Bob Peterson wrote:

Curious - have you actually tried to plant and harvest hundreds of acres
using only horses for power, or is this some kind of academic exercise? The
reason I ask is that people who actually have done so, and books I have read
on pre-tractor farming indicate this is a wildly optimistic scenario.

If you skip turning the soil with a plow you are removing about
1/3 to
1/2 the work of prepairing the soil for farming.

The amount of land that can be cultivated by horse drawn equipment
depends on
the type of crops and the strategy that is used. In growing mixed
crops such
as wheat (winter wheat) rape seed, some varieties of oats and
barley, they are
planted in the fall. Using the no-till method of framing, (where
the land is
not plowed but is harrowed) it is reasonable to expect to prepare
and seed
100 acres in the months of September and October.

These crops will then be harvested in July.

Then using the no-till method in the spring to plant the late
maturing
crops like potatoes, corn, beans, peas, turnips, onions, etc.,
these crops
will be harvested in august or early september so it is reasonable
to
expect to put an additional 100 acres into production.

There fore 180 to 200 acres is the UPPER LIMIT of cultivation with
horses.

The Independent