Farmers and Oxen turning a field

Farmers and Oxen turning a field

Farmers and Oxen turning a field A pair of farmers work with an ox team to turn a field somewhere in Maine in the 1890s. These oxen are Shorthorn with a light roan coloring. "Roan" is the term used to describe an animal's coat that is primarily one color but is thickly interspersed with hairs of another color. The Shorthorn was historically called the Durham because it originated in the county of Durham in northern England. They were bred with the dual purpose of performance in meat and dairy production and became arguably the most influential breed of cattle in the history of agriculture worldwide. They were also a major labor force before the tractor came along, clearing and plowing fields, drafting, and even moving houses and buildings. Plowing of the fields was typically done in the spring or the fall. These oxen are pulling disk harrow which is designed to cut and break up the large lumps and clods of soil that has been previously turned by the plow.