The Rural Voice, 1993-09, Page 23Where the action is
`Machines in Motion' puts machines
through their paces at the IPM
instead of just looking pretty
By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot
was a hot day the July
afternoon John Wilton of R.R.
5, Mildmay met with me to
discuss his involvement in one
r
.-of the more innovative and
exciting events at this year's
International Plowing Match, Farm
Machinery Exhibition and Country
Living Exposition. The beating
summer sun was only made bearable
by a gusty breeze blowing through
the grass in the hay field, making the
green alfalfa leaves flutter and
causing the flags on the "Bruce
Beckons" plowing match sign to
stretch and billow, revealing the
colourful banners and crests
emblazoned on their sides. We
settled under the shade of a majestic
maple tree, bordering the 100 -acre
field where the event is to be held, to
discuss Machines in Motion, an
intriguing event to be featured for the
first time at this year's match.
It was a perfect day to host a farm
machinery demonstration.
"What are you going to do if it
rains?" I asked.
"Don't even talk about it. It just
isn't going to rain," announced
Wilton with a chuckle.
Like farmers at harvest time,
organizers putting together the
Machines in Motion event are at the
mercy of the weather. If it rains,
years of planning and preparation
will literally wash away, but if the
weather is anything like the day in
July when we discussed the
upcoming show, this particular event
will no doubt make tracks as one of
the more innovative and interesting
events in the history of the show.
Traditionally, the farm machinery
show has revolved around the various
company tents in Tented City where
dealers and companies would park
their tractors and planting and
harvesting equipment in a ring for
persons to view. However, over the
years, two of the mainline machine
companies, Case -International and
John Deere, have dropped out of the
match, possibly because they didn't
feel much return from having their
machinery sit at a site.
John Fennell, General Manager of
David Inglis chats with Jim Snyder
and John Wilton about plans for
Machines in Motion, the show that
will put farm machinery to work.
SEPTEMBER 1993 19