HCPM26: Warden Jamie Heffer brings Plowing Match home to Turnberry Township
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Jamie Heffer may be the Warden of Huron County and the Mayor of Morris-Turnberry, but when it came time to find a home for the 2026 Huron County Plowing Match (HCPM), his most important role was simply - “neighbour”.
“It’s a significant one for me, because it’s on my home turf," he told The Citizen. “I was asking around, and nobody could remember if, or when, the last time the match was in Turnberry Township - we’re right at the north end of the county, and I just thought, as Warden, it’d be good to showcase this end of the county.”
Heffer even had the perfect location in mind for the two-day event he’s responsible for co-hosting. “I had some names in mind - of families that could maybe host it,” he said. “I put my next-door neighbour, Nelson Underwood, on the spot - and he agreed! Not sure if they’re going to regret it or not, but the Underwood family has agreed to host it. We’ve been neighbours for a few generations, and good neighbours. We work well together, the times that we have to.”
He believes that the same ethos of co-operation will be evident throughout the 2026 HCPM. “We’re a good community around here that helps each other out,” he pointed out. For Heffer, the match is as much an enduring celebration of community spirit as it is a celebration of the tractoring arts. “It’s an opportunity, most of all, to see the youth engage,” he said. “It’s about 4-H and the Sodbusters getting the young people involved, and the Princess and Queen competitions getting young people to build some confidence.”
In helping to organize the 2026 match, Heffer has gained an even greater appreciation for the effort it takes to make the HCPM happen each year. “There’s a lot of good volunteer work done in the county," he pointed out. “The Huron County Plowmen’s Association just does a fantastic job of organizing, putting an event like this together. “It’s really another one of those little pieces of Huron County that just builds and shines, year after year.”
As this year’s match fast approaches, Heffer has a lot to be excited about. “I’m looking forward to seeing some of the demonstrations that the Soil and Crop Association are putting on,” he told The Citizen. “I think there are good educational opportunities with that.”
One thing visitors should not expect to see at the HCPM is Heffer in the winner’s circle. “I’ve done enough plowing in my life to leave this to those that are trained in doing it properly,” he laughed. He did, however, have a good time trying his hand at competitive plowing during last year’s match. “Once you get onto it, it’s actually pretty good, but you’re constantly correcting to keep things on target,” he recalled. “It’s good to understand how it used to be done - it makes me appreciate that we don't do it that way anymore!”
For Heffer, that appreciation is one of the enduring strengths of the HCPM. “I think it helps us understand the care and the effort that went into plowing - it connects us to that past,” he opined. “Today, we hook on implements, big machinery, and just go. Back then, you were striking out, marking off, keeping things true and straight. It’s a bit of an art. And history is a good teacher - it helps us appreciate where we are, and what we’ve come to.”