Berne brothers ready for National Ploughing Championships

The Berne brothers are straight shooters, straight ploughmen and straight up nice guys who know more than most about what makes a good furrow.

Neil, Colin and Darryl, who between them have 24 tractors and have been competitively ploughing for more than a decade, are ready to take on the best in the country at the National Ploughing Championships at Little Swanport next weekend.

Despite being of similar age to the tractors they drive, they’ll be contesting the State Titles on July 1 and 2, which backs up to the Nationals on July 3 and 4, at the beautiful east coast farm Mayfield Estate.

At Colin’s Westbury property this week the brothers were busy tweaking their setups in preparation, with Neil getting new tyres fitted to his 73-year-old Ferguson TEA 20 as well as working on the brakes and rear wheel seals.

“I’ve got the plough set up and we popped it into the ground to see what it can do,” Neil said.

“I’ve just had the tractor painted so it’s looking pretty good.”

On a daily basis Neil is used to the luxury of a modern tractor with a cab and all the bells and whistles where he works at Cressy for Bales Brothers.

His background of 35 years in motor mechanics comes in handy and he has been known to forgo the luxury of the modern tractor to complete some of his work on the Fergie.

Every month or two you can find him Tractor Trekking with a group of enthusiasts around the Meander Valley district.

He’ll join Darryl in the Vintage category at the Championships and there might also be a bit of brotherly rivalry being dug up.

Darryl is having his first run in Vintage and will showcase the 35 petrol Ferguson that he’s owned for a few years, combined with an original Fergie plough.

Last year he finished second in the Conventional ploughing and he went to the Nationals in Richmond, New South Wales.

“The vintage class will be boosted by a contingent from Western Australia making the trip to Tassie for the first time, which is a big commitment and a great boost to numbers,” Darryl said.

Colin, the most experienced competitor in the trio, will be on a Ferguson 165 in the Conventional section with plenty of power and hydraulics at the back to handle the bigger two-furrow plough.

He’s been ploughing for 14 years and been to 14 Nationals, with his top placing being third in New South Wales, qualifying him to go the World Championships in Kenya in 2017.

“I’ve also assisted the Australian team at the Worlds in Germany and both Daryl and I have competed in New Zealand,” he said.

Next year it will be Neil’s turn to fly the Aussie flag in New Zealand.

Taking spectators back even further in time will be a special demonstration of ploughing with bullocks by Brian Fish.

Entry to watch the State and National Ploughing Championships is free and runs from 10am to 2pm each day with food and refreshments are available.