COLUMBUS, Ohio, August 8, 2012 — On August 5, J D Equipment, S & S Volvo and Kale Marketing came together to purchase the Grand Champion Market Beef at the Ohio State Fair’s Sale of Champions. J D Equipment, an eight-store agricultural and lawn and garden dealership, has a long history of supporting local agriculture by purchasing many Grand Champion livestock purchases over the years.

This year’s Grand Champion Market Beef was raised by 16-year old Danielle Heintz of Auglaize County, and sold for $70,000. This is Danielle’s third straight year of taking home the blue ribbon award for her Market Beef.

“Our mission at J D Equipment is to serve you for the future—and that is why we feel it is so important to invest in supporting the youth of our community. We enjoy coming out to the Sale of Champions to celebrate the success of our young farmers and give back to these youth who are so devoted to agriculture,” says Jeff Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of J D Equipment. “Purchasing the Grand Champion Beef is just one of the ways we show our commitment to youth agricultural education.”

“These students spend hundreds of hours a year raising and caring for their livestock. We’re happy to recognize that dedication and are glad other organizations such as S & S Volvo and Kale Marketing also value supporting our youth,” says Norm Murphy, Chief Financial Officer of J D Equipment.

J D Equipment was founded 30 years ago with the vision of providing excellent customer service and world class products by people who care deeply about their customers and community.  They strive every day to follow their motto of “serving you for the future.”

Kale Marketing Inc. was founded in 1978 by DeLynn and Eilene Kale. Troy Gray came on board in 1986, and now serves as general manager. They currently have 2 store locations and 20 employees. They sell and service fertilizer and farm equipment over a 5 state area which includes Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Kale has had a long tradition of supporting many youth in the agricultural field. They started purchasing at the Ohio State Fair’s Sale of Champions in 2002, and have continued to support the sale ever since.  2012 was their first year teaming up with J D Equipment and S & S Volvo to purchase the Grand Champion steer. The Heintz family has been a long time customer of Kale Marketing Inc.

S & S Volvo has been proudly serving Lima, OH and the surrounding Ohio areas since 1967, offering parts, sales and service for Volvo Class 8 trucks along with UD and Isuzu Medium Duty truck products.  S & S Volvo is locally owned and operated with over 50 employees and strives to provide the highest quality and personal service.

“The future of our great country rests firmly on the ambitious youth of today. That is why we choose to support the 4-H and FFA programs all across Ohio year after year.  We have been fortunate to participate with other great companies in the Sale of Champions purchasing the Champion Steer in 2010 and 2011 with J D Equipment and again this year with J D Equipment and Kale Marketing,” says Todd Schaub, President of S & S Volvo.  “We would like to congratulate Danielle Heintz as well as the other 4-H and FFA youth on another great year!”

In addition to purchasing the Grand Champion Market Beef, J D Equipment also joined with Bob Evans and Ohio Farm Bureau to purchase the Grand Champion Market Barrow. This year’s Grand Champion Barrow was raised by Lea Kimley of Clark County.

Kale Marketing Inc. also joined with AG Boogher and Son, and Burkhart Farm Center to purchase the Grand Champion pen of meat chickens for $30,000.00 from exhibitor Reggie Regula.

J D Equipment is a family-owned business, founded in Plain City, Ohio in 1982. They sell and service new and used John Deere agriculture, lawn and garden, and light construction equipment, along with over 80 other brands of equipment and parts as well. Over the past 30 years, they have grown to become Ohio’s largest John Deere dealer, with eight locations and more than 300 employees in Central Ohio. They pride themselves on their excellent customer service, wide range of products and parts, and convenient availability of parts onsite. For more information about J D Equipment, visit www.jdequipment.com.