[Andy Carson]

Nice work. Looks very useful. I can’t see the connection between the mowers output shaft and the drive shaft… Did you end up speeding up the speed of rotation? Any idea what rpm the shaft runs at? Is it easy to get the mechanism going from a dead stop (any tire skidding)?

[Andy Carson]

The road has never been a problem for me. Maybe it’s the area I live in, but reading Grey’s tips, maybe it’s not… When I go on the road (which isn’t really often), I am always in a forecart. It’s a pretty quiet ride, and I can hear a car or truck coming up behind me easily. When they get close, I turn my head around and make eye contact. There are plenty of people who can be jerks with anonymity, but few have the guts to do it to your face… It probably helps that not only can I see them, but they know I see them. At any rate, I often wave them by when it’s clear and time to pass. This keeps the gawkers moving and lets everyone feel more comfortable about passing. When visiblity is poor because of hills or turns, I also motion for traffic to stay back. Sometimes I will stand up and look ahead to see if it is clear, especially if I am holding someone back. The visibility when standing up on a forecart really is great and I can motion them by at a much earlier time than if they relied on thier own visibility. So really, I interact with and make eye contact with almost every vehicle that passes me on the road. Maybe this is one reason I have had such positive experiences.

The only thing this doesn’t help with is people not seeing you till the last second. I have never had to do this, but I feel good about “bailing” off the road in my forecart in that situation. It’s short enough to get off the road really quick and it just might be the best vehicle for surviving such a trip. Still, as I have never actually done this, it’s proably more of a confidence booster than anything…

[Andy Carson]

Fairs in western PA are pretty heavy on amusement rides, food venders, and retailers both local and national. There is about one per county and they are held in the late summer and fall. There are generally several poorly visited barns that hold 4-H animals, with pigs, sheep, and horses being the most popular (at least it seems). Sometimes there are a few goats and sometimes there is a poultry barn. Usually local dairys have a pretty strong presence, but other than the dairies there aren’t many who bring animals that are not affiliated with 4-H. I don’t think there is usually a class where adults show animals (maybe dairy cows??), but I don’t know for sure as I prefer to visit at the stall/pen reather than watch a show. There are usually alot of riding horses and some riding competitions. Some of the larger fairs have draft horses in stalls, but they are usually the “hitch type” and will sometimes pull a wagon or a cart. I have never seen one do field work at a fair, even as a demo. Most of the fairs have horse pulling competitions (several have pony pulling competitions too) but these horses and owners seem to always trailer in for just the competition and trailer out right afterwards. I have talked to a few, but you kinda have to go out of your way to visit them and they are generally not very interested in talking to or educating the public. I have never seen oxen at a fair around here. The beef cattle are also often roped or fenced off so you can’t get very close or talk to anyone. In general, it seems that the organizers (and maybe the public as well) think of the animal barns as a big petting zoo. The organizers seem to try to insulate and protect the public at the expense of allowing visitors to genuinely learn about the animals. It’s a real shame if you ask me. I have gone to several fairs this year hoping to talk to someone about geese, which I plan to have next year. There has not been a single goose at any fairs I have been to. I suspect they are not good “petting zoo” animals… One thing that I was suprized at is the number of people who restore tractors and show them at the fair. There is almost not enough room for these tractors at some fairs… I really don’t get it, but to each his own I guess. Also, I get a real kick out of the few horse drawn implements and tools that are displayed as “primitives.” I have seen several usefull looking single row cultivators and cornplanters, and at least a couple neck yokes labelled “singletree.” Kinda the opposite of education there… I am glad to hear that the fairs are better in other areas of the county. I have been pretty disappointed with them here.

[Andy Carson]

Maybe this sounds crazy, but what if chose a winter hardy clover and till strips in it to plant the corn in (rather than work the whole field). The rest of the clover would be left to grow as sort of an intercropping system… It might make cultivating the corn hard (although there might not be as much of a need for it), but would allow the clover to continue growing and fixing nitrogen while the corn gets established. I suppose management of a system like this might be a headache on a large scale, but I would only be doing an acre. Question: How far does N migrate in soil? It might be that it’s mostly trapped… If the clover is several inches away from the corn, can it still make a sizeable contribution?

Maybe the roots of the legume would spread underground to the roots of the corn… Maybe that would help fix N or maybe it would compete with the corn for water or nutrients… Alternatively, if the clover is mowed and the residue deposited on the corn, that would seem to deposit the nitrogen. Again, I’m not sure if this is an isue in the first place.

[Andy Carson]

I think I’ll get a little creative and see what I can get going as far as a roller. I have a couple ideas. By the way, I have been reading a little more about cover crops and I think I’m going to skip the wheat before the soybeans and try a rye/vetch mix before the pumpkin. So the covers and following crops will be 1. Oats to Peas 2. Oats/Turnip to Sunflower 3. Clover to Corn 4. Rye to Soybeans 5. Rye/Vetch to Pumpkin. Any thoughts are, as always, appreciated. I think the field will be ready this weekend, but I have thought that before…

[Andy Carson]

Arg… I kinda thought that was the answer, but I was hoping that I didn’t have to. Some people don’t mention rolling, which made me wonder if they simply didn’t roll or if they forgot to mention it… Rolling makes good sense to me so I’ll find a way. Thanks for the thoughts Erika.

[Andy Carson]

How important is it that I roll after broadcast seeding these cover crops? Would it be almost as good to broadcast and lightly harrow to bury the seed? I just don’t have a roller and am thinking about if I need one…

[Andy Carson]

I was thinking something like this. Looks pretty slick. I still have a hard time seeing how the shoulders are free without a singletree, but that could be added.

[Andy Carson]

Rod, I think the travois design has alot of potential, especially for a single. I have a couple thoughts about the particular design you got a picture of. Although I have never seen a Norwegian style harness pull a heavy load, I have always been sceptical of how (and if) they allow the front shoulders to move freely without using a singletree. Maybe they do, and that’s great, but if I was making this I would put a singletree at the base of the travois and use some holdback straps to provide braking. Next, I am not sure where the logs go in this design. I think they go underneath but the arch doesn’t seem very tall (maybe it’s the angle)… I think I would make the crossmember a little taller and use it like a logging arch. That gives you lift on the front of the log, probably provides substantial draft buffering, and suspends some of the weight onto your frame. Lastly, I would think about putting some wheels on the ends of the travois (which I guess means it’s not a travois anymore). Holding it back unloaded ought to be no trouble at all and when it’s loaded, part of the log will be dragging. The wheels will make a big difference in how much you can pull, especially if there is much weight suspended. They would also allow you to back up (unloaded), which is pretty nice. I think your previous idea would work too, there are probably lots of ways to get this particular job done.

One last thought. I think this design would be better if it was “beefier” in general. It seems especially weak with respect to lateral bending of the front shafts.

[Andy Carson]

One of the things that has always bothered me about working a single in a forecart is that the singletree attachment is (at least on mine) so high. On a hard pull, the imaginary line from the single tree to a low hitch point in the back wants to straighten out, which pushes the shaft ends down in front. My horse hasn’t really complained about it, but I don’t like how it looks. Kinda pushing against herself… I toyed with the idea of moving the single tree down (or making the height adjustable) but didn’t end up doing it. My thought is that even if the singletree attachment point is low, you won’t get that lift in the front of the sled or log like if the forecart wasn’t there. I put a little thought into making or buying an attachement to make my forecart act as a logging arch (which gives you the lift again), but don’t move enough wood to justify it. I find it alot easier to either ride on the sled or walk. I especially like walking with longer lines because everything is in front of me to keep an eye on. In all honesty, my forecart hasn’t been used in months… Just one opinion, everyone has thier own preferances.

[Andy Carson]

My single is bigger (maybe 1700 lbs), but I mostly use a sled. If the logs are large in diameter, I just cut them up so I can get them on the sled by hand. I have also used a simple chain to drag longer thinner wood that might be a pain to cut up wher it lays. I am certainly no logging expert, but this system works for me and is cheap.

[Andy Carson]

Sounds like a plan. Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement, it is really very helpful. I’ll let you all know how it goes.

[Andy Carson]

Too bad about the traffic. I think I might be spoiled with the drivers around here. It might be that because of the Amish presence in PA, drivers generally know how to behave around horses (even though they probably don’t see them on a daily basis). Maybe it’s little encouragement, but by braving the road, you are making it easier for others who want to take thier horse on the road too. I am curious if most of your customers are repeat customers. If so, attracting them for the first time would be very important. If the wagon brought them in the first time, and the food brought them back, the whole system might be very successful even if there are only a couple new costomers brought it every outing.

[Andy Carson]

That’s a good thought, I think I will mix the oats and turnips together. Do you remember the ratio of turnip to oat seed? I am also curious if purple top turnips (or similar) work as well as a cover crop. Maybe they spend too much energy making roots? I certainly won’t use an acre of these, but I can imagine picking some to eat and some to give to the horses… Nice to have a second use if there is no downside…

Ha! Nevermind, it seems forage turnips have a big bulb too, somehow I thought they were selected for just tops…

[Andy Carson]

The long term rotation for the main crops (those that will be harvested) is Peas>Sunflower>Corn>Soybean>Pumpkin. I plan to use appropriate cover crops between these different crops to return N and prevent weed growth. The purpose is to produce crops I can process into snack foods. Corn nuts, Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Soy nuts, and breaded fried peas. The fried peas are definately for the more adventurous consumer, but I really wanted another legume in the main rotation and I can feed what I can’t sell. I plan to have a flock of geese that will be consuming much of what I don’t sell. I might also have a few pigs if I have enough “leftovers.” It all seems like nutritious feed if nothing more.

The corn not following a legume might stick out, but the idea is that the shorter growing season of the sunflower gives a longer time for subsequent legume cover crop to become established prior to corn planting time the following year.

[Author]

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