High gas prices drive farmer to switch to mules
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 | Email this to a friend | Print this
Posted by John under: Perplexity
MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. - High gas prices have driven a Warren County farmer and his sons to hitch a tractor rake to a pair of mules to gather hay from their fields. T.R. Raymond bought Dolly and Molly at the Dixon mule sale last year. Son Danny Raymond trained them and also modified the tractor rake so the mules could pull it.
“…upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity…”
—Luke 21:25
“And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:”
—Ezekiel 38:15
T.R. Raymond says the mules are slower than a petroleum-powered tractor, but there are benefits.
“This fuel’s so high, you can’t afford it,” he said. “We can feed these mules cheaper than we can buy fuel. That’s the truth.”
And Danny Raymond says he just likes using the mules around the farm.
“We’ve been using them quite a bit,” he said.
Brother Robert Raymond added, “It’s the way of the future.”