AGCO Corporation, Duluth, Georgia, continues to celebrate the generous support of rodeo committees across the United States to their local ag communities. AGCO’s Massey Ferguson brand presents its annual Sowing Good Deeds award to rodeo organizations that have gone above and beyond in their charitable works.
Matt LeCroy, director, marketing hay and forage for Massey Ferguson North America, presented this year’s award to representatives of Gunnison Cattlemen’s Days Rodeo during the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association 2023 Awards Banquet in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Gunnison Cattlemen’s Days Rodeo Committee received a new Massey Ferguson 4700 series tractor as part of the award.
The Cattlemen’s Day Rodeo is the seventh organization recognized with the Sowing Good Deeds award. Each year, the contest is open to committees in the contiguous states and Washington, D.C., and the company receives nominations from all over the country. Applicants and nominees are evaluated on their commitment to community involvement, entrepreneurial spirit, and ability to adapt to challenges and overcome adversity.
Gunnison Cattlemen’s Day began in 1900 when the Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association formalized an annual celebration held as a break between calving and haying. The event was staged on Main Street in the middle of town but has since moved to the Gunnison County Fairgrounds, where it’s now a mainstay.
The Cattlemen’s Day Rodeo is heavily involved in Colorado’s agricultural community, but its Tough Enough to Wear Pink initiative stands out among the rest. In a community of just 15,000 people, Cattlemen’s Day is the No. 1 fundraising rodeo in the nation for this national breast cancer awareness movement. The rodeo has raised more than $5.1 million since 2005.
The money raised stays local. It provides financial support for patients, their families, and the hospital. The initiative also helps fund “Lucy’s House,” a lodging program that has provided 375 nights of lodging for more than 20 individuals through September 2023. The group created a transportation system in 2016 for those needing treatments not provided locally.
