BUFFALO - Danielle Grant knew something was off in the days prior to Tuesday morning, and as most surprises go, she figured out exactly what her family and friends were up to.
Her husband and the West Virginia Farm Bureau arranged for her to receive a tractor Tuesday morning at Buffalo High School, where Grant teaches agriculture science and advises the Future Farmers of America group.
Grant won the tractor after coming in fourth place for the American Farm Bureau's national discussion meet competition, where she competed in simulated meetings.
The Putnam County woman won the tractor in January, but hadn't received it yet. About 40 people gathered at Buffalo High to congratulate Grant and see her new tractor.
Eric Thomason, West Virginia Farm Bureau field services representative, said the tractor was delivered from a town near Knoxville, Tennessee, where the family had looked at tractors while they were on vacation.
Thomason said the West Virginia Farm Bureau was honored to have Grant represent the state.
"This was not something that was easy to do," Thomason said. "She put in a tremendous amount of work and we are very grateful."
Thomason said successful contestants are productive thinkers rather than persuaders, and assist the group in developing ways to solve problems.
The contestants were evaluated on their exchange of ideas and participation during the mock meetings with four to six other contestants.
Grant said the discussions focused on relevant issues, such as animal welfare and water rights, that modern farmers are faced with daily.
Grant, who competed against 36 other state champions, was also the only female to make it to the finals, she said. She also hopes to inspire her female FFA students by showing them that the farming world is for everyone.
"It's inspiring to see females in the competition," Grant said. "It just shows that everybody has something they can contribute."
Grant has 100 students, 40 of those who are in FFA, enrolled in her agriculture science classes. Grant said the competition will help her show her students that the skills she is teaching them are applicable to real world scenarios and may one day pay off.
The American Farm Bureau has a partnership with Case IH, where members get a discount on Case IH equipment. For the competition, Case IH awarded three Farmall 50A tractors to the second, third and fourth place contestants, valued at over $24,000. Grant chose to pay the difference and upgrade her tractor to a 75C to use on her farm.
Reach Laura Haight at laura.haight@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @laurahaight_ on Twitter.