I had visited his farm once before, in the fall of 2009, with my Sustainable Agriculture class at Umass. Of course, I had been impressed back then, even with my little knowledge and experience in farming. The view from the parking lot is beautiful enough to knock your socks off: gorgeous green forested hills, leading down to a beautiful flat valley of extremely neat and attractively symmetrical fields, and bordered on the opposite side by the South River. To get to the fields from the parking lot, you cross over a quaint bridge that shakes and wobbles with every step as the river rushes beneath your feet.
Not only is this farm in the most idyllic of locations, but they also seem to be doing just about everything in their power to be self-sustaining – a very inspiring endeavor in my eyes. One of David Fisher’s main reasons for employing horses to get his work done is because he does not want to support a war he doesn’t agree with by burning petroleum fuel. They grow most of the hay they need to maintain the horses each year, but they buy in a fair amount of grain as well. Still, there are amazing things happening at Natural Roots farm, as this incredible story shows: in March of 2008, around 150 community members came together to help with a barn raising on their land- a barn that was built completely out of wood harvested from their own forests, pulled by their horses and cut and milled on site. Impressive, isn’t it? It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.
David Fisher certainly seems to have gotten “it”, that elusive thing we all keep thinking and talking so much about. Living sustainably on his land, and helping to build a healthy community in the process – a portrait of success if I’ve ever seen one. On the other hand, him and his apprentices keep busy from 6 in the morning until 7 in the evening with farm chores and the like. Winters don’t provide the much-appreciated respite from the season as they do for most other vegetable growers in the area. Wood must be harvested and chopped, stalls must still be cleaned daily, and many a sleigh ride must be had! Preparing the horses for work is a very time-consuming task, from what I gather, but also extremely rewarding. David told us about his close relationship with his animals, and he explained that learning how to communicate better with them has helped him greatly with all the other relationships in his life.
Just watching him work the land with his animals was incredibly awe-inspiring, in its’ quiet simplicity. He hitched up a team to a few different implements to show us how it worked. One of his apprentices mowed the cover crop and then he ploughed the soil, while another stale bedded another part of the field with a shallow tool that readies the soil for planting. The absence of the harsh tractor engine was the most striking to me. No noise besides the soft jangle of the horses’ reins and the comforting commands of the rider steering them. The tractor seems so abrasive in comparison, so unnatural … And yet, this morning I mounted our John Deere 1050 and got to work.
Such descriptive writing, c! I like your blog.
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