Next SFJ Auction April 14-17, 2010, Madras, Oregon |
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The Small Farmer's Journal Horsedrawn Auction and Swap is set to occur on April 14-17, 2010 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Madras, Oregon. Complete auction information, including consignment forms and schedule, is available below. We are already seeing an increase in the number of exciting consignments. Horsedrawn vehicles and implement information is coming in fast and furious, along with harness, hitch gear and of course Draft horses and Mules. A third of the RV park is already reserved out and many swap meet spaces have early reservations. If you are planning on attending, and we insist you do, please don't wait to make your reservations, consignments and plans right away.
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Auction Forms in 
EARLY CONSIGNMENTS: 1/15/10 We are waiting for additional information and photos of phone-in consignments of 2 best-broke Mules, 2 Percherons, a team of fine young Spotted Draft mares exceptionally well-trained, 6 working and show Fjords and a Mustang team. It is early yet and we do expect many more. 
The SWAP MEET and Trade Fair
Thursday the 15th we will start in the arena with harness and tack items. [The harness will be divided into three groups with each being designated for a specific morning.] Blacksmithing tools will sell a little earlier than usual, at 10 a.m., and be followed by the farm implements out on the grass. A second sales ring will be conducted in the arena featuring country antiques and decorator items. All day will feature the swap meet and trade fair. Thursday evening will be time for clinics, meetings, food and gatherings.
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The Glass Horse Lynn Miller, mixes volcanology, dog tricks, new-age farming, comedy, romance, mercenary musings, and post-modern Robin Hood hijinks in his latest release, the novel The Glass Horse. Set in the mythic Central Oregon town of Mascara, this fast-paced romp repeatedly slams attempts at deeper meaning against loose-jointed entertainment. Farmers and ranchers with rich artistic and political backgrounds work underground to sabotage the finances of global corporations until their successes bring on "corrective" action by enforcers of every stripe. Laid over the top of this intrigue are the movements, emotions and failings of a bizarre tangle of memorable characters weaving beneath and above a ripping good tale. In the words of Vermont author Charles Capaldi "(The Glass Horse) sticks with you like a bowl of oatmeal on a long ride to the stock yard... This is a novel to be read as much with the eyes as with the inner ear... a post card from the agrarian edge." And award-winning Seattle Poet Paul Hunter adds..."(The Glass Horse is ) ...like a baleen whale with mouth wide open going twenty knots, trolling for the whole of life." |
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Books
Available from SFJ
Training Workhorses Training Teamsters by Lynn R Miller  
Visit our Online Store for more titles! |
| "Recent Editorial"
editorial by Lynn Miller Spun Honey & Colony Collapse
Where have all the bees gone? Many who care deeply are searching. Clues are floating to the surface. I see parallels with the human condition of late. Not to suggest that we live in colonies which are collapsing, but rather that if we did live in colonies or clusters or like-minded swarms we would be better insulated against what seems to be heading our way. We actually live today in a morass of commerce-defined mud which denies us our ability to produce �honey.� We have little or no savings or food put by or fuel stockpiled or seed saved. Many of us live without a support group of family and neighbors ready and anxious to help each other out in times of need. We live day-to-day trusting that what we need will be available and affordable when we need it. We don�t produce the sweet stuff of sustenance. We have no �honey� to spin. The means to change this are at hand today. In a very short time we can return to our rightful colonies, clusters or swarms. And we don�t have to go backwards to do it.
The new, The healthy, and The hopeful; These things are on my mind.
The new? With this issue of the Journal we are joined by hundreds of high school students accessing this magazine for the first time at high school libraries which have been gifted subscriptions by you, the readers of SFJ. We all invited them to join us for this quarterly potluck discussion of self-sufficiency and true farming because it is high time we took aggressive action to add to our ranks for the future. And because we trust those bright young minds will be captivated by what they find here. It is my personal philosophy that we should speak as we always have, never toning or moderating the message just because we may have new young readers. Keep the carousel spinning at the same gainful pace. Those young people may be our golden rings to reach for, but I prefer to think they will be attracted to the shapes, colors, possibilities, and landscapes viewed as we spin by, busy in our dedicated usefulness. Rather they should choose to jump aboard and join us.
The healthy? High fuel prices and erratic global market pressures are rapidly reacquainting folks to the beauty, strength and security which may come of local self-reliance. Nearby farmers and artisans are increasingly valued as the cost of shipping goods from around the planet becomes more and more prohibitive. Chairmakers, shoemakers, market gardeners, cheesemakers, dressmakers, woodcutters, blacksmiths, wooliers, candlemakers, et al., supplying inside of 30, 50 and 100 mile circles of community, this is a working definition of healthy.
The hopeful? Within this time we see the challenging economic, political and energy climate actually rewarding new, creative, independent, small organic farmers in highly lucrative and sustainable ways. Not only are they increasingly valued as members of local society, as mentioned above, they are also poised to be extremely well-paid for their work. Add to this that there has never been a better time, in all of recorded history, to be a well-informed and well-equipped horsefarmer. Whole lot of new, healthy and hopeful.
At this year�s auction and swap we were joined by a group of twenty-seven college students, all enrolled in the Practice of Sustainable Agriculture program at Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington. David P. Muehleisen, Ph.D and Melissa Barker ramrodded the group as they lent hands to the volunteer effort. Busy though I was I couldn�t help but notice a growing glow from the group as the days progressed. Afterwards we received a thank you card which spoke volumes (see image). This class is a perfect example of the swarms I elude to, a swarm preparing itself to split, head off, and form new clusters or colonies. New, healthy and hopeful.
Those of us with tenure on a piece of land, with tools to farm that land, and with the knowledge to farm are amongst the most fortunate alive on the planet today. Yes, these are difficult times. With every passing day the food supply is thrust deeper into uncertainty what with wars, famine, pestilence, weather changes, corn ethanol, fuel prices, banking insolvency and government meddling to name but a few concerns. The agribusiness community, as orchestrated by multinational corporations and the USDA, continues to mess up farming in ways which can only be described as stupidity and shortsightedness feeding greed. The result? Big farming is collapsing in on itself. So the truly independent small farmer, with increasing success supplying his or her own needs while selling direct to local markets, is in the cat bird seat.
Rather than to technological or biological innovation or industrialization or commercialization, the future of agriculture belongs to mastery of the craft. The notion that more food and fiber and better food and fiber will only be produced by those who are fully invested in the natural processes of farming is the big new idea for the future of mankind. Add to this that these self same directions always return tenfold a better environment and stronger more diversified communities. It is virtually impossible to realize mastery of the craft of farming from the position of large-scale industrialized agriculture. Appropriate human scale is of paramount importance, scale and independence. The truly independent small farmer is the new farmer.
These are uncertain times. Think about those very words for a minute. Aren�t all times uncertain? When has there ever been a time which wasn�t? Yes, desperation, destruction and death have become the mainstay of mass entertainment served through irstwhile news outlets. That might be part of the reason it feels so much worse now. Yes, there is great growing disparity between the rich and the poor. And today there are people with less money than a year ago. Also, today there are people with more money than a year ago. Today we have quiet spots around the globe and other regions torn by war and strife. World governments are being bought and sold every day. The more things change the more they stay the same. Nothing new? In almost every aspect, times are as terribly and comically uncertain as they have always been. Every aspect but three. |
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ANIMAL
POWER
Question: I recently acquired my first team of horses, Belgain mares 8 and 10 years old, and they are real sweethearts, well trained and dependable. I have learned from other team owners in my area, and driven their horses for several years before getting my own team, but still consider myself a beginner. One of my friends helped me pick out my mares and I'm very pleased with them in general. My concern is that while the mares drive and work calmly and willingly they have one habit that concerns me. When I back up and then release the lines to get them to stop they continue back for a few steps before stopping and don't always stop together. Also, when we are stopped and just standing there they slowly begin to ease back, a little at a time, sometimes kind of jackknifing the wagon tongue. Telling them whoa in both of these situations works to stop them at times but not all the time. I've been taught not to use the lines to slap horses on the rump and am hesitant to use a whip or yell at them (which has been suggested to me) for fear of affecting their calm, relaxed attitude. Do you have any suggestions for me? Carrie Torgeson, Wisconsin Response: It sounds like you've made some very good choices in getting started with draft horses. I commend you, first for being concerned about these seemingly minor infractions, and second for not wishing to jeopardize what your mares are doing well. If for no other reason, safety requires that our horses obey our commands to stop, and do so promptly. We can certainly have a wreck going backwards with horses, just as we can going forwards. Seemingly insignificant, little sloppinesses like you've described (and lots of others) have a way, sooner or later, of escalating into significant problems, or causing a wreck. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" - is perhaps never more appropriate than when working with horses. |
