January 13, 2017
In its continuing effort to “reconnect city with country,” RFD-TV has organized the “Rural Tractor Brigade” which has been added to the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Parade, themed “We The People: Our American Journey.” RFD-TV invited every tractor manufacturer to participate and those confirmed include Case IH, Challenger, John Deere, Kubota, Mahindra, Massey-Ferguson, and New Holland who will showcase tractors used in modern agriculture production. The parade will be broadcast LIVE on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC on Friday, January 20th at 3 p.m. ET.
Members of the National FFA, the world’s premiere youth organization, will carry the banner for the Rural Tractor Brigade and lead this contingent of colorful tractors that help make America’s farmers and ranchers the most efficient food and fiber producers in the world. RFD-TV and RURAL RADIO Channel 147 on SiriuxXM will carry updates throughout the week on “Market Day Report” and “Rural Evening News,” beginning on January 17. On Inauguration Day, RFD-TV and RURAL RADIO will have live updates beginning at 9 a.m. ET and continue through the course of the day, with complete highlights on the Rural Evening News at 11:30 p.m. ET.
Several leaders of agriculture associations will be representing their members by driving a tractor in the parade. Those leaders include Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation and their 5.9 million members; Ron Moore, president of the American Soybean Association and his wife Deb; Randy Krotz, CEO of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance; John Weber, president of the National Pork Producers Council; and Jim Odle, co-founder of Superior Livestock Auction. Also driving to represent rural media include National Association of Farm Broadcasting past and current presidents Mark Oppold and Max Armstrong, Duncan Smith of Sinclair Broadcasting, and Patrick Gottsch, founder & president of RFD-TV and RURAL RADIO on SiriusXM.
The Inaugural Parade, generally held on the afternoon of the swearing-in ceremony, is a popular part of the inaugural festivities. After the President and Vice-President have been sworn in (and after the inaugural luncheon), they typically travel down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, where they remain while they review the rest of the parade as it passes by. The tradition of the inaugural parade goes back to the first inauguration of George Washington, though it has changed in a variety of ways over the centuries. The event is currently coordinated by the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee in conjunction with the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC).