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Simcoe County Plowing Match ready for 86th annual event

August 8, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

There will be some serious competition when the Annual Simcoe County Plowing match gets underway on Aug. 17.

Local farmers, and anyone else who has a tractor or horse and would like to enter, will be turning over the soil at this year’s event that will be held near Stayner.

The plowing match offers a chance to show your skill when it comes to plowing a straight furrow as well as other things the judges will be looking for in a perfectly plowed field.

The match is an open event, meaning anyone can come out, pay the $10 registration fee, and try to win a trophy for best plowing. You don’t have to pre-register to be involved. You can show up on match day and enter.

“Anybody that plows, can come out and plow,” said Keith Robinson, one of the organizers who has been involved with the match for many years. “You have to bring your own tractor. We don’t supply any equipment. You also have to have $2 million in liability insurance. We have people coming from all over the region. Usually there are 30 to 35 competitors. Some years it’s as many as 40.”

A plowing match this size requires 30 to 40 acres of land to provide enough area for competition. The farmer hosting the event this year has provided the vacant land after already harvesting a wheat crop that was on the acreage.

There are several classes of competition. The event will get underway at 10 a.m. and wrap up around 4 p.m.

Judges will be looking at several different qualities in the furrows including how straight they are, depth, and uniform furrows.

There is also a class for horses, which has the same judging standards, but the furrows are made by very strong plow horses.

This takes competition back to the day when a strong horse was the backbone of a farming operation.

The local 4H Club will also be involved in this year’s event.

A Jr. 4H plowing match will be held on Aug. 16.

There is free admission to the match, so if you would just like to come out and enjoy the competition as a spectator, you are welcome.

The Annual Simcoe County Plowing Match will take place on Saturday, Aug. 17, at the farm of Rob Noordegraaf and his family. 

The farm is located at 1107 Klondike Park Road, Stayner, (1 km East of Sunnydale Corners, Hwy. 26).

For more information, contact Keith Robinson at 705-458-4389.

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