Plower power: B.C. farmer wins Canadian Plowing Championship
Francis Sache is the cream of the crop, and he knows a thing or two about crops.
The Chilliwack farmer defeated his competitors in the Canadian Plowing Championship earlier this month in Walkerton, Ontario to claim first place in the reversible plow event.
This means he qualifies for the World Plowing Championship and will vie for the title next year in Germany.
"I don't know if I'm really set apart from the other competitors, to be honest," he told On The Coast's Beth Mariam.
"I've plowed against the competitors that were in this match and they've beat me before. It's just whoever does the best job that day."
When Sache and others take the field, they get three 20-metre-by-100-metre plots and are scored on how well they are plowed after three hours.
Judges look for a variety of details: weeds and grasses have to be covered up, the plowing needs to be straight and every furrow needs to be the same size.
Sache says he has been plowing since about Grade 8. He had competitive plowers in his family, so he says it was natural for him to give it a shot.
While some of his cousins have competed for the national title, he is the first to claim it.
Sache says he doesn't spend all year obsessing about competitive plowing but definitely feels the pull of the World Plowing Championship.
"It's just a great event. Over 30 countries there. It's just a great experience," he said. "I don't think I'll win. I'll do my best, do the best I can."
The 65th World Plowing Championship takes place Sept. 1-2, 2018 in Einsiedel, Germany.
Listen to the full story:
With files from Beth Mariam and CBC Radio One's On The Coast
