It's a straight fight

The best tractor and plough operators in the state will vie for the prestigious Burness Perpetual Championship Trophy and the chance to represent their state at National and World Ploughing competitions when they take to the field at Bruce Dunbabin’s vineyard, Mayfield Estate, at Little Swanport on May 23 and 24.

Nearly 60 years of winners’ names are on the trophy, which is the model of a horse-drawn plough donated by the Burness family of Cressy in 1959.

Reining State Champion Darryl Berne will be looking to add his name once again.

Ready to see who can plough the best in the conventional section are: Colin and Darryl Berne of Westbury, Rob Bayles of Cressy, Morgan Waters of Longford, Daniel Gladwell of Elliot, Neil Berne of Rocherlea and Samantha Berne of Westbury, plus New Zealand exchange competitor Warrick Seaton.

Before the Covid pandemic Tasmania and New Zealand took turns hosting two young ploughing enthusiasts each year and this year will see the return of the exchange which aims to provide experience and competition opportunities.

Doc Perry of Cressy and Michael Bayles of Cressy will be the only drivers competing in the reversible contest, where the plough can be reversed and used more efficiently without the need to travel across the paddock.

More entries are expected to come in during the next few weeks and judges will be scoring on straightness, uniformity, correct depth and overall appearance.

The National Championships will be held on May 9 and 10 in Windsor, New South Wales, and will be the ultimate test for representatives from Tasmania, Victoria, WA and NSW in conventional, reversible and vintage categories.

Tasmanian Ploughing Association president Morgan Waters said that ploughing competitions were gaining interest and he was pleased to have some new young members come on board recently.

“We’re also excited to be returning to the east coast for the first time in a long time, with most competitions usually held in the Northern Midlands,” he said.

“This will be an interesting competition because the soil has not been ploughed for quite a long time and will be both dry and compact compared to what we’re used to.”

Spectators at the ploughing are welcome and entry is free. Competition takes place between 10am and 3pm each day.