VIRGINIA GOVIER, Plowing Match
NORTH DURHAM: As a result of the enthusiasm and dedication of landowners and community leaders, the Ontario Plowmen’s Association is pleased to announce the location of the 104th edition of the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM).
The Municipalities of Amaranth and Grand Valley will be the hosts for the 2023 IPM. From September 19th to 23rd, 2023, the farmers’ fields surrounding Bowling Green and Laurel will be transformed into a tented city, RV park, plowing competition venue and parking areas.
“The Headwaters of the Grand” offers outstanding agricultural land and a dynamic group of people who will make the 2023 IPM an outstanding event”, said Robert MacLean, President of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association. “We look forward to this opportunity to re-size some of the features [which] have just grown too large over the years.”
Both Local and Provincial Organizers will be meeting very soon with the leaders of the Grand Valley Agricultural Society, the Shelburne Agricultural Society and the Orangeville Agricultural Society to develop ways to work together for the benefit of all.
Two community meetings, to learn more about the 2023 IPM and to invite volunteers to become involved, are being held. One meeting will be held on Thursday, August 25th, at the Township of Amaranth Banquet Hall, 374028 6th Line, Amaranth. The second meeting is on Thursday, September 1st, at the Grand Valley and District Community Centre Grand River Room – Upper Hall, 90 Main Street N, Grand Valley. Both meetings begin at 7:30 p.m., and all are welcome.
The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo celebrate farming’s history with our extensive historical displays and demon-strations. The 2022 IPM also showcases the modern, with some of the newest and most advanced plows and agricultural equipment on the market competing.
The OPA is the parent host of the International Plowing Match. Each year the OPA partners with a local plowing association to organize and host the International Plowing Match. The IPM is a sanctioned member of the North American Farm Show Council. As such, it maintains the highest standards set by the council.
The Association, organized in 1911, gave life to branches all across the province. The numbers have grown, and today, there are 48 local plowing groups affiliated with the parent body: the Ontario Plowmen’s Association (OPA).