Two days of events planned for 100th Plowing Match
FOWLERS CORNERS — The annual Peterborough County Plowing Match will celebrate its 100th year by returning as a two-day event later this week.
Volunteers with the Peterborough County Plowman’s Association began preparations at the farm of host Dave and Barb Edgerton on Wednesday morning, including preparing the field for competitions on Friday and Saturday.
It’s the 100th match the association has hosted since it began in 1913. Four competitions have been missed in those 105 years — 1942 to 1945 due to war restrictions and 2006, when the county hosted the International Plowing Match.
The free event, which draws locals and visitors alike, usually includes just a single day of plowing competition, but several other activities have been added to celebrate this year’s centenary milestone.
An antique tractor parade, farm machinery and tillage equipment demonstrations, live music and more than 30 display
booths from local businesses will be included. Lang Pioneer Village will have its Sawyer-Massey steam engine made in 1921.
Not everything will be directly related to agriculture, either. A wood-carding artist will demonstrate how to use a foot pump lathe, for example.
Plowing classes include modern tractors, antique tractors, horses and special classes like VIP, 4-H and Queen and Princess of the Furrow. Judges will assess participants in areas such as presentation and uniformity.
Winners will be revealed during an awards banquet set for Bridgenorth United Church that will wrap up the event, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday. A limited number of remaining tickets can be purchased at the plowing match, organizers said.
Opening ceremonies take place at the main stage at noon Friday.
Excitement is building for the event, association president Roy Craft said as farmers worked to stake out the width and length of each plot for competition.
“It’s taken a lot of work and dedication … to get everything organized,” Queen of the Furrow Ashley Buck said.
The idea is to build a bridge between the farming and urban communities, Craft said. “Hopefully we can do a bit of that here.”
It’s a great opportunity for the family to get out and have some fun, Buck added. “We’re celebrating agriculture in Peterborough County … and it’s a good way to get people more involved.”
The association’s main objective is to advance the interests of agriculture by emphasizing the importance of proper cultivation and to encourage modern soil and water conservation practices, officials stated.
NOTES: The Peterborough County Plowing Match takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Edgerton farm at 11 Lindsay Rd. just east of Fowlers Corners. … Food will be served on the grounds by the Fowlers Corners and District Lions Club.