6 Farmers on Their Favorite Mud Gear
Ropes, quads, boots: How do you survive mud season?
WaimÄnalo, Hawaii
Farmer Dean Okimoto, owner of ‘Nalo Farms, has a simple mud-buster: rope. When a storm brought 18 inches of rain to his fields, he found himself in waist-high water and stuck up to his knees in mud “like quicksand.” To lift him out, farmhands had to hook a rope to his tractor. He laughs now, but “it was kind of hairy for a little while.”
– ”ŠGloria Dawson
Prince George, Canada
Réjean Pellerin processes pine trees on his British Columbia estate, cutting them with a self-made log-splitter before transporting the logs back to the shed. When the mud gets especially slick, he relies on his trusty Yamaha Big Bear 4×4 quad to bring the trees in. “It’ll go through any kind of mud, pulling a trailer so I can get my work done.”
– ”ŠDaniel Kong
South Otago, New Zealand
For the muddy months at Marama Organic Farm, Giselle McLachlan replaces her favorite shoes with Quatro rubber boots, which are called gumboots in New Zealand. The former lawyer is a “knee-high fashion boot”“wearer from way back,” but a house surrounded by paddocks means McLachlan’s favorite pair of boots changes with the season. “You have to have farm clothes and off-farm clothes,” she says.
– ”ŠLindy Alexander
Marche, Italy
“Never use Wellies in the mud,” advises farmer Giulia Savini, who runs farmstay Valle Nuova. “When they get stuck in the mud, your foot can slip out!” Instead, opt for boots with laces, making sure they’re high enough not to let the mud in and capable of being adjusted for a tight fit. She also recommends getting out of the mud “as soon as possible” and having a restorative shot of homemade elderflower liqueur.
– ”ŠJenny Linford
Hempstead, Texas
While the rain in clay-rich South Central Texas turns the soil to so-called “black gumbo,” farmer James Moss of Moss Family Farm relies on winter plantings of cover crops like ryegrass and crimson clover to keep spring rainfall from washing his wet soil away. “We have sandy loam, and it drains pretty well,” he says. “Luckily, we don’t get mud puddles.”
– ”ŠKaren Pinchin
Upper Sugarloaf Key, Florida
In 2005, Midge Jolly used a backhoe to scrape away the inches of silt that Hurricane Wilma had dredged up and spread across her Earth & Sea Farm. Now, she uses mud mixed with coarse filler to repair lanes. And when it comes to managing everyday mud, she relies on rugs”Š”‰ – ”‰”Šlots of them”Š”‰ – ”Š”‰at every doorway of her house.
– ”ŠAndrew K. Jenner
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