Heather Wright/The Independent

Eva Vos says plowing is a family tradition.

The 13-year-old from Alvinston was one of six people competing in the Junior Division at the Lambton Plowing Match on the weekend.

The teen has been competing since she was 10, following in the footsteps of her uncles and grandfather who have been involved in plowing competitions for decades. 

One is highly decorated. Patrick Sanders, Vos’ uncle, was on hand Saturday at Keith Hart’s London Line farm, helping with the event. He’s fresh off being name the Reserve Champion at the Canadian Plowing Championship in south Grey County. It’s the second year in a row he’s taken second place at the competition.

“Plowing well requires patience and skill,” says Sanders.

“Straightness is number one. We get judged on straightness four times throughout our plowed land, so we have to make sure the furrows are straight. The judges are also looking for uniformity. That means every furrow looking the same, and that we need to bury all of the grass and stubble that’s on top needs to go underneath the furrows. So we get judged on 20 different aspects, each out of the score of 10, for a total score out of 200.”

The competition is not as stiff at the Lambton match Sanders says.

“These county matches are a fairly relaxed atmosphere, but when we’re competing at the provincial and national level, then we are timed, and we’re plowing much bigger lands.” he says. “We have a half an acre to plow in three hours time, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but when we have to go through … about 120 different adjustments throughout our plowed land on our plows.”

Plowing is still fairly common in Ontario. 

About 30 per cent of Ontario’s farmland is no-till – a lot less than the rest of Canada where 61 per cent of farmland is not touched by a plow.  In Lambton, there is more plowing because of the heavy clay in many areas.

“It’s still an important skill to know, especially in the farming world, because you can definitely drive by fields and see the good plowing from the bad plowing, and it makes a difference in the springtime, when you’re trying to create a seed bed and trying to plant good crops, if your plowing is done well, makes everything easier.

“We’re a heavier clay soil. Corn still loves the moldboard plow.”

Sanders was among the hundreds of people at the Saturday event and can’t wait to be involved in the competition when the International Plowing Match comes in 2026.

“I come from a long line of plowing, and you know, it’s something that I spent my youth out in plow fields just like this. And I’m so happy that my kids and nieces and nephews want to do the same thing as well. 

“It really warms my heart to see this.”