Five U.S. military veterans got the keys to new Kubota equipment recently to help tend their farms.
The presentation of the new tractors, a compact track loader and UTV occurred June 19-21 at NASCAR San Diego Weekend at Naval Base Coronado as part of the Kubota Tractor Corp.’s ongoing philanthropy for the nonprofit Farmer Veteran Coalition through the Geared to Give program.
“Geared to Give is about honoring veterans not only for their military service, but also for the meaningful impact they continue to make in their communities through agriculture,” said Alex Woods, president of Kubota Tractor and a veteran of the Army National Guard.
Here are the five recipients, each from one of Kubota’s five U.S. operating divisions:
- Keelan Brown, U.S. Navy veteran, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, Southeast Division — Brown received an L3902 compact tractor to be delivered by Brown Equipment Company. He served more than 13 years in the U.S. Navy, including six deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm. He and his wife, Rachel, own and operate Farmer Brown’s Produce, a family-operated 2-acre vegetable farm.
- Justin Butts, U.S. Navy veteran, Berne, New York, Northern Division — Butts received an SVL65-2 compact track loader to be delivered by Towline Equipment Sales. He served four years in the U.S. Navy, including deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and operations off the Somali Coast. He owns and operates Black Wind Farm, a 104-acre regenerative farming operation focused on ecological restoration, heritage livestock and strengthening local food systems.
- Hudson Grigg, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Hesperus, Colorado, Central Division — Grigg received an an MX5400 utility tractor to be delivered by Southwest Ag. He served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps with deployments to the Philippines, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore and Kuwait. He and his wife, Samantha, own and operate a 15-acre homestead specializing in pasture-raised chicken, corn- and soy-free eggs, heritage Navajo-Churro sheep and a production-grade micro-hatchery.
- Jeff Morrison, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Chaseburg, Wisconsin, Midwest Division — Morrison received an an M7060 utility tractor to be delivered by Portland Implement. He served more than eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps, including one deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, a deployment to the Arabian Gulf with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and another to Japan and South Korea. He and his wife, Hailey, own and operate Bluff Country Ranch LLC, a 119-acre diversified pasture-based livestock operation, raising cattle, goats and pasture-raised eggs.
- Joseph Santry, U.S. Army veteran, Columbia, California, Western Division — Santry received an RTV-X Crew utility vehicle to be delivered by Garton Tractor. He served four years in the U.S. Army, including one deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He, his father and brother Samuel, also a U.S. Army veteran, own and operate Sweet Water Farm & Ranch Co., a 30-acre regenerative, pasture-raised hog farm.
In addition to receiving new Kubota equipment, the five farmer veteran recipients and their guests attended NASCAR San Diego Weekend, including the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race and the NASCAR Cup Series race, participated in a meet and greet with Ross Chastain and the Trackhouse Racing team, received a behind-the-scenes tour of the Trackhouse Racing garage, and took part in a special pre-race ceremony at the NASCAR Experience Stage where they were recognized and presented with ceremonial keys to their new equipment.
The 2026 “Geared to Give” program received more than 700 applications through FVC’s Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund. Since the program was established in 2015, Kubota has provided more than $1.2 million to FVC in the form of organizational support and grants to veterans, along with 56 pieces of donated Kubota equipment to farmer veterans nationwide.
Earlier this year, Kubota announced a new multi-year partnership with NASCAR, establishing the company as an Official Partner of NASCAR, including the Official Tractor of NASCAR, Official Construction Equipment Partner of NASCAR, Official Compact Equipment Partner of NASCAR and Official Utility Vehicle of NASCAR.
For more information on the “Geared to Give” program, go to Kubota Cares. For more on the Farmer Veteran Coalition, go to FarmVetCo.org.
