Pivot Bio Celebrates Farmers with Buddy Seat Tour
Pivot Bio has launched the Year of One Million Thanks Buddy Seat Tour, a nationwide initiative designed to recognize the dedication of American farmers while encouraging stronger investment, innovation, and collaboration across the agricultural sector. The 12-month campaign officially begins on July 20 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis and will take company leaders on a 1,500-mile journey through rural communities, where they will meet farmers, hear their stories, and discuss the future of agriculture.
The tour was inspired by a conversation that Pivot Bio CEO Chris Abbott experienced during an investor conference a year earlier. While discussions focused heavily on artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced manufacturing, global markets, national security, and economic competitiveness, Abbott noticed one critical industry was absent from the conversation—agriculture.
That realization became the driving force behind a campaign aimed at bringing farmers into broader conversations about innovation, investment, and the future of the U.S. economy.
Recognizing Agriculture as a Foundational Industry
According to Abbott, agriculture remains one of the world’s most essential industries because every person depends on farmers for food, fiber, and countless everyday necessities. Yet despite its importance, farming often receives less attention and investment than other rapidly growing industries.
Abbott believes that farmers tackle some of society’s greatest challenges every day, including food security, sustainability, climate resilience, and resource management. However, their voices are not always represented in discussions about technological advancement or economic development.
The Year of One Million Thanks Buddy Seat Tour seeks to change that narrative by creating opportunities for farmers to share their experiences directly with leaders from business, technology, academia, and government.
A 12-Month Journey Across Rural America
Over the next year, Abbott will travel more than 1,500 miles aboard a working family tractor through farming communities across the United States.
Rather than conducting formal meetings in conference rooms, the tour is designed to take conversations directly into fields, farmyards, and rural communities where agricultural innovation happens every day.
At each stop, Abbott will spend time listening to producers discuss their successes, challenges, and visions for the future of farming.
The goal is not only to celebrate farmers but also to understand how new partnerships, technologies, and investments can better support American agriculture.
The Buddy Seat Brings New Voices Together
A unique feature of the tour is the tractor’s buddy seat, where guests from a wide range of industries will join Abbott during the journey.
Participants are expected to include:
- Business executives
- Technology innovators
- Policymakers
- Academic leaders
- Agricultural experts
- Industry partners
By bringing these individuals directly onto working farms, Pivot Bio hopes they will gain firsthand insight into modern farming operations and better understand the opportunities and challenges producers face.
The company believes meaningful innovation begins with listening to farmers themselves rather than making decisions from corporate offices.
Encouraging Collaboration for Agriculture’s Future
Beyond expressing appreciation, the Buddy Seat Tour is intended to inspire action.
Pivot Bio wants conversations during the tour to lead to practical collaborations that improve farming through technology, education, research, and investment.
The initiative is built around the belief that solving agriculture’s future challenges requires cooperation between producers, researchers, businesses, governments, and educational institutions.
These conversations are expected to generate ideas that help farmers improve productivity while addressing sustainability, profitability, and environmental stewardship.
A Long-Term Commitment to Farmers
Pivot Bio Chief Commercial Officer Chris Turner says the company has consistently focused on supporting growers throughout his career in agriculture.
Having worked with some of the industry’s leading organizations, Turner believes Pivot Bio stands apart because of its farmer-first approach.
According to Turner, the company’s efforts extend beyond developing innovative agricultural technologies. Pivot Bio has also invested in programs supporting young people entering agriculture, expanded operations closer to farming communities, and helped growers navigate periods of fertilizer uncertainty.
He says every major decision at Pivot Bio begins with a single question: How can we better support farmers?
That philosophy, Turner explains, makes the Buddy Seat Tour especially meaningful because it places farmers at the center of every conversation.
Introducing the “Grati-tractor One”
Every memorable journey requires an appropriate vehicle.
For Pivot Bio, that meant selecting more than just any tractor. The company wanted a machine that represented generations of farming, resilience, and innovation.
The search led to Tom Boedeker, a 69-year-old Missouri farmer from Boedeker Brothers Farm near Elsberry.
Established in 1936, Boedeker Brothers Farm has been operated by four generations of the family and has become well known throughout Missouri for embracing conservation practices, adopting new technologies, and supporting agricultural education.
Tom Boedeker has spent decades working alongside his brother Joe and cousins Jim and Bert while helping the family operation adapt to changing agricultural conditions.
Throughout his farming career, Boedeker has overcome numerous hardships, including equipment accidents, a grain bin incident, a combine fire during harvest, and a life-threatening medical emergency.
Despite these setbacks, he has remained committed to farming, environmental stewardship, and serving his local community.
His personal working tractor will now become “Grati-tractor One,” the official vehicle of the Buddy Seat Tour.
Unlike a restored museum display, the tractor remains a working machine that symbolizes the perseverance and determination found on farms across America.
It will accompany the tour except during harvest season, when it will temporarily return to farm work before rejoining the campaign.
A Farm Dedicated to Community Education
Boedeker Brothers Farm has also played an important educational role throughout eastern Missouri.
Over the years, the farm has welcomed thousands of students through:
- School field trips
- FFA educational programs
- 4-H activities
- Livestock judging competitions
- Dairy judging contests
- Soil science events
- Agricultural learning experiences
These programs have introduced generations of young people to farming while inspiring future agricultural careers.
Boedeker will serve as the tour’s first Farm Ambassador and join Abbott in driving the tractor to Busch Stadium for the official launch.
Kyle Bridgeforth Named Second Farm Ambassador
Joining Boedeker is Kyle Bridgeforth of Bridgeforth Farms, who will serve as the second Farm Ambassador.
Bridgeforth represents the fifth generation of a remarkable farming family whose history dates back to 1877, when his formerly enslaved great-great-grandfather, George Bridgeforth Sr., began purchasing farmland in North Alabama following the Civil War.
Nearly 150 years later, Bridgeforth Farms has grown into one of the largest Black-owned farming operations in the United States.
Today, Kyle Bridgeforth helps oversee crop production while leading initiatives focused on farm efficiency, crop traceability, and business development.
Beyond farming, he serves on several influential agricultural organizations, including the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the International Fertilizer Development Center. He also collaborates with groups such as the American Soybean Association and the National Black Growers Council to advance opportunities for producers nationwide.
Whether working in the field, participating in industry leadership, or contributing to agricultural policy discussions, Bridgeforth continues helping shape the future of American agriculture.
Celebrating Farmers Across Generations
Abbott says the two founding ambassadors represent the diversity, resilience, and dedication found throughout rural America.
While every farming family has its own unique story, their experiences collectively reflect the perseverance that has sustained American agriculture for generations.
Some stories span centuries of family farming traditions, while others demonstrate extraordinary determination through personal adversity.
Together, they showcase the many faces of modern agriculture.
Culminating in a National Celebration
The Year of One Million Thanks Buddy Seat Tour will conclude next year during the A Million Thanks Festival – Live from the Heartland, which will also celebrate Pivot Bio’s 15th anniversary.
During the event, all 15 Founding Honorary Ambassadors will be recognized as part of a nationwide expression of gratitude to America’s farmers.
For Pivot Bio, the tour represents more than a celebration—it is an opportunity to strengthen relationships, encourage collaboration, and inspire new ideas that will support agriculture for generations to come.
As Abbott emphasizes, thanking farmers is only the beginning. Listening to their experiences, learning from their knowledge, and working together to develop practical solutions are the real goals of the Year of One Million Thanks Buddy Seat Tour.
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