RicelandMeadows

McCormick Deering #9 regular gear mower

August 2, 2011

 

     This mower has been a good tool for my farm. It has mowed hay and pasture and is a testament to the men who built it so many years ago. It cuts six feet wide and makes short work of any mowing job. The balance is good and my horses don’t mind the weight.

 

     I am upgrading our haying operation. I want to use the horses more in that part of our farm jobs. My Powercart will enable me to do just that. The cart is a homemade piece of machinery that allows my draft horses to pull any piece of equipment on our farm. It is equipped with a 30 horsepower engine, power take off, remote hydraulics, 3-point hitch and rear wheel steering.

 

     This cart was designed and built by a friend of mine. It is an adaptation of one he built for himself years ago. It works very well for me. It is easily switched to accommodate a 3-horse hitch and by just pulling 3 pins it converts back to a team or 2 horse machine. The hydraulics are electric, so the motor only runs to turn the PTO shaft.

 

     I want to purchase a reciprocating sickle bar mower. It will hook up to my 3-point hitch on the powercart. It cuts through heavy, tangled, thick hay with ease. Our hay fields have become very productive after almost two decades of sustainable farming. Our land has responded well to cover cropping, composting, rotational grazing by mixed species and managing our heavy clay soils.

 

     I am getting, in some cases, almost four times the tonnage that I did when we came to this place. The farm was run down, used up and in need of good management. I owe much of my success to manure, which explains why I hold “bullsh*t” in such high regard 😮

 

     I believe that a small farmer must be flexible and progressive. He doesn’t have to get into big debt from buying the latest gadgets, in fact often success lies in the past not the future. Old farming methods are proven, the equipment is where a guy can help himself out by being progressive.

 

     Time management is an important thing when running a small business and farming is a business. The fact that I get great joy from my farming does not take away that it has to be treated as a business. If I only want pets, then the business part is out the window, but to be sustainable, one must be profitable. I am talking about at least breaking even, once all the bills are paid. I still have to have an off farm job to make this happen, but I am making progress.

 

     My powercart makes it possible to use easy to find, modern equipment, while still farming with horses. It gives me the flexibility to use a tractor when needed with that same equipment without and modifications. My money goes farther, my equipment parts are easy to find and my mechanical ability is not compromised. In other words, I can find parts and even a book to tell me how to change it out.

 

     I am sure that many folks driving by don’t consider me progressive as I spread manure with horses, powercart and spreader. They think I am crazy using horses and ought to buy a tractor. I just smile as I use half the engine power required for the job, as my horses supply the other half. I also smile as I shut the engine off as the last turd tumbles out of the spreader, using only a part of the fuel required by tractor farmers.

 

     Many purest type folks criticize me for using a powercart and increasing my carbon footprint. I shrug it off. I know that I have reduced my impact here on this farm, cutting my tractor usage from what most guys use to farm 73 acres.

 

     I use a small tractor when needed of about 50 horsepower. I use small equipment, much of it old, but in good repair. I farm with nature and not against her. I think the most important thing is, that I am having fun… but don’t tell anyone, they think I am working hard.

 

     The horses add to my pleasure and I want to use them more. It is a win-win situation. The horses are productive. I use less fuel. The soil is less compacted in my fields and it feeds my soul.

 

     I will continue to farm small. I will be open to new ways of doing things, but will remain a champion of the old ways. I will be progressive while holding on to proven methods. Some may say that I don’t know what I’m talking about, while others will say that I am a man outstanding in my field … literally!