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Over two consecutive springs several years ago, weexperienced the birth of a mule on our place.  The

offspring of a jack (or male donkey) and a mare (or femalehorse), these gangly foals were at first so weak that they could noteven hold up the gigantic ears they inherited from their father.Within 45 minutes, however, they were standing, nursing, andexploring their world.

The response from our neighbors and friends to our mulesranges from mild interest to amusement.  Many of them havenever seen mules (let alone heard themthey make an almostindescribable sound!).  Some have ancestors who farmed with

mules, but none have considered this possibility as a modernsource of traction.  Now that the mules are five and six years of age, we have started to ride and drive them.   We have evenstarted to farm and log with our mules, not from a sense of nostalgia, but rather for practical, environmental, and aestheticreasons.

From a practical standpoint, mules are multipurposeanimals. Ours can be ridden, driven, and packed into themountains. On our farm, they perform a variety of tasks,including tilling the soil, cultivating and harvesting our crops,and perhaps eventually carrying them to market (or directly toconsumers). This year, we’ve started a firewood and customsawmilling enterprise, using the oldest mule to skid logs to ourprocessing sites. Recreationally, we enjoy riding and driving

them.While the amount of land that we can farm with two mules

is limited compared to what we could farm with “modern”technology (e.g. tractors), our capital costs will be far less.  We’vebeen able to get started with our modern mule-powered farmingenterprise for less than $10,000.   The scale of operation that

mule farming requires will also help us maintain an operationthat will not grow beyond the size that we can manage efficiently and effectively as a family.

From an environmental standpoint, I appreciate the factthat mules do not require fossil fuel to operate.  As hay- andgrain-powered creatures, mules convert solar energy directly toon-farm work.   In the beginning, we’ve needed to rely onconventionally produced feed for our mules, but we’ll ultimately produce at least some of our own hay and grain.   We also rely on our own pastures to meet a portion of our feed needs.Devoting a portion of our operation to hay and grass productionensures that our farm will include beneficial crop rotations and adiversity of products.  Finally, unlike the by-product of a tractor(exhaust), the by-product of our power source will actually benefit our farm.  We turn manure into compost, revitalizing oursoil and producing better crops in the process.

As oil prices continue to rise, we think that local sources of “power” will become as important as local sources of food.  Self-sufficiency, both individually and within communities, will becritical as the transport of food, fiber, and other staples becomesmore expensive. Communities that can move food productsfrom the farm to the table with a minimal amount of petroleumwill better withstand the uncertainty of declining oil supplies.The interest that our customers have shown in “fossil fuel-free”

food and firewood suggests that this approach already has valuewithin our local marketplace.Finally, working mules is aesthetically pleasing. Until we

started using mules, we’d always relied on internal combustionengines. Unlike operating a tractor or a rototiller, working amule is quiet (for the most part).  I can observe what’s happeningaround me.  I can see ground-nesting birds in time to avoid theirnests. I can actually hear myself think. One of the most

Farming Magazine–  Fall      2007 [ 33 ]

WWWWoooorrrrkkkk iiiinnnngggg MMMMuuuu lllleeeessssDan Macon Photos by author

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[ 34 ] Farming Magazine–  Fall      2007 

Miller Farm Machinery-Pallet Forks

-Bale Spears

-Buckets for Skid loaders

-2 & 4 Star Hay Tedders

Vernon Miller

10311 Trail Bottom Rd. NW 

Dundee, OH 44624

(330)852-4691

New and Used Farm Machinery

rewarding parts of farming for me is the smell of freshly turnedearth.  With a tractor, this scent is mingled with exhaust.  Withmules, it is mingled with the scent of sweat (my own and my animals’), with the scent of leather, and with the scent of manure(which I admit I kind of like).

I also derive deep satisfaction from accomplishing a task with an animal that I trained.   While working with anotherliving being can complicate farm tasks from time to time, I relishthe partnership that is required between the animals and me.I’ve now driven our oldest mule enough to know when we’reunderstanding each other (and when we’re not).

Ultimately, farming appeals to me because it is acombination of art and science.  The craft of farming with mules

is attractive to me for economic, environmental, and aestheticreasons.  As President Harry Truman said, “A tractor will neverbe as ... satisfactory as a mule.  It makes noise, for one thing, andnoise interferes with a man’s thoughts.  But plowing a field witha mule is the most satisfying thing a man can do.  And at the endof the day, looking over what you’ve done, you can feel a realsense of accomplishment, and that’s a very rare thing.”

Dan Macon and his family farm in the Sierra Nevada foothills innorthern California.  They market grass-fed lamb, summer and fall vegetables, firewood, and custom-milled lumber to local customers.