Eclectic Amateur

Geauga County Extension Agent’s first book reveals Amish farming ‘secrets’

The first day on his job as County Extension Agent for Geauga County, Randy James was asked a question his college professors had never covered: “When you’re plowing with a five-horse hitch, is it better to hitch three horses in front and two behind, or two in front and three behind?”

The question came from a farmer in the county’s Amish community, the fourth largest in the United States. Prior to taking the job, James, a Trumbull County native, knew the Amish existed and could identify them by their drab clothing. Beyond that, James was lost in this seemingly archaic culture.

During the next two decades, James received an education in not only Amish beliefs and lifestyle, but also the improbable economics of the Amish farm. Five years ago, he realized he’d learned enough to write a book about this often romanticized, misunderstood community.

That book, “Why Cows Learn Dutch and Other Secrets of Amish Farming,” was released last month by Kent State University Press. The book provides a barn-owl view of the Amish community, taking the reader into the cow stanchions and ledger books of the Amish farm, an enterprise that, according to the textbooks, should be extinct by now.

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“They are more economically efficient than almost any farm out there,” says James, who has studied this efficiency throughout his years in the Geauga community. “On a per-acre basis, they make more money than any other farm we can find. My hope is (the book) provides insight to people who are curious about what it’s like to be an Amish family and why the farm works, both as a family and economic unit.”

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James opens the ledger books of the Amish farm and shows readers the economics of raising nine acres of alfalfa hay or seven acres of hand-picked corn. He delves into the numbers and emotions that a young Amish couple must wrestle with when deciding if they should purchase a family farm or work out in the community. As extension agent, James’ job includes doing a farm analysis to determine if it will be a profitable operation – something he was doing the day we met for an interview.

“It’s a common thing, but it still scares me to death,” he says. “It’s a lot easier to tell them how to kill a weed than to tell them to stop working as a carpenter and be a farmer.”

I think I’m going to have to read this book.