By Luke Edwards
Usually plowing and a long rain don’t go too well together. But plowing and a long reign? Well, that’s much more acceptable.
The reign in this case is the longstanding Queen of the Furrow program, which began in 1960 and is an ongoing tradition of the International Plowing Match. Each year young women from all corners of the province compete to be the queen, showing off their skills, both in front of a microphone and on top of a tractor.
Taylor Legge is the current Queen, having won last year’s competition at the Lindsey International Plowing Match. She grew up on a beef feedlot of 1,000 head in Bruce County, and said the months since she was named Queen of the Furrow have been busy, but completely worth it.
“I've enjoyed this role a lot so far…I want to focus my efforts on marketing in more urban areas of Niagara to get more people to come out,” she said.
A big part of her job as Queen of the Furrow is to promote the following year’s match, which she’s been doing by visiting events and talking to people about the plowing match, its history, and why the event is relevant. This fall, Niagara will be hosting its first IPM since 1926, when it comes to the West Niagara Fairgrounds.
As a passionate ag advocate, much of it comes naturally to Legge. However, she admits driving around in the Queen of the Furrow car that each winner gets to drive for a year, and donning her sash and crown helps get the conversation going.
“The ground and sash do a lot of the heavy lifting for me, because people see it and they're kind of drawn and then you can tell your story once you get them there,” she said.
Kay Wilson brought the competition to the match more than 60 years ago. She saw a similar competition at an event south of the border, and thought they should replicate something like it at the IPM.
“So in 1960 in Elgin they had the first competition. and it's been going ever since, except for COVID, of course,” said Sheila Marshall, who now helps organize the contest.
Competitors are interviewed and must give a speech on an agricultural topic, while also showing their skills with a plow.
“The girls are judged on appearance and comportment. They're judged on their interview, their speech, and plowing, so all the girls have to do it,” said Marshall.
Finalists are picked on the Friday of the match and they must answer an impromptu question. Legge’s question was about the biggest issue on the minds of farmers, and how she would talk to them about it.
“Which is super hard to think of on the spot…but I probably had enough points to tide me over before because I don't remember doing a very good job,” she said with a laugh.
Despite the tough question at the end, Legge said she loved every minute of the competition. The Queen of the Furrow has attracted as many as 30 competitors in the past, but now it’s more in the neighbourhood of 15 or so. Still, Legge said they’re 15 of the most interesting and passionate women in agriculture that Ontario has to offer.
“The speeches are probably the best part because you are allowed to talk about anything agriculturally that you want and it really showcases the talent and skill of these women,” she said. “A lot of them are experts in industry and are primary producers and they always talk about really cool things. I learned something from everybody.”
The competitors spend a ton of time together during the competition, and Legge said she made some really close friends. In the months before the 2025 IPM, she plans to host the Queen hopefuls for a few events to help prepare them and develop that same kind of camaraderie.
Sarah Keizer is a former Ontario competitor and North Niagara Queen, and she said Legge’s experience reminded her of her competition days.
“We were all 4-Hers so it’s hanging out with people like you,” she said.
The competition, and plowing match in general, will help showcase a part of Niagara’s agriculture community that often gets overlooked, she said.
“We're just known for being wine country. And personally, as much as I love that aspect, there's more to the Niagara region than just wineries and breweries,” she said. “And I think that gets kind of swept under the rug a lot…don't maybe be wrong, we have some nice wines, but there's a lot more.”
Legge receives all kinds of questions while she’s performing her regal duties, and it depends on the situation. After initially wanting to get into meteorology - a childhood on the farm primed her for an interest in weather - she switched to crop sciences, which she’s currently studying at Guelph University. Given that school’s heavy agriculture focus, the Queen of the Furrow car often grabs some attention.
But with her focus on getting urban people out to the match so they can learn a bit about agriculture, she said she also gets a lot of more fundamental questions about farming.
One of them is the basic value of plowing.
“Plowing gets a bad rap. And, as someone who studies soil science pretty extensively, I can’t lie. Plowing’s not a great practice on a commercial level,” she said.
However, there’s two things she points out. The first is that whether they plow or not, farmers in Ontario care about the land. And the second is that the match isn’t just about plowing.
“What's really important is distinguishing the tradition that's rooted in the match and what we do here, and that all the people who compete are really fantastic land stewards. It really is about the tradition and the community involved,” she said.
“So people ask me ‘oh, are you a plowing promoter?’ Well, I'm a promoter of good farming practices, but I'm also a promoter of tradition.”
This year’s match runs from Sept. 16 to 20 in Grassie. There will be five full days of plowing, as well as a ton of agricultural fun, entertainment, vendors, music, food and more.
For more information visit plowingmatch.org. Those interested in volunteering can email ipm2025@plowingmatch.org.
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