Farm Profit Helped by Return to Horse-drawn Plows and "Old Way"
(Page 2 of 2)
July/August 2009
Joy Perrino Choquette
McCrory says the idea for the Animal-Power Field Days first came to the couple after meeting separately with many individuals interested in learning more about farming with animal power. McCrory points to two main factors in the decisions many farmers make to start using, or increase their use of, draft animals on the farm: fuel costs and getting back to the land.
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With prices continuing to rise, fuel plays a large role in how much a farm will profit, or not, throughout the year. In addition to cost, many farmers are concerned about the environment. Tractors and other farm machinery spew large amounts of waste into the atmosphere. The third factor, according to McCrory, is the increasing desire of many farmers to get back in touch with nature, to get back to the land and to be able to grow the fuel that they need right on the farm. “Homesteading is growing in popularity,” says McCrory, who sees a resurgence of small farms. These smaller operations don’t require as much fuel and are therefore better equipped to grow what fuel they require for their working animals. “It’s more of a self-sufficient method,” McCrory says. “And it allows people to have a small enterprise.”
McCrory and Russell know for a fact that draft-animal power and other renewable energy resources are a benefit to small farms. The couple, along with their children, live off the grid, utilizing solar and wind power for their home. All other power for the farm comes from their draft animals. In fact, the only traditional fuel used on their homestead is for their chainsaws and weed wackers.
“A lot of people want to turn back to the land,” McCrory says. “My husband, Carl, has been using draft horses for over 20 years ... it’s been something he’s always done. I think that there is a growing interest in using draft animals in farming.”
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