Emily Bowen
ebowen@midwesternnewspapers.com
FORMOSA – Community members from across Bruce and Grey counties gathered in Formosa on June 28 to celebrate the official kickoff for the 2026 International Plowing Match (IPM), which will be held on Lang Farms, just west of Walkerton.
Hosted by the Formosa Lions at the Formosa Recreation Centre, the kickoff dinner and dance marked the beginning of a year-long countdown to the province’s largest agricultural showcase. The 2026 IPM will run from Sept. 22 to 26, and take place at the corner of Bruce Road 3 and Concession 2 – about five miles west of Walkerton.
This will be the fourth time Bruce County will host the IPM and marks 50 years since it was first held locally in 1976.
“There’s something for everybody there, from cottages to homeowners, and of course, farmers,” said IPM Chair Gord Lang.
The kickoff event included live music by Lulu’s Roadhouse Band, line dancing, mystery bag auctions, and a dinner catered by Harley’s of Mildmay. Eventgoers also had the chance to purchase official IPM 2026 merchandise, with proceeds supporting planning efforts for next year’s match.
Both Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson and Brockton Mayor Chris Peabody attended the celebration. The 2026 event will have significance to local communities, who will welcome visitors and tourism from across the country and beyond.
“We’re going to have close to 1,200 volunteers, and we’ll be hosting world-class plowmen from all over the world,” said Gord Lang. “Everything from horse to tractor plowing.”
IPM 2026 will mark the first time the event returns to farmland since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The return has been six years in the making, and will have a wide variety of rural attractions alongside competitive plowing, including a rodeo, sanctioned truck pulls, a pumpkin chucking competition and farm equipment displays.
“Thank you to all the committee members, volunteers, communities and the county for letting us put this together,” said Lang.
The annual plowing match is organized by the Ontario Plowmen’s Association, a non-profit group formed in 1911 to promote agricultural skills and rural development across the province. The IPM has since become a major showcase for Ontario’s farming communities, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year.
This year’s IPM will take place in the Niagara region before it returns locally in September, 2026.
