There’s A New Demolition Derby In Town
There’s a new use for that old combine you have out back. The Wall Street Journal reports that across the Farm Belt, the new star of the demolition derby is the combine. With a top speed of about 15 miles an hour, it’s more than the old family junker-car being put to the test.
| At county fairs and local fund-raisers, farmers slam them into each other until only one remains mobile. At least two dozen of these battles will take place in Indiana, Kansas, Ohio and other states over the summer. Last year, the only two combines in Holyoke, CO’s inaugural derby backed into each other so hard that they lifted into the air, forming an upside-down V-shape that held for 40 seconds. |
Many of the combines are decades old and so worn out that, even amid a farm boom and surging used-equipment prices, they’re of little use in a field. Derby contestants often deploy the same machines over and over, before sending them to the scrap heap. The combines are painted in elaborate colors and designs and are quite the entertainment trend at the moment.
Milroy, MN had its first derby in 2004, to raise money for the town fire department. The first Milroy derby attracted 13 combines, about 2,200 spectators and brought in about $18,000