missions The signs are up.. September 17 - 21, 1985 are the days which have been set for Elgin County to host the International Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Show. The site selected isjust north west of St. Thomas - east of Talbotville at the junction of County Road #52 and Highway #3 by-pass on the farm of William Bradish and sons and neighbouring farms. Composed of approximately 1,000 acres, the actual plowing site of about 350 acres will have more than 200 plowmen competing for more than $35,000. in prize money. Parking is free on an area of 250 ~ 275 acres. One of the biggestrattraotions is a city that appears only once a year for one week. The tented city at the |.P.M. is 100 acres of "city under canvas†that attracts more than 150,000 visitors. It gives farm and urban people the opportunity to see the latest in agricultural machinery, methods of improving plowing skills. and a place to exchange related ideas. Each day there is plenty of activity for everyone. For the men, there is plenty to see in farm machinery, trucks, plowing, etc, while the ladies can find ° much of interest in “ladies fair". The committee has selected three themes for the Saday event. The first two clays will be devoted to "Women in the Agribusinessâ€. The third and fourth days are devoted to “The Finer Things in Lifeâ€, The fifth day is to be "Family Day". There will be Fashion Shows daily with local businesses participat- ing, and food demonstrations given daily. The usual |.P.M. quilt competition takes place on June 26. 1985, with the winning entries to be on display the week of the Match. Lord and Lady Elgin coming Lord and Lady Elgin will travel from Scotland to officially open the Match on September 17 at 2 p.rn. Thursday evening, September 19, the Silver Jubilee Banquet for the Queens of the Furrow will be held. Elgin is proud to have had the first Queen of the Furrow Lynda Prong, in 1960. Many former Queens will be present at this event, A trailer park is available for those who like to camp and an additional service is the billeting commiteee which can place |.P.M. visitors in private homes for reasonable rates. ‘ The Elgin County Exhibit Building will feature many facets of Elgin including the Elgin County Ontario Genealogical display. Everyone is invited to visit the County Exhibit. The mainstay of the international Plowing Match and Farm Machinery Show are the plowing competitions that take place each year. This year brings some changes to the event particularly ‘with the creation of a new Class V which lis the Ontario Championship Tractor Class. 1 The winners of this. class will be ‘ eligible to compete in the Canadian Plowing Contest in 1986 in OldS, lAlberta with the Canadian Champion ,moving on to the 1987 World Match. , Determining an Ontario Champion is ‘ not a new practice as previous ‘Champlons were decided on the i Saturday of the Match in a special four man competition. These people were ,the highest and second highest point Winners from four days of plowmg in the ‘regular IPM classes. This year those ‘wishing to vie for the Ontario title will compete as a separate class on Tuesday through Friday of the Match. This should prove to be an exciting adt ition « to the plowing activities at the IPM. Forthe uninitiated the following 5 a . overview of all the classes that w i be plowing at the 1985 IPM. Class | is the horse plowing cla: and it is divided into two groups, Groi 3 l is an open competition. Group ll i also i open, however previous Winners i i this I group must compete in Group i As a result, Group I becomes a more experienced class although the COl 1DeIl’ tion is Just as keen in Group II The winners and runners-up of both 5 oups . compete on the Saturday for the C itario Championship Horse Plowman, Classes || through V are all actor classes that contain age groups t even out the skill levels. Classes ll. | and IV, correspond with the numl er of furrows per plow. For example, ( ass ll contains two furrow plows and CI. as W. four furrow plows. - St. T omas Avlmer . HE E PLO‘ IlNG . C M. TCH a S 2 z = m c 2 “D i l; 1; 3| Belmont Glanworth ,’/’l Lindon Dorchester