Country diary: A wild morning at the ploughing match | Rev Simon Lockett

<p><strong>Wye Valley, Herefordshire:</strong> There’s a sense of deep history to events like this, where mesmerising horses and precision ploughing fall under the judges’ eye</p><p>While Storm Amy whiplashes the trees, a sense of calm at the 181st Wormside Annual Ploughing Match. The fields are gently busy with horses and tractors, working at a steady pace, all competing in categories from hand-trip reversible ploughing and two-wheeled garden tractors to a fascinating heritage technique called the high-cut method. Entrants come from near&nbsp;and far, including Cornwall and the&nbsp;Isle of Sheppey in Kent (a&nbsp;4am start for them).</p><p>I watch the high-cut contest. This method of ploughing was developed in the mid 1800s to prevent seeds being scavenged by birds, back when seed was broadcast by hand. The tractor creates a deep groove, with the furrows looking like wedges of cheese. Metal boats drag behind, polishing the sides so the seed falls in the furrow; the farmer then returns to bury the seed with a harrow or a horse pulling a bush.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/10/country-diary-a-wild-morning-at-the-ploughing-match">Continue reading...</a>