Plowing Match 24: Rachel Gras reflects on Queen of the Furrow term
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
Rachel Gras has learned a lot during her time as the Huron County Queen of the Furrow, and it doesn’t look like she has any intention of slowing down once her energetic reign comes to an end.
It’s been a busy year for the young agriculture advocate, and she has a few thoughts to share about her time at the top.
“It’s crazy to think I’m almost done!” she exclaimed regally. Gras can think of more than a few highlights from the past year, but she’s especially happy about all the new connections she’s made along the way. “I got to meet a lot of the other Queens of the Furrow from different counties, and we’re all very like-minded people. We all want to see women be more involved in the agriculture industry, and supporting the plowmen’s societies.”
One of the people Gras got to spend time with was legendary Queen Maranda Klaver, who recently held both the Huron County and Ontario titles. “Maranda has been a sweetheart! If I don’t know what to wear to an event, Maranda’s there! I need help writing a speech, Maranda’s there! She’s always just a phone call away. She’s still heavily involved in the plowmen’s, so I see her at the monthly meetings, and she’ll come to events with us sometimes.”
Learning about all the other plowmen’s associations has made Gras extra appreciative of the robust plowing scene in Huron County.
“Plowing is really becoming a lost art,” she pointed out. “That’s one thing I really noticed. It’s hard to find plow coaches, and it’s hard to find people to plow at competitions. Huron County has a very big plowmen's association - we’re very fortunate in that way. We also have a decent-sized match - I think we’re one of the only two-day matches for counties.”
She’s also noted that even the various Queen programs can be quite different. “Some counties can’t even have Queen programs, because people don’t run, or some Queens have a two-year reign, or their competition is just a speech, an interview, and lunch, and then you get crowned,” she explained. “In Huron County, we have a lot of people involved with our plowmen’s association... we’re really lucky that we can have a Junior Day, so we can pull people in at a young age and get them involved with plowing.”
Just within her own family, there have been many young Huron County women involved with agriculture advocacy through local public speaking competitions. “It’s a big thing in my family. Two of my great aunts were Queens, and one of them went on to become Ontario Queen of the Furrow. My mom and my sisters have all been Ambassadors, and stuff like that. We really thrive on stuff like this - public speaking, going into the community, getting involved.”
In her estimation, this year’s plowing match promises to be an especially enjoyable outing. “We have a really good host! They’re very nice, they’re very community oriented, so I think it’ll be really good! It’s in the Bayfield area, and it’s close to the Bayfield Fair... people can have a whole weekend event - a Friday at the plowing match, and a Saturday at the fair!”
When she’s in Queen mode, Gras attends monthly Huron County Plowmen’s Association (HCPA) meetings, and gives them an update on her activities. She also goes to local community events like homecomings and parades. “I really like parades! I like all the little girls yelling ‘oh, it’s this Queen, oh, it’s that Queen!’ For the Santa Clause Parade, we had candy canes on our bench, and every now and then you’d hear ‘oh, it’s the Candy Cane Queen coming down the road!’”
But Gras doesn’t just focus on farming in her spare time - she’s about to enter her third year at the University of Guelph, where she’s majoring in Food and Agriculture Business, with a minor in Agriculture thrown in for good measure. “Guelph has a lot of extra things you can do, which is something I really enjoy about it. And the classes are getting more into what I like and what I want to learn about.”
Now that she’s off school for the summer, Gras is also working as an animal nutrition intern at the Hensall Co-op. “It’s the second year back at the co-op for me in a summer position. I like the community there. Obviously, it’s the Hensall Co-op - everybody knows them. It’s a huge organization that’s very good at supporting locals. I like the connections that I’ve been able to make with a lot of dairy farmers.”
On a personal level, when she's not acting in her official capacity as Queen, Gras’ favourite cash crop is wheat. “I like working in a scale house during wheat harvest, and I think it looks really pretty.” When it comes to livestock, she most appreciates the humble sheep. “They’re cute, they’re kind of more manageable than cows... sometimes.” She believes that it’s important to keep Huron County’s family farms going strong in the future, but she’s also not afraid to go against the farmers in her own family when she feels passionate about a particular subject, like tractor brand loyalty. “Sorry Dad, I’m a Case girl,” she admitted. “I just like it. Dad’s rolling green, but I’m red at heart.”
In the near future, Gras will be competing for the title of Ontario Queen of the Furrow, but right now, she just wants to focus her attention on making sure Huron County’s plowing match goes off without a hitch. “I still have two months afterwards to focus on Ontario, so those will be a good two months of grinding out practice interview questions and having a speech I can know off the top of my head.”
She believes that the Queen program is a perfect competition for anybody interested in public speaking and agriculture. “Not only do you develop personally - in your public speaking, in your communication, and your interactive skills - but you also can help represent women in the community, and women in agriculture. And associations like the plowmen’s - we have presence at so many more events because of the Queen of the Furrow. Same with Ambassadors. They go to events, representing the agricultural society that they’re from. It helps connect the communities more to their associations.”
Gras also pointed out that you don’t need to be pursuing a career in public speaking in order to benefit from the Queen program. “ Public speaking is important - you use it in your everyday life - even if it’s not public speaking as in, like, talking in front of 100 people. You use it in job interviews, you use it if you have a desk job where you have to talk to people on the phone. It’s something that you use every single day, and once you get up on a stage and you do speak to 100 people, talking to just one person is really easy.”