Plowing tradition continues at Ottawa-Carleton Plowmen’s Association Match

The skill and precision of some of the competitors in the Ottawa-Carleton Plowmen’s Association plowing match was amazing. Tinkess Photo

KARS – The art of turning a field into a series of straight, evenly spaced furrows was on display in Kars Sept. 11 and 12 as the Ottawa-Carleton Plowmen’s Association hosted its annual plowing match at Cranberry Creek Dairy Farms.

For some, competitive plowing may appear to be a reminder of an earlier era of agriculture. For those who take part, however, it remains a skilled competition that combines knowledge of soil, machinery and field conditions with precision and experience.

The 2026 match brought together competitors working with modern tractors and antique equipment. The event also provided an opportunity for visitors to see agricultural machinery and skills that have played an important role in Ontario’s rural history.

The competition was hosted by Cranberry Creek Dairy Farms Ltd., operated by the Lindsay and Meeks families. The match site was located on the west side of Second Line Road South between Roger Stevens Drive and Lockhead Road East.

The event began Friday with a VIP plowing competition at 11 a.m., followed by a plowing workshop. Among the VIP’s were Carleton MPP George Darouze, Carleton MP Bruce Fanjoy, Ottawa Councillor Katherine Kitts, journalist Tom VanDusen, and Ottawa media celebrity Stu Swartz.

The main competition took place Saturday, with plowing beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing until 3 p.m., followed by an awards presentation. Unfortunately, the number of competitors was lower than usual this year, due in part to other recent plowing matches and the upcoming International Plowing Match.

Plowing matches have been part of Ontario’s agricultural history for more than 150 years. The Ontario Plowmen’s Association (OPA) was formed in 1911 when separate provincial plowing associations came together.

Two years later, the organization launched the first International Plowing Match and Rural Expo.

Today, the OPA has more than 45 local branch associations and approximately 1,000 individual members. Those branches continue to organize local matches throughout Ontario.

The Ottawa-Carleton organization has a particularly long connection with the provincial plowing tradition. Ottawa-Carleton hosted the International Plowing Match in Richmond in 1983, an event that involved approximately 1,000 acres and attracted record crowds at the time.

Ottawa-Carleton has also been the site of major provincial matches at other points in history. The OPA’s historical record shows International Plowing Matches in Ottawa-Carleton in 1918, 1932, 1983 and 2001.

In 2015 the IPM was held close by in Finch, while in 2022 Kemptville, in Leeds-Grenville was the host.

While the Ottawa-Carleton match provides competitors with an opportunity to test their skills against other local competitors there is also a larger purpose behind the competition.

The local matches are part of a provincial system administered by the Ontario Plowmen’s Association. Ottawa-Carleton is one of the branches within OPA Zone 6, which also includes Stormont, Glengarry, Prescott, Russell, Leeds, Grenville and Lanark, among others.

Points earned at sanctioned branch matches can be used toward qualification for the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo.

The OPA specifically notes that a sanctioned branch match is required for competitors to have their points count toward qualifying for events such as the IPM.

That gives the local competition significance beyond the trophies presented at the end of the day.

For competitors capable of accumulating the required points, a local match can become one step toward competing on the provincial stage at the International Plowing Match.

The 2026 IPM was held Sept. 22 to 26 in Walkerton, Bruce County.

The pathway illustrates how the Ontario plowing system combines local agricultural organizations with a province-wide competition. That progression gives a local field in Kars a connection to a much larger agricultural tradition.

The Ottawa-Carleton Plowmen’s Association’s annual match is ultimately about more than who produces the straightest furrow.

It brings farmers, competitors, volunteers, agricultural organizations and members of the public together in a setting that celebrates both the history and continuing development of agriculture.

The local matches also provide a pathway for competitors who want to take their skills beyond their own communities and compete at the International Plowing Match.

For an agricultural tradition that dates back more than a century and a half, that connection between the local field and the provincial competition helps ensure that competitive plowing remains a living part of Ontario’s rural heritage.