Tournament of Roses float is salute to farmers

HURON — Two Huron area families were enjoying much warmer temperatures on Monday, than those in the Heartland.
Those families — Lud and Julie Hohm and the Gerad Puterbaugh family — were selected from hundreds of applicants to be among the 100 people selected to ride on the AgPhd/Hefty Seeds ‘Salute to Farmers’ float in the 129th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.
The theme for this year’s parade was “Making a Difference,” and few if any occupation in the country can point toward making more of a difference than farming.
The float was the largest in this year’s parade, measuring approximately 110 feet in length, was 18-feet wide and was 30-feet tall at its highest point.

It featured a tractor and planter, a combine and rows upon rows of crops, as well as 100 of America’s farmers and several American flags across the back of the float.
Like every other float in the Tournament of Roses Parade, every square inch of surface area on each float is covered with natural organic material. Millions of live plants and flowers, as well as dried flowers, spices and more, are utilized in the dozens of floats in the parade.
Hefty Seeds selected the float riders from among the applicants, to show that while many things contribute to a successful farming operation, it has been and always will be about the people who farm the land.

Photos:

The Puterbaugh family was among more than 100 people selected to ride on the Ag Phd/Hefty Seeds float in Monday’s 129th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. Below, the Puterbaughs stand in front of the Ag PhD/Hefty Seeds float prior to the parade. In front are Henry and Ellie; in the back row are Roger, Gerad and Ranae.

Photos courtesy of Hefty Seeds