Amish Farmer with 8 Horse Hitch Chopping Silage 

It surely is possible to have eyes, and still not be able to see. To have knowledge, and lack understanding. It seems to me, a lot of folks just see what is on the surface, and don't look any deeper for the hidden purposes, as regards ways to do things. Many on here blast the Amish for the way they choose to work. First it is their, choice. There is no right or wrong to it. Second, there is a practical side to it, and a service. It takes a life time of training, skill, animal husbandry to breed, train, and work, animals singly, and especially in teams like this. This knowledge, which I think is valuable, is priceless. There are breeds, breeding techniques, and knowledge that would be completely lost, if it were not, for the Amish doing things this way. But there is more to it. There is a purpose for everything, and everything has a purpose. On these farm, there is a job, and everyone has one to do. Work, is good. And that goes for animals, and not just humans. These horses are specifically bred and trained for this purpose. People go to workout in gyms. Why? To get in shape, yes, but also, because it feels good. These horses, well treated, well fed, well cared for, and just like a person, they can and do, enjoy this. If you noticed, they responded as much to voice command, as the tug of the reign. There is no coercion. The teams are well cared for, and they respond. Additionally, if I want to breed, train and raise horses, which is an expensive proposition, would it not be better if they contributed to the cost of doing so? In a sense, the horses are contributing to their own continued need and existence. These animals do, contribute. There is in fact, many breeds of animals today, that if it were not for humans, they would not exist. They would go, extinct. Chickens, turkeys, many breeds of cattle, dogs, pigs, the list goes on and on. Yes, the Amish could use tractors, for everything. Why should they? On these operations, there is a job for every person, regardless of age, to learn, and do. Little idleness, responsibility, and discipline is instilled in the process. It is not just, or only, about religious faith. It is also to keep the best of what keeps families together, working together, building community, while incorporating technology only, when practical demands dictates. I could go on...but really writing all of this, is an exercise in futility.

Thank you for this inside how amish people harvesting their corn. i am actually from friesland in the Netherlands and grew up in a farm area as well. i have much respect for the amish in the way how they are farming and harvesting their crops, Regards from Holland

Completely pointless they are still using engines and fuel. The power pack in front of the forager just needs a drive to one axle. Then it's a tractor.

love your site-no Amish myself but knew and went to school with Mennonites. I have Amish neighbors in northern Minnesota, good neighbors!

I agree with bmwelch320, " I don't understand". But I also remember my youth before we got tractors, at least we rested the horses at the end of the field, had a chance to check the equipment and horses and smell the roses. We got a tractor, then got another with lights, then another and soon we didn't have time to eat let alone smelling the roses, the old ways have a lot to be said for them. I am not criticizing anything, I just don't understand the power unit and not a tractor. I kind of wish we had done it that way I could have still caught a smell of the roses at the end of the field.

If 4 horses can pull a full silage wagon, how come I need a 50 horsepower tractor to do the same thing?

I'm a framer and worked next to a crew on Amish Mennonites for a couple houses, nicest group of men that you would ever meet. always dressed nice (jeans and a dress shirt. it was summer) didn't swear called you sir and anytime they asked for help afterwards you felt like they were generally grateful, unlike most other crews on the sites that iv worked (including my own)

Having the choice to do things as you wish is what makes the freeworld great !!

КУПИТЕ в республике ..БЕЛАРУСЬ ..хорошие трактора МТЗ ..для всех вид работ

Draft horses have to be worked. If you don't, you have one HELL of a big energetic problem on your hands. Drafts love to work.

I have a lot of Amish friends and there are a lot of different communities. I know some who can't use tractors and some who can, it depends on the community. Also I hope you got permission to film because that is against their rules to be filmed!

You can take up for them all you want. You aren't fooling anyone. That's the same damn principle of a tractor.

Outstanding video. I'm always amazed at how the Amish can position those Draft Horses to enable them to work together so efficiently. Definitely "Team Work" is getting the job done, very smoothly.

I love horses but what’s the point in using them if you need an engine to run the chopper?

I fail to see the rational in using horses to pull the harvester, instead of a tractor. Doesnt make much sense if you ask me.

Pretty soon they'll be hiring people to read hand written Google search results at the local church.

God Bless the Amish for their dedication to doing the job well and doing it right. 15 year old kid backs up a 4-horse team up to the exact spot to hook up a trailer, THE FIRST TIME! If I back up my Massey Ferguson to the exact right spot the first time, it's pure luck. These guys absolutely know what they're doing and apparently so do the horses. GodSpeed and Amen

If you use an engine to drive the chopper, why not a tractor to pull it as well ? 🤔

Amish is a name for a group of religious denominations that while they share many concepts have LOTS of different smaller sects with different beliefs about what they can use in terms of technology.

Very VERY nice teams of horses! Thanks for posting this.

New Holland Harvester, just like in the book of Genesis.

I live in a Old Order Amish community and think this is pretty damn cool. Does it make sense? Hey if it works for them so what. Here a lot bring their hay loose up to the barn yard and hand feed it thru a small square baler ran by stationary power so they can fit more in the barn.

Those horses are all in excellent condition. Well trained and cared for. And the horses don't pack the ground like the heavy tractors of today do.

These machines are not (horse sized friendly). Maybe the horses should just be used for turning the hitches and let the motor run the PTO and drive axle only.

Как бережно сохраняя прошлое , по новому слаженно организована работа !!! Честь и хвала таким труженикам !!! С глубоким уважением с Чечни 👍👍👍

That's not being Ahmish in my book using that evil motor. Lol......

How do they fill silos a horse on a treadmill running the blower

must be pretty liberal Amish order to allow rubber tires on the equipment.Steel wheels are the norm up here in Wisconsin,unless they are Menonite.

Appreciate your work brother, don't give up the fight we are all with you keep strong never bend to those who don't understand 😀👍

That is awesome, figure about 20k on the high end for all the horses... No compaction, probably a lot more traction as well, and very little to never break down. I would definitely rather fix a shoe than a flat tire.... Maybe we're doing something wrong.

Like that amish life. But this is crazy.

Agenda fica filmando e ainda acha que é bonito está bonito não pra mim ainda está com a mente fechada não quer saber de evolução mais triste os cavalos né passando ainda por isso que não precisa mais ser humano é difícil

Que absurdo pleno século XXI ainda tem gente com mente fechada ou quer seguir as tradições do século XXI tem maquinários eu creio que nesse países marcas de ser mais barato onde eu moro aqui é mais cara eu acho que os os cavalos não merece mais isso né eu passo o tempo né evolui né

This will be farming across the world in 50 years time, if it survives that long! One of the most rewarding things I’ve seen in a long time….the way forward 🙏🏻

I can't believe the stupid comments people make. Just because you Dont agree with how the Amish do it, doesn't make them wrong. Especially the farmers making the comments, these Amish probably live a better life than you by not being deeply in debt trying to out technology your neighbor and putting on a show for the local rubes, keep your high stress life to yourself and leave this guy alone..... he's happy

He must be deaf after clearing that field. But very interesting use of old and new. Can they use steam power?

No monthly payments on a horse or mules if so it's not much like a John Deere

It’s briljant ..horses are on cruise control, and so every one has a good job managing the horses. A small engine to power the one row chopper.. yes they use engine and tractors but very wisely.

Usando equipamento de combustão então não precisa mais dos cavalo realmente está sendo inútil

it's like owning a car but having horses pull it to town to buy groceries.

This is so cool thank you Amish people for sharing your working lives with us.

I was wondering how they unloaded the silage wagons....Thought they stuck the PTO shaft up the horses ass and hoped for the best...

we pull our draft horses at county fairs and my pair wieghs together 3600 lbs and we one the contest with a load of 11.500 lbs pulled 12 feet ! so eight horses can pull more then most people think . ty steve Hatfield

Horses looks beautiful and field looks healthy. not smashed by heavy machinery.

The majority of the Amish population live in: Indiana Ohio Pennsylvania

so they can't use a tractor but can use w/e that engine is running the pto? yea makes a lot of damn sense

I respect them.because they are hard workers.if people be just a one percent like the amish world would be a better place.no doubt

More than 50 years ago, my friend sold a brand new Ford farm tractor to a Mennonite farmer near Elmira, ON. He delivered it to the farm where the farmers raised it up onto a pile of strategically piled railroad ties. The four wheels were then removed and returned to the dealership. The farmers in that particular family / community saw the benefits of the power train (PTO = power take off and belt drive wheels) but their beliefs did not allow them to actually drive the motor vehicle (tractor). They compromised and took full advantage of that wheel-less tractor for many years. I learned a lot from those incredibly happy, innovative, generous people and have never lost my admiration for them and all people and communities like them who do NO HARM to anyone. I certainly endorse their lifestyles.

I am corn-fused, they won't use a gas-powered tractor but they do use a gas powered harvester.

Why do they use horses mixed with diesel engines propelling electric motors ??????

Marvelous recording of man working with nature as much as possible.

Uma empresa na área da agricultura podia doar um trato dois tratores pra este homem

This is like danse , so relaxing ! 💜💜👍🏽

Spending days right next to a wide open engine must take a serious beating on your hearing. I grew up working around Russian strait piped tractors and my hearing is total shit. I can't even imagine how bad theirs is

Incredible! Love the horses. Thanks so much for sharing. But isn’t using a gas powered silage chopper and a tractor, against the rules of the Amish?

Um monte de cavalo desse melhor comprar uma máquina pronta com motor

Honest question if they're going to use an engine to power the forage harvester why not just use a tractor? What are the rules per se?

I believe the point is to not create as many compaction problems that big tractors create. At any rate, both my parents grew up farming with horses. They always said that one of the nice things about horses was you could only push them so hard. If you were plowing, seven rounds in the morning, seven rounds in the afternoon with a short rest at each end of the field after each round. As a teenager I spent so many hours on the tractor I found myself falling asleep which was dangerous in fact, I once hit a high line pole, luckily no damage was done.

these are amish Mennonites they use modern day powered equipment but they use the horses to keep with the amish ways I have a friend who lives in Lancaster pa who is a amish mennonite that verified this... amish use horse drawn equipment with metal wheels and no power supply like a motor

This is really wounderful i can watch for hours

Just like making cakes, cookies, & pies from scratch while wearing oven mitts, It doesn't have to make sense; it's the results that count ...

I like the way they use a petrol engine to drive the chopper. We saw the Amish working in the fields around Lancaster, PA and they work hard including all the kids.

I hope the Amish believe in wearing EARPLUGS!!!

Danke Amish-Farmers. So sind wenigstens die Pferde beschäftigt. Ob das aber rentabel ist... sei dahingestellt. Die Denkweise der Amish-Leute war /ist eben eine Andere !! Schönes Video und....gesunde Pferde.

It’s interesting. The Amish work on my barn, outbuildings, etc. they cut ice off my pond in the winter. They use all sorts of modern tools. They have drivers. They have cell phones. When they put the metal roof on my barn about 20 years ago, they used a generator to run a compressor which ran air tools. They told me that they weren’t permitted to use tools which ran directly off a gas driven shaft. Kind of crazy to me. They have since progressed to battery powered tools. Dewalt, Milwaukee, etc. Very unique rules. Each sect or group has a bishop who sets the rules for the group?

so minimize the pain of pulling a diesel engine , wagon and a chopper and just get a damn tractor! Amish are confusing ! they are already basically pulling a tractor .

these guys arent horsin around ya know

Seems a bit hypocritical to use a powered chopper and self unloading wagon but yet use horses to pull it.

Also it’s interesting how the Amish allowed this to be filmed as I’ve heard they do not like to be on camera .. no hate on this video tho as I am very fascinated by how they get there crop in ! Very nice!

Beautiful horses. Don’t work them too hard. My grandpa had horses like this. 👍👍

I saw this very same thing in Ohio- very impressive

would like to see the buck rakeing horse. WTF.

horses are not cost effective in this day and age why most Amish farmers don't continue to farm on there own

Oh, these horses are wonderful!! I always wondered how huge a Belgium was. I had Welsh/ Quarter as youngster. I use to have him help pull logs.

The only thing ‘Amish’ about this video are the horses. Every implement there is ‘English’.

Still using diesel power what a sham 🤣🤣🤣

This is quite calming and relaxing, actually. I wish I could be in the field, working WITH them.

The wagons ought to have brakes on the wheels so that the horses don't get run over headed down hill. It is amazing to see the "willingness to serve" in those horses. The Amish here don't have to go to the equipment dealers to acquire new model tractors. Some Amish do have tractors-with steel wheels. Other groups have regular cars and tractors and electricity.

Nothing like pulling a diesel kicker engine. with a team of horses. Ahhhhhhhhh, the good ole days.

Wow 8 horses,,all in the training,,then can do it alone

It makes no sense! A tractor came long before a forage harvester but yet they tow it with a horse? Amish are confusing started to watch a documentary a few years ago on Amish building a log cabin I thought it would be interesting to see how they did it they had bloody diggers and power tools but they said they only borrowed them and they didn’t own them and that made it ok 🤦🏻‍♂️I switched it off.

I love the times I worked with my Mennonite neighbors , a great kind soft spoken people, I enjoyed greatly working with the work horses names were Pet, Bill, Ponch and Jerry. Pet and Bill were Belgian.

ESTOS MENONITAS ESTÁN LOCOS YA SU GRUPO SALIÓ MAL EN EL COPCETO Q SE VAN MUCHO ALA RELIGUIOSIDA PERO ALA VERDAS ESTÁN TORCIDOS.COMO UNO

This is totally illogical, Can't use a tractor in the field but it is ok to have an engine running the chopper. Then you pull the wagon to the silo with horses and then use a tractor to unload the wagon??? What is wrong with this picture?

i dont understand why they dont use a tractor... they use tehnology .. they use a motor and fuel for it ..

they are using a motor for the cutter, how does that fit with there way of non motor life?

Jesus Christ invites and wants you to believe in Him, so you get saved and go to Heaven and not to Hell. Matt 13:41-42. 25:41. Mark 9:43-48. Luke 16:19-31. John 3:3-7,16. 14:6

Great under environmental aspect. I respect their work and the respect they have for the nature we have all lost in our modern life.

I am no animals right activist BUT this is disturbing. If you are going to work animals... work animals! Do not have animals pulling tonnes of modern equipment just that in some sort of way you, The Amish, are preserving the ways of your faith... it is a sickeningly Hypocritical actually.

Ok guys,i saw your comments but i still dont understand why they can use a machine for silaging and not for pulling?I am from the part of Eu where there is no Amish or Menonites and i thought they are not allowed to use ANY kind od machinery(ok,at least Amish,i know Mennonites are more modern)...

Very interesting, but also very sad. These people are very honest and hard working for the most part, but mistakenly believe that God is displeased with them if they use tractors for their field work instead of horses. There are many different sects of Old Order Amish. Some do allow the use of tractors so long as they have steel wheels instead of rubber tires. Others use harvesters that chop the corn right from the stalk in the field, but use a power unit for the power-take-off that is all pulled by horses. Most would not allow filming as you see here, though there was no close up of faces which might have made a difference. We pray for them to be delivered from the wrong belief that Salvation is tied to our works rather than Faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Too bad they can't hire an outsider to do it. But may still be against their believes. Hats off to the guy making everything work. Instead of a tractor he's got 8 horses to control.

Amish don't usually like to be filmed or photographed. The idea that their leaders won't allow them to use tractors in the field, yet in the barn and silo areas is inconsistent, and asinine. This is what happens when you have leaders imposing their standards on their followers that have absolutely NOTHING to do with the Bible.

Now there is a team that jells together, good to watch.

I'll givem credit they got a very good stand of corn when they planted.

Know pretty much nothing about the Amish so asking for pure curiosity's sake. I was told they could not own/use modern equipment. Since that unit the farmer is riding on is motorized and the unit tossing the silage i to the wagons. Why is he not just using a tractor and ha e the horses pulling the wagon?.

Looks like the Amish or at least trying to modernize. Not just get rid of them damn horses and buy yourself a good John Deere tractor. That's pretty hypocritical though when you think about it.

Those horse get fed just as good as they do. Without their horses they don't make money, they don't live. Simple. Stop stripping people of their rights because you don't agree with them that's what is ruining this world.

I just once what someone to show me "the standard" at anything. Please show me what is considered the standard we all should live our lives by. What a normal. People call me crazy maybe im normal and your fucked up i say.

I am not being a jerk here. Can anyone correct me if I am wrong. I thought the Amish did not believe in anything modern. I see a fuel powered machine here. Am I mistaken?