The ploughman’s lunch

Yesterday we attended the 57th New Zealand Ploughing Championships, held nearby. Thirty-seven farmers had come from as far afield (geddit?) as Temuka, Winton, Asburton and Gore to demonstrate their skill in the conventional (i.e. with a modern tractor), reverse, vintage and horse ploughing (shown above) categories. Judging ploughing is a serious business, requiring assessment of the opening split (10 points), crown (20), main bodywork (40), finish (20), ins and outs (10), general appearance (10) and straightness (20.

There were displays of agricultural machinery, both vintage and modern, a parade of vintage fire engines and more. It was a good demonstration of why the rural life is so unquiet.   

There were also new tractors on display. This is one of the Magnum series from Case IH. No price was displayed but as you can see you get 4000 FlyBuys points, which gives us a clue:

Optional extra: a 19th gear. For a better sense of scale, see below (models: blogger’s own). It is, frankly, awesome.