Above: Rural Heritage June-July 2019 Cover: Ron Luebke of Fort Atkinson, Wis., drives his Percheron team put to a hayloader and hay wagon at Old World Wisconsin, a living history museum in Eagle, Wis
Rural Heritage
is a bimonthly
journal in support of farming
and logging with draft horses,
mules, and oxen. The June/July 2019
issue was mailed to subscribers on May 24,
2019. Below is this issue’s annotated Table of Contents, with a link to a full feature article to showcase the good reading delivered
to your door every other month
when you
Subscribe to
Rural Heritage.
If, in your reading, you run across
a drafty word you don't recognize,
consult our online
Draft Dictionary.
Table of Contents
Departments
Publisher's Post
Joe writes about meeting up with friends at the Homeplace on Green River and a wonderful hand made cane given to him by Boyd Sandusky as well as the good and bad in technology he has to use for this business.
Gordon Myers with his pony.
Photo by JC Allen
Selections from our extensive catalog of books and videos
on draft animal farming, logging, self-sufficient living
and much more.
My Card & Classified Ads
(frequently updated online)
(please tell ‘em you saw it in Rural Heritage)
Features
Ron Luebke and his Percheron team loading loose hay at Old World Wisconsin.
All Hands on Deck - A Winter's Day on a Wisconsin Dairy Farm
Amidst a Wisconsin blizzard, the Julian family’s draft horses come to the rescue after numerous vehicles and equipment get
stuck. Every family member pitches in to make it through the tough day. Then Katrina tells us about a good day where
everything runs like clockwork – a VERY busy clock!
Ostriches, Millinery & Agritourism
Ostrich farms first began in the late 1800's to furnish the millinery trade.
Jenifer Morrissey gives us a thorough history of ostrich in the US and the emergence of agri-tourism once the demand for feathers
diminished. Today they are used clothing, household goods, eggs and meat.
An ostrich farm in the late 1800's.
Benchmark for Soil Health
The Nordells participated in a soil health study through Cornell College.
Eric and Anne explain the results, what they have done in the past to get them to this point and what they
plan to do next. Cover crop "cocktails" and sod are in the works. You can read about the case studies at
https://pasafarming.org/setting-and-exceeding-benchmarks-for-soil-health/.
Included in the article are many photos of the test fields and the soil test results.
Brandt drives Tillers International draft horse team of Sam and Solomon during
the Tillers workshop.
Brandt Ainsworth - Working Oxen & Horses the "Right Way"
Donn Hewes sits down with expert teamster Brandt to discuss his transition from draft horses to using oxen. He was highly influenced
by Howie Van Ord. He discusses yokes, bows, materials, harness, and much about training oxen and teamsters.
Tales from Carter County Hootie and the Mule
Jerry Hicks tells a sweet story of his nephew's first (and only?) encounter with chewing tobacco and his part in it.
Jerry has a way with words and he always seems to work a mule into his stories.
Simon and the Sugar Bush − − −
click on title to read this story in full.
Charlie Tennessen, with the help of his sheep Simon,
discovers that box elder trees produce syrup. As Charlie says goodbye to Simon after 13 years, he tells us the story
and of the changing farm and how he thinks of the future when farm planning.
Making Syrup on Your Homestead − − −
click on title to read this story in full.
Charlie Tennessen encourages us all to make syrup from
sap collected from our trees. He explains the process from tapping to collection to evaporation, filtering and canning.
2019 Log Arch Build Event
A group of experienced horse farmers gather to build logging carts of two different designs. With trailer loads of
tools three days were spent in constant work. The group along with the help of students from Paul Smiths College,
made both Fisher carts and a modified Barden cart aptly named the DAPNet Cart. Plans are available at
http://www.healingharvestforestfoundation.org/log-arch-plans.html and
http://www.draftanimalpower.org/store
Richard Augeri’s pony Dusty moving gravel with a foal at foot in the first version of his dump cart.
In Over My Head
- Restoring a Vintage Tanker Wagon
Ralph Rice takes an old fuel tanker and a vision in his head and…fails. With the help of his wife and friends with
expertise in such things, he completes the showpiece. It will be used for parades and to advertise his maple syrup business.
Pony Scaled Dump Cart
Jenifer Morrissey and Richard Augeri both work with ponies. Richard has built many pieces of equipment for these smaller
draft horses. In this article, they give us detailed instructions on making a suitably sized dump cart. There are great
drawings to follow and advice on every little detail.
A view of the working Suffolks with farm headquarters in the background at Fair Wind Farms in Vermont.
A Light Footprint on the Land -
Taking Measure of Soil Compaction
Stephen Leslie introduces Jay and Janet Bailey, mentors and friends. The Bailey's started horse powered farming 38 years
ago and look back on the positive effects on the lack of soil compaction vs. when utilizing tractors.
Gypsy Stock
Taylor Johnson continues to share his trip to Scotland and the home of the
Gypsy Cob horse. He stays with a breeder, Sean O'Neill, who shares his horses and home. Taylor talks about the practice of hauling sea
coal and the rigors is requires of both horse and teamster.
Some of Sean O'Neill's Gypsy Cob horses in one of his pastures in Scotland.
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