NationStates Jolt Archive

High gas prices drive farmer to switch to mules
May 21 02:53 PM US/Eastern
MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - High gas prices have driven a Warren County farmer and his sons to hitch a tractor rake to a pair of mules to gather hay from their fields. T.R. Raymond bought Dolly and Molly at the Dixon mule sale last year. Son Danny Raymond trained them and also modified the tractor rake so the mules could pull it.

T.R. Raymond says the mules are slower than a petroleum-powered tractor, but there are benefits.

"This fuel's so high, you can't afford it," he said. "We can feed these mules cheaper than we can buy fuel. That's the truth."

And Danny Raymond says he just likes using the mules around the farm.

"We've been using them quite a bit," he said.

Brother Robert Raymond added, "It's the way of the future."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D90Q70M80&show_article=1

Yes, he likes having them around, so the decision wasn't completely driven by fuel prices.

I wonder what the comparative carbon footprint is...
I'm pretty sure the other forms of pollution are lower for mules than a tractor. :)

Good for them!

Now, considering organic farming is as productive as conventional farming...if we could use animals as effectively as mechanized tractors, we'd be able to eliminate basically all of the significant fossil fuel demand in agriculture.

Rather ironic that would mean going back to the 19th century in terms of agricultural technology, but I think it just goes to show that the more people understand about nature, the more effectively we can adjust our lifestyles to achieve the same standard of living with massively less impact on the ecosystem. We couldn't have achieved that without fossil fuels, but maybe now fossil fuels are paving the way for their own obsolescence. Moving forward just plain isn't synonymous with moving away from nature...

Now, considering organic farming is as productive as conventional farming
Who says that? Organic farming isn't as productive. Organic farming has a lower yeild and organic food is nutrionally deficient compared to some of its modern, genetically enhanced counterparts.

...if we could use animals as effectively as mechanized tractors, we'd be able to eliminate basically all of the significant fossil fuel demand in agriculture.
And then maybe we could convince the tides to stop coming in and all ride winged marshmellows to the sherbert kingdom. This is a backward step down anachronism avenue.

Do you know why the car became so popular when it was first introduced? The mild boost in speed wasn't that impressive and the early models weren't as reliable as todays. The reason that the car got such high praise was because it didn't shit all over the place. All it spit out was a little puff of smoke. Before the car the streets of every major city were being clogged with shit and so were the nearby rivers that also happened to often be a primary source of drinking water. Before the car came along the environment was in a sorry state because people still needed to get where they were going but their mode of transit was highly polluting. The world is much cleaner now than it use to be and in the areas where things aren't improving, they're at least getting worse at a slower pace than they used to.

Rather ironic that would mean going back to the 19th century in terms of agricultural technology, but I think it just goes to show that the more people understand about nature, the more effectively we can adjust our lifestyles to achieve the same standard of living with massively less impact on the ecosystem. We couldn't have achieved that without fossil fuels, but maybe now fossil fuels are paving the way for their own obsolescence. Moving forward just plain isn't synonymous with moving away from nature...
Moving forward also isn't synonymous with turning back.

My mule don't like people laughin'

Who says that? Organic farming isn't as productive. Organic farming has a lower yeild and organic food is nutrionally deficient compared to some of its modern, genetically enhanced counterparts.

Moving forward also isn't synonymous with turning back.

I disagree, with cloning and genetic research that has been put into fruits and vegetables, the goal was not to make the fruit more nutritious. The goal is to better survive disease, weather conditions, bugs, and to make the fruit more appealing to the buyer. I firmly believe natural, unaltered, IN SEASON fruits and vegetables have a much higher nutritional value than the man made counterparts.

Now, considering organic farming is as productive as conventional farming. You have a source for that? Because it seems to me that if organic farming produced anything close to the same output as standard farming no one in their right mind would blow money on chemicals.

Excellent.

I disagree, with cloning and genetic research that has been put into fruits and vegetables, the goal was not to make the fruit more nutritious. The goal is to better survive disease, weather conditions, bugs, and to make the fruit more appealing to the buyer. I firmly believe natural, unaltered, IN SEASON fruits and vegetables have a much higher nutritional value than the man made counterparts.
Ever hear of golden rice?