Moray Ploughing Society Match

Moray Ploughing Society Annual Match

Ninety years ago, in 1931, the Ploughing Society ploughing match was held at Byres Farm. The winner was one William Gordon, a salmon fisher on the river Spey for the Duke of Richmond and Gordon at Gordon Castle Estate. What his fellow competitors may not have been aware of, however, was the fact that during the winter months, after the fishing season had closed, William was a farm worker and he spent much of his time ploughing.

Back to Byres for the first time since 1931, this year the medal was taken along to the ploughing match by Jim Gordon, who inherited the medal. The Moray Ploughing Society Match took place on Saturday 13th November and was hosted by the Smith family at Byres Farm, Spey Bay. A very large turnout of people attended and enjoyed a fun packed day at the farm which included a tillage event and open farm day.

The tillage event proved to be a popular attraction, bringing a different group of

The ploughing match attracted over 40 entries. The winners were:

Class 1 – Agrovista cup : I. Macdonald Class 2 – Bowlts Chartered Surveyors Trophy : G. Hepburn Class 3 – Frontier Trophy : S. Alexander Class 3 – Classic Trophy, best classic rig : G. Mutch Class 4 – Pentland Landrover Trophy : Wm. McDonald Vintage Trailing – Gleaner Oils Trophy : D. Stewart

people along to the ploughing match. A number of local dealerships were present, including Ravenhill, Sellars, HRN, Scot JCB and Netherton. These dealerships all carried out working demonstrations of machinery within the green cover crops that the Smith family grow between arable crops. The dealerships paid the family by donating a pedal tractor to Byres Farm which will be a great asset for the farms Muddy Meetup nursery group.

A successful day was rounded off with a dance at Byres Farm.

To give you a little bit of background history, Byres Farm, situated near Fochabers, is a mixed arable and livestock farm on the banks of the River Spey in Moray. It is farmed by the Smith family as part of their farming business “J W Smith”, which was established in 1982 by John and Lorna.

Since then both the family and the farming business has grown. John and Lorna are now joined in the business by sons Bill and Alan, their wives Helen and Emma and they have three grandchildren, Eilidh, Marshall and Louisa, who are always eager to get stuck into farming life. On the farm they grow malting barley for the Speyside whisky industry and produce beef and lamb for local markets. In 2016 they started welcoming the public onto their farm when Helen set up the original “Fun Farm”. The family have thus created a unique facility on the farm to allow children and the public to see at first-hand what happens on a real farm. It is an opportunity to showcase Scottish farming to the public and to educate people in the food production process, from field to fork. It is a great way of engaging the community with the Scottish countryside.

Byres Farm offers weekly groups for preschool children and one off events for all ages. Farm tours, group outings and corporate packages are also offered and can be tailored to suit your individual requirements.