Ploughing a new furrow in the north
SCOTTISH top ploughmen and women will head north to Caithness this weekend for this year’s Scottish Ploughing Championships on Morgan Milne’s Stanstill farm at bower near Wick.
This is the furthest north the championship has been held and its location has not only tempted local competitors but also 11 ploughmen who are coming over from Orkney.
The local competition ploughing fraternity had campaigned for some time to host the event and since being awarded the championships they have worked hard in raising sponsorship and awareness of the event.
Apart from the competition, which will see three past world champions taking part, there are other classes for vintage ploughing and horse ploughing; the latter group receiving special sponsorship for their entries.
The Sunday “plough offs” will see those who qualified the previous day compete to find the Scottish conventional and reversible champions with the winners getting the chance to plough for Scotland in the World Championships in France next year.
The event will also have a number of demonstration plots with all the main plough manufacturers showing their latest tackle on the 250 acre site.
A new intuitive to introduce younger ploughmen and women into the competition scene has helped swell entries and their work will be seen by many local school children, with the royal Highland education Trust having organised a visits for local primary schools so they can find out the importance of ploughing.