ENews from Draft Animal Power Network
August 2011
Northeast Animal-Power Field Days UPDATE
We are putting the finishing touches on the Field Days which promises to be a great event this year. With all the flavor of the original Field days held at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds in the past, this year attendees will have access to the whole NOFA Summer Conference, including some much nicer weather. Hope we see you there! August 12-14 in Amherst, MA.
NEW FARMS, OLD TECH: Organic farms embrace animal power
By RICHIE DAVIS
Greenfield Recorder Staff
Something new — yet quite old — is being added to this year’s Northeast Organic Farming Association summer conference.
In addition to workshops on soil management, raw milk, community resilience and starting a community- supported fruit and nut farm, NOFA’s 37th annual summer conference will be yoked for the first time to Northeast Animal Power Field Days.
The Draft Animal Power Network, which has held its event in Tunbridge, Vt., will bring the event to the University of Massachusetts Research Farm in South Deerfield and other sites around the area to coincide with NOFA’s Aug. 12-14event.
“A lot of people using draft animals for agriculture are growing organically,” said Ben Grosscup, NOFA’s education events and summer conference coordinator. “The organizations are so aligned.”
Most of the 225 workshops at NOFA’s regional conference will be held at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The event, which typically draws 1,300 to 1,400 people, according to Grosscup, is expected to grow this year because of the animal power workshops, which have attracted about 1,000 participants a year since 2007,when they began.
Among the roughly 22 workshops in each of eight different time slots are 35 dealing specifically with animal power. These deal with basics including harnessing and driving, developing working relationships with horses, equipment maintenance, farm-horse health and more. As with the rest of the NOFA conference, there are even segments specifically geared for children and teens, on using mini-horses around the farm and harnessing and driving mini horses.
Among the sessions is a tour of Natural Roots Farm in Conway, where David Fisher has farmed with draft horses for more than a decade and has three geldings and three mares to till seven acres of vegetables for the New Roots community-supported agricultural operation, to work 20 acres of pasture and hayfields and to help log a 35acre wood lot.
The animal-power workshops are meant to appeal to different kinds of farming operations and ability levels in working with draft horses, oxen and mules — a kind of farming and homesteading that he sees as gaining in popularity.
“Absolutely, there’s rapidly growing interest in the Northeast,” said Fisher, who will demonstrate use of his horses at the conference. “I’ve noticed a lot of younger teamsters, and older teamsters, too, who have become interested and found horse-drawn equipment that’s used in farming and logging. They’re very practical on small-scale diversified farms because of their versatility.”
Part of the appeal, he said, is that farmers are able to address energy and environmental concerns, turning off diesel-burning equipment for animals that feed on crops that can be grown on the farm.
“It’s powerful to a lot of people to be working with horses,” he added. “It’s a feeling of independence. An aspect that’s appealing to me is that technologically, it’s very simple and easy for the lay person to understand.”
At the same time, Fisher added, draft animals require daily maintenance, including paying attention to animal care and health, maintenance of their stables and finding consistent work for them to do. There are added costs of buying feed and bedding, as well as veterinary expenses, although much of the feed can be grown on the farm.
Fisher, who uses equipment some of which dates back to the 1930s, said one feature of the workshop will be to show plows, haying devices, carts and other horse-drawn equipment.
“There’s a pretty staggering array of equipment to work with animal power,” said Fisher.
You can reach Richie Davis at: rdavis@recorder.com or 413-772-0261 Ext. 269
For a taste of what you will see at the field days, check out the Green Mountain Draft Horse Association's event recently held at Shelburne Farm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZErW1QoAn1w&feature=player_embedded
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