It's summer time in Nebraska.  How can you tell?  Crops are getting taller, center pivots are running, baseball lights are burning, the smell of food cooking on the grill.  Many youth are involved in 4-H and have been busy preparing their projects for an upcoming county fair.  

Come July and August, fair season is upon the State.  The 4-H projects are ready and the adults have the facilities spruced up, ready to go. Every county hosting a fair provides plenty of entertainment.  What county kicks off the fair with a unique activity?  Thayer County, with a Tractor Drive Tour.    

On the day before the fair starts, there are tractors of every size, color, and vintage ascending at Reinke Manufacturing in Deshler.  What a sight to see them coming up the entrance drive! The drivers are happy to showcase their tractor with the majority proudly displaying the United States flag as well.  

In 2025, the group will be having their 15th annual Thayer County Tractor Drive Tour.  The Reinke parking lot is cleared to accommodate more than 60 tractors.  Touring the Reinke facilities and driving their tractors through the Reinke campus is enjoyed by the drivers.  The participants who follow in vehicles with additional passengers are also treated to the tour and taking a spin through the campus.  The Reinke employees relish the event as well, as they admire all the tractors and see them driving through the campus.  

Reinke is one of the amazing places the tour comes by to see.  As they cruise through town, they pass by the Assisted Living and Nursing Home facilities.  It’s heartwarming for some of the residents to reminisce about their days working with the tractors they spot along the way. From Deshler, they travel to other locations in the county.  Later in the day, much of the group partakes in the Fair parade, so more people have the chance to appreciate the tractors.  

Reinke is honored to be a stop along the journey and to help kick off the Thayer County Fair.