By Summi Gambhir

For The State News

About a dozen MSU students got some firsthand experience with horse-driven farming techniques at the fourth annual Plow Day on Saturday.

The event, organized by the MSU Driving Club, gave students a chance to dirty their hands as they plowed two fields east of the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education with experienced farmers in order to learn the finer skills of using traditional farm equipment.

Rachel Meyer, an animal science junior, was excited to try her hand at managing the horses and a manual plow with her friends.

"An experienced farmer can do this alone, but we are still learning," said Meyer, who also is the president of the club.

Russ Erickson, a retired professor of dairy nutrition, started the draft horse class about seven years ago to "teach students about the pulling power of draft horses and manual plowing."

The club grew out of the program.

"It was hard to provide this kind of experience in class otherwise," Erickson said.

Aimed at promoting the draft horse industry, the club now boasts five horses. And this open-to-all event is to give hands-on plowing experience to students in the program. The day typically draws a crowd of both students and small-scale Michigan farmers.

"Most of the farmers here are hobby farmers," Meyer said. "Hobby farmers are the ones who do it for fun. Usually, they have a lot of land, money and time to indulge in it."

Erickson re-established the program, which he said was one of the best in the country back in the 1920s and '30s.

"The tractors came after that, and the horses disappeared from the scene," Erickson said.

He decided to restart the program after a couple donated two horses to MSU that needed a good home.

"One of these horses passed away in the summer of 1999. After that, I took two students and went to Indiana to buy two more horses, and we started this program with the minimum equipment," Erickson said.

Although Plow Day is now in its fourth year, the club didn't have its own plows until the Eaton County Draft Horse Club donated two of them — a walking and a sulky riding plow.

"We were presented these at the Michigan Great Lakes International Draft Horse Show and Pull in October, but today is our first chance to put the plows to work," Meyer said.

The idea of keeping the plowing tradition alive is what brings farmers back to the event.

"It's nice to see young people interested in stuff like this. We have fun while they learn," said Allen Hinderei of Grass Lake.

The scene was much like a picnic, with a lunch provided to the day's participants.

"I have been coming here year after year to have fun with the students," said Michael Loveland of Albion. It's interesting to see that students are willing to learn and even get their hands dirty."