Worldbuilding XII: Farming part 6: Conclusion · 1:57am Oct 8th, 2018
This series only lightly touched upon farming, with the idea being to give y'all an idea of what goes into producing a crop, labor-wise.
Really, there’s a whole lot here that didn’t get covered. Technique-wise, I mostly focused on hay and corn, since there’s a long history of those two crops being grown and harvested as staples, and since the basic techniques for plowing, planting, cultivating, and harvesting those two crops are somewhat applicable to many field crops.
We know in canon that they grow hay (haybales are prevalent in the show) and corn (once again, we've seen cornfields) on a somewhat large scale—that is, they have fields devoted to just that one crop, as opposed to smaller gardens with mixed crops in them.
We also know in Equestria that they must grow some kind of grain, since they have bread, and it's a fair bet between what we've seen for sale at the market and what cutie marks ponies in Ponyville have that there is a significant number of other crops that are grown: Roma's tomatoes, Goldengrape's grapes, and so forth.
It's also a fair bet that they have large-scale flower farming. Not for ornamental purposes (although surely there is some of that), but for food use.
Overall, the cycle would be the same for any crop: plow, plant, cultivate, and harvest.
What specific form that would take will of course vary, and by all means if you want to focus on a lavender farmer in your story, do the research on how it's done. Fun fact: in canon, there are at least three Earth ponies with lavender in their name.
There could very well be specific lavender planters and lavender harvesters.
A town like Ponyville is likely to stagger their crops somewhat. Farmers talk, and they know what the other farms are planting. They'd know what equipment is going to be in-demand any time of year, and if it's something big and expensive, they'll probably share it, if they can. Threshers, for example, are likely too expensive for any one farm to own, but a bunch of ponies can chip in together to pay to rent one for a week, and everypony brings in their grain during that week. Everypony helps out, whether it be hauling wagons or turning the sweep that powers the machine, or putting the grain into sacks to be taken to the mill.
If too many ponies are all growing the same crop and it all needs to be harvested at the same time, some of might not be, and it'll spoil in the field. Given that they've got decent weather control, they can work around this to an extent. Maybe the Apples know that Golden Harvest planted her hayfield early, so they'll plant theirs late, and plan to mow their field after she's mowed hers.
It’s also worth mentioning at least in passing that there are factors that certainly go into crops besides just cutie marks. While the pegasi can control the weather at least to an extent, there’s not much chance that ponies would be able to successfully plant a willow bed and a cactus farm right next to each other. There are also soil conditions to consider; one of the reasons that crop rotation is a thing is to keep from depleting the soil in any one field.
Overall, the entire process is a lot of work, and there are many farmponies who would spend one long day after another in the fields.
For further reading on the subject, the book Horse Drawn Days by Jerry Apps is very excellent and I strongly recommend it. For more specifics on farm machinery, Identifying Horse-Drawn Farm Implements by W. R. Runyan gives a brief overview of different types of equipment (pictures and names); the Encyclopedia of American Farm Implements & Antiques by C. H. Wendel is far more specific, identifying machines not only by type, but brand. That one's also available on Kindle; I don't know about the other two. Likewise, there are reprints of various catalogs that can be purchased or viewed online which will give insight into what kinds of equipment--big and small--farms need to buy.
Also, while I linked to only a few YouTube videos, there are literally hundreds available that show traditional farming techniques, and can give perhaps a better view of how the machine works than just words alone could convey.
Besides just watching videos from the comfort of your own home (or the comfort of someone else’s, I guess), in many parts of the world there are traditional farming demonstrations. I’ve attended a few draft horse shows at Michigan State University, although typically due to work I don’t get to watch much of it. (They do have a plowing competition, which I’ve unfortunately never had the opportunity to see.)
There are also some hobbyists who have small horse-powered farms, and I’m sure that if you ask nicely, many of them would be more than willing to explain anything you wanted to know about horse-powered farming. Since it’s a lot of work, if you volunteer to help, you’ll probably be able to get even more in-depth explanations.
I'd also like to give a big thanks to EngineerBJ, who let me tour his family farm and look at all the old horse-drawn implements that they have, along with giving some more explanations about the farm itself. He also agreed to look over this and make sure that I didn't miss anything important.
Wrought-iron also assisted with some pre-reading, making sure that I didn’t make too many blatant mistakes.
--admiral biscuit
I've really enjoyed this series, Biscuit! You are quite correct, farming, no matter which crop it is, is labor intensive. It would be even more so for our pony friends, who do all of the work manually with real ponies and little or no power equipment.
It can be rewarding, though and there really isn't a better feeling than putting a crop on the ground, seeing it grow and gather it with your own hooves, we, hands, or whatever.
A fascinating series, I enjoyed reading it! Though now you've got me wondering what's next. Was this something you just felt inspired to contemplate, or is it a lead up to an new writing project? In any case, thanks for the thoughts.
Isnt there a music video about Golden Harvest and her carrots? Something about Into Her Garden?
"Maybe the Apples know that Golden Harvest planted her hayfield early, so they'll plant theirs late, and plan to mow their field after she's mowed hers."
Note: The first year is a bust. Normally, to establish a grassland field, you plant early maturing milo in the spring (lower yields, but wait for it), then overseed through the stubble in the fall with your grass seed. That whole next year is a no-pick/no-harvest/no-graze year, with the *next* summer being the first year you can reasonably expect to get a crop, and even then it will be scraggly because the root system has not developed. Then every ten or so years, you burn in the spring to cut down on leafy weeds and (censored) cedar trees, which makes that year almost useless for harvesting too. Then, of course, is the fine definitions between native grass, clover, monoculture grasses, etc... Seriously, never get a Range Management Specialist talking or you'll be trapped there for hours.
Aye.
Brilliant series.
Or;
Go to Michigan and hng out with some fuckin Amish.
Thanks for the series. I now know a lot more about farming than I used to.
I had a surreal mental image of light purple earth ponies in lab coats examining specimen tanks full of cloned Twilight Sparkles as the lavender harvest matured.
In any case, thank you for a most enlightening series. I'll definitely come back to it next time I need to discuss Applejack in her natural habitat.
4949967
Thank you!
The very little bit of it I’ve done--mostly unloading several hay wagons--sucked. I really wouldn’t want to do that for a living. Although the being outside part would be nice.
Yeah, that’s the rewarding part. On the rare occasions that I’ve managed to grow something that I can actually eat in a garden (or wherever), it’s really nice. Usually, though, animals get them first or they don’t actually produce any edible fruit or the kale turns into a kale tree and why did I even plant kale; I don’t like kale.
4949977
Thanks!
Well, it’s something I’ve researched piecemeal here and there as needed for stories, and something that doesn’t appear too much in other stories that I’ve noticed, yet would be an integral part of life in Ponyville. Living in a small rural town, there’s a lot of farming stuff that seeps in everywhere, but I generally don’t get that vibe from MLP fanfic. It was also the logical continuation of the harnesses research series I wrote earlier.
What I hope is next is that some of the people who read this series put more stuff about farming in their stories. That’d be the best.
Also, at some point, I’m going to write a story about a gang of fillies and colts (not the CMC, incidentally) getting a used cultivator and making money over the summer with it.
4950007
Several, actually. I think you’re thinking of Wooden Toaster’s Beyond her Garden.
4950029
I think that in Michigan and Wisconsin, the fields were traditionally rotated. Back in the horse-drawn days, anyway. Not sure what a difference it might make with different crops, honestly. That’s something I’d have to look into more, I guess.
I wonder if ponies would do this generally? Or if it would vary depending on how big a field they had? I was speculating in an earlier reply that maybe sometimes there were smaller fields that were planted over a series of weeks so that the grasses matured over time, and it would be sold fresh cut at market for ponies who wanted to pay for that. I also wonder if the ponies might find a use for the cedar trees. Maybe some tree pony goes out in the field and takes them and puts them in a cedar grove or something, then sells them (when they’re ready) to wardrobe makers.
If you ever want to write a fun story with several different pony hay farmers discussing the pros and cons of each type of planting. . . .
4950062
Thank you!
4950156
I really should do that. I don’t live all that close to the popular Amish areas, but I don’t live all that far, either. And it would certainly be educational. Not so sure that they’d want a dumb mechanic helping in the field, though.
4950258
You’re welcome! Glad to help inform!
4950283
I have no idea what multiple Twilights would do to Equestria, but it’s probably not good.
You’re welcome! And do--there’s so much stuff to put in stories here and all the places that the information here will take you.
4950517
My experience of Michigan;
Corn.
Water in Flint tastes funny.
Soybeans.
Amish.
Corn.
Amish.
Corn.
Soybeans.
Corn.
More Amish.
A Maserati.
Oh a Tesla, let's ra- and he's gone.
Corn.
4950520
Sugar beets if you were in the Thumb. Gotta watch them; in the winter, when they sometimes fall off the trucks, they look like those little car-shushes that build up behind the wheels, but they’re a lot more solid.
Up north, there are lots of pine forests in neat rows.
Also, don’t drink the water in Flint.
4950515 If you're rotating a field, it's not grass then. It's probably red clover done as a cover crop/nitrogen fixer. Alfalfa is another long-term planting, normally kept in the ground for 5-10 years because of the *huge* root system. Grass (including the stuff in your yard) is about like a 50/50 iceberg. When you chop the top off, the plant uses the root system to grow new stems and leaves. Chop the top off before the roots are well established (like your yard), and the grass stand gets thin, while other plants have a chance to grow up through it. That's why it always irks me to see 'news' stories about wildfires 'destroying' vast chunks of grassland. On about 98% of that, you'll never notice the difference after the first rain and growth cycle, or about three months. In fact, it probably will be greener.
(Just don't get me started on the idiotic forest management techniques being used in some National parks...)
4950524
I was like midlands and the Indiana/Ohio side. Lansing, Grand Rapids, etc.
All I saw was corn, soybeans, Amish, and shitty cities.
And yeah, I was there just before the news reports started coming out.
4950538
That part of the state, yeah, that’s about all you’d see.
One of the great features of Grand Rapids, which you might not have noticed, is that at the 131/196 interchange, the 131 lanes change sides for a little bit.
4950550
That's probably where I had a mild heart attack.
I also pulled 110 on a stretch of 196 somewhere because the lead truck got away from me and I freaked out a little.
A fantastic series, thanks so much for putting in all the research.
One more thing: Based on the way we always see ripe apples on the trees and bumper crops in the fields, I'm pretty sure earth pony magic can grow crops pretty much any time of year, except maybe winter. So I definitely think earth ponies would time out their crops to smooth out both demand for tools and labor, and even market demand for produce.
4950530
I’m honestly not sure. Maybe I ought to find that book again and see what he actually says about crop rotating.
I can see that . . . I’ve got some plants that probably the only real way to get rid of them forever is a small nuke. Chop them off at the ground, and they’ll just shrug it off and grow twice as thick next year in spite.
Yeah . . . who knew that forests and such that evolved to live in a world where they caught fire occasionally actually need to catch fire occasionally in order to stay healthy?
4950566
There are worse places to get lost in Michigan. At least 196 isn’t all that long, and if you fall into Lake Michigan, you’ve driven too far.
4950792
Thank you!
In terms of the always ripe apples, I think that’s just lazy animation. I used to live near an apple orchard, and it doesn’t work like that IRL.
Having said all that, how it works IRL vs. how it works in magical ponyland are very much debatable (well, not so much the IRL, but you get my gist). AJ might very well be able to tell her apple trees when to produce their fruits, we don’t know. I figured that presenting how it was done back in the day was a good foundation for people to build on--after all, the saying goes that you’ve got to know the rules in order to break the rules.
4950910
I call things like that "cartoon resolution".
4951038
Ooh, I like that. It’s a lot more poetic than “lazy animators.”