No Name Gang Plow Weekend

[Plowboy]

We had our annual plow weekend at my parents farm for the 16th year. The turnout wasn’t as plentiful as previous years but the amount and quality of work was great. We had 10 teams on Saturday and 13 on Sunday. We finished a 13 1/2 acre field totally with horse power. Today we finished up early and had a good BS session with alot of good friends. The field looks great because of the great work of our area Plowmen. We plowed with six on our two bottom gang plow and it worked great. Just when it gets real smooth it’s all over. We only plow with six about 3 days a year. Another 6 horse hitch was put together today. It has been dry here so the plowing was hard so we had to rest horses more, but it gives you time to catch up with old friends while the horses are resting. This is the same ground that will grow the corn for our 14th annual Silo Fill coming up in September.

[OldKat]

I sure wish that there were enough draft horse people in my area to do something like that. Sure sounds like a good time, with good horses and good folks. “It don’t git no gooder than that!” 😉

[Ed Thayer]

@OldKat 8496 wrote:

I sure wish that there were enough draft horse people in my area to do something like that. Sure sounds like a good time, with good horses and good folks. “It don’t git no gooder than that!” 😉

I agree with you. That would have been a great event to go and watch and learn from those who know what they are doing.

I attended the Billings Farm plow competition on Sunday in Woodstock Vermont. It was a good time but the teamsters were preety tied up with the event to really bother with my questions.

It was neat to see the hand and sulky plows work. You can cover some ground in a day with real horsepower.

[Plowboy]

Highway, A good friend of ours was there with his team of yearling Holsteins Nip and Tuck. They are going very well already. He goes up every year for the event because he has family nearby.

[Ed Thayer]

@Plowboy 8529 wrote:

Highway, A good friend of ours was there with his team of yearling Holsteins Nip and Tuck. They are going very well already. He goes up every year for the event because he has family nearby.

Dennis,

I watched them pull. They looked great from what I could tell. There were more ox teams than horse teams. Fun to watch,

Ed

[bruha6]

Plowboy,i wish i had known about the event i would have loved to watch. i went to Plow Days in Elmira saturday but there were only 3 teams there by 12:30 so i didn’t stay long.

[near horse]

Does plowing with oxen urually require 2 people – a driver and “a plower”? Just curious and I’ve never thought about it until now.

[near horse]

Does plowing with oxen usually require 2 people – a driver and “a plower”? Just curious and I’ve never thought about it until now.

[Ed Thayer]

@near horse 8583 wrote:

Does plowing with oxen usually require 2 people – a driver and “a plower”? Just curious and I’ve never thought about it until now.

Yes,

One drives the team the other drives the plow. It is teamwork to say the least. More than once the ox were so fast the plow driver fell and ended up on his rump.

Oxen seem to move faster than horses, but most of the teams I saw were young.

[Carl Russell]

Ed, sorry to miss you, as I was there too. It would have been good to meet you.

The cattle tend to go fast because of the time of year, because most of them just got out of the barn, as could be seen by the stains and manure balls. When they are in good condition, cattle can move slowly and methodically like the horses.

Although I never tried a walking plow with my oxen, I always used a sulky and plowed that way, setting the plow, and walking beside them. There are those however who can drive their oxen from behind and they can plow both with a walking plow, and riding on their sulky.

Dennis, sounds like you had a great weekend. Gatherings like that are such a value to our community of interest. We have had a few logging bees here and everybody always goes home revved up.

Carl

[Ed Thayer]

@Carl Russell 8595 wrote:

Ed, sorry to miss you, as I was there too. It would have been good to meet you.

Carl,

Were you there with the kids wearing a plaid vest and logger boots? I think we spoke in passing one another near the entrance.

ED

[Plowboy]

Carl, It does help to stimulate people about working their horses. It’s fun to have someone else to “Play” with and then they go home ready to find more work for their teams. Other than the Amish around here there are very few farmers working horses so it is hard for many to find a place to plow or harvest corn so we host events for our friends. Some of our friends even help out their Amish neighbors plowing or filling silo. We have also done alot of logging within our group in past years. We get together and get out somebodies firewood or sawlogs. We’ve had alot of fun working together with good friends working horses, mules or oxen.
I heard Nip and Tuck did very well 3rd in walking plow and 1st in sulky if I remember right. He said they will be way better than his last team which were the best I’d seen around here. His last team he plowed at home by voice with the walking plow and riding on his sulky.

[Carl Russell]

highway;8622 wrote:

Carl Russell;8595 wrote:

Ed, sorry to miss you, as I was there too. It would have been good to meet you.

Carl,

Were you there with the kids wearing a plaid vest and logger boots? I think we spoke in passing one another near the entrance.

ED

That was me. The kids always get the attention. Not to diminish our chance meeting, but I almost always make some gesture and eye contact when I walk by someone, so which one were you? Did we exchange more than howdy?

Another time, Carl

[Ed Thayer]

@Carl Russell 8637 wrote:

highway;8622 wrote:

That was me. The kids always get the attention. Not to diminish our chance meeting, but I almost always make some gesture and eye contact when I walk by someone, so which one were you? Did we exchange more than howdy?

Another time, Carl

I was wearing a green sweat shirt with my Fletcher and Family Sugar House logo on it. It was just my wife and I that attended. I was heading in to the event from the welcome center after lunch and you were heading out.

We will meet at the NEAPD in October. I have contacted Kristin about volunteering at the event.

Ed

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