GROVELAND — A pair of lovely Percheron horses are teaming up with farmers at Bean Hill Farm. The three farmers at Bean Hill have a lot of ideas when it comes to making their operation more efficient, more cost effective, and more ecologically sustainable.
Bean Hill Farm, which according to the farmers was originally called Squash Blossom Farm, is locally renowned for vegetables that they grow for a number of different restaurants and farmers markets. This year, the farm is making a transition to horsepower.
“I don’t have a ‘horses or bust’ mentality,” said Eli Rubin, 26, one of three farmers at Bean Hill. “I do have and use a tractor, but it actually is cheaper for us to use horses. I mean, we’re only seven acres, but if you think about it, only 2% of the population are farmers, so each little farm actually feed a lot of people for our size. If a big enough portion of little farmers took a few small steps like this it does make a big difference.”
Bean Hill also holds many worskshops and programs, especially for local young people, to engage their practices with the community. They are always working, building by hand, and passing on their knowledge to others.
Still, Bean Hill is not opposed to its fair share of motors. They use tractors to work plots and trucks to drive to Rochester for farmers markets, plus they they use a gas-powered irrigation pump. However, Rubin pointed out that when used with the right mindset, even tools derived from fossil fuels can offer a cheap and efficient solution to
“I’ve started using these little plastic nozzles on our irrigation lines,” added Rubin. “I love them. They move so much water and cost like three bucks apiece, but I can use each of those for a few years. Three bucks over three years…they more than pay for themselves.
Visit the for Bean Hill Farm website for more details.
PHOTO CAPTION: Image from Bean Hill Farm Facebook Page.