Last year, Austin Haywood did his best, but his best wasn’t quite good enough.
This year, he doubled down on his hard work and ingenuity and came away the Grand Champion of the 2016 Delo Tractor Restoration Competition.
In 2015, Haywood, a native of Hastings, Michigan, who is now a freshman at Michigan State University, got the runner-up prize – Reserve Champion – for restoring a 1954 Farmall Super MTA.
In 2016, the winning submission was a restored 1957 Farmall 350 Diesel. He says he spent about 900 hours working on the tractor.
The Delo® Tractor Restoration Competition was established in 1995 to recognize and reward the creativity, technical aptitude and business knowledge of high school-aged students from around the country.
Participants develop teamwork, project management, budget management, planning and marketing skills. All of these skills will enable them to become future leaders in the agriculture community.
Photo Credit: Austin Haywood