Agriculture industry to honour 2023 Queen of the Furrow

Written By Mark Pavilions

An afternoon to honour Mel Karpenko, the reigning Ontario Queen of the Furrow is being organized by the Peel Dufferin Plowmen's Association.

“Our local association has quite an amazing history and we are thrilled that Mel and her success has added a new chapter to our organization's legacy,” says Colin French, president of the Peel Dufferin Plowmen's Association.

The first Ontario Queen of the Furrow was crowned in 1960 and Karpenko is the eighth local representative to win the provincial honours.

She was crowned Ontario Queen of the Furrow in a celebratory evening finale as part of the 2023 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) held last September in Bowling Green, Dufferin County where the top-plowmen from across the five-day event were also named. That same night Karpenko was named Miss Friendship by her fellow competitors and placed second in the plowing competition.

Karpenko is a graduate of the University of Guelph with a Human Kinetics degree, she has worked with Corteva Agriscience and BASF Canada and is currently in her final year at Western University in the nursing program. She plans to work locally as a Registered Nurse upon graduation.

Raised in Caledon, Karpenko currently lives on a dairy goat farm in Dufferin County.

Since her crowning Karpenko has been travelling across the province acting as an ambassador for the Ontario Plowmen's Association (OPA)—the parent host of the IPM—and Ontario agriculture, attending events to promote the next IPM which is being held this fall in Lindsay, Kawartha Lakes from Tuesday, October 1 through Saturday, October 5.

It is customary for the local association of the reigning Ontario Queen of the Furrow to hold a celebration event and French says local organizers are looking forward to welcoming Karpenko's family, friends and industry supporters for the afternoon in her honour.

The event is being held Sunday, April 14 at the Orangeville Fairgrounds, 247090 Side Road 5, Mono from 1 to 4 p.m. Light refreshments will be served and presentations will begin at 2 p.m. Pre-registration is encouraged, either by scanning the QR code or visiting the online portal: https://tinyurl.com/4bf7t5n9. For more information: pdplowmens@gmail.com.

The Peel Dufferin Plowmen's Association is the local association within the Ontario Plowmen's Association (OPA). This year they will host their 97th Annual Plowing Match. They are the only association in Canada to produce two World Plowing Champions, James Eccles in 1953 and William Dixon in 1961. The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) has been held within the association borders on three separate occasions: twice in Peel (1924 in Brampton and 1963 in Caledon) and most recently in Bowling Green, Dufferin County in 2023.