Mark Dillon Does It Again!
Southland crop farmer Mark Dillon took out his fifth New Zealand conventional ploughing title at the NZ Ploughing Championships held over the weekend at Methven.
Taking out the Conventional Ploughing category with a clear lead of 90 points, Dillon took the title for the fifth time, the result qualifying him as the NZ representative for the World Event in Kenya in 2027.
Dillon also confirmed that he will be heading back to Europe in August for the World Ploughing 2026, being held in Croatia in September, after taking out the NZ National Champs in 2025.
Last month’s win at Methven was also a key measure of his ability to plan.
“Due to the huge costs in moving my tractor - a Massey Ferguson 362- and Kverneland match plough between New Zealand and the northern hemisphere, we took the decision to leave it there for the last two years, before bringing it back to NZ in the New Year for a little TLC,” Dillon told Rural News.”
Preparing for Croatia and Kenya
Now getting the plough ready for the next World Championships campaign, Dillon will head north around four weeks ahead of the event to practice in local conditions, leaving trusted staff to look after his busy business.
“Attending the world champs is a very expensive commitment, so we are helped with a grant from NZPA for some freight costs and accommodation, alongside additional support from a broad group of local businesses.”
Malcolm Taylor Wins Reversible Class
In the North Island, well-known ploughing identity Malcolm Taylor is also planning a trip to Kenya in 2027, after taking out the reversible class at Methven. He is also going to Croatia for the 2026 World Champs.
Originally a native of Gloucestershire in the UK, Taylor is now a dairy farmer in the Waikato. His interest in the ancient process of ploughing has seen him take out 10 NZ National titles, leading to appearances in 10 World events, with his best result so far being a 3rd place finish in Sweden in 2011.
Methven Conditions Challenged Competitors
Commenting on last month’s event at Methven, Taylor noted that “it was quite tricky ground, that turned over a little lumpy and cracked before the furrow was set back in place. It was also a reminder of how cold and windy the South Island can be.”
Taylor was pleased with the win, saying, “I haven’t done a lot of ploughing recently because of a dodgy hip and ploughing, like any skill, is honed by practice, practice and a bit more practice!”
Now with the hip sorted and with a capable sharemilker at home, he expects to get back into the ploughing frame of mind before he heads north.
Equipment Upgrades Ahead of World Competition
This has started off with giving his faithful McCormick CX95 tractor and KV plough, the latter fitted with his own specially designed and manufactured mouldboards, a little TLC.
Taylor explains, “it’s been about 10 years since we’ve given the plough a going over, besides routine tweaks.” That meant it was time for a rebuild to remove a decade of wear and tear.
“We found that some items had 8mm of play, which we’ve now reduced to 0.5mm. You can imagine how 8mm of ‘movement’ turns into over the length of the plough.”
Taylor also notes that the next few months will include some tweaking of his plastic mouldboards to try to address the changing preferences of the World Ploughing judges, who seem to be looking for more definition in the finished product.
Horse Plough Champs
In the Rural News-sponsored Horse Plough champs John and Sharon Chynoweth came first with 368 points.
The couple received the Rural News Horse Trophy.
In second place were John Booth and Paule Crawford on 297.5 points.
The third place went to Ian and Kathy Cummings on 249.5
www.nzplough.co.nz
