Jackson County farmers and tractor aficionados are invited to participate in the annual Giving a Gift of Grain program and the Head-to-Head: Green vs. Red contest.
Donations support the Green or Red team and benefit the community through funds administered by the Community Foundation of Jackson County.
Donors again can take sides in the program in a good-natured competition by voting for the Green or Red team — farmers who use John Deere equipment versus those who use Case I-H equipment.
Jacobi Sales Inc. and Wright Implement of Seymour have teamed again to park equipment pitting Green vs. Red in the foundation’s parking lot at 107 Community Drive in Seymour to remind farmers about the Gift of Grain program.
The Green team won last year. The Red team won the inaugural contest two years ago.
D&B Pfaffenberger and Sons Grain of Seymour plans to make a gift again this year to the Gift of Grain program. The donation is meeting a family obligation, Neal Pfaffenberger said.
“What good is it to have money if you don’t help others?” he said. “We try to give what we can to help the less fortunate. The Bible tells us to give 10 percent.”
Like last year, the Pfaffenberger and Sons votes will be split evenly among the Green and Red teams.
Hamilton Township farmer Donald Schnitker gave a Gift of Grain last year and intends to participate again this fall.
“I think it’s a unique way for a farmer to give to the foundation,” Schnitker said. “Instead of just giving money, I’m giving part of what I do.”
Schnitker’s vote will back the Green team again.
The Red team will receive a boost from farmer Ed Engelau this fall, just as it did last year with his donation.
“We see it as a good way to help others,” Engelau said of the program. “We’ve been blessed, and this feels like a good way of paying that forward.”
The Gift of Grain process is simple. Farmers can tell their grain elevator that a particular load of grain is being donated to the foundation. The elevator in turn sells the grain for the foundation. Donors to the Giving a Gift of Grain program can benefit by avoiding the sale of the donated grain in their farm income.
Jackson County grain elevators include Bundy Brothers in Medora, Premier Ag in Brownstown and Cortland, Tampico Grain near Crothersville and Rose Acre Farms west of Cortland.
Farmers may contribute their grain to benefit the area’s agricultural community through funds, such as the Jackson-Jennings Co-Op/Bob Myers Memorial Scholarship, the C.B. Hess 4-H Memorial Scholarship or the Jackson County veterinary scholarship.
Or they can donate to the Jackson County Community Endowment, which provides funding for the fall grant cycle, said Dan Davis, president and CEO of the foundation.
“The fall grant cycle benefits people and programs across Jackson County, responding to emerging needs and programs designed to help nonprofits assist others,” Davis said.
The Pfaffenbergers direct their donations to the community endowment for that reason.
Tractor enthusiasts who don’t have grain to donate to the program can instead cast a ballot in the Head-to-Head: Green vs. Red competition. A $20 donation to the Jackson County Community Endowment entitles the donor to cast one vote for their favorite equipment line. A $100 donation entitles the donor to six votes.
Gifts to the Green vs. Red contest may be mailed to the Community Foundation of Jackson County, P.O. Box 1231, Seymour, IN 47274, or they can be dropped off at 107 Community Drive. You can also donate online at cfjacksoncounty.org.
Another option available to donors is to create a new, unrestricted endowment in the name of themselves, their family or their farm that would also provide income for the fall grant cycle.
For information, call 812-523-4483.
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For information about the Head-to-Head Green vs. Red program, the Giving a Gift of Grain program, or its companion program, Giving a Gift of Livestock, contact Dan Davis at the Community Foundation of Jackson County, 812-523-4483, or send an email to [email protected].
Gifts to the Green vs. Red contest may be mailed to the Community Foundation of Jackson County, Post Office Box 1231, Seymour, IN 47274, dropped off at our office, 107 Community Drive, Seymour, or made online at www.cfjacksoncounty.org.
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