EDWARDSVILLE - Drive-Your-Tractor-to-School Day was a big success at Edwardsville High School to conclude FFA Week.
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Agriculture students with the Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization drove their tractors through SIUE campus and Edwardsville to arrive at the high school on Friday morning, Feb. 27, 2026. Students could explore the tractors and learn more about agriculture by talking to their farming peers.
“You feel like you own the road a little bit. You’ve got the flashing lights. You find the horn and you sit here and honk it a couple times,” joked Tucker Ondercho, a sophomore.
He added that many of his classmates experienced “shock and awe” when they saw the tractors up close for the first time. Lucy Heepke, a junior, agreed that while sometimes their fellow students joke about farming, FFA Week and Drive-Your-Tractor-to-School Day serve as reminders that agriculture is important.
“You pull up and you’re in these big expensive tractors and it’s like oh, this is actually impressive,” she explained. “If you look into it, everything really does have to do with agriculture because it runs the world.”
Lucy has been raised around agriculture, as her family owns Heepke Farms in Edwardsville. Ondercho shared that he has worked for a farmer for a few years now.
Lucy plans to study veterinary science while Ondercho hopes to go into fabrication, but Jeff Heepke pointed out that both fields still play a major role in agriculture. Jeff Heepke, Lucy's uncle, joined the students for Drive-Your-Tractor-to-School Day to assist, but also to challenge students’ stereotypes of who a farmer is.
“I’m here to make sure that people don’t think of agriculture and farmers as, I’ve got bibbed overalls and holding a pitchfork. I want to get away from that picture,” he said. “I want everyone to know that all three of these tractors have auto steer. They're tracking satellites. They’re driving themselves when we get into a field situation for more efficiency. All of that technology is fitting in our agriculture. It’s not the same as what my dad did in the 80s.”
Joey Birrittier, EHS agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, explained that FFA Week was a great success as students completed activities that aimed to raise awareness around agriculture. He noted that the FFA and agriculture programs at EHS are expanding.
“It’s been super successful getting the name of FFA out there,” he added. “It’s been a really great week. We're doing so many new, exciting activities. The program is like a breath of fresh air.”
Birrittier emphasized that students don’t have to have a farming background to get involved. In fact, he hopes to engage with more kids who are less familiar with ag, as he believes agriculture plays a role in everyone’s lives.
This idea was echoed by Ondercho. He pointed out that agriculture will always be necessary, and he hopes the Drive-Your-Tractor-to-School Day and FFA Week reminded students of this truth.
“Agriculture is the future,” he said. “Everybody needs food. You’re never going to not need food. Agriculture is 100% the future, and honestly, everybody needs to be involved in it. Everybody eats. You’ve got to feed the world.”
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