As Kurt continued his journey of exploring a new life as a farmer, he stumbled upon several challenges. One of which was buying a tractor, which he found to be a somewhat of an unwelcoming experience. Main reason for that is because he just wanted a tractor for the sake of just having one, without necessarily doing any research on the purchase first. John Deere is the first name that came to his mind, because tractor brands are not common knowledge among the city folk. What I found interesting is his fascination with new and shiny tractors that in a way reminisces with mine. When I was about 10 years old, I always wondered what a new tractor or a crane looks like, because every time you see one, it has already been used, covered in filth and dirt. I always wondered what it would be like to see a new and a shiny piece of machinery, and I always acknowledged the fact that it was an odd thing to wonder about. Who thinks about shiny tractors in their free time? Then again, I was somewhat of a weird kid. Luckily, my dream came true, as I was driving by a show where agricultural machinery was on display, and I finally saw it...it was beautiful indeed!
Also what caught my attention was how Kurt decided to add sheep to his farm “collection”. There are some things I didn’t know, like that there are types of grass that don't provide any nutrition for the animals. However, there are some problems Kurt doesn’t realize how lucky he is not to have to be dealing with. The main trouble people have with sheep herding are the wolf attacks. To keep the wolves away you have to get shepherd dogs (there are even special breeds who can overpower and kill a wolf), and those dogs have to be trained and fed regularly to be effective. Kurt also goes on to explain the difference between keeping sheep and goats, where sheep are dirty and sloppy, while goats are clean and tidy. Overall, I liked this chapter, it contained a lot interesting pieces of information; however, I was a little disappointed that the author personally didn’t kill the lambs, I think that would’ve been a very interesting experience to read about, since it is an integral part of a farmer’s life.
Interestingly enough, Omnivore's Dilemma also talked about a tractor and how they tend the fields of corn. Many farmers did not buy tractors when they first came out because it was hard to maintain and expensive overall.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read how Kurt bought a tractor just for the sake of having one, I immediately thought back to our the story of our guest lecturer about the tractors sent to developing countries. Hopefully though it would prove more useful in this case.
ReplyDeleteYou actually got me thinking about what a shiny tractor looks like since I don't think I've ever seen one. I better Google it! I like your point about personally killing the lambs. Describing that experience would have added a psychological element to being a farmer.
ReplyDeleteWow, I didn't realize that certain grass doesn't provide the animals with nutrients. I thought grass was grass (didn't know there were variations of it). I guess we are both learning a thing or two from these readings.
ReplyDeleteI liked the details you included about the lambs and you left me also wanting to read more about the lambs and the actual killing of the lambs because I think that would have been interesting.
ReplyDelete