Farming the old way

There are still farmers in Kentucky , including the many Amish farmers in the state, who forego the tractor in favor of honest-to-goodness horse power. Milford Lowe of Taylor County is one such farmer who relies on a pair of mules to ‘git her done’ so to speak. Driving mules and draft horses through a field is better for the land as it doesn’t impact the soil the way a tractor does, which requires even more tilling, which kills beneficial earthworms and drives the healthy organic matter in the top of the soil further below where it can’t help the crops as much. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Plowing with mules is also quieter so you can hear someone yelling if you are about to disc the family dog. And there is the added bonus of creating your own fertilizer, saving money on fuel costs and helping the environment. This is from this morning’s local paper.

Lexington Herald Leader
Posted on Mon, Jul. 17, 2006

Milford Lowe let mules Shorty, left, and Gin do the work July 11 as he plowed one of his tobacco fields at his home in Merrimac in Taylor County. Lowe said he has used mules all of his life to help with farming chores.

Old-fashioned farming
Mules quieter than tractors; fuel costs less

There’s an old belief, still held by a dwindling few, that a farm ought to have a mule. Or two.

In a world in which the old is so quickly tossed aside for the new, there’s something satisfying about spending some time behind a pair of steady, dependable mules.

They are quieter than a tractor, which allows you to think while you work. And with fuel prices what they are these days, they can save a farmer a little money.

Their day’s work done, Lowe “garaged” his mules in a barn on his farm in Merrimac.

Lowe is a Taylor County tobacco farmer whose farm “machinery” has always included dependable mules.

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