[bkopto]

And so it begins: the first wave of abandonment of modernity, as architected by the Greens, socialists and the Democrats.

Obama is smiling. Somewhere, Karl Marx is smiling.

[Texas Fossil]

He is already teaching up to 20 farmers every weekend.

This is a total BS article.

Note the by line: "By Daily Mail Reporter"

They didn't want to embarrass the idiot who wrote this by naming him.

[Smokin' Joe]

I really doubt this will become much of a trend unless people are forced to. If you can't make it on 80 acres with a tractor, you need to either reconsider your crop or your occupation.

As for "Farmers across America...", I'm in North Dakota, and I don't exactly see a stampede to farm 10-15 sections (square miles ~640 acres each) of wheat with oxen.

More overblown dirtworship dreams. This is not a viable alternative to mechanized farming if we are to feed our own, much less a significant portion of the world.

[mylife]

What a load of BS.
What’s the current price of cattle feed?

What’s your Price to Earnings Ratio?

Stupid Libtards

[unkus]

Obama is smiling. Somewhere, Karl Marx is smiling.

---

Karl Marx is also patting him on the back.

[KarlInOhio]

The example given of an 80 acre farm. That is right at the bottom of what I would consider a full-time farm. Corn produces about 150 bushels per acre with a modern mechanized farm (plowing, fertilizing, applying herbicide and harvesting) . At $7 per bushel they would have a gross income of $84,000 before they pay for a any fuel, seeds, fertilizer, equipment or land payments. On the other hand, a yoke of oxen can plow about one acre a day, so those 80 acres would take 40 days if they had two teams working. That is probably too long to plant one crop and be able to have a full growing season for the last planted seeds.

I wonder how many people are doing it seriously, versus a few hobbyists or survivalist types, and the newspaper is trying to pump it up into a movement for the story.

On the other hand with all the rain in Ohio this year, some farmers could use water buffalo to plant their rice crops because they can't get corn or soybeans into the ground yet.

[rawcatslyentist]

Well, Obastard did promise us we’d not be able to eat the kind of food we want, or as much as we want, and the prestitutes just gushed starry eyed at the magnificence at which he proclaimed mass murder through starvation!

[Dudoight]

Such a load of bull!

[MsLady]

During the depression farmers made their own fuel using gasifiers.

[cripplecreek]

Sounds like a liberal hobby farmer to me.

[digger48]

Oxen?

Around here, they just hitch a Deere to their plows.

[BfloGuy]

I never realized that there were so many FReepers from the city. Because only city people could read this article and believe it. Now, I don’t doubt but what these nitwits in Wisconsin have embarked on their own little save-the-earth-use-oxen experiment, but let’s not get carried away by extrapolating that it’s a widespread trend.

[farmer matt]

Hmmm, interesting.

Any ideas where to mount the gps guidance, planter and sprayer monitors? What about auto steer?(as in turning, not castration) :)

[Allegra]

Wow....and over the past few years, we have taught the Iraqis how to use hay-balers, disc harrows and other modern farming implements.

Iraq grow more modern while the US recedes to the old ways.

We've got to get that communist out of the White House and his fellow communists out of Congress.

[null and void]

Obama is smiling. Somewhere, Karl Marx is smiling.

And Malthus.

Finally his predictions will come true.

[catfish1957]

I think I will start the plans for a buggy whip manufacturing site soon.

[InterceptPoint]

The Environmentalist strategy is working.

The goal: Reduce the power and influence of the United States of America to make way for a World Socialist Government.

The Energy Tactic: Use political means to increase the cost of energy to the United States which will directly, proportionately and continually reduce the standard of living of all Americans.

It’s hard to argue that this has not been a very, very successful plan. You have virtually the entire Democrat party supporting it and incredibly weak GOP opposition.

[Bean Counter]

Fascinating article! I did not realize that true oxen were still around much less that anyone was using them. It would depend on your business model for your farm but I can certainly see how oxen could be very cost effective in a world of $6 (and up) diesel fuel, machinery repairs and operations.

During the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, Wellington's Army moved their heavy 24" siege guns with a team of 64 head of ox on each gun. The beast wore a harness made of rope that carried 6 cannonballs on their backs in addition to the harness to pull the gun.

Of course, there were other teams of ox to pull the wagons of powder, food, tents, bullets, supplies of all description, including more teams to pull the fodder to feed them all. And of course as the loads decreased with time, you can always slaughter a couple of oxen and feed a whole bunch of people fresh beef...

At one point Wellington's British Army had almost 250,000 head of ox in their campaign against Napoleon....

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Perhaps we could switch Nebraska over to rice fields.

/s

[ken21]

my father used to do that, and it’s

hard

work. very few of the post ww2 generation would attempt it.

[crz]

Friggan hippies from Madison. They are growing wacky weed there somewhere. You can bet on it.