A family that pulls together, plows together

SPRING HILL — Participating in tractor pulls is a family affair for the Loehrs.

Every member of the family — Joe; his wife, Pam; and their children, Jacob, John and Breanna — competes in tractor and truck pulls and plowing contests. They also raise steers and run a 250-acre farm near Spring Hill. The family attends about 20 tractor pulls in Minnesota every year along with other contests across the country.

“The majority of our pulls are county fair grandstand events, but some are just put on by a local organization,” Jacob said.

Jacob uses an International 1066 Black Stripe, John and Breanna use the standard International 1066, and Joe uses an International 686 for pulling. John also drives a Ford F-250 truck for pulling.

“They only made a Black Stripe 1066 (International) in 1975 and 1976; then, it was retired as a series,” Joe said.

“Mine gets used on the farm, so it gets pretty dirty, so I have to wash it before every event.”

The other pulling tractors were purchased primarily for pulling and rarely get used on the farm. The Loehrs do regular maintenance on their equipment to keep it in optimal condition for competitions.

The Loehrs said the classes they compete in vary by location. However, Jacob usually competes in the 11,500- to 15,000-pound class. John and Breanna enter the 10,500- to 12,000-pound classes, and Joe does the 8,500- to 10,000-pound class. If the event allows more than one hook up, the Loehrs will add weights to their tractor and compete again in another class.

“The 1066 is a good tractor to pull with, easy to tune up and toy around with to get extra horsepower out of them,” Joe said.

Joe is employed full time at Lake Henry Implement Inc. in addition to running the farm that has been in the Loehr family since 1885. The Loehr children are each employed locally, and Jacob and John help on the farm when they are able.

Breanna was hesitant to participate in the tractor pulls at first.

“Dad kind of forced me to try it once, and I actually enjoyed it, so I kept doing it,” Breanna said. “I ended up meeting my fiance through tractor pulling. He does the modified classes, and we do the field tractor classes.”

The Loehrs’ strategy for a successful pull is to position the tractor on a part of the track with solid footing.

“Sometimes, I will be dead last at an event, and the very next tractor pull I do, I come in first,” Jacob said. “You have to get in a good part in the track to hook up and go.”

Joe started participating in tractor pulls more than 40 years ago when he was still in high school.

“I decided to try it with some friends for bragging rights and as some fun competition, and then, I just kept going,” Joe said. “When my boys got old enough, they wanted to pull, too, and then my daughter wanted to pull, and so we had to get more tractors.”

Jacob agreed.

“It looked like fun, and it intrigued me,” he said.

Joe purchased a 3-bottom International 70 plow to start competing in plowing contests as well. Joe and his dad, Joe Sr., would each use the plow, with Joe participating in the open class while Joe Sr. competed in the conventional class.

“My goal is to make it to the World Ploughing Championship,” Joe said. “I qualified in 2019 to compete at the 2020 contest in Russia, but COVID happened, and I never got to go.”

The Loehrs agree that they do not compete for the accolades.

“I like watching everyone else pull and looking for different techniques,” Joe said. “It’s good, clean competition. We see a lot of the same faces at the local events, so it is fun to know fellow tractor pullers.”

Although tractor competitions can be expensive and take time, the Loehrs plan to continue as long as they can.

“I love it,” Joe said. “Plus, it’s fun going to different states and meeting different people (with plowing contests). I probably would never have gone to Pennsylvania, Maine and Connecticut otherwise.”