The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) is the latest major event to be cancelled for 2020 due to COVID-19.
Host Lindsay will get the chance to welcome plowing and rural enthusiasts in 2021. The 2021 event will be held Oct. 13 to 16, 2021 at the Lindsay Fairgrounds and neighbouring farms.
“The Leadership of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association (OPA) made this most difficult decision while closely monitoring local, provincial and federal government information and regulations,” the organization said in a statement. “The health and safety of our volunteers, sponsors, competitors, visitors and staff will always be our number one priority.”
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The IPM draws thousands of people to a tented city that rises from a new farm each year.
This is the third time the IPM has been cancelled. The first was because of the Spanish Flu in 1918 when it’s believed that the mayor of Ottawa and the federal minister of agriculture denied the use of the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa for the match the day before it was to begin.
The IPM also was cancelled during the Second World War.
The Ontario Plowman’s Association also announced that the 104st IPM will be hosted by the OPA in association with the Grenville Plowman’s Association in North Grenville. It will take place Sept. 20 to Sept. 24, 2022, and the Kemptville College campus will be highlighted.
