By Clinton Martin
Farming and Agricultural practices among the Amish – as illustrated by statistics and numbers:
- Farming Properties and Farm Related Professions
The U. S. Department of Agriculture says that statistically, Lancaster County has the most productive, non-irrigated farmland of any place in the world. There are places in California that produce more per acre than Lancaster County, but they are using irrigation and are growing for 12 months of the year. Lancaster County farmers generally do not use irrigation, and they are growing crops, typically, between April and October.
Only 30% (possibly less than 30%) of the Amish are farming.
Amish farmers can have a tractor, but it is generally used as a mobile engine and transmission that is moved around the barnyard to operate other pieces of equipment (usually through a drive shaft attached to the power takeoff on the transmission on the tractor). Tractors are supposed to have steel wheels (discourages the owner from taking it on the road to use like the “family car”).
Amish cultural rules suggest that they use horses or mules for pulling farm equipment in the fields. Some people prefer horses and some prefer mules (same reason why some English people like Fords and some like Chevys).
When working in the fields, the team (horses or mules) is hitched to a piece of equipment called a “forecart” (goes before the farm equipment). The farm equipment is attached to the forecart and the team can then pull the equipment.
If the Amish farmer uses horses, they are generally very large draft horses that are Belgians or Percherons. A mule is a hybrid between a male donkey and a female horse. You cannot breed a mule to get a mule. Mules are sterile.
The average Amish farm size in the Lancaster Settlement is about 50 acres. In the 1960 the average was about 70 acres. The 50-acre farms are not big enough to make a full-time living raising “cash crops” to sell.
Most of the Amish farms are dairy farms, but we have lost around 60 dairy farms in the last 2-1/2 years primarily due to the price the farmers are being paid for the milk they produce.
Many of the farmers who quit dairy farming became produce farmers (vegetables) and have found a ready market for their fresh produce.
In recent years, there have been a few greenhouse operations that have sprung up among the Amish. We started seeing more greenhouse operations with the downturn in the dairy business. Generally, greenhouse operations are growing vegetable seedlings to be sold to produce farmers. There are a few flower growers among the Amish in the local area.
There are a few Amish in the Lancaster Settlement who make either a part-time or full-time living training or breeding, raising and training horses as “Drive Horses”. A Drive Horse is a horse that pulls a carriage. Many of the Drive Horses that pull carriages are retired race horses (trotters and pacers) that had a career at the race course pulling sulkies. They frequently retire at age 5 – 6 and a horse can generally live beyond 25 years of age. There are a lot of young Amish men (and a few women) who will train retired race horses to not be afraid of distractions on the road. You frequently see them in the evening pulling a sulky down the road an hour or two before sunset.
Facts and Key Words
- Department of Agriculture – most productive, non-irrigated farm land in the world.
- Less than 30 % of the Amish are farmers.
- Amish farmers can have tractors. Only used in barnyard. Steel wheels.
- Field work is done with horses or mules.
- Team hitched to forecart. Farm equipment hitched to forecart.
- Average farm size is 50 acres.
- Most Amish farms are dairy farms.
- Some vegetables/produce farms.
- Some greenhouse operations produce vegetable seedlings and a few flower operations.
- A few horse trainers and horse breeders and trainers.
- Conventional versus Organic Farming Techniques.
Among the Amish, there are farmers who use conventional farming techniques (pesticides, herbicides, artificial fertilizers, etc.). Then there are a few Amish farmers who use organic practices for their farming techniques. Some are even “Certified Organic” (meaning they do not use pesticides, herbicides, artificial fertilizers, etc).
Farmers who use organic farming practices generally do not produce as much of a crop (or milk, etc.) as a conventional farm, but because they use organic practices, they can often get paid more for their products than the products that were raised on a conventional farm.
Facts and Key Words
- Both conventional and organic farming techniques among the Amish.
- Organic farmers get paid more but generally produce less of a crop.
- Conventional versus No Till Farming Techniques
Among the Amish, there are farmers who use conventional farming techniques. These techniques include things like plowing the field and then disking the field to get ready for planting. Some people argue that that approach leaves the soil vulnerable to erosion from wind or water.
Other Amish farmers use “no-till” techniques for farming. Cover crops are planted to protect the soil over the winter. Then when spring planting is done, the fields are not plowed and disked. The cover crop (might be rye) is killed or harvested. A special seed drill is pulled over the ground, and a groove is cut into the soil and the seed (for whatever crop is being planted) is dropped into the groove and then the groove is covered up. That way, the soil is less vulnerable to erosion, and some farmers argue that in the long run it is less effort to plant the crop.
Facts and Key Words
- Conventional techniques – plow and disk the field
- No-till technique – cover crop protects the soil. Cut the groove and plant the seed.
- Crops
The Number One crop raised in the area is Field Corn. Over 200,000 acres of field corn are raised in Lancaster by both English and Amish farmers.
The Number Two crop raised in Lancaster County is Alfalfa Hay. Normally, in the Lancaster County area a farmer (English or Amish) can expect to get four cutting of Alfalfa Hay. In the past 5 – 7 years, because of the weather, farmers are getting 5 – 7 cuttings of hay (without irrigation).
Number three crop is soybeans. Generally, soybeans are grown by planting in April and harvesting in early September. For the Amish, they can plant soybeans using a team of horses or mules to pull a seed drill, but they have to hire an English, commercial harvester to harvest soybeans. The harvesting combine is too heavy for a team to pull.
Farmers in Lancaster County can “two crop” with soybeans and wheat. This is a frequent practice with Amish farmers. They plant winter wheat in October. The wheat grows 4 – 6 inches high before it becomes dormant in November. In March, the wheat starts growing again and it is ripe for harvesting in late June. They hire an English commercial harvester to harvest the wheat in late-June. Then if the weather cooperates, and the farmer is diligent and plants soybeans by early July, he will harvest the soybeans in mid to late October. If he uses that approach, he has “two cropped” wheat and soybeans.
Tobacco is a minor crop in Lancaster County, and it is what is considered a “cash crop”. Only 10,000 acres of tobacco are raised by both English and Amish farmers in the area (compared to 200,000 acres of corn). Tobacco is not raised for personal use (although some Amish do smoke). It is raised to be sold either through pre-contracted agreements with buyers or at auction for whatever price the market demands.
Tobacco is a labor-intensive crop. It is planted by hand and cultivated (weeded) by hand. You cut a flower stalk off by hand (so that all the nutrients go to the leaves). Then you harvest it by hand by cutting the tobacco stalk off close to the ground and then spear 5 or 6 stalks of tobacco onto a stick of wood called a “tobacco lath” Then you hang the tobacco in the rafters of a barn to dry. Then around late-December, the leaves are stripped off of the tobacco stalks, and the leaves are baled and shipped.
In the mid-1950’s, tobacco was the number one crop raised in Lancaster County, but because of health concerns, there is less demand for tobacco products. Therefore, tobacco is a minor crop raised on farms in Lancaster County today.
In the winter on Amish farms, you will often see what appears to be very green grass growing in a harvested corn field or soybean field. At that stage of growth, it is impossible to tell the difference between rye and wheat, but it is generally rye. Rye is a cover crop that is planted to protect the soil over the winter. In the spring, rye can be used in several ways. For a conventional farmer (plows the ground) it can be plowed under to fertilize the ground. For a no-till farmer, it can be killed with roundup, then a crop like corn is planted by a piece of equipment that cuts a groove in the ground, and the seeds are planted in the groove.
Some farmers will let the rye grow until it is close to three feet high. Then it is cut and harvested like Alfalfa.
Almost every Amish family has a family garden where Mom and the sisters raise vegetables to feed the family in the summer. The extra is “canned or preserved” to help feed the family in the winter. Vegetables like corn, peppers, carrots, celery, potatoes, strawberries, green beans, etc. are grown in family gardens.