Current Enewsletter

Vol 14, Number 11, December 2024

Welcome to the Newsletter!

December 12th, 2024. 5 Days after the one year anniversary of my first and best dog ever dying of cancer, 4 days before the 9 year anniversary of my father passing away at home, and 3 years since the best parts man in Hardwick Vermont and a father of a logger friend of mine passed away. 9 days before the darkest day of the year and with the current state of affairs it is hard to imagine this solstice season any more appealing for someone like me to find solitude from society a welcome hiding place. The disparity between the peasant and the king will exist no matter where and when you take your Delorean. I expect to never see it any other way and “that's how I figure it” as Chet Grimes would say.

In lieu of a veil of thoughts that some might describe as hopeless I found a thought recently that I share with you now. This is the origin of what DAPNet’s official annual appeal was shaped from. There is a little too much “John-ism” for a letter that represents DAPNet as an organization. But here you are, written by me, roughly 4:15AM, the raw and unadulterated version for the public to see.

“In this moment in time when energy cost so much
when corporate profits are at the all time high
and the working class labor is worth an all time low
Draft animals stand alone as a practical source of independence
Renewable and regenerative
inherently kind to the earth
the crossroads between specialized labor and art
greed cannot control the ability of a teamster
you cannot buy this ability
you can only learn it
Donate to DAPNet
An organization focused and invested in sharing the knowledge of this art with the next generation”

Independence from the world's perspective of us is to be cherished. Difference should not be a deterrent. Proficiency is power. This organization represents a group of people who have a skill that makes them stand alone in a world as dark as this one. Alone we stand together, sharing knowledge and care and love and responsibility for passing this knowledge down to the next. What do “I” say when asked what I am doing about the smothering oppression of governments around the world? In a perfect world, I'm behind my horse with a hitch on, and I feel the warmth of all those good men and women who have passed on from this world and I just raise my hand, leather lines clutched tight and say, "everything I can."

The directors of this organization got together the weekend of December 7th for our annual retreat. The goal of this retreat is to take special time together to look over the operational components and plan what the new year is going to look like. One important and exciting thing happening at this moment for DAPNet is leadership change. Graciously two members of the board have agreed to engage in this year's transition of the executive committee. Maggie Smith and Daphné Courtès have taken on roles on the executive committee to see “how the sausage is made,” as Ivy Pagliari would say. I can only speak for myself but I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for these two women. I hope you all will send along your thanks to them for becoming involved and investing their time in the future of this organization. Furthermore, we should all be thankful for the entire board of directors. This group continues to be a representation of good work and a symbol of growth for the Draft Animal Power community.

Considering this, I know that you all just read the appeal again, either my version or sought the actual version to reread. I know many of you have likely donated this year through the appeal and if you haven’t, it is not too late. This time of year marks more than just our fundraising appeal, January you will be hearing from us again.

January is the time for the annual renewal of membership to the Draft Animal Power Network. Members of our organization represent the lifeblood of what we do and why we do it. Everywhere from Field Days evaluation to the conversations between directors, the single most important thing to all of us in this organization is the people. This money is a staple line item that helps the volunteers finance the year and allow our community to gather. In return you get a list of benefits, including discounts to DAPNet events and field days registration. More important is that as a card carrying member you represent a supporter to this organization's mission for carrying the information on into the future. Join now. I'll see you at the table.

And with no further adieu or rambling. Please enjoy our monthly Enews letter, another of the great programs that this volunteer run organization operates and shares with the DAP community. 

Sincerely,
John Smolinsky
Board President

Have you had a chance to listen to the Draft Animal Power Podcast? This year we have published six different episodes with interviews of people working with draft animals in the USA and Germany! Find us on any podcast listening platform and subscribe to be the first to know of a new episode!

Frank and Sparrow's Excellent Adventure

By Ivy Pagliari, photos courtesy of the author
 

We left Vermont on April 2nd.  There was still snow on the ground and the sap hadn’t even really started to run yet.  And now, only a few weeks later, it was the dead of winter, but all the snow was fake.  Not only that, it was the 1850s.  We were really in New Mexico, but the film set portrayed Fort Bridger in Wyoming.  My oxen and I had been hired to portray draft cattle and teamster in a period miniseries.

I was standing next to my team hooked to our wagon loaded with dead animals in front of the tanner’s shop.  There were two cavalry men next to me whose horses wished they were not required to wait next to my giant horned cattle and an older man with a horse and buggy in front of me.   A dozen folks in costume waited all around us, still and quiet, ready to spring to life on command.

“SOUND!” someone shouted.

Continue reading here

Member Profile: Rachel Hampton

By Ben Retberg, photos courtesy of Rachel Hampton

For Rachel, farming with draft animals  is the “dream you don’t know to dream. It doesn’t occur to you that you can merge the two dreams [of farming and working animals] into one passion.”

Raised on a farm in Kentucky, Rachel grew up with livestock. Like many small farms, they had a couple of horses in the field that they’d ride occasionally, but it wasn’t a central part of their farm.  She took riding lessons on and off for a few years, but it was in her college years that she sought out live power. At the time, she and her husband, Jay, were farming, raising heritage breed cattle and swine. Rachel heard about Sterling College in VT, an ecologically-focused offering courses in agriculture and ecology, including draft animal power. The opportunity to attend college at a place where you could earn a degree by driving horses and baking sourdough bread was the education Rachel was looking for; however, the logistics of moving their farm across the country weren’t promising, so she decided against it.

Continue reading here

Committee Updates

Executive Committee
December means the annual DAPNet Board of Director’s retreat.  The Executive Committee plans the retreat with input from all board members.  Then, we all get together in one place for the weekend to review and reflect on the previous year and to plan and get excited for the upcoming year’s programming.  There’s no need to make an appointment days in advance to be in the one part of the field that gets cell service to talk about Field Days Sponsorships over Zoom when you can accost the person across the table from you at 10:15 at night and then get up at 6:30 to start working on the eblast calendar with 4 other folks already working on it.  It’s lots of work and lots of fun!
 

Events and Field Days Committee
The Events and Field Days Committee has not one but two new chairs: Raymond Ramsey and Daphné Rose Courtès will facilitate the meetings this year. We are planning the 2025 Field Days at Sanborn Mills Farm and other events. We are still browsing for ideas of topics for our 2025 DAPChats and are hoping to deliver a minimum of three chats this winter. We are also working on criteria needed to designate which small, in-person events throughout the year can qualify as DAPNet events. And, in coordination with Morning Ag. Clips, we are writing a playbook to lay out clear guidelines for Field Days every year.
 

Finance and Fundraising Committee
The Finance and Fundraising Committee has been working hard this year on getting the financial support DAPNet needs to make sure our programming can serve the draft animal community.  We were awarded a grant from the Vermont Community Foundation to help us develop a solid plan for the organization’s financial sustainability.  We were also awarded a grant from the 11th Hour Foundation to support our technology updates and media initiatives. Being chosen as a steward of these funds to strengthen DAPNet was a great way to wrap up 2024!  
 

Education Committee
The Education Committee has a fresh mandate from the Board of Directors to develop a written draft of a DAPNet education program. We are very excited about this renewed directive and value the essential input from the BOD during our recent annual retreat. It is our top priority to ensure this program is a reflection of our member’s values and regional styles while investing in our common draft animal power future. We have gotten some great feedback from our membership about how we can develop and expand our offerings of training, apprenticeship, and even professional certification.  Additional educational opportunities include mentoring, teamster connections, and youth activities. Discussions to develop an agenda for these activities and associated resources will continue this winter.
 

Communications Committee
The Communications Committee had a productive meeting to kick off December, between reveling in our new advertising calendar, deep-thinking about how to create a constructive environment on social media, and planning for tabling at conferences and trade shows. While ensconced in our ski chalet AirBnB in Vermont for our annual retreat, the BOD made several key decisions surrounding our committee. For one, we’ll be taking the newsletter fully back from Morning Ag Clips; they will hold other tasks in its place, including (at least as a trial) some of the Facebook administration. We made plans to cement some of our advertising rates and actually capture our volunteers’ hours as in-kind donations. The gang even stayed up late and got up early to finish building deadlines into our organization’s Google Calendar so we never have to wonder when we’re supposed to do anything anymore! The discussion about the fruitfulness of social media (it has become more stressful to administrate lately) continues, so if our readers have suggestions for improving or diversifying our platforms, we ask them to please get in touch.

Classifieds

Are you selling or in search of something draft-related? Harness, equipment, or even draft animals? Or maybe you’re offering a job position or apprenticeship?
Email your ad to dapnetinfo@gmail.com and we’ll put it in the next newsletter.

• INTERN OPENING
  Come work with us! The farmers of Horsetail Herb Farm and Northland Sheep Farm are excited to collectively offer an internship for the summer of 2025. Donn Hewes, Maryrose Livingston, Becky Frye, and Corey McNaughton all farm together in Marathon, New York. Collectively, this horse-powered team produces lamb, medicinal and culinary herbs, cut flowers, vegetables, hay, and more. The summer intern will be working with all these people to varying degrees while advancing their skills as a teamster and learning how to integrate draft horse power into a variety of commercial farming and homesteading endeavors. For more information and to apply, please visit this link (https://forms.gle/A5b8ae6Cfu4caUPQA). Applications are open through January 31st, 2025. Please email Donn at tripletree@frontiernet.net with any questions.  Thank you!

Events

Have a draft animal related event you’d like share with the DAPNet community? Fill out our Events Submission Form and our volunteers will add your event to our website calendar!

For more details on the following events and others, visit our website.

January 11th - 12th and again on January 25 - 26: Introduction to Draft Cattle Skills: Working Draft Cattle on the Farm and in the Woodlands. Held at The Berry Center Farm and Forest Institute, New Castle, KY. Taught by Rick Thomas. Cost: $100

February 21st - 23rd: Logging with Draft Animals. Held at Tillers International, Scotts, MI. Taught by Brandt Ainsworth. Cost: $600

March 1st - 2nd: 2025 Mower Rendezvous. Held at Donn's Mower Shop, Northland Sheep Dairy, Marathon, NY. Hosted by Donn Hewes. Cost: $50

March 7th - 9th, 2025 - Harnessing the Power of Mules in Timber Operations. Held at The Berry Center Farm and Forest Institute, New Castle, KY. Taught by Rick Thomas. Cost: $150

March 15th - 16th: Oxen Driving. Held at Tillers International, Scotts, MI. Taught by Rob Collins. Cost: $445

March 22nd - 23rd: 2025 Cultivator Rendezvous. Held at Donn's Mower Shop, Northland Sheep Dairy, Marathon, NY. Taught by Becky Frye and Michael Glos. Cost: $50

Event Highlight

2025 Mower Rendezvous March 1st and 2nd- Located at Donn’s Mower Shop located at the Northland Sheep Farm in Marathon, NY.  We will clean up some parts, make some repairs, reassemble and tune up a #7 McD mower. We teach and learn from each other as we work together. If you have a mower that you would like to work on at this event, contact Donn (PM or email), we have room for at least a couple more.  We will have a farm dinner on Saturday night, but plan to bring something for the rest of the meals. Refrigeration is available.

Welcome to the DAPMap

This month we are looking at our two new additions. 

Island Alpaca Company of Martha's Vineyard- Huacaya Alpaca for Sale. Gift shop onsite and online - Some wholesaling available. Email them here.

Daphné Rose Courtès- travaux forestiers et débardage à cheval- Logging with a single Belgian X Percheron horse and hiring a forwarder to move wood to the landing. Email Daphné here.

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