VERNER – Heidi Frey is the new Ontario Queen of the Furrow.
The 20-year-old Drayton resident was selected on Sept. 20 during the 2019 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) in Verner, West Nipissing, located between North Bay and Sudbury.
“I can’t believe this is real. I’m so honoured to be chosen out of this amazing group of girls that I’ve gotten to spend the last couple of days with,” said Frey following her coronation.
“I look forward to working with the Kawartha Lakes committee for 2020.”
As Queen of the Furrow, one of Frey’s responsibilities is to promote IPM 2020, which is set for Oct. 14 to 17 in Lindsay, Kawartha Lakes.
Eighteen Queen of the Furrow contestants, each selected to represent their region of the province, were accompanied by three judges during two days of competition at IPM 2019. They were assigned points based on appearance and deportment, plowing abilities, an interview and a speech on an agriculture-related topic delivered in front of a large IPM crowd.
The top five contestants were attributed additional points based on an impromptu speech delivered during the Celebration of Excellence banquet.
Frey, a second-year student at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus, is set to graduate with an associate diploma in agriculture at the end of this school year.
HEIDI FREY
“I’m hoping afterward to get a job based in agronomy and eventually obtain my CCA (certified crop advisor), which basically means I make recommendations to farmers,” she explained.
Frey’s family was in the dairy business but sold its quota several years ago and now runs an ag retail business.
“That’s where I got my love of cropping from,” Frey said with a smile.
In her new role, she will act as an ambassador for Ontario agriculture, travelling the province and attending events to promote the IPM and the Ontario Plowmen’s Association. She will continue her reign until the 2020 IPM, at which time a new Ontario Queen of the Furrow will be crowned.
