Plough and the stars of their field

The Battle of Towton in 1461 was the bloodiest ever on English soil. Tomorrow sees conflict there once again, but this time the result will be calculated in neatness of furrow rather than body count.

Ploughing matches, using vintage tractors and ploughs, have become a popular and highly contested sport in the agricultural calendar.

But it’s not all about nostalgia. Over 90 competitors from as far afield as the Netherlands and Cornwall will take part in the National Ford and Fordson Ploughing Championships and the current Classic class title-holder, David Thomlinson of Swan Farm, Deighton, near York is hoping to retain his trophy.

He started match ploughing as a teenager and came back to the sport eight years ago. “What I enjoy most is the challenge, both to myself and against my fellow competitors,” says David. “It is fine ploughing commercially at home with the most up-to-date farm machinery, but there is a lot of skill in match ploughing.

“It’s also nice to get on to a simple tractor that I can drive, rather than the tractor drive me.’

David isn’t to be drawn on the exact figure he has spent on his 1971 Ford 3000 and his Ransomes TS86 match plough. “I’ve laid out a lot of money on the equipment and there’s also the transport to consider, and the fuel. I take part in around 15 to 20 matches a season.” Roger Ingham of Red Brick House Farm in Stutton, near Tadcaster has organised tomorrow’s match and he believes that modern day farming pressures have sacrificed ploughing quality.

“Unfortunately, farmers today are losing pride in their work. It’s now all about speed, getting on quickly and sowing winter corn. There was a time when you would plough a field, leave it over the winter, work it up and drill it in the spring. That doesn’t happen very much now.

“Ploughing, using vintage or classic tractors and ploughs, requires far greater concentration and effort. That’s what attracts people to come and watch. I’m a retired farmer and got the bug for ploughing matches about 20-plus years ago. Once it gets you it drags you further in. You might start off with something poor, but then you soon realise you need something better.

“That’s when it becomes a bit like the Formula 1 cars. You buy a slightly better tractor and a slightly better plough. After a while you trade up again.”

John Lightfoot of Barkston Ash came into the sport three years ago after a lifetime in farming, and running his own agricultural contracting business.

“I’ve a 1964 Ford 3000 tractor and a TS59 plough, but I haven’t been in the prizes,” he says. “The tractor and plough cost me around £6,000 and I get to around half a dozen matches a year.”

Roger Ingham adds, “‘The Ford and Fordson Tractor Club runs 20 regional qualifying matches right across the country and all of the champions from each of those events should be here for the finals. The vintage and classic sections of all ploughing societies are proving extremely popular just at the moment.

“People from all walks of life are buying a little grey Fergie (Ferguson) or a Fordson and taking up the sport. There is so much more physical work involved, twizzling handles and levers.

“Ploughing is a great skill. At the end of the day, regardless of how much you invest in equipment, it’s the man on the seat that does the winning.”

The rules of engagement

The 2011 Ford and Fordson Ploughing Championships, hosted by the Tadcaster and District Ploughing Society, start tomorrow at 10am by permission of JE Hartley Farming.

There is no entry fee for spectators. Funds from donations, plus entry fees from competitors go to Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The average plot for a ploughing match is usually 15 metres by 75 metres long. Competitors have a four hour time limit.

They plough six inches deep and within weeks the straightest furrows in the county will be gone. The Hartley family will soon be deep ploughing it in order to plant potatoes.