Animal Power Field Days Draws Farmers and Foresters

Elizabeth Ferry
Vermont Correspondent

TUNBRIDGE, Vt. — The foliage was just past its peak and the north winds were hinting at their plans for winter on a mid-October weekend in Vermont. But that didn’t deter participation in the third annual Northeast Animal-Power Field Days (NEAPFD) on October 17 and 18.

About 1,000 people came to share experiences, trade advice, sell equipment, and enjoy each other’s company at the field days at the historic fairgrounds in Tunbridge, Vt.

According to the husband and wife organizing team of Carl Russell and Lisa McCrory of Earthwise Farm and Forest, “NEAPFD is a gathering of resource people, equipment dealers, educators, farmers, craftspeople, and practitioners who provide essential assistance to people interested in draft animals and renewable land-use practices.”

Russell and McCrory and their children are dedicated to living as sustainable and self-sufficiently as they can. They use organic, biodynamic, and ecological principles on their draft-animal powered farm and forestland.

“A lot of people approached us with questions,” McCrory recalls as she describes how the gathering originated. When the couple organized a daylong workshop at their homestead in Bethel and 200 people came, “We knew we had just scratched the surface,” she says. “We realized that they have Horse Progress Days in Pennsylvania. Why not do something like that here?”

NEAPFD draws farmers and foresters, with their draft horses, oxen, mules-and even draft goats-from around the region. The range of workshops is fascinating and spans a wide range of topics. A sampling from the 2009 schedule cover a variety of topics and skill levels, including “Beginning Driving Skills,” “Ox-yoke Making,” and “Walking Plow Use and Adjustment.” There are workshops on related topics, such as “Equine Dentistry,” “Putting up Loose Hay,” “Managing the Homestead Dairy,” and more. Panel discussions among women teamsters, and a 4-H working steer demonstration, encourage teamsters of both genders and all ages to feel very much at home at this event.

John Plowden and his apprentice Andy traveled from Stow, Maine, to attend the gathering. On display with his Belgian, Dan, is a multi-function woods tool that Plowden designed and fabricated. The tool can serve as an arch, able to pull a single log, or a woods trailer, which he describes as “a wheeled scoot.”

Plowden uses a European-style harness on his horses but could not find equipment that was compatible with the harness design. He spent time at draft horse websites from Sweden, Denmark, and England-countries where “working single,” rather than a team of horses, is common. Working from photos, and making adjustments based on his experience, he has developed a product. “I’m happy if someone can take the idea and use it,” he said, expressing a spirit that permeated the event. “And I also have it ready to sell.”

Those looking for used or refurbished equipment were drawn to the Swap Meet, where parts where carefully arranged by type and size. Bill Bandry of Moretown, Vt., used to log with horses; now retired, he rebuilds equipment and restores sleighs. “They call it a Swap Meet, but most of what we’ve got here, we’d rather sell than swap,” he says as he watches people walk by, many of them who he knows. “To you, anything is half price,” he calls to them cheerfully.

The dates for the fourth annual Northeast Animal-Powered Field Days are October 15, 16, and 17, 2010, in Tunbridge, Vt. For people who cannot travel the distance, or who don’t want to wait until next year, there is another option.

The knowledge, sharing, and networking that take place over the weekend is also available through a lively, easy to use on-line discussion forum at www.draftanimalpower.com.