Roy Hofer’s path to a national farm leadership role started in a barn on his Canby, Oregon, property, where a private museum of John Deere tractors helped him connect with other farmers. That shared interest in agricultural history eventually led the hazelnut grower and farm manager into the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee for 2026-27.
Hofer said he felt isolated after college as he moved fully into farming and work, and the Clackamas County Farm Bureau gave him the kind of peer network he was looking for. At his first meeting, he said it was clear he had found his community, describing the experience as a place where farmers could come together, share ideas and build relationships.
A collection built around equipment and history
Hofer, 35, grows hazelnuts and also serves as farm manager for Oregon Flowers Inc. in Aurora, Oregon. His property holds about 12 tractors, and he is usually restoring another machine, keeping the collection active rather than static.
He said he has loved working on equipment since childhood. Older tractors appeal to him because they are simpler to maintain and do not rely on computers or more advanced systems, which also makes them attractive to a collector who values hands-on mechanical work.
One of the most notable pieces in the collection is a John Deere 320, produced only from 1956 to 1958, which is displayed at the John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. Hofer has a particular interest in two-cylinder John Deere tractors from the Dubuque Works factory, which made smaller models that he said match the machines he grew up around.
From local meetings to national service
The Farm Bureau connection did more than expand Hofer’s social circle. It also gave him business development exposure, leadership experience and a wider network of farmers across the country.
He chaired the Oregon Farm Bureau YF&R committee from 2024-25 and testified before lawmakers in Salem before being selected for the national committee role. Through that path, he built friendships with farmers from different regions and often visits those contacts when traveling to tractor shows in other states.
Hofer’s museum has also become a gathering point beyond collecting. It has hosted Farm Bureau meetings and other events, and even seniors from a local retirement community have visited the space.
A younger voice in a collector community
Hofer stands out in the tractor collecting world because many collectors are older and based in the Midwest. He said some people initially found it unusual to see a younger collector from the West Coast, but his family background helped shape the interest early.
He is named after a great uncle who was a John Deere dealer in the 1940s and 1950s. Some of his tractors were passed down, while others came from nearby farms, adding local history to the museum’s inventory.
The collection also includes items beyond tractors, such as a horse-drawn plow and an early Weygandt Machine caneberry harvester that could replace 40 to 50 workers. The broader display reflects both the evolution of farm equipment and the practical history of labor-saving machinery in agriculture.
West Coast voices on the national committee
Hofer’s appointment adds to an uncommon show of West Coast representation on the national Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee. Trelawney Bullis of California and Johnathan Quigley, a Washington tree fruit grower appointed in 2025, are also part of the group.
Committee members serve staggered two-year terms to reduce turnover, and Hofer said having multiple West Coast members is unusual in a group that is often dominated by agricultural professionals from the Midwest and South. He encouraged young agricultural professionals to get involved through county Farm Bureau meetings, where they can learn about regional and national YF&R opportunities and build the kind of connections that helped shape his own path.
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