Easton Halverson (left) proudly shows off his purple ribbons at the 2019 Iowa State Fair alongside Ryan Holthaus, North Fayette Valley FFA advisor. Halverson’s Fair project this year included the complete restoration of an 1850 Oliver Diesel which earned him Grand Champion status in the tractor restoration competition. (subitted photo)
Halverson's Oliver 1850 earns Grand Champion status
Zakary Kriener
News Writer
zkriener@fayettepublishing.com
When 18-year-old Easton Halverson returned home from the 2019 Iowa State Fair, he was one happy man. After nearly a year of hard work and dedication that went into his project, Halverson returned home with a Grand Champion ribbon in the tractor restoration category after renovated 1966 Oliver 1850 diesel tractor took top honors at the Fair.
“It was really cool to see the project when I finally completed it,” said Halverson, who spent over 450 hours working on the project over a 9-month period that began in October 2018. “It was satisfying to see all of the work finally pay off!”
After earning purple ribbon honors at the 2019 Fayette County Fair, Halverson brought his tractor to Des Moines and entered it into the “1959 and Newer” division.
“There were about seven tractors in my class and they all earned purple ribbons,” explained Halverson. “I think this is the first year that every tractor in a class earned a purple ribbon, so that speaks for the quality of competition this year.”
Halverson’s prized Oliver went on to take the top honors in his class as his project displayed excellence in each of the judge’s criteria.
“You are judged on your interview with the judges, the looks of the tractor, the amount of mechanical work done on the tractor, and your overall knowledge of the tractor,” pointed out Halverson. “Going into the fair, I knew that I had a quality tractor and knew how much time and effort I spent on it, but I didn’t expect to have a shot at winning my class.”