Comments for Gene Logsdon

Comment on Did the Amish get it right after all? by Dee Braxton-Pellegrino

Dee Braxton-Pellegrino — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:34:00 +0000

I grew up on a tobacco farm and we farmed with horses and mules until the tractor took over completely in the late 70's. I remember my daddy talking about how sad it was to sell the last of the mules and large draft horses. They were all personal friends it seemed.
Now I still live on a farm but the acreage is rented to a large farmer. He's a nice guy and works hard.. but with no horses.
However, my sweet Yankee husband (NY) knew when he married me that he was doomed to stay right here in Pitt Co NC if he wanted me, so he's made the best of it. For me, he has become as much of a farmer as he can possibly be.. and we have 12 acres of pecan trees that we are trying to farm. We keep two shetland ponies and a mini horse as pets for our visiting nieces, nephews and grandkids that provide incredible compost for our HUGE garden. We are going to start using the compost to fertilize the pecan trees… so I guess in a way.. we still use horses!
Dee in NC

Comment on Did the Amish get it right after all? by Donna Pennington

Donna Pennington — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:17:30 +0000

I enjoyed reading this article. I have always felt the difference between tractors and horses where to close to call as well. You just don't have to run down a tractor. Life styles make a big difference in our economy today. Years ago high school football players where told to put up hay over the summer to build muscles, today our sports coaches will punish those who do. Young men can no longer tolerate the 100 degree heat. It is difficult to find a young person that will pick up hay for $10 to $15 an hour clear money. The Amish work force they have to draw from is so vast. With the economy so bad we may soon be able to retrain a generation to simple things once more.

Comment on Did the Amish get it right after all? by Valoden

Valoden — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:15:05 +0000

Dear Gene,

While I like your idea and would like to horses farming everywhere, I also work in the horse industry and wish to point you to a reuters article of relivence. I think you will see that horse ownership is not in fact growing due to economic factors.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0822591020080513

Thanks

Val

Comment on Did the Amish get it right after all? by P L Rollins

P L Rollins — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:29:26 +0000

But what about those of us who cannot afford that big of a spread? There are those that can only garden on a city plot, or a rural housing development, or only have an acre, or two, or ten? That is not enough land, to grow grain to feed or house a horse and not have it picked to the ground. I am curious to know if perhaps a llama, goat, sheep, or groups of any of these might be strong enough to pull a plow. I was thinking of as a kid, when it snowed, and I put a rope around the family dog, and tied it to my sled, yelling "Mush!" as that poor mutt obediently put up with my demands and pulled me through the snow. The patience of the family dog. If a group of sled dogs can eagerly pull a sled, why can't dogs, or other smaller animals pull a plow? It would certainly be cheaper to feed it and it would take less space. Just a thought…

Comment on Did the Amish get it right after all? by steve wiesner

steve wiesner — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:41:12 +0000

To decide between a draft animal and a tractor running on biofuel we need careful acounting, not just a few sentences. Hay doesn't have to be distilled. On the other hand a tractor doesn't have to be fulled when it's not used but an animal has to be fed all year round. The best choice may depend on exactly what we are doing. And there are other possibilties. In some situations a small tractor can be run by eletricty from a cord.

Comment on Did the Amish get it right after all? by Should Small Farmers Consider Shunning Tractors and Embrace Horses Again? | youryogi.com

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:38:29 +0000