Old machines can still cut it

Twenty-three chaff-cutters have set an unlikely world record on a dusty Mid-Canterbury paddock.

The machines were towed or trucked to the Plains Museum grounds near Ashburton to set a world chaff-cutting benchmark.

The organisers have now challenged other vintage machinery enthusiasts to equal or better the number of machines in one place at one time, all running and producing chaff.

Chaff-cutters were used in the past to cut chaff for horse fodder, when draught horses were the driving force on farms.

One of the organising team, Murray Oakley, described the weekend event as a huge success, with large crowds packing the museum's farm both days.

More than 500 bags of chaff were cut and these would now be sold, with a fair number of them heading to the North Island, Mr Oakley said.

As well as chaff-cutters in action, there were demonstrations of elderly wooden mills, designed to thresh grain from oats, and an elderly sawmill was kicked into life.

The Plains Museum's contribution to the chaff-cutter line-up came after a round of hard work by enthusiasts cleaning and painting the elderly machines.

As well as being a weekend out for chaff-cutters and their owners, the event was a chance for other vintage machinery enthusiasts to give their pride-and-joys an airing.

A total of 13 traction engines made the slow and noisy journey to the Plains farm, with many of these towing chaff-cutters behind.

Vintage machinery from throughout Canterbury was packed into the grounds, including more than 50 vintage tractors and a range of elderly farm machines.

- NZPA