Secrets of Amish Farming

When most people think of the Amish, they think of farming. Farming and the Amish have always gone hand in hand.

The reason why the Amish are so bound to the land is that centuries ago, their ancestors were severely persecuted in Switzerland (the area from which most of the Amish come). To survive, these people had to take refuge in remote rural areas, where often the authorities left them alone. Living in Zurich or other Swiss cities was not an option. As a result, over the centuries, one of the few occupations available to the Amish was farming.

One of the reasons why the Amish have been so successful at farming is that they possess a profound sense of stewardship of God’s soil. Farming is not simply a job to them. It’s a whole way of life that represents hard work, thrift, and involvement by every member of the family.

Because of their thrift, hard work, and input from the whole family, Amish farmers produce more harvest per acre with less consumption of fossil fuels than their neighbors.

Typical Amish Farm

The typical Amish farm consists of about 40 acres. Amish farmers plant a variety of crops – with alfalfa, corn, and other grains being the primary ones. Amish farmers rarely depend on one crop alone. The Amish practice crop rotation religiously to preserve the fertility of the soil.

Amish Horses

The Amish use heavy draft horses in the fields to pull the farm equipment, such as mowers and shredders. The advantage of horses is that (1) they are far less expensive to purchase and (2) feeding them is far less expensive than “feeding” tractors and combines. In fact, the Amish typically grow their own fuel – that is, food for their horses. What’s more, rather than polluting the air, manure from horses actually benefits the soil. Not only that, horses reproduce themselves. Imagine a tractor that can do that!

Another benefit of horses is that they can perform better than tractors in mud and snow. For that reason, Amish farmers often are able to start plowing their fields earlier in the year than their neighbors who use tractors.

Summary

So those are the basic secrets of Amish farming success. In summary, they are:

• A sense of God-given stewardship of the soil
• The whole family being involved
• Diversification of crops
• Crop rotation
• Using manure as the primary or supplementary method of fertilization
• Using horses as their main power source in the fields