fell. The wheat price went nowhere. The brown envelopes stopped.

When the subsidies disappeared, the bad farmers left and the good ones stayed. And the ones who stayed could not just grow wheat anymore. They started growing lentils and canola and peas and flax and faba beans. They built crop rotation. They got serious about agronomy because there was no government backstop. That process produced the Western Canadian agriculture Dennis Bulani describes in this clip: the most advanced, most educated farming culture in the world.

His contrast with Iowa corn and soybean farmers is sharp. At a DeKalb farmer meeting in Okoboji, Iowa, he asked what crop rotation they ran. Beans on corn stubble, corn on bean stubble. How do you fertilize? The co-op agronomist handles it. Have you considered other crops? No need. We make so much money on corn and soybeans. Western Canadian agriculture was never allowed that comfort. And now those Iowa farmers are watching soybean markets lock up with China and corn prices slide, and they do not have the agronomy knowledge or the research base to pivot. Western Canadian farmers adapted on a dime because they had done it before.

Dennis also makes the case that Western Canadian agriculture keeps adapting in real time. Low commodity prices over the past year have pushed growers to look seriously at precision spot-spray technology. He knows a neighbor who bought a sprayer with the seeing-eye system and sprayed only 80 out of 320 acres. As a chemical retailer Dennis acknowledges that will affect his sales. He supports it anyway, because if it advances Canadian agriculture and makes farmers money, that is a good outcome.

The lesson Dennis draws from the tale of two farms: continuous improvement is the only durable strategy. When canola was $22 a bushel some growers went to Arizona instead of the Crop Production Show. When the price came down those same growers came back to the research and the discipline. Products do not go on Rack Petroleum's shelves unless they pass a replicated trial first. That is what Western Canadian agriculture built through hard times: farmers who do the work whether the times demand it or not.

Dennis Bulani is CEO of Rack Petroleum and Ultimate Yield in Biggar, Saskatchewan. Dan Aberhart hosts GTF Productions, Western Canadian Agriculture's foremost live briefing platform and its foremost AI training platform for ag operators