National Ploughing Contest win initially just a way to have fun with his mates, says Manjimup farmer

A Manjimup farmer who brought home a win from the National Ploughing Contest two weeks ago initially decided to take part as a way to have fun with his mates. That fun weekend with friends quickly turned into a winner for Aaron Ockwell, who works for Stans Machinery in Manjimup. He took out the national title for the vintage ploughing category during the two-day contest, finishing ahead of runner-up Peter Gardiner with 277 points. Mr Ockwell told the Times he got into ploughing as a “fun thing to do” with mates, and despite his successes, he stayed true to going out to the fields to have a good time with friends. “To go out, muck about, (have) a few beers after, and then all of a sudden, (to be named) the national champion. I was really chuffed,” he said. “Some people are there to win, but I just invested and it paid off. I appreciate the competition because you’re only as good as your competition. “(I) got into ploughing as a fun thing to do. All it started from was that I restore vintage machines, and (the fact) I could use my tractor, rather than it being a pretty painted thing sitting in the corner. “We do all these things, it’s no different from playing cricket or golf.” Mr Ockwell won the State Vintage Ploughing title in 2021, and said people often didn’t understand the level of precision required to do well in competitions. “To be honest, you could have a bad day and everything can go pear-shaped,” he said. “It worked out okay, (but) you’ve got to be focused and there’s more that goes into it than people think. “You can’t mess up, because otherwise it’s quite evident and you can see what’s going on. It does stress you.” A farm in the Southern Forests region’s Eastbrook became WA’s first host of the national competition, which had hopeful ploughers compete over three days for both the state and national titles. Scott Loughridge finished first in the conventional ploughing competition with the highest score on both days of the national competition and a total score of 405.5, with national title winners to go on to the World Ploughing Contest in the Czech Republic next year. Mr Ockwell said there were limited competitions in Australia, and a limited resources meant there was a price tag to taking part. “It’s not a cheap thing because you’ve got to have your own tractor, find a decent plough and good spare parts to back it up with,” he said. “You’ve got to have a trailer to pull your tractor around in, and you can imagine what that adds up to. “Ploughing in WA is not the done thing, and it’s not a big thing, but in the UK, it’s a big thing and you’ll have the mums, dads, and even the sons and daughters do it. “As far as the National Ploughing Association, they did pretty good to organise it, bring all the gear and the guys from Tasmania and Victoria to come over.”