Farmers to show off ploughing prowess

More than 250 farmers from all over Britain will visit Staffordshire to show off their ploughing prowess when a national championship returns to the county after an absence of 36 years.

The 2012 British National Ploughing Championships will take place at Whittington, near Lichfield, this autumn.

The event is held in a different part of the country each year and, after an absence of more than three decades, the championships are returning to the region.

This year, the event will be held on the same fields that were used in 1976.

On October 13 and 14 there will be competitions for many different types and styles of ploughing. The event will climax with two competitors selected to represent England at the 60th World Ploughing Contest in Canada next year.

The three top vintage ploughmen will also be selected to represent England at the 2013 European Vintage Ploughing Championships, which will be held at Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire next September.

The Sheepwash Farm site in Whittington, which lies between Lichfield and Tamworth, covers 200 acres.

More than 15,000 spectators are expected to arrive in the small village over the two days.

The show's executive director Ken Chappell said: "We are delighted to be invited back to Whittington this year. Already the championships have attracted considerable interest and we are looking forward to a first-class event. Sheepwash Farm is an excellent site and there is tremendous interest and support both in the immediate area and surrounding counties."

As well as the ploughing contests and trade stands, the event will feature attractions such as static vintage tractors, ploughs and equipment, steam engines and threshing displays, a craft marquee and demonstrations of the latest tractors and farm machinery.