Harrowing Tale
by Stuart Harrison of Devon, UK
Introduction
I have often thought that out of all the implements around and about our farm; the harrow is the most frequently used, the simplest, and probably the most useful tool I have.
We run carriage rides in the summer as an offshoot of life here on the farm at Middle Week. Over the past two years during the off season, November to April, we have started to run a few “Meet and Greet” the horses sessions with brief farm tours to supplement our meagre winter income. They are fairly short affairs, about an hour, and we don’t charge much more than you would pay for a coffee and a sandwich, but they have proved relatively popular.
Whenever I mention a “harrow,” or “harrowing,” I tend to confuse our guests, none of whom seem to have the foggiest idea what I mean.
When I try to explain what it is, what it looks like, how it is used, and why, still not much enthusiasm is generated. They like the ploughs, they like the muck spreader, the mower, the carriages, the forecart and the wagons, and they understand these, but the harrow leaves them cold. So I have now taken to demonstrating it, weather permitting, and getting them to have a go if they so wish, walking behind Albert and George, two of our Suffolk horses, while I sing the harrow’s praises. Since adding this to the visit, most people now understand something of it’s magic.
And magic it is! For despite it’s simplicity, it’s utilitarian and mundane look, a cross between a bedstead and an instrument of torture, this is a thing of surprising effect. A sprinkler of agricultural fairy dust or some such thing. The other day I dragged that harrow across the top part of our “near field,” across a place the horses love to lie down and rest while surveilling the valley. It’s a place almost entirely devoid of grass by winter’s end. So I dragged it three or four times across that area of bare grass last week, and within four days, magically, what had looked like a patch of beaten earth or concrete, now began to sprout the new shoots of grass, such a welcome site in springtime.
It is fair to say that the harrow is one of the oldest and most versatile tools in all the long history of agriculture. It has been essential in shaping the landscape of farming, serving as a tool for soil cultivation, management of grassland and for various tasks related to crop production. Over centuries, it evolved from a simple wooden structure to more complex mechanized devices, and yet while the harrow once played a central role in agricultural practices worldwide, it’s importance has declined in recent decades due to technological advancements and the rise of more specialized machinery and farming practices.
So where did the idea for using the simplest of all tools come from, how did pulling a collection of shaped metal pieces across a pasture become such a useful and iconic way of managing grassland, creating seedbeds, cultivating land, and why does it have the effect it does? When did it start, and why has it tended to fall out of favour in our area of the country in recent times?
The Origins of the Harrow
I often wonder how harrowing became a thing. Did some peasant somewhere, some early farmer, discover that after dragging a tree, the trunk, its tops and all, back home for firewood, the pasture in its wake just got better? The text books will tell you the harrow’s origins can be traced back to ancient civilizations, where early farmers used rudimentary tools to break up the soil after plowing. These implements were dragged across the field, breaking up clods of earth, uprooting weeds, and preparing the soil for seeding. In ancient Egypt, harrowing was a vital part of the agricultural cycle, helping in preparing the soil after the flooding of the Nile. Similarly, in Mesopotamia, where irrigation agriculture flourished, early forms of the harrow were an essential part of soil preparation for planting.
In the medieval period, harrows became more refined, incorporating metal components for greater efficiency. By the 16th century, the harrow had become a staple in European agriculture, designed with iron-tipped teeth and a more durable frame. Later the tool spread to the Americas where it became integral to the farming practices of the New World.
The Role of the Harrow in Agriculture
The harrow’s primary purpose has always been to cultivate the soil after it has been ploughed. This secondary tillage step achieves a number of important things including the following:
- Breaking up clods: After plowing, the soil is often left in large, uneven clumps. The harrow helps break these clods down, creating a smoother, finer seedbed that is more conducive to seed germination.
- Weed control: Harrowing is effective in uprooting or dislodging small weeds that may have started growing in the field after plowing. By disturbing the soil’s surface, the harrow deprives weeds of their anchor, reducing competition for resources with the crops.
- Incorporating organic matter: The harrow serves to mix organic material, such as crop residues or manure into the soil. This helps improve the soil’s texture, structure, and nutrient content.
- Soil aeration: The action of dragging a harrow across the soil helps to break up compacted soil and improves soil aeration. This allows better water infiltration and encourages root development benefiting the overall health of the crop.
- Leveling the soil: Harrowing helps smooth out uneven soil surfaces, ensuring better seed distribution and more even crop growth. It also helps in the preparation of fields for irrigation, where uniformity is crucial for even water distribution.
- Pasture Management. The action of the tines of a harrow tear out dead grass, distribute animal droppings, fluff up the soil and produce some weird soil/ plant/water/air alchemy that nobody has ever convincingly explained to me, but I promise you the grass just grows better. If you don’t believe me, harrow one half of a pasture and leave the other. Then write in to tell me which one grew best!
The Development of Harrow Designs
As agricultural practices advanced, so too did the design of harrows. Early harrows were simply dragged wooden frames with sharp implements attached to them. Over time harrows were refined with the introduction of metal, which made them more durable and effective. The introduction of iron and steel components allowed for the creation of more robust harrows that could handle tougher soil conditions. In the 18th and 19th centuries, agricultural innovation surged, and harrow designs began to diversify. Among the most important developments was the creation of the three way drag harrow and the rotating disc harrow.
The drag harrow, a flat, rectangular tool with wooden or metal teeth, was designed to be dragged across fields, with three different effects depending on which side the harrow was pulled. This made it especially effective for use in differing areas of soil type.
The disc harrow used circular metal discs arranged in series to cut through tougher, more compacted and heavier soils. These innovations allowed farmers to adapt the harrow to different soil conditions and increase working efficiency.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as mechanization began to take root in agriculture, the harrow also underwent significant technological improvements and an even greater number of designs developed for different functions.
The Harrow’s Utility
The harrow’s versatility in both the preparation of the soil, it’s use on pasture and it’s role in weed control made it an essential implement for farmers across the world. The harrow’s relatively simple design and ease of use allowed it to be employed by farmers both rich and poor across a wide range of climates and soil types, it was cheap, simple, and very effective. The harrow at it’s core is a very low-cost, highly effective tool. Before the advent of modern machinery and modern industrial scale farming, many farmers were unable to afford large-scale mechanized equipment and the harrow did a number of different jobs, cheaply, and did them all well.
The harrow’s utility extend’s beyond it’s primary role in tillage. It can be used to incorporate fertilizers or manure into the soil, improving crop nutrition, and I have even used it in our woodland to pull out bramble entanglements and to create paths clear of brash. On one occasion I dragged a harrow across a river bed to level a ford after storm damage.
The Decline of the Harrow
For some time now I have noticed that you see much less harrowing today than of old. In fact around here, I rarely see anyone but me using a harrow on pasture. Despite it’s long-standing role in farming, the harrow began to fall out of favour with the advent of more specialized farming equipment and the growth of industrial scale agriculture in the 20th century. Several factors contributed to this decline:
- The Rise of No-Till Farming: One of the most significant shifts in modern agriculture has been the growing popularity of no-till farming. No-till techniques are said to minimize soil disturbance, which has been shown in some studies, though not all, to improve soil health, reduce erosion, and conserve moisture. As no-till methods gained popularity, the need for traditional tillage tools like the harrow has diminished.
- Mechanization and Specialized Equipment: The development of large-scale machinery, such as rotary tillers, “cultimulchers,” and field cultivators, offered farmers more “efficient and faster” (and hugely more expensive) ways to prepare the soil. These tools combined multiple functions, reducing the need for a separate harrowing stage in soil preparation. Additionally, the increased power of modern tractors allowed for faster and more effective cultivation of larger areas of land with ever larger pieces of equipment.
- Labor/Fuel Costs: As the cost of labor and fuel increased and agricultural production became more industrialized, farmers sought to reduce the time and money required for crop production. Huge mechanized tools replaced traditional implements, and with them the harrow’s role has often been phased out.
- Soil Health Concerns: Modern research has tended to see traditional harrowing, especially when done too frequently, as a disrupter of the soil’s natural structure. New techniques, and farm machinery sales staff, suggest that the breaking up of clods and mixing of organic matter that the harrow facilitates can result in the loss of soil moisture and nutrients. I’m personally not convinced by all of these claims, but these concerns have led many modern farmers to adopt techniques that make the harrow less relevant.
- Environmental Sustainability: The increasing emphasis on sustainable farming practices and the desire to reduce environmental impacts have contributed to an anxiety about tools that disturb the soil, and the harrow is often replaced with practices that seek to conserve the integrity of the soil ecosystem.
Conclusion
The harrow has played an essential role in the history of agriculture, helping to prepare the soil for planting, control weeds, and improve soil health. From it’s earliest use in ancient civilizations to it’s development into a more sophisticated tool during the Industrial Revolution, the harrow has been indispensable to farmers worldwide.
It’s versatility, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness ensured its widespread use for many centuries. As agriculture evolved and technological advances led to the development of more specialized and efficient machinery, the harrow began to fall out of favour. The rise of no-till farming, mechanization, and a growing awareness of soil health have all contributed to it’s decline in modern agriculture.
The harrow remains an important tool in certain contexts, and if it’s role in mainstream farming has diminished as newer, more efficient technologies take center stage, it’s utility to small farmers and to an old a fool like me, makes it still a cornerstone of agricultural practice. I for one hope the iconic image of a team of horses dragging a harrow across land with a man behind on the lines remains a potent symbol of agriculture, despite the shifting tides of farming.
