EASTERN OREGON
Saturday, June 25, 2022
East Oregonian
A11
Forgoing technology, mules make Wallowa County farm go
By ANN BLOOM
For EO Media Group
ENTERPRISE — The
rich, black sod peeled away
like chocolate curls as the
mule teams pulled the sharp
plows through the earth
cutting straight lines, guided
by the sure hand of their
owners. The Lazy Mule
Farm plowing bee, held on
a recent Saturday, despite
the dark skies overhead and
occasional rain, went on as
planned.
There were two teams on
hand to prepare the land for
planting the garlic that would
be sold in the fall by owners
Jessica Bass and Adam
McGrath. Salad greens also
are planned, which will be
sold to restaurants and stores.
The “seed garlic” will be sold
to nurseries and wholesalers.
They also plan to have a farm
stand offering produce.
The Lazy Mule Farm,
named after resident mule,
“Charlie,” who would rather
receive petting and lay in the
sun sometimes than work, is
located at the corner of Alder
Slope and Reavis Lane. The
couple’s other mules in addi-
tion to Charlie, include Mae
and Pete. There is also Belle,
a Belgian draft horse.
“They (the mules) are our
employees,” McGrath said.
McGrath described the
relationship between the
mules and the use of them,
as opposed to mechanized
farming, as being positive
for the planet.
“It’s an attractive applica-
tion,” he said, “horses have
no ‘off’ button. They have
strengths and weaknesses,”
like any relationship, plus,
“it’s fun.”
He said the size of their
property is just right for the
Ann Bloom/Contributed Photo
Pete, the mule, and Belle, the draft horse, are driven by Jessica Bass and Adam McGrath.
two of them and allows them
to make ends meet while
still being able to pursue
other interests and activities.
McGrath said the operation
allows them to, “select the
things we like with the size
we have and merge the things
we’re both passionate about.”
The mules can work into
their early 30s and the draft
horses to their early 20s.
McGrath says it’s important
to keep them active, “chug-
ging along, plowing and
turning the sod — it’s the
single hardest draft task.”
McG r at h a nd Ba ss
currently lease the land they
are farming. They will plow
five plots that are three-quar-
ters of an acre, but will only
grow one plot of garlic at a
time. They will rotate the plot
that contains garlic each year
so the soil is not overused and
would thus encourage pests
and disease. The other four
plots will be planted in a
cover crop, mostly alfalfa.
“This is the best crop
(alfalfa) to follow garlic
because it fixes nitrogen as
well as accumulates other
important nutrients in the
soil,” Bass said. “The second
reason we chose alfalfa as
a cover crop is because it
can feed our stock. Alfalfa
provides a source of protein
for the mules and gives them
a healthy boost as they age
and continue to work.”
They can also branch
out to what McGrath calls
“tertiary” venues; places
which buy salad mixes may
also buy f lowers, which
the couple will grow. They
also plan to use the team to
deliver produce to customers
in Enterprise and offer wagon
rides as an extra source of
income.
McGrath said one of
their biggest challenges has
been that they did not come
from a farming background.
Also, finding farm ground
to purchase continues to be a
challenge. He said some people
may have a romanticized
perception about farming.
“Farming with mules
is not tidy,” he said, “but I
wouldn’t farm if I couldn’t
farm with mules.”
He said the number of
farmers who farm using
mules is not large. Many that
use mules or horses to farm
are faith-based, such as the
Amish, and are often located
in other parts of the coun-
try. There is a farm in Walla
Walla, Washington, called
the Hayshaker Farm, which
uses mules and is not Amish.
“They are young folks
about our age that learned
how to drive a team from
the same mentor as us,
John Erskine, who lives in
Sequim, Washington, on the
Olympic Peninsula,” Bass
said. “We have collaborated
with Hayshaker Farm a
couple of times for plowing.
We went to their plowing bee
last year and they came and
helped us plow this year. We
plan to continue to help each
other out in order to keep the
tradition alive.” said Bass.
A not her d r af t-pow-
ered, non-Amish farm, the
Hedgerose Farm, is located
at Halfway.
McGrath grew up on the
front range of Colorado and
has been a skier all his life.
He moved to Western Oregon
at 18. From there he moved to
the Olympic Peninsula in his
early 20s. He learned to work
with horses and drive a team
more than a decade ago and
has been farming with horses
for about seven years. He
met Bass when they worked
together at the River Run
Farm on the Olympic Penin-
sula.
Bass, a born-and-raised,
self-proclaimed city kid
from Minneapolis, learned
to drive a team in her
mid-20’s when she worked
at a dude ranch in Colorado.
She continued to hone her
skills, and learned to farm,
while working at the River
Run Farm after moving
to the Olympic Peninsula.
McGrath and Bass bought
their first team, Charlie and
Mae, a pair of Belgian mules
about three years ago.
“We chose to start a farm
because we are passionate
about the work. We both love
making ecological observa-
tions, watching plants grow
and caring for livestock,” she
said.
Of farming with mules,
McGrath summed it up this
way: “It’s just a choice we
made, and we really like it.”
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