International politics impact on the World Ploughing Championship in Wexford.
The World Ploughing Championships is now in its twentieth year. The world title has been won five times by Irish men. Top ploughmen from 18 countries are competing at Wellington Bridge, County Wexford for the title and the coveted Gold Plough Trophy.
It's a magnificent 300 acre site of rolling grasslands.
Over 30,000 visitors came in the rain and mud yesterday and today the weather has somewhat improved. Competitors come from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Britain and Scandinavia, as well as a team from Rhodesia.
This year, the festival has political overtones. Kenya withdrew from the competition under instruction from their government and there are no Irish government representatives at the championships because of the presence of the Rhodesian team. Czechoslovakia withdrew yesterday as a result of health issues, and today the Yugoslav team was ordered to withdraw by their government. Contestants defend their decision to participate in the championship saying that politics should not enter their sport.
On display is a ploughing machine from the Carlow Sugar Company worth £3,500.
Using this machine, one man can lift, top, clean and transport 12 acres of beet a day.
Jim Kenny, of the Irish Sugar Company, believes that this machine will make a big impact on the export market.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 6 October 1973. The reporter is John Howard.
