Guinness World Records certified the feat on November 21
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
A group of producers from Manitoba have farmed their way into a Guinness world record.
During the 62nd Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion & Stampede at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, 139 threshing machines successfully harvested grain simultaneously for 15 minutes, beating the previous record of 111 machines held by a group from St. Albert, Ontario.
The record was set in August, but was considered unofficial until the Guinness certification.
The attempt at a world record was part of Harvesting Hope. The operators harvested 1,500 bushels of grain and 30,000 sheaves of winter wheat.
In addition to setting the record, the event raised $134,000 to be split between the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a partnership of churches dedicated to end world hunger, and the Manitoba Agricultural Museum.
On November 21, the Foodgrains Bank received a cheque for $67,000 to be used to help farm families in Africa grow more food. The federal government is matching the cheque 3:1 to help the money go even further.
Achieving the world record was a total group effort as more than 750 volunteers donated time and 8,000 spectators from Canada and the United States cheered on the participants.
“On behalf of the organizing committee, we would like to thank all the volunteers and sponsors that made this event possible,” Elliot Sims, co-chair, Harvesting Hope, said in a release. “Without their passion and commitment our organizations could not have created such a successful event.”