Farm Out! (was Re: Retribution not enough)

[Neil Johnson]

My father in-law makes some extra dough by converting modern  power tools
(Delta table saws, belt sanders, and lathes) to run of a  central drive
shaft so the Amish in our area can build furniture.  Evidently it's "kosher"
to use a centrally located diesel engine (with a battery to start it even!)
to turn line shafts, belts, and pulleys to transmit power instead of wires.
They even use pre-manufactured drawer  guides and other hardware in their
furniture (and air compressor powered sprayers to apply stain and varnish).

Several Amish farms put telephones in their barns for emergency purposes (or
drive to nearby store to use a phone booth to call relatives, etc.).

So much for being "independent".




----- Original Message -----
From: "Harmon Seaver" <hseaver at cybershamanix.com>
To: <cypherpunks at einstein.ssz.com>
Sent: Monday, October 22, 2001 6:07 PM
Subject: Re: Farm Out! (was Re: Retribution not enough)


> Steve Furlong wrote:
>
> > Your theory about the ag schools and county agents and such may be
> > right; I don't know enough to comment on them.
> >
>
>       The best example I can give is the Amish. They *don't* send their
sons to ag
> school (don't even educate them past 7th grade actually) and don't listen
to the
> extension agents, and make money with small, totally old fashioned,
organic farms. No
> tractors, horses to plow with -- and make enough that when each son gets
married, they
> buy him a farm with cash.
> They don't do the factory farm trip, don't get look for gov't handouts
(which is what
> *all* the big, agri-biz farms do), and compete very well.
>
>
> --
> Harmon Seaver, MLIS
> CyberShamanix
> Work 920-203-9633
> Home 920-233-5820
> hseaver at cybershamanix.com
> http://www.cybershamanix.com/resume.html