By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
Sara Little 2012-2013 Ontario Queen of the Furrow
Sara Little, a Mitchell area resident captured the Ontario Queen of the Furrow title last night at the annual Queen of the Furrow banquet. This is a huge honour for Little, as she will spend the next year promoting the Ontario Plowman’s Association and the International Plowing Match (IPM) 100th Anniversary that will be held in Perth County next year. The last time Perth County woman held the Ontario title was when Amy Holmes won in 2001. In an exclusive interview with Farms.com today, Little said she was still overwhelmed by the honour and said that “it’s a great pleasure” to be promoting the IPM in her home county.
Little, 24 who graduated from the University of Guelph is the daughter of Don and Deb Little. She is also former Mitchell Fair Ambassador (2007) and a 4-H alumnus. Little beat out over 35 other contestants from across the province. The fierce competition consisted of an interview, plowing, with the top five contestants participating in an impromptu speech. Little’s winning speech was about how to make a 30 second elevator pitch for issues relating to agriculture. Little explained that as an agriculture advocate it’s important to be prepared to talk to people about agriculture issues they care about. The top five Queens of the Furrow contestants were from Perth, York, Middlesex, Renfrew and Waterloo North Dumfries counties.
When asked what her favorite things were about the competition she said “I loved the mud” with a laugh. “Meeting all of the different girls from across the province and learning about their counties was a highlight,” Little said.
Coming from a plowing family, Little will be able to represent the Ontario Plowman’s with ease and will be an excellent spokesperson for the 100th anniversary of the IPM coming to Perth County next year. Little doesn’t plan on resting when she gets home and said that she is looking forward to sitting down with the IPM committee and continue planning for next year. For more information about IPM 2013 can be found here http://www.ipm2013.org/index.html
The 2012 IPM being held in Waterloo Region wraps up tomorrow. For more information about admission costs and events can be found at http://www.ipm2012.ca/
On the left, Sara Little 2012-13 Ontario Queen of the Furrow and on the right Courtney Connors outgoing Ontario Queen of the Furrow 2011-12