Economics of Farming with Horses

Ever thought of such a thing? Well actually someone did think of such a thing. Chet Kendell of Rural Heritage.com has worked up a study to show that on farms up to 200 acres, a farmer actually comes out on top economically using Horse Power rather than Tractor power. Now this assumes that you actually work those 200 acres...you could have more but not work it and it would be fine (say for example you grow a crop of Oak trees).

He takes a look at the requirements of each, such as number of horses per acre and the amount of fuel to power the tractor, the fertilizer offset with horses verses tractors and so on. This study goes into a great deal of detail to show with conservative estimates how much more viable farming with horses is economically.

Rural Heritage on RFD-TV:

(Not hugely interesting but its here to show you Rural Heritage...scroll to the end to see more interesting info.)

Now with the economy slipping everyday, one might think that farming is the last thing to worry about...I say its the first. We have drifted away from a Agrarian society and as a result we are drifting into socialism. A few work to feed the many. The many work to feed the government. The Government controls everything. We become peasants and they become royalty. I say its the first thing to think about because I believe this is how we will survive. With the economic disadvantages out their people may just stop farming to sell (maybe because of over government regulation) as a result there is not enough food for everyone.

To make things worse then the traditional view of Nobility and their control over peasants, in the past all farming was done with draft power and thus was "sustainable" the cycle was uninterrupted. Now the Peasants use tractors which destroy the land, throw down chemical nitrogen which doesn't replace the organic material in the soil resulting in soil loss, and they use genetically altered food seed stock which allows them to spray whatever herbicides or insecticides they want and it doesn't hurt the crop (except it leaves a residue that we ingest) but kills EVERY thing else. While initially this sounds great from a management standpoint, its not for the long term. I could expand on this part but I wont in attempt to keep this short...er.

I am sold on the idea of Draft power (horses, Ox, or Mule) rather than tractor power. While the initial investment of time comes at a high price, the long term investment of money is much less and therefore resources are conserved and economy of scale is maintained all the while reaping a crop much higher in quality then its counterfeit counterpart. To the point...it is more wise to use Horse power.

This study even takes into account for the initial time invested in learning by adding a 25% value to the time for doing the job with horses...compared to tractors.

Though I only have 3.5 acres I still have plans to move to a piece of ground that will host the fruition of my dream but for now...I will learn. Hard as it is to see video and read about others doing exactly what I want to do (because I cant do it right now), I must to gain knowledge so that one day the dream of farming with horses and self-sustainable living/farming can be realized.