HCPM25: Warden Jamie Heffer, match co-host, appreciates its traditions

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

This is Morris-Turnberry Mayor Jamie Heffer’s first full year as Huron County Warden, and that means it’s also his first time co-hosting the Huron County Plowing Match (HCPM). For the 2025 edition of the HCPM, Heffer will be helping the Dodds family look after the crowd and competitors at their farm near Seaforth. The Citizen recently had a chat with the Warden to hear all about how preparations for the big event are progressing. 

 

Now heading into its 97th year, the HCPM match continues to thrive, thanks to strong local support. “What’s most exciting is just the fact that it’s been happening for 97 years!” Heffer exclaimed. “A tremendous group of volunteers keep it going, and the Dodds family hosting it this year is, I think, a real tribute to their involvement in 4-H, Sodbusters and the Huron County Plowmen’s Association.”

 

Heffer’s role at the match will be mostly focused on welcoming attendees and representing the county. “My duties are very easy, they tell me. I’m supposed to be doing meet-and-greet throughout the two days of the competition - just welcoming people as I meet them,” he told The Citizen. “And I have some responsibilities with the Princess and the Queen Competitions, and for the banquet on the Friday evening - just bringing some remarks, and some greetings on behalf of Huron County Council and staff.”
Though the specifics of the mission may be minimal, co-hosting the annual HCPM is an  essential iron in the annual fire for any Warden worth their salt. Heffer’s presence symbolizes the local government’s belief in the importance of preserving the farming arts that made Southwestern Ontario such a prosperous agricultural hub to begin with. “Some of the traditions and some of the heritage  - we just have to keep it going, and not forget that this was a pretty key part of the process of farming,” Heffer explained. “And I think it’s good to keep it alive in our memories; history is a great teacher. I think when we look back and see what used to be, it helps us appreciate the improvements we’ve made since then…  it certainly helps me see that!”

 

When it comes time to talk crop, Heffer isn’t shy about throwing his full support behind his own personal favourite: hay. “Hay is not for the faint of heart,” he reasoned. “It’s way more challenging to manage and produce than any of the other cash crops - I really think that the people doing hay are the people making the hardest thing work.”

 

This may be Heffer’s first time co-hosting a match, it’s not his first time being part of a major local plowing event - he has fond memories of attending the International Plowing Match in Wingham in 1978. “The best part was that it was right across the highway from the Turnberry Central School, which I attended, and we got the whole week off school! At that point I was old enough to take it all in, so I spent some time at the match with friends, seeing all we could see.”

 

Heffer still looks at the HCPM as a great opportunity to increase an interest in agriculture among local youth - an essential ingredient to a healthy farming future. He feels that holding on to traditional parts of farming can help to ground future generations in the history of rural life. “I enjoy seeing the younger-aged people really engaging in something that we’ve done in agriculture for many years,” he pointed out. “Huron County is an agricultural county, and we’re fantastic at what we do, but it’s our youth that’s the real crop, in my opinion. It’s so important that we give them the incentive to want to come back and put their roots down here.”

 

Although he’s never competed in a plowing match, Heffer has plenty of experience behind the plow. “Growing up plowing our stony hills in Turnberry, it was just a constant challenge to try and keep things straight and true. I’ve had many, many hours on a plow and, looking back, I’m glad we’ve made improvements in agriculture,” he recalled. “What I did do, when the plowing match was in Morris a few years ago, and Paul Gowing was the Warden, I attempted the single-furrow hand plow with a horse pulling. But it wasn’t a real horse - they had a machine hooked up to pull it, to simulate a horse. But it made me very thankful for modern equipment!”

 

While Heffer always sees the value in agricultural innovation, he draws the line when it comes to the idea of allowing automatic, driverless, field plowing robots to compete in plowing matches.

 

“Absolutely not - it’s not about that,” he said definitively. “We are so blessed with fantastic technology, but let’s not let that technology interfere with something like this. This is about people.”

 

At the same time, Heffer is not opposed to seeing modern farm technology in action - he’s particularly excited to see the drone demonstration planned for this year’s HCPM. “I’m so interested in seeing new technologies work!” he admitted.

 

As Heffer makes his way through his first year as Warden, events like the HCPM offer him a  chance to reflect on both where agriculture has been, and where it’s going. For him, the match isn’t just about plows, tractors and farming techniques, it’s a reminder of all the people, families and traditions that make rural life truly meaningful. And as he helps welcome the crowds to the Dodds family farm, he’ll be doing it not only as a celebration of Huron County’s past, but as an investment in its future.