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On Sunday 27 August, the West Cork Vintage Ploughing and Threshing Association held the Ford 100 Fest celebrations on the ancestral farm of the legendary Henry Ford in Crohane, Ballinascarthy, Co Cork.
Thousands of vintage enthusiasts from all over the country flocked to the southern venue to witness the lively action-packed event unfold. Thet farm is currently being run as a progressive dairy farm by the Buttimer family, who are close relatives.
In 1847, Henry Ford’s father and grandfather left this farm behind and travelled to the port in Cobh on an ass and cart where they were destined for the United States of America.
A Fordson in action at the Ford 100 Fest.
This outing marked the eighth annual working harvest event which was held by the club, with this year’s gathering being the second such event held on the Ford farm. Up to 60 acres of the farm were utilised on the day for the different events. The event was opened by Peter Love, editor of Ford & Fordson magazine.
Display
There was a huge display of the very finest collection of restored Ford tractors and cars from all decades. Two stand-outs included the pristine collection of Ford Model T cars and a selection of Fordson tractors which were built at the Cork plant.
There was over 350 exhibits from all over the country. Helicopter rides provided a stunning aerial view of the surrounding landscape.
Working events
An exciting day meant onlookers witnessed silage cutting from different eras (single-chop right through to precision-chop), combining using trailed and self-propelled machines, threshing, ploughing and even a potato harvesting demonstration.
Two separate silage cutting demonstrations took place on the day. First, vintage tractors and harvesters of all makes took part in cutting a 6ac allocated plot. This was mostly made up of single-chop harvesters with some double-chops also in the mix.
The second demonstration proved to be the highlight of the day. The Ford New Holland combination of tractors, trailed harvesters and self-propelled machines stole the show.
Spectators watched in awe as the harvesters gathered up the 10ac site. The selection of harvesters was made up of three double-chops, two trailed precision chops and six self-propelled machines.
The machines ranged from an early 1980s New Holland 339 double chop harvester right up to a modern day New Holland FR self-propelled.
The weather improved as the day progressed which allowed the combining of a 10ac field of barley.
In total, nine combines could be seen working on the day. This composed of both trailed and self-propelled machines. They were made up of a range of brands including Massey Ferguson, Ransome, and New Holland.
The potato harvesting demonstration was carried out across a 2ac strip using old and modern equipment including horses. Twenty competitors took part in the ploughing which was held over a ten acre site.
One hundred year celebration
Henry Ford & Son Limited (Ford Ireland) were the main sponsors of the event. This year marks 100 years of Ford in Ireland. The Ford factory in Cork began production in 1917, with Fordson tractors being the first vehicles off the production line.
As the farm is in a dairy production system, the cows had to be milked come evening time regardless of the event being over or not. All spectators were granted access to the top-of-the-range milking parlour where the Buttimer family gave an exhibition using their modern milking system. This proved to be a really fitting ending to what truly was an enjoyable day out for all ages.
All monies raised on the day went towards four charities; Temple Street Children’s Hospital, West Cork Rapid Response, Alzheimer’s Unit Clonakilty Hospital and Cancer Connect.
Speaking to club chairman Don Coakley he explained: “We are extremely happy with how the day went. It really was a huge success. The vast crowds and the way that the weather dried up as the day progressed allowed all organised events to take place. We would like to say a massive thank you to the Buttimer family.”
The club would like to mention Tommy Hales, a former club member who passed away during the year.
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