Written By Olena Riznyk
ADELAIDE METCALFE – The Canadian Plowing Championships brought some of the country’s top competitors to Strathroy for the first time, turning local farmland into the site of a three-day national competition.
Sixteen competitors from Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia competed September 2 to 4 in senior conventional, senior reversible and junior conventional classes.
While Middlesex County co-hosted the championships in 2014, event co-chair Patrick Sanders said this was the first time the event was held in Strathroy. The Middlesex County Plowmen’s Association had put its name forward several years ago and was selected to host the 2026 competition. “We are really, really excited to showcase our area and our region,” Sanders said.
For most competitors, reaching the Canadian championships starts at the provincial level. Sanders said provinces hold their own competitions, with winners moving on to represent their province at the national event.
While plowing may look like regular farm work, competitive plowing is all about precision and consistency.
Each competitor is given a half-acre plot and has under three hours to plow it. Two panels of judges score the work. “What they are looking for is straightness of the furrows, neatness, covering of grass and stubble, uniformity of the furrows, which means everyone looks like the other one,” Sanders said.
Competitors repeat the process over three days. “If you can do this consistently over three days, you have a pretty good chance of winning the competition,” Sanders said.
Bert Beyens won the senior conventional class; Tom Evans took the senior reversible title; and Alex Cameron was named junior conventional champion.
The competition does not end at the Canadian level. The winners of the two senior classes earn the chance to represent Canada at the World Ploughing Championships. Beyens and Evans will be eligible to compete for Canada in Kenya in 2027.
Sanders is also helping a new generation learn the sport. He leads a local 4-H group with 12 young people learning to plow. He said some of their fathers, who used to plow themselves, are now getting involved again too.
Sanders’ own family has been involved in plowing for six generations, and his 16-year-old nephew competed in the junior class at this year’s championships.
Hosting the Canadian championships took hundreds of hours of planning and involved dozens of volunteers, with local businesses also supporting the event. For the Middlesex County Plowmen’s Association, it was a chance to showcase the region and its agricultural community on a national stage.
The event also brought together experienced competitors and a younger generation learning the sport locally. “I’m just so excited to see the sport carry on,” Sanders said.
