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    Home » The Plain Columns » The Amish Editor

    Tractors and the Amish

    Published: Sep 21, 2012 · Updated: Feb 2, 2021 by Kevin Williams | 2 Comments

    Most Old Order Amish still farm using horse-drawn plows.  The horse-drawn plow, much like the horse-drawn buggy, is part of their desire to remain close to home and the land.  I've seen sturdy draft horses pulling plows in most Old Order communities that I have visited. There are some church districts in Ohio, Oklahoma, and I think Kentucky that call themselves Old Order that do farm with tractors, but that is the exception rather than the rule.  Tractors are more common in New Order churches and Old Order Mennonite churches.  Thanks to Suzanne for sharing these photos with us from the Farm Science Review held every September in London, Ohio.  This is late summer showcase of everything agrarian is held at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center, Ohio State University's "farm campus" in rural Madison County. I'm not surprised that there would be a "plain presence" at the event.  I can't tell from the photos whether these are Amish or Mennonites.  There is an Old Order Mennonite community near Frankfort and they probably do use tractors for farming and would find this interesting. But even Amish farmers who don't use tractors would still be enthralled by the big machinery and, sheesh, these aren't your dinky little John Deere's, these are monster tractors!

    Suzanne asked me whether these were Amish or Mennonites, without being able to see their faces it is tough to tell.  But she did say that some of the men had beards, while others didn't. So if I was going to make an educated guess, I'd say these are New Order Amish from the Belle Center area, but we'll probably never know.  If someone was there and does know, let us know!

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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

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    Comments

    1. Barb Wright

      September 21, 2012 at 8:31 pm

      Farmers are farmers..be they Plain or English !! I have yet to know of a tractor or implement show or sale that the men don't want to go. Those huge tractors are often fancier inside than alot of cars..tv,a.c.,built in coolers..the list goes on and on. Most of us farmers can only look and dream!

      Reply
    2. Karl

      September 26, 2014 at 6:25 am

      time farmers learn to cope with new tech. maybe a decade or two later, only machines will be doing fieldwork. seriously

      Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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