MU tractor team pulls together

PEORIA, Ill.–The University of Missouri Torq ’N Tigers Tractor Team placed in the top half at the recent International 1/4 Scale Tractor Student Design Competition in Peoria, Ill.

Each of the 29 college and university teams received a stock engine and a set of tires as a starting point to design and build a 1/4-scale pulling tractor.

The Tiger IX tractor, the work of students in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the MU College of Engineering, was evaluated in 10 different areas. MU had top-10 finishes in the tractor pull and safety categories and placed 13th in the overall scoring.

While there was some disappointment that the team didn’t place higher, the experience provided members with valuable hands-on experience, said team adviser Bulent Koc, an assistant professor of agricultural systems management.

“The entire team this year was made up of freshmen and sophomores,” Koc says. “What they learned by competing and the exposure to the professional environment and meeting with engineers and executives from machinery companies will help them with their future designs.”

He says they also learned a lot by looking at other teams’ tractors and are excited about competing again.

“A day after the competition and they have already started designing next year’s tractor,” Koc says.