The standard of Irish match ploughing came in for high praise from renowned Scottish ploughman and seven-time world ploughing winner Andrew Mitchell.

Mitchell was speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the ploughing fields in Screggan where he was judging the Kverneland reversible test match.

“I’ve ploughed all over the world and the highest standard of ploughing is in Ireland. This is just like a world match all over here, a very high standard,” he said.

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Discussing his own start in match ploughing, Mitchell, who has won six reversible and one conventional world title, explained that he was a relatively late starter at 35.

Late starter

“I started ploughing in 1992. I was quite a late starter, I was 35 years old before I started ploughing.

"I ploughed my first Scottish national match in 1996 and that qualified me to plough in Australia in the world match, which I went on to win.

“It would be easier when you start young. My son Andrew, he started when he was 13 and he’s a three-time world champion,” Mitchell added.

This is the Scotsman’s sixth time judging at the National Ploughing Championships. He outlined what he is looking for in a plot.

“We’re looking for ploughing to be straight lines, every furrow the same size and shape and all the grass buried. That’s what we’re looking for.”

He encouraged young people starting out ploughing to get plenty of practice, something he enjoys greatly himself.

“You have to put a lot of effort in. If you don’t put the effort in, you’ve no chance of success, but if you put a lot of effort in, you have every chance of having success.

“I like the practice better than the competing actually. It’s good to get away for a while and meet likeminded people.”