On Sunday 4 October, the committee at the Glenamaddy District Ploughing and Agricultural Show teamed up with Dunmore-based agricultural contractor Pa McHugh in their second attempt in two years to break the existing world record for ploughing the fastest acre.
Up to now, the Guinness World Records stated the fastest recorded time for ploughing an acre (0.404ha), according to the rules of the United Kingdom Society of Ploughmen, was 09:49.88 and was achieved by Joe Langcake at Hornby Hall Farm, Penrith, Cumbria, on 21 October 1989. He used a Case IH 7140 Magnum tractor and a Kverneland four-furrow plough. It is understood that attempts have been made to break this record around 300 times since, but none has been successful.
Last year, the committee and Pa McHugh attempted to break the record at the annual show, but fell short by 44 seconds. This year, they attempted the record once again, in front of more than 4,000 spectators.
Record time beaten
The acre was ploughed in 09:19.96, which was seriously impressive considering that ground conditions on the day were heavy, with the attempt coming less than 48 hours after significant rainfall hit the area.
A team of six independent judges, including a member of An Garda Síochána, measured the ground area, timed and filmed the attempt, and verified the time was correct.
Show organisers have said that the attempt is subject to verification and ratification by the Guinness World Records, which is based in England.
Show organisers have submitted all documentation to the Guinness World Records for verification, a process which could take weeks.
The successful attempt was carried out by Pa McHugh using his Massey Ferguson 8735S coupled to a five-furrow reversible Amazone Catros plough.
“We set the plough to 20-inch scrapes, the same as Langcake’s plough. The reason for this is that the record was set for 32 right-hand turns and it had to be ploughed at nine inches deep. So, no matter what size plough you used, you had to make 32 right-hand turns to beat the existing record,” McHugh said.
“To put things in our favour, we modified the tractor for the attempt. Standard at 350hp, we tuned the 8735S up to 390hp on the shaft and 450hp on the engine, where it was fit to turn out 3,000Nm of torque. I was ploughing at speeds of up to 24km/h, which was the tractor fully maxed-out, to make up every second I could.
“The heavy rain two days before the event made conditions tricky, but I was lucky I knew the ground, and knew there were no stones in it so I could push the tractor and plough to its limit,” he said.
