June/July 2026
Rural Heritage is a bimonthly journal in support of farming and logging with draft horses, mules, and oxen. The 2026 June/July issue was mailed to subscribers on May 22, 2026. Below is this issue’s annotated Table of Contents, with a link to a full feature article to showcase the good reading delivered to your door every other month when you
Subscribe to Rural Heritage.
If, in your reading, you run across a drafty word you don’t recognize, consult our online Draft Dictionary.
Table of Contents
Departments
Joe Mischka writes about the Rural Heritage YouTube channel and the variety of subjects covered by the more than 350 full-length videos there. The videos are curated into playlists like wagon trains, logging with draft animals, historical sites, and frequently featured personalieies like Ralph Rice and Donn Hewes. He explains how it’s free to watch the videos and free to subscribe to the channel which notifies subscribers whenever new videos are released. He goes on to talk about several new series Rural Heritage is developing about horse training and operating a horse powered farm. Joe also talks about the many places he’s visited in the past couple of months and where he expects to be going in the next several months.
(contacts for breed registries and regional draft clubs)
(frequently updated online)
(please tell ‘em you saw it in Rural Heritage)
Features
Hooking and Unhooking Safely
Donn Hewes goes over the steps he uses to hook a team safely to a farm implement and later, to unhook them safely.
Calf Training: Halters or Collars
Rob Collins discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using halters or collars for training calves.
Moving Toward a More Perennial Agriculture…click on title to read entire article.
Jenifer Morrissey writes about the shift in landscaping and agriculture toward permaculture.
Truly American Donkeys: American Mammoth Jackstock
Les O’Dell of the Livestock Conversancy writes about the development of the American Mammoth Jack donkey.
Ivy Pagliari
Anna Knapp-Peck writes about Ivy Pagliari and her experience working with cattle .
Start with a Good Foundation
Cameron Howard writes about a clinic he held with Ben Burgess and Moriah Bilenky at his home in Corydon, Ind.
The un-forgotten Farmers of the Chars — Part 2
Paul Schmitt completes his story about the Chars farmers in the Bangladesh Delta who are coping with changing climate.
Eulogy for Old Doc
Jerry Hicks tells the story of an old faithful mule named Doc.
Brewington Plow Day
Mike Brewington hosts a plow day where folks turned over good ground with teams of crossbreds, Belgians, Percherons and mules. Â .
 Tuning Up the McCormick Deering Cultivator
Michael Glos discusses the steps he uses to maintain a McCormick Deering Cultivator.
 Multi-Use Tools & Tips
Ralph Rice writes about the Reese hitch he attached to his forecart and the various tools he uses with it.
 Draft Animal Power Network
Anna Knapp-Peck writes about training an older animal.
 Mini Nubians to the Rescue
Chiara Dowell explains the advantages of raising Mini Nubians goats.
 Bryan Moon Plow Day
Bryan Moon and family host a plow day at their Chilhowee, Mo.
 Lyndon Farm Team Competition
Teamsters compete in a variety of challenges to measure their abilities.
The Reading Room is updated with each new issue. If you wish to be notified by email when new contents are posted, please Contact Us. If you wish to receive Rural Heritage in your mailbox every other month, please Subscribe.