As a young boy I told myself that one day I would organize an event here in Tennessee to help the public get a glimpse of what we as horse and mule enthusiasts all over get to experience. Finally, this past October, a young boy’s dream came true as my wife and many friends came together to pull off the 1st Annual Cedar Creek Plow Day. We got to incorporate a lot of different activities using horses and mules at this event. I love new ideas in the direction of old ways and equipment from yesteryear.

In our part of North Devon, John Symmonds is famous. Famous not in the modern way of fame, in that he is famous merely for being famous, but in the old manner of fame in that he is famous amongst his peers for possessing certain skills and practical knowledge and as a custodian of something special. For “Cider John”, as he is known locally, is a maker of cider, and not just any old cider, but cider made in the manner of cider crafted on small yeoman farms in Somerset and Devon for centuries. The process of “Cider John’s” alchemy is a relatively simple affair, yet it requires certain irreplaceable essentials before commencement.

What I love about wood cookstoves is the large flat cooking surface with variable surface temperatures. Something that needs high immediate heat is positioned over the firebox but the pasta now boiling can get slid to the right onto a slightly cooler surface over the oven. The closer I slide it toward the side reservoir, the cooler the stovetop surface. Sometimes if I am canning and my canner is taking its sweet time to get up temperature, I will pull out the eye of the stovetop and put the canner directly on open flame.

The efficiency of a lever depends upon the relative length of power arm and weight arm. These principles particularly apply in draft work to the question of lowsetness. The weight of the load is a direct force that corresponds to something pulling back on the animal. As stated above, the longer the power arm the greater the advantage, hence the longer the limb of the horse the greater the advantage that the load will have over the animal. The teamster consequently requires that his draft horse be lowset, in order to gain a greater efficiency.

Duke had been broke to harness but couldn’t pull himself out of a paper bag. He wasn’t very experienced and didn’t know his strength yet. Soon after Duke came to us, Dad brought home Mary. She was an old red Belgian mare that Dad used to teach Duke how to work. Mary had come from an Amish farm and had spent her life plowing and other field work. Her calm and ready responses educated Duke much quicker than a person could as he followed her lead.

One of the ways tractors both gained and maintained their appeal is from the wider range of machinery they can power with the PTOs they carry. This definitely gave them the advantage over draft power. But is it going to stay that way? It may not have to be on a small farm. During the horsepower road trip Khoke and I went on a couple years ago, we got to see some examples from folks who knew which side of the fence they were on. We saw a number of machines that were reworked and reinvented to make them run off the power source of their choice, namely horsepower.

I want to produce the three principal ingredients for my sesame whole grain crackers: hard red winter wheat flour, sesame seeds and sunflower oil. The winter wheat I have been growing for years. In 2023, I grew sesame seeds and also worked on a new approach to making sunflower oil. To make sunflower oil I needed a relatively low-tech and low-cost system scaled for human labor and small volume.

Hay Barns & Sheds and Corn Shellers

One of the things long desired by Southern fruit growers is a good table grape, sufficiently resistant to leaf and fruit diseases to endure the climatic conditions of their section. Many varieties have been brought forward from time to time; but of the older sorts especially adapted to table use not one, either foreign or native, has yet proved successful over any large area. One of the most promising recent introductions in this field is the Headlight, which was originated by Prof. T.V. Munson, of Denison, TX, in 1895.

The Tale of Nimble Deer – Part 5

It all started by chance. A chance turn up a newly tarred mountain road on our way to Dundalk, we were amazed to find families cutting turf. A friend give us a slane (turf spade) made from the oar of a boat. The paddle covered with tin, the handle a cow’s horn. We rented a plot. It was never our intention to cut ‘a world of turf’; even then we were conscious of its environmental importance. Our neighbours on the bog were two genteel older men and a detached young fella who done – not a hands turn – but amble over and ask, “How many bags?” Never another word but a forlorn ‘how many bags.’ Later we were to learn he was Ireland’s most brilliant nuclear physicist; chilling out.

Even as a low-input and low-impact agriculture, mainly following the farming practices of the bygone time, smallholders relying on animal traction must adapt their farming methods. This article is the first in a series of essays dealing with thoughts and new developments relating to future-oriented agriculture. This requires repeated field testing within a trial-and-error approach over several years, which means that the methods described here below are not the end of the story. At best, they represent the current state of the author’s empirical knowledge. These essays are intended to provide inspirations. Let’s move forward questioningly, together!

It has been a different year this year, as my focus has been more on the house than on outside activities, though I still grew a garden and cut the hay. The reason is that our 1860s brick-built house has needed some work for some time, the boiler was on its last legs, most of the windows were rotten and those in the original part of the house were still single glazed. Added to that, the staircase was rotting at the bottom where it was resting on tile placed on soil and with the inefficiency of brick at keeping the heat in, there was plenty to do.

For the past few years we had seen posters for the Northern Minnesota Draft Horse Association’s Field Day event, but it was always too far away for us to make it. But this year, while putting up feed at the mill, a bright blue poster on the counter caught my eye. It was the Field Day poster. Location: Forest City, MN. Forest City?! Less than an hour’s drive from us! Hallelujah!

Some people might count sheep when having difficulty going to sleep. I list horses I have loved and worked, horses who have owned me; Goldie, Queenie, Bud, Dick, Bobbie, Carol, Sara, Tess, Moe (had to change his name), Bud, Bob, Ted, Tom, Tip, Mel, Abe, two Rosies, Red, Blue, Cali, Lana, Tuck, Barney, Molly, Polly, Anna, Queen, Granite, Red Bob, Matt, another Ted, Rex, Jiggs, Pete, Prince, Pat, Charlie, Dandy, Tommie, Juniper, and now Vic and Pepper. Believe me or not; that is but the tip of the iceberg.

Spoke Augers, Tank Heaters, Case Almanac Cover

A few weeks back, I received a long, hand-written letter from a Journal friend. The letter made an impression and instantly I realized there was information in there that would benefit other Journal friends and readers. It certainly benefited me. But this gentleman asked that I not publish his letter for fear that he had maybe said too many personal things. I’m honoring that request. I believe however that I might share the basic thrust of his story while protecting his anonymity.

When I first came into contact with the world of draft cattle over ten years ago, I would never have believed the importance that this topic would one day have for me. Not only did I gradually become an advocate for the positive impact of draft cattle in agriculture or silviculture, but I also became a draft cattle farmer and trainer myself. It is with great pleasure that I get to teach people about working with draft cattle each year, and I am pleased that the demand for this all-important traditional knowledge continues to grow. Draft cattle can be so much – working companions, community builders, and securers of livelihoods.