© 2000 - 2009. Website design, text and photos are copyright by Ronda Jemtegaard unless otherwise noted.
Reproduction by any means, electronic or mechanical, is forbidden unless written request is submitted to
In this age where it's now easy to clone and delete parts of photographs,
and some farmers and webmasters are doing this to published photos of their livestock,
please note that all photos on this website are unaltered in any way!
Colors, conformation, etc are exactly as depicted.
The Most Important and Useful Tools on a Farm
- Pocket knife. This tool is most useful if it is always kept in your pocket. Sounds simple, but how many times have you forgotten to put a knife in your pocket and then needed it later? I make a habit of putting my small knife in my pocket every morning, and reach for it many times a day. It's a simple tool, but very useful.
- Garden cart. The big wheels on this cart make it far more useful than a wheel barrow; it doesn't tip over, holds much more, and is much easier to move, either by pushing or pulling. In the time it takes to go get the tractor keys and fire it up, I can move several bales of hay in my cart, and I've saved fuel as well as any need for gym fees.
- Pitch fork. Keep one in every barn, so you don't have to hunt it up when you need it. Most of the work on the farm seems to be spent hunting for the right tool needed for the job, so keep them where you need them. I keep meaning to mount a mailbox near my garden beds, to keep my trowel and gloves dry and at hand when I might wander by and decide to do a bit of weeding. Spending time hunting for them takes the spontaneity out of it.
- Books. Use your brain before your brawn or your wallet. Read up on species/breeds before buying. Buy breeds that are known to do well in your climate. Keeping species that do well in your climate is a savings of time, effort and money.
- Fencing. Lazy farmers make the best fences, as the old saying goes. Build 'em right the first time so you won't have to rebuild them again real soon. Many people, even those without pigs, are finding that cattle panels and hog panels make quick, sturdy, easily built fencing, without the need for stretching lengths of fencing wire.
- Livestock. Let your livestock do much of your work for you. Instead of a mower, keep sheep! Keep them rotated through your pastures; they will mow and fertilize as they go. Polled ewes (those without horns) will keep the grass mowed outside your fence lines, eliminating any need for a weed whacker! Instead of a rototiller, keep pigs and chickens. Rotating them through the areas that need work is the only effort you need to put in. Pigs will do the major work, and chickens can fine-tune the tilling. Keeping geese or hogs in the orchard at harvest time will keep any windfall apples from rotting on the ground. Letting your livestock do your work saves you effort, money on machinery, and you get something back from the livestock in the form of meat and/or eggs.
- Livestock Guardian Dogs. No matter how good your fencing, one or more well trained LGDs are most valuable for keeping your livestock safe from predation from 2- or 4-legged predators. There are many breeds of dogs that have been guarding livestock for centuries or even millennia, and are listed in the new book; Livestock Protection Dogs, Selection, Care and Training by Orysia Dawydiak & David Sims. Research well before purchasing a pup or dog, buy your pup or dog from a reputable breeder who actually keeps them on pasture with livestock, and be sure to get your livestock before you get your dog.
This page is a work-in-progress, and will include photos of the above items, as well as more of the tools that we find the most useful on our farm. These are the only photos I have at the moment of my cart, but you can see how useful it is, and that I can get 2 bales of hay in it easily, and 2 more can be stacked on top.
