All set to go!
Manawatu is gearing up to showcase the country's premier ploughmen and ploughwomen in April.
The champs will be held at Palmerston, East Otago on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.
The event will be hosted by East Otago Vintage Machinery Club plough committee, chaired by Kathryn Gordon.
There are four sections; the conventional plough sponsored by Case IH Agriculture, the reversible plough sponsored by Farmlands Fuels, the vintage plough sponsored by Mainland Minerals and the horse plough sponsored by the Rural News Group.
One of the first to qualify for the Case IH Silver Plough final was John Guy of Hamilton who won the conventional ploughing section at the Manawatu Ploughing Association match held at Palmerston North in October 2014.
Guy and his wife Lynda have both ploughed competitively since their days at YFC in Te Awamutu and of more recent years Lynda has become a qualified ploughing judge and marshal.
He has a homemade plough “cannibalised” from four different ploughs and it has plastic mould boards. It has served him well competing at several New Zealand Championships. As well as competing he has been chairman of the Waikato Ploughing Association for a number of years.
For the last five years he has used a Ford 4600, but this year due to the generosity of New Holland Agriculture and through their Morrinsville branch manager, Craig Berkers, he now has the use of a New Holland TT4.75 tractor for all his competition ploughing events including the New Zealand Ploughing Championships.
“We have done business with John over the years and we saw this as a practical way to support John in his ploughing, the New Zealand Ploughing Association and of course to publicise our TT4 range which we believe are the ideal entry level tractor in the lower horse power range,” said Berkers.
The tractor is 75hp and utilises the proven FPT industrial engines with the Bosch rotary fuel injection and the TT4.75 is turbocharged and intercooled.
Guy, who has just had ankle surgery, appreciates the flat deck platform that gives spacious leg room and easy entry/exit. The seat has mechanical suspension and is mounted on inclined base so it can be adjusted to suit any sized operator.
All gear levers and hydraulic controls are at hand for quick and easy access.
Guy says he had his own set of wheels to suit his plough and has only had to extend some hydraulic hoses to reach the ports.
Guy, “I appreciate New Holland Agriculture and Craig’s generosity - all I have to do now is get the results.”
The New Zealand finals at Palmerston include two days of competition, on the first day qualifiers plough a set area of stubble and on the second day the same sized area of pasture.
Winners of the conventional and reversible competitions qualify to compete in the 63rd World Ploughing Championships to be held at York, England in September 2016.
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