ADAMS -- Leave it to the Adams Booster Club to schedule its annual Dairy Days celebration on a near perfect weekend.

From Friday morning to Sunday night, the weather was perfect for the annual celebration.

So good that some farmers had to skip a part of the celebration to finish spraying their crops.

The celebration had it all: the Holstein Lady, new Dairy Princess Heather Hill, former dairy princesses, grand marshals Nick and Rosie Reinartz, cow milking excitement and George Schechinger's answer to America's dependence on Middle East oil.

More about the latter later.

The celebration concluded Sunday with the largest crowds at any of the events. The early afternoon parade showcased the Adams Legion Post No. 146 color guard and Legion units from nearby communities, the Southland Public Schools marching band, more fire trucks than one could count, businesses, Boy Scouts and enough candy-throwing parade entries to keep dentists happy all summer long.

The Reinartzes, rural Adams, were the grand marshals of the parade.

Several past Mower County dairy princesses rode on a float to salute the golden anniversary of the dairy princess pageant. Ten former dairy princesses rode on a float, reminisced and got a free malt at the Mower County ADA's ice cream stand.

The town's intrepid journalists, Maureen Noterman and Sue Finbraaten got a ride in a convertible sponsored by the Monitor-Review newspaper.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church School had an entry to remind everyone of their centennial celebration later this summer.

Tim Neuvirth, Mower County Pork Ambassador, and Heather Hill, Mower County Dairy Princess, promoted their respective areas of agriculture. Hill had help from her attendants, Angie Russell and Hannah Miller.

Jason Hoerter, owner of Triple J Disposal, was among the businesses to use the parade to promote themselves. Hoerter showed initiative by promoting other businesses. He displayed the names of his clients for all to see.

When the parade ended, the crowd shifted to the Adams City Park for an afternoon of fun and food before the evening's cow milking contest.

The hit attraction at the park was the tractor pull, but this year's pull came with a message.

Schechinger brought his classic Farmall 806 to the tractor pull at Adams. The tractor is powered by 100 percent soy diesel.

"It works like

a charm," he said Sunday. "No conversion was needed of any kind. There's not a bit of a crude oil product in that tractor."

Schechinger and his bright red 1964 model tractor gave the tractor pull fans a demonstration of its power and performance midway through the pull. Then, he answered questions.

A rural Adams, corn and soybean grower, who also raises beef cattle, Schechinger was promoting the alternative fuel "on his own."

"I'm not getting paid by anybody to do this. I don't have any brochures or fliers. I just believe it is a good idea," he said. "Anything we can do to reduce our dependence on crude oil from the Middle East or anywhere else is good for America," he said.

"Also, we're seeing more and more attention paid to the problems with diesel fuel pollution today and the EPA is sure to crack down on diesel engines too."

Schechinger said he simply drained all of the diesel fuel from the tractor and started using the 100 percent soy blend. He has not calculated the fuel economy, but reports "no problems" whatsoever when the tractor is used.

Tom Landherr at Stacyville Repair supplies the soybean fuel he uses in the tractor. The cost: a little more than $2 a gallon, but Schechinger said farmers "gotta give it a chance."

"This," Schechinger said, "is our soybean checkoff dollars at work. This is an example of what soy diesel can do for farmers. When we see it at use in every tractor, every pickup, every diesel engine everywhere, you'll see the difference."

"I think anything we can do to reduce the dependence on Middle East crude oil is worth trying and anything we can do to protect the environment is worth it."

Schechinger plans to take his 100 percent soy fuel tractor to tractor pulls in the area throughout the summer and the 2003 Mower County Fair In August.

He said he welcomes inquiries from other farmers about the tractor's performance and how they can make the conversion.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at

lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com