Tillers International

10/08/2026

The homeschool classes this fall are having a blast! This week they will be starting their blacksmith/woodworking project making V-chisels for carving on the pumpkins they harvested last week.

10/04/2026

Thank you Draft Animal Power Network for such welcoming & insightful Field Days! Learn more about DAPNet on their website: https://www.draftanimalpower.org/

And thank you Ray, Dave, Tom, Ivy, Rob, and Daphne for sharing what you love about working with animals!

10/02/2026

The keys to the last cut from a novice:

1. Give yourself room behind the plow to stand up straight. keep those lines long.

2. Pay attention to the plowman's knot on your back, find where it needs to be to keep the horse's heads straight and keep it there.

3. Walk slow and the horses will two

4. Keep your last cut under 10 inches.

09/29/2026

THE WEEK BEFORE FIELD DAYS

‘Tis the week before Field Days and through the Fall air
Teamsters are packing the trailers with care.

The ox yokes and forecarts are all tucked inside
So there is still space for animals to ride.

The t-shirts are printed and the contra dance planned
The raffle prize table is all made by hand.

Workshop organizers have everything ready.
The teams for beginners are gentle and steady.

The timber in the woodlot is all marked with blue.
Loggers and students will each skid a few.

The farming demo field’s been prepped with care
With hopes that a manure spreader might soon be there.

Youth teamsters will come here with bright shining faces.
The intensive workshops have a few open spaces.

The work of so many brings us together each year:
This knowledge so precious, this community so dear.

So thank you to members and sponsors and teamsters
And elders and animals and all of our teachers.

As we head out to Shelburne we all give a cheer:
“Draft Animal Power Field Days: the best weekend all year!”

www.draftanimalpower.org/field-days

(we're serious about the manure spreader - if you've got one to bring along, email [email protected])

09/28/2026

09/27/2026

Last week, after five months of weeding our bare fallow pasture, we planted the first seeds in this new field! We are very excited to see how all this hard work pays off come spring next year!

09/24/2026

It’s cover crop time! We are planting over 50% of our fields into cover crops this year with the Oliver Superior grain drill. Can any detectives out there find out how old this implement is??? The serial number is 26 48899 🔎

09/21/2026

Unlike "horsing around", when the goats are around, it means some serious work is getting done!

Join Tillers International and to hang out with the cutest, most hardworking goats in Michigan, and learn about all the benefits they can offer when grazing with a goal!

https://tillersinternational.org/events/introduction-to-goats-targeted-grazing-2/

09/20/2026

Join Tillers this Halloween season for a moonlit wagon ride and a night of spooky stories in the haunted manor.

https://tillersinternational.org/events/moonlit-wagon-ride-spooky-stories-at-tillers/