More than 140 antique threshing machines and 600 volunteers attempted to set a new world record near Austin, Manitoba on Sunday afternoon.
All of the machines took to the same field and run for at least 20 minutes to thresh 75 acres of wheat. Each one was driven by a steam engine, tractor or stationary engine built between 1890 and 1950.
The event, Harvesting Hope, is put on by the Manitoba Agricultural Museum and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank in order to raise funds to end global hunger.
“The momentum behind this event is just exploding right now,” Alyn Wilcox, spokesperson for Harvesting Hope, said in a news release. “We put out a call for people with antique machines to join us in Austin, not knowing what kind of a response to expect, and I think it’s fair to say that we are beside ourselves at the wonderful turnout.”
To set the record they needed more than 112 machines on the field and 147 took part. Guinness World Records needs roughly two to three weeks to process the attempt.
Austin is about 130 kilometres west of Winnipeg.