Ploughing match in West Ilsley on Saturday
Newbury and District Agricultural Society's annual event
PLOUGHMEN from across the UK will visit West Berkshire tomorrow (Saturday) when the district hosts its annual ploughing match.
Organised by the Newbury and District Agricultural Society, the match will be held at Rowles Farm, West Ilsley.
The event is an opportunity for ploughmen not only to try and win top spot in each of their classes, but also to qualify for next year’s National Ploughing Championships.
Visitors can enjoy the tradition of ploughing with the latest state-of-the-art machinery, vintage tractors, working steam engines and horse-drawn ploughs.
Both contemporary and older farming methods will be brought to life in unique working demonstrations, while heavy horses will work alongside many different styles of vintage tractor and plough.
As well as the ploughing match, members of the public can also enter the hotly-contested domestic competitions with their own homemade produce.
Sloe gin, hedgerow liqueurs, chocolate brownies and savoury flans are just some of the classes for this year’s competition.
All goods will be sampled by a set of judges before each stall is auctioned at the end of the day, with proceeds from the event being donated to the society’s chosen charity for this year, The Thames Valley Air Ambulance.
Top machinery firms will be demonstrating their latest, most up-to-date and powerful multi-furrow ploughing units used by today’s farmers.
Alongside the arable farming, there will be a breeding flock of predominantly grey-face ewes with a mixture of Suffolk, Charolais and Texel rams.
Newbury and & District Agricultural Society president Peter Carlisle said: “We are delighted to be hosting the ploughing match on the Berkshire Downs and are very much looking to seeing many there to enjoy the ploughing skills of the local farmers.”
The entrance fee on the day is £5 and children under 16 are free of charge.
Ploughing starts at 9am and finishes at 1pm, with prize-giving afterwards.
