When Hutchinson, Kansas native John Wildin put his entry form into the I Am FARMLAND sweepstakes box during the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention this past February, he never dreamed he would win a John Deere Gator.

The promotion was the brainchild of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) to help create awareness about the documentary FARMLAND and encourage the agriculture community to help bring the film to consumers across the country. To draw people into USFRA’s booths, John Deere, a long-time USFRA supporter, donated a coveted Gator. It worked. Thousands of people at agricultural trade shows across the country not only entered to win but have since viewed and purchased copies of the documentary.

“When I got the call I let it go to voicemail, and then even after I called them back [USFRA] I still didn’t believe I had won,” said Wildin whose great grandfather homesteaded on the Arkansas River. “The utility of the vehicle out on a farm in this day and age is just incredible. We’ve got big plans for it.”

When Chuck Studer, Director, Industry Relations with John Deere was approached about the I Am FARMLAND sweepstakes, they donated the Gator without hesitation. Studer, who is also a USFRA board member, said they wanted to support the FARMLAND promotion because it was an opportunity to give individual ranchers and farmers the opportunity to engage in the story of agriculture and share that message with food consumers across the country.

Find audio, video and photos from the event at AgNewsWire.com.