The Right Tool for the Job

Farmer-to-Farmer Learning Module  

Choosing the Right Tool for the Job

Getting Started

In this learning module, we'll talk about choosing the right tools and equipment for your farm.Although tools and equipment are important investments for all farmers, farmers on small farms have particular reasons to choose wisely. Because small farmers are often limited in time and/or capital, they should evaluate their purchases by answering several questions: Will the tools improve health, safety, or way of life? Will they improve profitability? Will they reduce labor costs?

Case Study: Red Cat Farm

Since she was a small child, Teena Bailey has always wanted to farm. "I imagined that I'd own a farm someday," she said, "but it took a long time and a lot of hard work to make that dream a reality." After college, she started an interior foliage business, placing and maintaining plants in businesses and offices, a business that has endured for nearly 30 years. But she still yearned to grow vegetables on her own land.

When she and her husband learned that a 1.5-acre parcel of farmland was available, they took the chance and started growing the usual summer vegetables for the farmers' market.

Despite Teena's green thumb, the business wasn't showing a profit due to high production costs, including energy, and  low sales volume. But in 2004, she found some equipment that radically improved the way she farms and her bottom line.

"In March of 2004, I attended Steve Moore's  workshop on  passive solar greenhouses at Wilson College," Teena said. "The minute I stepped out of the cold, blustery weather into the warmth of Steve's greenhouse with its abundance of vegetables ready for market, all produced without electricity, I was hooked." A year later, she put up a 72' by 30' passive solar greenhouse patterned after Steve's. 

The greenhouse features double layers of plastic that are inflated by a solar-powered fan. Solar panels also charge a battery bank to run her water pump. Mini-tunnels of plastic over the beds give another layer of protection in the coldest weather. This system allows her to grow lettuce and other greens throughout the winter. In the spring, Teena fills concrete bunkers in the greenhouse with manure and shavings, which provide enough heat to start vegetable plants as they decompose.

"The energy savings are amazing," Teena said. "Although the upfront costs were high, I would be spending hundreds of dollars every year to heat a conventional greenhouse. Now I don't have to worry about energy bills or power outages, and it's an earth-friendly way to farm."

The passive solar greenhouse has also helped Teena to be more profitable by changing her marketing strategy. She now sells to restaurants, health food stores, and farmers' markets year-round. "Because I can grow all through the winter months, I'm finding that I have less competition and prices are better," she said. "Since it's more lucrative to focus on crops raised in cold weather, I might eventually take the summers off and grow only in the off-season."

There are other tools and techniques that have helped Teena improve profitability on her small farm. For example, the U-Bar broadfork that she uses to deep-dig her soil in the greenhouse is a simple and relatively inexpensive tool that replaces a more expensive gas-powered tiller.

Some of Teena's favorite tools come from Johnny's Seeds--a 6-row seeder and a cloth basket harvestor for salad greens, for example. And other tools she's scrounged, like the old washer she's dedicated to spinning greens.

"Probably 90 percent of the labor on the farm is done by me," Teena said. "I get occasional summer help from teenagers and sometimes exchange labor with friends, but most of the time I'm working alone. So I've learned to make every minute count."

Because Teena's situation is not unique, we will focus in this Farmer-to-Farmer Learning Module on ways to identify the resources and equipment that make small farmers' lives easier.

Learning Objectives

After attending the field day and looking at the resources provided, you will

·       Understand the importance of  choosing tools/equipment that can achieve your business and production goals;

·        Explain the importance of labor saving practices to farmers' health and wellbeing;

·        Explain the connection between properly sized, correctly used tools and health and safety.

We hope you'll share ideas with other farmers about the tools and labor-saving devices discussed at the 10/7/09 WAgN Field Day at Red Cat Farm--or about any other farming issues of interest. Please post your thoughts to the blog below.