[Carl Russell]

Michelle, he is the guy to build you one….

Carl

[Carl Russell]

My own personal preference has been to milk the cow by hand. After 27 years I suspect I could have paid several times for the investment to use a milking machine, but I also have not had to add cleaning and up keep of equipment.

I have at times milked two fresh Jerseys, to the tune of about 6-7 gallons. It took about 45-minutes to an hour. I suppose one could argue that over the years I have used labor time that I could have been multi-tasking while a machine was milking for me.

My own value system is actually supported by other considerations. Laying hands on my food is huge for me. The direct personal contact, the requirement to sit still and connect with the live being I am dependent on, and to allow my thoughts to wander to plans and dreams, or personal relationships, goes beyond any financial bottom line analysis.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I only milked one goat…. about 3/4 gallon…. after getting 4 gal/day from my Jersey I just couldn’t justify that. I also didn’t think that the milk had that much more to offer in flavor, and I like to skim cream for other uses.

Underlying aesthetic bias against goats, and for cattle, has also directed my interests. Goats have some great features in terms of concerns about sustainable land-use, but on a small scale cows are pretty competitive. I find beef to be much more pleasing, and the return on the animal for meat is much higher as well.

One thing an old-timer told me was, “you can get a lot of life from a cow”, meaning milk, manure, beef, draft, replacements, etc. Not that you can’t with a goat too, but when the focus is just on milk, the issue is blurred. Cattle just return more in my mind.

Unless you are specifically looking to get into a niche for marketing items related to goat’s milk, cows would be higher on my list.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

At NEAPFD we found those ratings to be tractor HP required to be able to adequately deliver necessary PTO HP.

I think Carl’s estimates are reasonable based on my limited experience.

Questions arise based on methods and crops. If you are trying to pick up large windrows, then power needs to be adequate to get the hay into the baler at the same rate that the animals are traveling.

Pioneer’s cart is 32HP diesel, if I recall accurately, and they recommend that for a wide range of PTO driven implements, and it includes a hydraulic system to boot.

In our demonstrations with Donn’s cart, the 24HP had no problems running that round baler pictured.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

That is Donn Hewes’ forecart.
Carl

[Carl Russell]

I am not a “market gardener”, so my points may be inconclusive, but I think it has less to do with the animal (some are using split-hoove creatures too), and more to do with the person….. I know… same old saw….

I find it distracting when teamsters are thinking about their relationship with their animal in terms of the tasks they want to perform. I use my nasty-ass scrappy logging horses to pull single row cultivators. No doubt I have had some horse-blight over the years, but generally I get the kind of work out of them that I expect in the moment. There is no program in breed, nor size, nor species that will automatically address the requirements of any particular task.

Now if all you are ever going to do with your animals is work them in a market garden, presumably quite large, then there may be room for establishing habitual expectations. Not unlike the bygone milk-wagon or fire-house horses, when the task is repetitive, and consistent, the animal can become automatic to some degree. I personally find that disheartening.

I like to work with animals with spirit. To me the power of the draft-animal is on the front edge of that spark that brings us into the present. Being there, communicating, directing, cooperating, in team with the animal is much more dignified to me. I drove some sleigh-ride horses years ago that would virtually step in the same prints trip after trip. The owner loved that, and would just go along for the ride. I had to stop driving them, it was a sad experience for me.

Now if you want to get into the economics of keeping smaller horses, or the affordability of purchasing certain breeds, as compared to the financial expectations of a particular task, and whether the market garden is the primary income stream or just part of a diversified landscape with other power expectations, then I think you have some ground to cover.

Thanks for doing this Stephen. I look forward to the outcome.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Donn, you are exactly right. The first section comes up short for the rear team, that’s why you can see the neck-yoke up high. The front section is attached underneath, hinged. On my iPad I can zoom in and the attachment can be seen just in front of the hind legs of the near hind horse. I don’t think it would swing both ways just up and down. I know that Scott Golden posted a pic a few years ago of four on bobsled that showed something similar. Seems to reason that if you had four, the load was probably pretty heavy, at least when full, so you’ld probably also want four to be able to sit into the britchen to hold it back.

I can hardly make it back from just looking at these pictures….. 😯

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Yes that is definitely a spring pole binder…. it was a common feature of most of the logging pictures I found. Pretty common and effective way to bind a load back then.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I just love the guy with the wood stove on top of the load of logs…

[Carl Russell]

So I got caught up in the old photo archive again and found another good view of horses in D-ring circa 1901.You can see all four horses are fit pretty well, particularly the rear team. Double team on a long pole…

Anyway amongst all of the photos where straps are loose, or back straps missing there are a few like this to suggest that there must have been some knowledge that went along with the use of this harness style adaptation.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

[Carl Russell]

[Carl Russell]

[Carl Russell]

OKAY… admittedly I got over-enthusiastic… but I can’t help myself… Look at these guys. They were still around when I was a child. These are the Vermonters I grew up knowing….. makes my heart ache.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

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