Ploughers cultivate a long-lost art
Champion ploughers from around New Zealand will converge on Waimate tomorrow as they prepare for the national championships in Southland next week.
The annual Waitaki ploughing match will be hosted by the Waitaki Ploughing Association on the Ruddenklau property, Waihao Back Rd, where competitive ploughing is scheduled to get underway from 10.30am.
Waitaki Ploughing Association chairman and event organiser Rod Esker said Saturday’s event was timely as about 30 competitors would move on to Palmerston for a Sunday event in preparation for the New Zealand Ploughing Championships in Southland on April 14 and 15.
Esker said Saturday’s event would also count as a qualifier for the 2019 national championships, scheduled to be held in Rakaia.
Competitors would be represented in conventional class, reversible class, horse class and New Zealand vintage class, he said.
‘‘There will be local people as well as people coming from all over New Zealand, everyone is welcome to come and have a look.’’
Judges would be looking for ‘‘straightness, weed control, seed bed, available soil and general appearance’’, he said.
Esker said ploughers got a lot of satisfaction of doing a great job, in what he described as a ‘‘long lost art’’.
‘‘The idea of the plough is weed control.
‘‘If you make a good job of a paddock you get rid of a lot of weeds, trash and turf.
‘‘So when you to go to sow it down you have a better seed bed,’’ Esker said.
He thanked the Ruddenklau family for the use of their property on the outskirts of Waimate.
The New Zealand Ploughing Association is the umbrella organisation that oversees the regional committees. Competitive ploughing was formalised in NZ in 1955 and the famed Silver Plough competition was formed soon after.
Commonwealth Games
South Canterbury cyclist Dylan Kennett will race in the men’s 15km scratch races tonight at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. The qualifiers will take place at 5:29 o’clock NZT, and if he advances, the finals will take place at 11:44 o’clock.
Vigilance urged by Fenz
Firefighters are urging people in rural areas not to be deceived by the greener grass and cooler temperatures as wildfires can still easily break out. It comes after a spike in wildfires, mainly happening in the afternoons, in several regions throughout New Zealand. Fenz rural region manager Richard McNamara said while fire restrictions have been lifted in some areas, people still need to be careful when burning. Restrictions were lifted in the MidSouth Canterbury region this week. ‘‘It might look green but this can be deceptive, there is still often dead vegetation from summer remaining beneath the new green growth which a fire can spread through.’’ McNamara urged people to check the weather conditions before lighting burn-offs, and said people should avoid burning in windy conditions. Fires should be watched at all times.
SH83 improvements
Motorists should expect short delays on SH83 between Kurow and Duntroon Rd, in the Waitaki District from Monday. The NZTA will start work next week removing more than 300 large trees in the road reserve alongside a 2km section. NZTA Coastal Otago maintenance contract manager Nick Rodger said the trees needed to be taken down due to a the tendency to shed branches in high winds.
Police notebook
Incidents reported by Timaru police include:
Two people, in unrelated incidents, were arrested on warrants on Thursday. The first, a man, was arrested in North St at 5pm. The second, also a man, was arrested on Old North Rd at 8pm.
A woman was arrested outside the Warehouse in Timaru for alleged breach of bail on Thursday. Police arrested the woman at 11pm.