Ron the Tractor Guy (RTTG) is owned and operated by Ron Carpenter. As of November 2017 RTTG has taken on a full time PREACHING job...he is now known as Ron the preacher. Ron will be spending the bulk of his time pursuing his work as a preacher, but the bulk of his outdoor time raising beef. He will have time to do an occasional RTTG job. The majority of working hours will be spent working as the Preacher for a local congregation of Christians in Canby Oregon. Want to know a little more about him? Here is what he has to say about his love for farming: I have been driving small and mid-size tractors off and on for the last 30 years. My love of tractors actually goes back further than that; one of my earliest memories in life is riding on a combine when I was 4 or 5 years old in the farm country between Amity and Salem—nearly 40 years ago. I went to high school in Willamina, Oregon where I took every ag class that was available. I was also involved in FFA all 4 of my high school years. In 1980 I started working on a farm just down the road from my parents house. The farm was owned and operated by Ron and Jeanne Pittman. While working on the Pittman farm, I was introduced to most type of tractor driving. The farm had over 1000 hogs, 150 acres of fescue hay, hundreds of acres of wheat and barley, plus a couple dozen head of cattle. I worked for the Pittman's for over 5 years, while attending high school and college. For the next fourteen years I was not around farming much (although my heart was never far from it). We--me and my wonderful wife, Kathy--focused on raising our 4 children and growing our faith in God. In 1990, we purchased a small farm outside of Canby, Oregon...and, of course, a tractor too! During this same timeframe, I was working at a paper mill in Oregon City and learning the trade of a millwright where I was able to drive, operate and repair almost every type of machine in a paper mill. From 2001 to 2009 we operated a small fruit stand at the corner of our property; we raised strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, as well as a couple head of locker beef each year. In 2003, we purchased our first new tractor (a 33 hp Kubota) in order to start a custom tractor business. Our clientele quickly grew though we used just a Roto-tiller, bucket and a 5’ brush hog for implements. Since that time we have grown to the point the have three tractors (all over 40 hp), a full set of haying equipment and more than a dozen implements to serve our growing customer base. Over that past 7 years I have gravitated between full time RTTG and other part time adventures. For now, I have down-scaled RTTG and I spend the bulk of my time SOWING THE SEED of the Kingdom as a gospel preacher. We continue to raise Grass Fed beef and own tractors. I hope to roto-til a few neighbors gardens and take on occasional jobs so I stay connected to my love for tractors and all things farming! |