International Plowing Match

The International Plowing Match (IPM), first held in Ontario, is North America's largest outdoor agricultural and rural expo. It is usually held in late September, and usually attracts over 150,000 visitors over the 5-day event. Each International Plowing Match takes years of planning, and months of labour to prepare for the final event. It has several attractions in which visitors can go to, including the plow fields, Tented City, and the RV park. A transportation network of tractors and wagons carry visitors to and from different areas of the site. The IPM is organized and run by the Ontario Plowmen's Association (OPA).

The 2016 IPM in Minto occupied over 1,200 acres, and had 500 exhibitors.

Plowing Matches have been part of Ontario agricultural history for over a century. Early events were sponsored by Agricultural Societies.

A feature of the 1846 first provincial exhibition in Toronto, was a plowing match, held at farm near Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue.

The Ontario Plowmen's Association was formed in 1911.

The first International Plowing Match was held in 1913. Held at Sunnybrook farm near Toronto, the event featured as entries 31 single-furrow horse-drawn plows with no classes dedicated to tractors. By 1916 their influence had grown so that the representation of horse-drawn plows and tractors was nearly balanced with 30 plows and 25 tractors used during competition. There was no Tented City until the year 1917. The IPM has been held every year since 1913, with the exception of 1918 and 1942–1945 which were not held due to WW2.

Visitors can see competitors plow in the field. There are several different classes of plowing, taking place in different fields. The two main classes are horse plowing, and tractor plowing. Some different plowing classes for tractors include depend on how many furrows the plow has. Other tractor plowing classes include antique plowing, and 4H (youth) plowing. Plowing is "judged for straightness, firmness, evenness, depth, shape and uniformity. A good plowed furrow must be straight with a smooth trough and clean, even sides."

The Tented City is the most popular attraction at the IPM. It is where visitors can learn about agricultural life, and exhibitors showcase their products to the public. It consists of a series of streets, roads, and avenues, that are created specifically for the match, . The streets are for visitors to walk through and see the exhibits. In-between each street is a service road where vehicles with a red parking pass can drive through. Service roads also have hydro poles to provide power to the city, and give exhibitors more access to their site. The avenues of the city run perpendicular to the streets and service roads. They also have hydro poles, and are accessible to both vehicles and pedestrians. All the streets and service roads are named in numerical order, while the avenues are named after major sponsors of the IPM. The city has several entrances surrounding the perimeter where visitors pay for admission. Tented City continues to grow each year, and its land area is approximately 200 acres.

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Wikipedia