The first annual Farm Athletes Benefit Golf Tournament and Charity Auction brought together 132 golfers, dozens of businesses and donors, a college basketball team and supporters from across Nebraska and beyond on Friday, September 11, at Lochland Country Club in Hastings.
Thirty-three teams filled the course for the four-person scramble, but the bigger number may have been the 37 companies and individuals that contributed cash, sponsorships, auction items or prizes to support the Farm Athletes mission.
Every dollar raised through the event will help fund scholarships for college athletes who were raised on farms and ranches.
A Community Effort From Start to Finish
The day began with a 10 a.m. shotgun start and included a full slate of contests and activities throughout the course. Golfers competed in putting and chipping contests, Double Your Money and Roll the Dice games, a 50/50 raffle and a $50,000 hole-in-one challenge.
Lunch and a beverage cart kept teams going during the round before everyone gathered at the 19th hole for supper and awards.
Helping make all of it possible was the Hastings College women’s basketball team. Players worked throughout the course and operated the games and contests, adding another group of college athletes to a day devoted to supporting their peers.
That willingness to pitch in captured much of what Farm Athletes was created to celebrate: the work ethic, community and sense of responsibility that are familiar to young people raised in agricultural families.
Support Came From Near and Far
Pinnacle Bank served as the Title Sponsor and hosted the chipping contest, complete with custom cooler prizes. DWE Generations, Northwestern Mutual joined as Presenting Sponsor, Fraser Stryker PC LLO sponsored the 19th Hole, and High Street Insurance sponsored the $50,000 hole-in-one challenge on Hole 3.
Lochland Country Club hosted the tournament, while Tractor Tuesday provided the platform for the accompanying online charity auction.
The broader list of supporters showed just how far the Farm Athletes mission has already reached. Nebraska banks, agricultural companies, insurance agencies, professional firms and local businesses joined individuals and nationally recognized organizations in contributing to the event.
Auction items and prizes came from supporters including the United States Golf Association, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Diamond Dallas Page, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, Beck’s Seed, Crooked Creek Country Club, Southern Hills Golf Club and numerous local businesses and individuals.
Thirteen custom and signed items were ultimately offered through the Tractor Tuesday charity auction, allowing supporters to participate even if they couldn’t be at the golf tournament.
Built for Athletes With Agricultural Roots
Farm Athletes began with a simple mission: help college athletes from farm and ranch backgrounds continue their education while recognizing the experiences that helped shape them.
The organization’s inaugural class included 20 athletes attending 13 colleges and competing in eight different sports. Those students demonstrated just how broad the intersection between agriculture and college athletics really is.
They are football players, golfers, runners and competitors in other sports, but they also come from families that raise crops, cattle and livestock and keep agricultural communities moving. Farm Athletes exists to recognize that background and help those students take the next step.
The success of the first Benefit Golf Tournament gives the organization an opportunity to do even more.
The Search for the Class of 2027 Begins
With the tournament complete, Farm Athletes is turning its attention toward its next scholarship class.
College athletes from farm and ranch backgrounds are encouraged to apply for the Farm Athletes Class of 2027. If agriculture helped shape who you are and you’re continuing your athletic career at the college level, Farm Athletes wants to hear your story.
Businesses and individuals can also help grow the program by making a donation. Every contribution helps Farm Athletes provide more scholarship support and reach more deserving athletes from agricultural communities.
The first golf tournament showed what can happen when those communities get behind a common cause. Thirty-three teams and 132 golfers showed up. Thirty-seven businesses and individuals contributed. College athletes volunteered their time. Organizations from Nebraska and across the country donated items and prizes.
Most importantly, all of that support is being put toward the next group of young people carrying their agricultural roots with them into college athletics.
