RH Field Notes: Lessons From The Farm

Having moved from New York City to the idyllic countryside of Northern Virginia, there’s a lot that we’ve learned. Most of it is super practical, but a lot of it is just strange and random. So, we’ve compiled a list of random farm facts that you should know whether you live in the country or not.

1.    Chainsaws are Easily Broken - These very important tools look scary and strong, but they break down all the time and it’s a known thing. It’s rare that you’ll have a chainsaw that doesn’t break down on you at-least once a month, especially if you’re using it often.

2.    Donkey is The King - They say (they, meaning other country folk) you can have a pasture full of $100,000 horses, and the most valuable animal on your farm is your donkey. Donkeys are known to be super protective and will help keep predatory animals such as coyotes away. If you have sheep, chickens, or cattle, the donkey will be its guard.

3.    Corn vs. Feed Corn - If your neighbor is growing corn in their field, don’t offer to buy some. Find out first if it’s feed corn which goes to the cattle. We’ll save you the same embarrassing conversation that we had.

4.    Farm Use Tags - Most farms have trucks, and some trucks have the very trendy “farm use” tags that you may have seen on Instagram before. But did you know that these farm use tags give you the right to drive up to 75 miles to and from your property? Sounds ok with us. Just make sure you’re going someplace that’s specifically for farm use - like to pick up equipment or feed.

5.    The Hay Business - If you have a sizable plot of land, you’ll most likely want to use it for some sort of agriculture use. That can mean for horses, cattle, chickens, but the lowest maintenance would be for Hay. Don’t be fooled, you can get about 2 or 3 (if you’re lucky) crops of hay each summer which you can sell to a feed store or another farm. If you’re not interested in cutting the fields yourself, I’m sure your neighbor will cut it for you at no charge, just as long as he can take the hay bales with him.