World championship in plowing competition

The World Plowing Championship has been held annually since 1953 by the World Plowing Organization in one of the more than 30 member nations of the organization. On October 8 and 9, 1953, the first world-class performance plowing competition took place in Canada. As part of the world championships, participants from different nations compete in the grassland and stubble plowing categories using rotary and bed plows .

World plowing championship in Germany

Competitor of the 63rd World Plowing Championships in York, England during the traditional flag-raising of all participating nations.

In Germany, the competition was previously held in 1998 in Landshut, Bavaria; 1978 in Wickstadt , Hesse and 1958 in Hohenheim, Baden-Württemberg. In 2018, Germany hosted the World Cup for the fourth time.

The venue for the fourth world championship in plowing competition held in Germany was the Herzog von Württemberg farm estate Einsiedel in Kirchentellinsfurt , Tübingen district in Baden-Württemberg. On September 1 and 2, 2018, competitions in grassland and stubble plowing as well as the Baden-Württemberg championship in trailer plowing were held on a competition area of ​​over 100 hectares. In addition to the field day of the University of Hohenheim held during the competition days under the motto “tillage through the ages ”, historical steam plows in combination with precision farming were presented.

Performance plowing

The term performance plowing is used to summarize professional competitions held by farmers in which they compete against each other in different age groups and plow categories for the best general image of the plowed field, the furrow depth, the cutting furrow and the final furrow. State and federal competitions have been held regularly in Germany since the middle of the 20th century.

Importance of performance plowing

Plowing, the first and most important work of the year in the systematic cultivation of useful plants, has guaranteed the fertility of the top layer of soil for thousands of years. In addition to the purely cultural measure, competitions have arisen over the past sixty years to learn how to use the plow. Performance plowing represents a public competition for the best result in plowing - the supreme discipline among agricultural activities - which is primarily about making straight furrows and turning the soil correctly.

After the catastrophe of World War II, the realization grew in many countries that sufficient food production is an essential contribution to peacekeeping. Under the motto " pax arva colat" - "Peace order the land", a worldwide peace movement was created with the establishment of the World Plowers Organization in 1952 with the aim of establishing improved tillage methods and strengthening the international association of farmers.

Performance plowing is by no means a modern phenomenon. As early as the 8th century, when the Saxons were advancing on the British Isles, the newcomers are said to have demonstrated their superiority in agriculture to the long-established residents at large-scale plow shows with carts of oxen. In later times, kings and emperors often went behind the plow themselves when plowing demonstrations to convince their farmers of the need for proper tillage.

In addition to the professional competition, the farmers' exhibition is also intended to increase the importance of agriculture and soil cultivation among the broader population and to create an understanding of the economic and ecological relationships in food production.

Competition criteria

World Plowers Organization Evaluation Committee in evaluating competitive performance.

International judges committee evaluating competitive performance.

So many difficulties are packed into the test tasks of the competitive plowers on 0.2 hectares that even a field of several hectares would not be more difficult to plow. The rules of the World Plowers Organization contain the following requirements:

• Max. 2 participants per nation
• Competitions in stubble plowing and grassland plowing with
• Reversible and bed plow
• Max. 2 to 3 shares per plow
• Max. 3 wheels per side of the reversible plow
• Lane keeping systems, GPS systems etc. are not permitted
• Conventional plow competition area: 100 × 20 meters (0.2 hectares)
• Competition area reversible plow: 100 × 24 meters at one end and 16 meters wide at the other end (0.2 hectares)
• Competition time: 3 hours
• Deviation in plowing depth max. ± 2.5 cm

The cleft furrow

Cleft furrow in the grassland.

Cleft furrow in the grassland.

The plowing project begins when the split furrow is drawn. The purpose of the cleft furrow is to achieve the overall goal of weed control and accommodating vegetation under the first full furrow. It must therefore be completely cut through along its entire length. A uniform depth as well as width and uniformity of the laid earth beams over the entire length of the furrow are required. All weeds and vegetation must be cut off and cleanly removed from the furrow. This is the only way to ensure that the subsequent kickback or the collapse of the bed plow is tight and firm. The split furrow should be absolutely straight, because the following furrows can only be created on a straight initial furrow without double plowing or unploughed remains. A time window of 20 minutes is granted in the competition to create the cleft furrow.

The collapse / setback

The joint should be absolutely level compared to the rest of the bed. The two gable furrows should be as flat and tightly closed as possible. The next rounds are plowed much deeper. With the higher earth ejection of the second pass one reaches a flat field.

Plowing on the wedge - reversible plow

Due to the trapezoidal shape of the reversible plow plot, a wedge must be plowed along the remaining bed. This has to be done in such a way that all the land is plowed through, no holes or hills are created and nothing is double plowed. The transition from the wedge to the leftover bed must meet all requirements for proper plowing. The first continuous furrow on the wedge must be absolutely straight and fully formed along its entire length. It should correspond in shape and size to the furrows in the remaining bed.

Overall impression

The furrow turn should be good and even. The furrows should be close together at an angle of 135 degrees. The grassland furrow should be firm, compact, the stubble furrow loosely poured. Irregularities and holes lead to the deduction of points. Grass and stubble must be plowed in invisibly and cleanly.

Split and final furrow

When assessing the final furrow that remains open, the last furrows on the right and left must be included. The final furrows must be straight and exactly parallel to the setback. The last furrows next to the open final furrow should have enough soil to allow sufficient backfilling. The depth must be chosen so that a cleanly cleared final furrow remains and at the same time proper weed control is guaranteed. The final furrows should give a uniform appearance with what was previously plowed and they must not have any steps towards the last furrow. Only one tractor track may be visible. Another tractor track leads to a point deduction. If the support wheel is used, it must run within the tractor track.

Insertion and removal

At the end of the bed, the plow should be used and lifted exactly at the border line. There should be no clods of earth on the headland. The overall picture should be uniform. It should be noted that multi-share plows need a certain catchment area for use.

Straight furrows

The straight furrow is assessed a total of four times, once each on the split furrow, the joint, the general work and the end furrow.

Depth measurement

The required furrow depth is announced before plowing. It is to be kept in the range of + / - 2.5 cm and is measured by a separate judging group at several places in the bed.

List of events and world champions

No.	year	venue	Bed plow		Reversible plow
			World Champion	2nd place	World Champion	2nd place
65	2018	Kirchentellinsfurt	Eamonn Tracey	Thomas Debes	Thomas Cochrane	John Whelan
64	2017	Nakuru	Gene Gruber	Eamonn Tracey	John Whelan	Bob Mehrtens
63	2016	York	Andrew B. Mitchell Junior	Eamonn Tracey	Andrew Mitchell Sr.	Thomas Cochrane
62	2015	Thisted	Eamonn Tracey	Andrew B. Mitchell Junior	Andrew Mitchell Sr.	Beat Sprenger
61	2014	Saint-Jean-d'Illac	Eamonn Tracey	Andrew B. Mitchell Junior	Andrew Mitchell Sr.	Beat Sprenger
60	2013	Olds	Barbara Klaus	Fabien Landré	John Whelan	Margareta Heigl
59	2012	Biograd na Moru	Andrew B. Mitchell Junior	Eamonn Tracey	Yves Thievon	Andrew Mitchell Sr.
58	2011	Skänninge	Christian Lanz	Bengt Andersson	Andrew Mitchell Sr.	David Wright
57	2010	Methven	Bruce Redmond	Andrew B. Mitchell Junior	Fabien Landré	Thomas Cochrane
56	2009	Moravske Toplice	Werner Eder	John Tracey	Roel Cuijvers	Andrew Mitchell Sr.
55	2008	Grafenegg	Samuel Gill	Bernhard Altmann	Andrew Mitchell Sr.	Yves Thievon
54	2007	Kaunas	David Gill	Andrew B. Mitchell Junior	Simon Witty	Andrew Mitchell Sr.
53	2006	Tullow	Andrew B. Mitchell Junior	Peter Lanz	Simon Witty	Fabien Landré
52	2005	Prague	Bernhard Altmann	John Tracey	Simon Witty	Ove Gedsø
51	2004	Limavady	Peter Lanz	Evan Watkin	Simon Witty	Thomas Cochrane
50	2003	Guelph	David Wright	Evan Watkin	James Witty	Kris' t Seyen
49	2002	Bellechasse	Martin Kirnstedter	John Tracey	Göransson-Frick is different	William Morrison
48	2001	Skive	Henry Thegen	Harald Gadermayr	Freddy Bohr	Kris' t Seyen
47	2000	Lincoln	Henry Thegen	Andrew L. Morrison	John Hill	Peter Ulrich
46	1999	Pomacle	Martin Kehoe	Georg Menitz	Christoph Hess	John Hill
45	1998	Altheim	Bernhard Altmann	David Wright	Graeme Witty	Willi Zollinger
44	1997	Geelong	Thomas Cochrane	Roger Jordan	Andrew Mitchell Sr.	John Hill
43	1996	Carlow	Jens Iversen	Desmond Wright	David Carnegie	Peter Waters
42	1995	Nakuru	Martin Kehoe	Ole L. Pedersen	Willi Zollinger	Odd bride
41	1994	Dunedin	Martin Kehoe	Matti Tanila	Hans Frei	Willi Zollinger
40	1993	Kattarp	Helga Wielander	Josef Gadermayr	John Hill	Willi Zollinger
39	1992	Albacete	Graeme Witty	Dorinus Schoonen	John Hill	Willi Zollinger
38	1991	Limavady	Ulrik Olsson	Bengt Andersson
37	1990	Zeewolde	Graeme Witty	John Hill
36	1989	Klepp	Daniel Herleer	Graeme Witty
35	1988	Amana Colonies	Graeme Witty	Helge Nielsen
34	1987	Engelhartstetten	Karl Altmann	John Hill
33	1986	Olds	Desmond Wright	Kees Breure
32	1985	Gudbjerg	Niels Balle	Desmond Wright
31	1984	Horncastle	Desmond Wright	Bjarne M. Nielsen
30th	1983	Harare	Hermann Altmann	Bjarne M. Nielsen
29	1982	Longford	Ian Miller	Elvery Hunt
28	1981	Wexford	Alan J. Wallace	Sievert Jansson
27	1980	Christchurch	Vivian E. Samuel	John Tracey
26th	1979	Limavady	Robert Wieser	Josef Liszt
25th	1978	Wickstadt	Karl Olov Hedstad	Vivian E. Samuel
24	1977	Biddinghuizen	Franz Rainer	Paavo Tommiska
23	1976	Vara	Hermann Altmann	Alfred Eder
22nd	1975	Oshawa	Gunnar Herleth	Ruud Hermus
21st	1974	Helsinki	Carl-Johan Holmstrom	John Tracey Carl Timbers
20th	1973	Wexford	Paavo Tuominen	John Tracey
19th	1972	Mankato	Willi Flatnitzer	Mads Bakken
18th	1971	Taunton	Peter Oveergaard	Alan Wallace
17th	1970	Horsens	Leif Jac. Houses	James Murphy
16	1969	Belgrade	Flemming Thyssen	Peter Anderson
15th	1968	Salisbury	Marinus Schoonen	Adolf Preuss
14th	1967	Christchurch	Gunnar Johansson Paavo Tuominen	Jens Kristensen
13	1965	Ringerike	Eero Raultians	Fritz Krieglmeyer
12	1964	Fuchsenbigl	Charles Keegan	Eero Aalto
11	1963	Caledon	Yngve Mansson	Eero Raultians
10	1962	Droned	Hans O. Sylling	Eero Aalto
9	1961	Thiverval-Grignon	William Dixon	Alan Magson
8th	1960	Monterotondo	John A. Gwillian	Arne bride
7th	1959	Armoy	W. Lawrence McMillan	Charles Bonney
6th	1958	Hohenheim	T. Leslie Goodwin	W. Lawrence McMillan
5	1957	Peebles	William de Lint	John Mason
4th	1956	Warborough	Hugh B. Barr	Arne bride
3	1955	Uppsala	Hugh B. Barr	Ivan McLaughlin
2	1954	Killarney	Hugh B. Barr	Leslie Dixon
1	1953	Cobourg	James Eccles	Odd bride

Most successful participant

The most successful participants are from the United Kingdom and Ireland . Below are all participants with at least three world championship titles, without differentiating between bed plow and reversible plow.

Attendees	World title	Second places
Andrew Mitchell Sr.	6th	3
Graeme Witty	4th	1
Simon Witty	4th	0
Andrew B. Mitchell Junior	3	4th
Eamonn Tracey	3	3
John Hill	3	2
Hugh B. Barr	3	0
Martin Kehoe	3	0

The most successful participants from the German-speaking countries are Bernhard Altmann ( Austria ) with two titles (1998, 2005) and a second place (2008), Hermann Altmann (Austria) with two World Cup titles (1976, 1983), and Willi Zollinger ( Switzerland ) with winning the World Cup title in 1995 and four second places (1992, 1993, 1994, 1998) and Peter Lanz (Austria) with one title each (2004) and second place (2006).

See also

• Plowing - it is developing , documentation of a plowing competition in the socialist countries in 1986

Individual evidence

1. ↑ World Plowing Organization website
2. ↑ World plowing 2018 in Germany

swell

• Karl Kemmner, Plowing Competitions - Half a Century of World Championships in Plowing, Dr. Neinhaus Verlag AG, Stuttgart 1998; ISBN 3-87575-018-7
• Alfred Hall, Plowing, Politics and Fellowship, Dixon Printing Co. Ltd, Kendal, Cumbria 2000; ISBN 0953927105

Web links

• World plowing 2018 Germany
• Ploughman's Council
• Worldploughing