Horses.
Human 'improvements' aren't always better.
We often think of technology as inevitable. As progress. The truth is less clear.
Matthew Keener always figured he'd be a musician or a music teacher just like his father. But then an invite from a college roommate to Montana changed the trajectory of his life. He headed West and walked the land of the Blackfoot Mountains and was swallowed up. In a good way. Got a job as a ranch hand and spent years working cattle on horseback. Roping calves, moving herds, helping momma cows give birth. His fingers on the pulse of the origin. It was magical. In other words, he got to be a cowboy.
When Matthew got back home to Dayton he didn’t know what to do. He had grown up on Keener Farm, but it had not been operated by his family for decades. His grandfather had quit farming full-time and got a job in a nearby General Motors assembly plant. The hard truth was farming didn't make a living anymore. So the Keener’s rented out the land to commodity farmers who grew corn and soybeans. This meant he had never stepped foot on most of his family's land.
Enter Joel Salatin. Matt saw some of his videos and it changed his perspective. Out of the ether, here was a path to make a living on his family's farm. They stopped renting land out. He plowed under the corn and began to raise livestock. When it came time to choose how to move the cows, Matthew knew he would not use the latest technology. It would be horses.
Things in life are cyclical. Straight lines in the real world tend to curve back into a circle. Before globalization, local food systems were not a novel idea, they were the only option. It just made sense to grow food for the family, and for the region to grow food for the people who live there. With globalization, and with technologal ‘advance’ that changed. It seemed there was no reason to grow food where you lived. That could be done in different states, even different countries and shipped in. We could spend our time on other things.
Today the local food movement is getting more popular. The stability of a globalized food system propped up by cheap energy costs is being called into question. People are beginning to understand the wisdom of their ancestors. And as gas prices and equipment prices continue to soar along with inflation- perhaps more people will see the wisdom of Matthew's preferred method of moving cattle- horses.
best thoughts,
graham
p.s. Thanks to the Keener family for opening up their lives to us and providing many a wonderful homecooked meal, good night’s sleep and hearty laugh. Am grateful for our friendship.
p.p.s. The portrait below is a rough scene from our upcoming documentary series Farming. We’re so grateful to our 51 paid subscribers for making it possible for us to do this work!
p.p.p.s This short film was released on our Patreon and then accidentally deleted on Substack, so we have re-released it here with an edited essay.
