On the Trail of Champions

An examination of newspaper reports from 1840 to 1940 shows the widespread popularity of competitive turnip hoeing matches in northeast Scotland, notably in Aberdeenshire. Using the lens of a number of champion hoers, this article explores the emergence and development of such matches. Peaking in the late 1930s, they attracted hundreds of competitors and spectators. Their demise was linked in part to the dominance of a number of expert hoers but more to a long-term replacement of the turnip by silage as feed for the cattle that were such a central part of the region's agriculture. Retrieving the history of such events is not only of interest in its own right but gives us an insight into the distinctive rural culture of the area

Champion · Competitor analysis · Demise · Newspaper · Popularity · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies of British Isles · Scottish History and National Identity