Scott Fike

   I need to look at some horse, mule or donkey drawn wagons and carts that have a covered section for the driver (at least). Where would be a good place to look for such wagons and carts?
   It doesn't have to be a traditional Amish or Mennonite buggy, but can be more modern in design if I can find one. Just similar in overall concept to an Amish or Mennonite buggy.
Thank you  

How can I tell the difference between high quality milk and low quality milk from a dairy cow?
Thank you

Hi,
    I'm a beginner to beekeeping and I'm starting to learn about beekeeping in general for the first time and had a question I was hoping someone could answer for me. Other than Italian, Carniolan, and Russian, what other types or breeds of honey bees are commonly kept in the United States both in the past and present?
Thank you

 In general, which of these kind of draft animals are the most economical to initially purchase, keep and maintain over the life of the animal (this includes food, water, vet bills, etc., etc.):

1) draft oxen
2) draft donkey
3) draft mule
4) draft horse

Conversely; feel free to re-rank them from overall most economical at the top to least economical at the bottom of the list.

Thank you

    It is my understanding that an “Oxen” is nothing more than a castrated male bull cow or cattle. And in fact any cow or cattle will do as an “Oxen”. There isn’t a special “Oxen” breed bred just to become an “Ox”. However, I was wondering if just an ordinary, non-castrated male, or, better yet, a non-castrated female cow would work just as well as an “Oxen”?
Thank you

      I have been considering trying out a no-till row-crop growing system using draft animal power such as with a donkey, mule, horse or even an oxen. However, there doesn’t seem to be any ready-made special-purpose equipment that’s specifically intended for such a modest endeavor here in the U.S. To do this system seems to require just two simple implements: 1) a roller-crimper (also called a knife-roller) and 2) a no-till planter or seed drill designed to function in a no-till system.  The only simple, compact and lightweight one-animal drawn seed planters only seem to be available in Africa, South Africa or Brasil. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be any roller-crimpers available at all for animal-drawn use, just tractors.

Thank you

Thanks for all the suggestions. While I agree that water hardness or softness makes a difference in lathering ability, I don't think its the only reason. I think some soaps just inherently lather better than others no matter how hard or soft the water is.

Hello,
      I was wondering if anyone might know of an all-natural soap that lathers really, REALLY well that I might be able to try? I’ve tried several all-natural vegetable based ones in the past several years, but I’ve never been able to find one that lathers worth a darn. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you

Greetings,
        I’ve never farmed before in my life but I’m wanting to start. I’m middle-aged, single, have no children, and I’m wanting to begin crop farming and gardening on a small scale (perhaps 1 acre or less). I live in the state of Missouri in Clay county just north of the Missouri river (I live pretty much in the Missouri river valley in former tallgrass prairie land). I would kind of like to stay somewhere in the central great plains states to learn how to crop farm and garden, such as Missouri, Kansas, Iowa or Nebraska as I learn how to farm.
        I don’t have any money to speak of. I’m pretty much broke most of the time. I currently live with some relatives in a suburban/townhouse setting. The main thing I need is a much more rural place to live and some land to get started. I’m pretty certain I’d like to start out by renting both a farm house and some land. How I make a living exactly I’m not for sure at this point.  
        I’m interested in sustainable farming practices such as natural farming, no-till farming, and organic farming.
        I could use some guidance, suggestions and directions on how and where to get started.
Thank you

Greetings,

     As a beginning farmer, recently I have been reading about draft animals. Right now, I’m trying to learn about draft oxen. Before that I was learning about horses, mules and donkeys.

     But, before that, I started out reading about classic tractors (“classic” by my definition meaning anything made before about 1960), because I don’t need or want anything big as I intend on starting small.

     This got me to thinking about the various different roles each of these plays on the crop farm.
Since I’m wanting to start no-till field crop farming, I was wondering which role each animal and tractor is good at, and which might be best suited to my overall purpose as a whole if I decide to go with just one.

    I primarily want something to pull a small crimper-roller for flatening cover crops, a small planter or seed-drill and also a small harvester.

   I also would need animal or tractor capable of taking me to town if I should ever give up my drivers license (which might come sooner rather than later).

   Recently I’ve been strongly leaning towards oxen, but I don’t think they would do well going into town as they tend to be slow. I also had donkeys on my second place list. But, really, mules and horses are just as good as well. Horses might be more acceptable going into town (similar to the way the Amish do). So this is where I could use some guidance and suggestions.

Thank you