Distinguished Service to Ag award
Vaughn Bauer(left) of Paton was honored with the Greene County Farm Bureau Distinguished Service to Ag award at the 2015 Greene County Farm Bureau annual meeting held Thursday, July 30, 2015.
County president Perry Parker (right) made the presentation after reading the following:
“Periodically, the Greene County Farm Bureau presents its Distinguished Service award to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the progress of agriculture in Greene county.
“Vaughn Bauer has lived most of his life in Paton, IA, graduating in 1976 from Paton-Churdan. He attended Iowa Central Community College, graduating in 1977 with a certificate of graduation in machine shop. He and his father founded Paton Machine and Welding that year and later incorporated the business as Bauer Built Manufacturing. The focus of the business was fabricating folding toolbars for planters and cultivators.
In 2002, Bauer took over the business and signed exclusive agreements with John Deere to build planters. The Deere Bauer Toolbar is used on all 60-foot to 96-foot John Deere planters which are sold worldwide. A true entrepreneur, Bauer didn’t stop there. He built a 48-row, 30-inch spacing, 120-foot-wide planter after being told it would not be possible; the largest planter in the world was built by his company in Paton.
“Bauer Built employed 150 people before Bauer sold the plant to John Deere & Co. in 2013. Bauer Built Mfg. is currently operating out of a new facility in Paton and continuing their partnership with John Deere & Co. today.
The Bauers took a leadership role to help their community by building a restaurant, 209 Main, in 2013 and a convenience store, Paton Pit Stop in 2015, providing fuel for local farmers and the rural community. Vaughn is active in their farming operation along with son Adam and son-in-law Scott Walker, and in 2002 formed SAV Acres.
Bauer’s passion for tractor pulling led to another innovation, the IronMan pulling sled. He re-designed the pulling sled so the weight box rails are parallel to the ground, making the sleds safer for the tractor pulling industry. Today, most pulling sleds are crafted along this prototype.
Bauer and wife Lori have four children and four living grandchildren. They live just outside Paton.“
