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Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences will host an international event for the first time in Estonia, the 69th World Ploughing Championships, on August 16th and 17th at the Rõhu Garden. Concurrently, the farm food fair "Maa tuleb linna" (The Countryside Comes to Town) will also take place.

At the World Ploughing Championships, visitors can enjoy not only the serious competition but also an entertainment program for the whole family. Nearly 50 participants from around the world will compete, with the furthest ploughing masters arriving from New Zealand in Tartu as early as July 24th.

Hosting such a major event is undoubtedly a great honor for Estonia. On August 10th, it will be 150 years since the first ploughing competition organized by peasant associations in Estonia, held by Carl Robert Jakobson at his Linnutaja farm to improve Estonian farms through skill and knowledge sharing. Today, there are only a handful of ploughing athletes in Estonia, but it’s great that we can still cheer for our own at the world championships. The ploughing competition will be broadcast on a big screen from a studio set up in the Rõhu Garden and can also be watched online.

While serious competitive ploughing takes place on the fields around Rõhu for two consecutive days, the Estonian University of Life Sciences' Rõhu Experimental Centre offers plenty to see, explore, and enjoy for both adults and children. Exciting exhibits, workshops, and experiments can be explored in the tents of the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the Estonian Rural Museums Foundation, and the Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge. For example, the Estonian University of Life Sciences will showcase soil digging, plant cultivation experiments, and biodiversity in the Rõhu garden, as well as eco-friendly solutions like green asphalt and rain gardens. Companies will demonstrate the latest agricultural and home gardening equipment, and there will also be vintage machinery on display.

Since this is primarily a ploughing competition, visitors will see demonstrations of vintage machinery and horse ploughing. On Saturday, there will be a horse harness competition. Tractor pulling, where tractors pull a specified weight to determine the strongest, will also be showcased. On Saturday at 3 PM, the results of the smart plough auction will be announced, with the auction starting online on August 9th.

At the farm food fair “Maa tuleb linna,” organized by the Estonian Farmers' Union, Estonian farm food producers will sell their products. Several pop-up farm restaurants will offer visitors a chance to taste local delicacies. Children and families can spend time getting to know farm animals and participating in various fun and educational activities, making it a memorable day for everyone. On August 17th at 4 PM, the fair will feature a performance by children's favorite LOLALA.

The World Ploughing Championships and the farm food fair are free to visitors. Special buses will run from Tartu city center to the Rõhu Garden, departing every half hour from the bus stop next to Tartu department store on Friday and Saturday, August 16th and 17th, from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Buses will return to Tartu city center from the Rõhu Garden every hour from 10 AM to 6 PM.

The venue for the ploughing competition, the Rõhu Garden of the Estonian University of Life Sciences, is an experimental station for ornamental horticulture and vegetable trials and a training base for students.

The World Ploughing Championships is part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 side program. The championships are organized by the World Ploughing Organization (WPO), the Estonian Ploughing Association, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, and the Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge. The event is supported by the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, Dotnuva Baltic, SEB, and many others.

For more information about the World Ploughing Championships, visit the Estonian Ploughing Association`s website.

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