Horse Drawn Farm Equipment ?

I have been asked to post some links in regards to Horse Drawn Farm Equipment, since it seems to be not an easy task to find any.
So here are some links I think would be helpfull to anyone seriously interested in truly organic farming:

What does your presidential candidate stand for ?

Electronic Farm Hands – High tech among the crops

• Alternatives to wasting fossil fuels ?
• Alternatives to bio-fuels ?
• Solution to environmental problems of corporate farming ?
• Support of regional markets in agri-businesses ?
• Funding of environmental research ?

Well, tomorrow is on its way.

http://www.goethe-bytes.de/dw/article/0,2144,3753995,00.html

http://www.goethe-bytes.de/dw/article/0,2144,3751384,00.html

Those are the type of research-projects which need to be funded !!

We urgently need alternatives to todays energy patterns.

I am asking myself today: "Which of the presidential candidates represents a more down to earth approach towards energy alternatives and environmental issues ? Who will be able to get the backup of key players in the global market in order to do so ? "

"I will end three decades of failed energy policies; stop sending $700 billion to countries that oppose American values and finance our enemies; and drill for oil and natural gas. We must strengthen incentives for all energy alternatives -- nuclear, clean coal, wind, solar and tide. We will encourage the manufacture of hybrid, flex fuel and electric automobiles. We will lower the cost of energy, and create millions of new jobs." ( John McCainSeptember 5, 2008 Acceptance Speech)

" We've got rising food prices here in the US. In other countries we're seeing riots because of the lack of food supplies. So this is something that we're going to have to deal with. There are a number of factors that go into this. Changes in climate are contributing. There's no doubt that biofuels may be contributing to it. My top priority is making sure that people are able to get enough to eat. And if it turns out that we've got to make changes in our ethanol policy to help people get something to eat, then that's got to be the step we take. But I also believe that ethanol has been a important transitional tool for us to start dealing with our long-term energy crisis ultimately. Over time we're going to shift to cellulosic ethanol, where we're not using food stocks but we're using wood chips & prairie grass. " (Obama on Meet the Press: 2008 "Meet the Candidates" series May 4, 2008 )

(Click on Picture to read more)

To me it is clear: Whoever sets foot on the right path will succeed in all respects. The world turned into one giant marketplace where cause and effect dictate the rules. Bio-fuel for one means hunger for someone else and less money in our pockets.

For us equestrians the wrong path could cause a rise of feed prices, land loss due to corporate farming, loss of regional markets, less alternatives in regards to our resources ec... just to name a few..

Think about it twice before you cast your vote.

(Click on Picture to read more)

Will your presidential candidate stand for this ?

Organic Hay for Sale ???

As I promissed all of you I went on the search for

"ORGANIC HAY"

BUT this was not an easy task and the results are not very satisfying, maybe even questionable.

Even though organic hay prices tend to be higher than hay that isn’t organic, there is still a very high demand for it. In fact, demand is so high that it is difficult for producers to keep up. Currently, the demand is about 20 percent higher than the supply. This is great news for anyone considering the addition of organic hay to their farm’s crops.

Reseeding Time !!!

As some of you might already know, our family currently resides in Germany. Over here days are getting shorter now and autumn is running its full programm as scheduled :-)

Rain, storm, fog, a little ice here and there.. Generally I love this season. The forests turn into glowing fireworks, the wind is blowing cold, but the sun still has enough power to warm one up.

However my garden is calling for help and so are the meadows. So for me cutting, digging, planting, raking and reseeding will take off an extra hour or two of the time I have available to work and take care of my family (including horses and all)

Snakes ? Call 911-Raptor !

First of all I would like to thank you "guys n gals" for the positive feedback and the load of questions I received in regards to this block.

So having said this I would like to pick up one of the question I received in connection with the article about Barn Owls.

"Do Barn Owls take care of my "snake-problem", too ? "

No unfortunately they don't. However keeping up the principles of the food-chain, nature did provide a snake-eater for us to make use of.

The North American Kestrel, the smallest and most colorful raptor on the continent !

The American Kestrel is the smallest falcon in North America—about the size of an American Robin and are often incorrectly called “sparrow hawks.”
Kestrels like exposed perches such as telephone poles, wires, fence posts, and dead branches on trees. They are swift, erratic fliers, and in a flat flight they may travel at up to 39 mph, and they can dive at speeds up to 60 mph. They pump their tails and bob their heads while perched, especially when agitated. Kestrels are capable of hovering when hunting, and this behavior is seen frequently over highway medians. They will dive feet first when hunting insects and usually capture them by pinning them to the ground rather than capturing them with their beak. They will dive for other prey items head first to gain additional speed and force.

Its diet consists of snakes, lizards, bats, smaller birds, mice, voles, and insects (beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas). Kestrels will feed mainly on mammals and birds during the early parts of the breeding season and lizards, snakes later in the breeding season. They concentrate on hunting invertebrates when readily available.

Despite the overall health of American kestrel populations throughout the New World, some populations, including those in Florida, Texas, Arkansas and some northeastern states, are decreasing due to habitat alteration.

Many raptor species are in danger. Human-caused changes in land use are escalating, and this affects the habitats and migratory corridors required by some raptors for survival. Vast forests are removed for timber and other paper products, and industrial emissions pollute water and air resources.
Critical shoreline and riparian zone habitats are rapidly converted by expanding human communities and agricultural needs. Illegal shooting and trapping are also lowering raptor numbers. It's only a matter of time until more raptor species may face extinction, unless we protect their habitats.

However humans need raptors !

Here are only a few of the benefits raptors provide:

• Raptors help keep animal populations in balance.
• Raptors consume many animals that humans consider as pests, including mice, rats and destructive species of insects. This helps to control disease and damage to crops.
• As top predators of their food chain, raptors are an indicator species of the overall health of the ecosystem in which they live.
• Of equal importance, witnessing wild raptors enriches each of our lives. Imagine what life would be like if we could no longer gaze upon the grandeur of raptors soaring high above.

Efforts to save threatened and endangered raptors require cooperation and support at international, national, regional and individual levels. You can help in this cause. Installing nesting boxes and protecting vital habitat required by these raptors will help to stabilize these populations. Recycle forest products, plant trees around your meadows, eliminate or reduce pesticide use. Support breeding programs for endangered birds of prey at zoos and other animal care organizations. Let your elected representatives know your views about the conservation of migratory birds and their wild habitats.

Here we have it, another project for those long winter nights :-)
Building Nesting Boxes for kestrels

I am looking forward to those pictures coming in from all of you and even more important, I would like to hear from you and your experience with your own little "raptor community"

If you would like some more input on how to deal with those "little guys" you might want to check out: http://www.americanartifacts.com/smma/per/b2a.htm

Have fun :-)

"Soil Compaction " Beware of Big Wheels !

Due to structural and technological developments in cultivation of fields the agricultural sector has been subjected to profound changes over the last 30 years. The use of ever heavier machines left its “footprints’ on the way farmers are forced to do business these days.
We call this footprint “Soil Compaction” and it could be one of the reasons why today’s farmers are complaining about heavy losses in yields. “Soil Compaction” is one of the major problems we are dealing with in “modern technology farming”, because losses in harvest caused by this phenomenon could go all the way up to 20%.

Ever Considered An Owl ?

My dear friends,

the typically early mornings of horse-owners,- boarders and other crazy equestrians do have its advantages. One of which I came to realize this morning is the time I get to spend alone before everyone else is around. It gives me the opportunity to read through papers, check out the news and other interesting "stuff".
Something I only am able to do during those "40 lonely minutes".
This morning I came across an article about owls.
Owls ? Why is she talking about owls , now ?

A Few More Words About Farming With Workhorses

A few days ago I placed an article promoting farmwork with drafthorses. Sitting back, thinking about it I came to realize, that most of our readers might read this and think:

Organic without fossil fuels !!!

So he's an organic farmer and thinks he's pretty smart. He has eliminated pesticides and chemical fertilizers and thus reduced his input costs and benefited the environment. On top of that he is getting twice the price for his production at the farm gate.

But on the energy front he seems to be burning up a lot of petroleum producing this organic food and fiber.