2020 IPM postponed

May 26, 2020

The next event will take place in Oct. 2021

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

One of rural Ontario’s marquee events will not happen in 2020.

The board of directors with the Ontario Plowmen’s Association (OPA) has decided to cancel this year’s International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We just couldn’t put our volunteers, our sponsors and our guests or anyone else at risk. It just wasn’t going to happen,” Sheila Marshall, president of the OPA, told Farms.com.

The event was scheduled to run from Oct. 14-17 at the Lindsay Exhibition Grounds in Kawartha Lakes and neighbouring farms.

Lindsay will host the 2021 IPM from Oct. 13-16.

The community of North Grenville, which was scheduled to host the 2021 IPM, will host the event in 2022 from Sept. 20-22 at Kemptville College and surrounding farms.

This year’s cancellation marks only the third in the event’s 107-year history.

The first one happened in 1918 when a flu pandemic started to affect the city of Ottawa.

The IPM was scheduled to take place at the Central Experimental Farm, but Mayor Harold Fisher and federal Agriculture Minister Thomas Crerar denied the use of the farm one day before the start of the event.

The second time IPM organizers decided not to hold the event was during the Second World War when Canadians dedicated themselves to the war efforts.

While organizers of other cancelled events in 2020 have delivered virtual versions of the scheduled event, that kind of format wouldn’t work for the IPM.

The plowing is the focal point of the event and that needs to be seen up close, Marshall said.

“We spoke to everyone we could, and they asked us if we could find a different way of hosting the event,” she said. “How do you plow a different way? You can only do it with a tractor and a plow.”

Video: A Farm Song (Busy) | Parody of A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey

Lyrics:

My days begin with workin’, Alarm’s at 5 o’clock,
I Fill 5 gallon buckets, The feeders and the troughs,
This five to nine ain’t workin’, why the heck do I work so hard?,
I can’t worry ‘bout health problems, I can sleep in when I’m gone,

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

I’ve been working pretty stressed but,
I ain’t changing for some cash,
Lord knows that I’m very blessed (More chores),
But I gotta say it’s hard,
Workin’ outside gettin’ charred,
Living out here on the farm, (more chores)

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history
There’s another 20 chickens that still need feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm getting’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Fun, here on ranch that’s what you can’t ignore,
Might be pretty hard but I love it to its core,
Flannel’s gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores (Tell ‘em sing with me)

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
Watching cattle in the dark, don’t miss me,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
(Yeeeeeehaw)
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
It’s the best bro, go get yourself a farm