Blogs – Agricultural Museums

What comes to mind when you hear the word “tractor”?

Tractor. What comes to mind? Do you immediately conjure an image of a four-wheeled vehicle hitched to a plow? Do you picture a particular manufacturer? Think about horsepower? Link internal combustion engines to fossil-fuel consumption? Wonder about tractors in relation to organic agriculture? Ponder autonomous tractor use in agriculture? Think about the business of manufacturing… Continue reading What comes to mind when you hear the word “tractor”?

What, if Anything, is Yoghurt?*

Have you ever thought about yoghurt, really? That there might be more than plain and flavoured? That it might be an iconic food in many places and still made in traditional ways? Two fruit and one plain yoghurt, local production by a farmer in the Morbihan, France, Photo C. Griffin-Kremer We may do well to… Continue reading What, if Anything, is Yoghurt?*

International Women’s Day AIMA Lecture – 8 March 2023

Please register under: aimalecturesreg@gmail.com by 3 March 2023. We will then provide you with the Zoom-Link to attend the lecture. Mark your calendars: 14:00 Central European Time; 8:00 am Eastern Standard Time; Midnight Sydney, Australia.

Agriculture & the International Year of Glass 2022

Agriculture? Glass? What’s the connection? Fig. 1. Stained Glass Panel, Labours of the Months (October – breaking up clods and scattering wheat), 1450-1475, England. From Cassiobury Park, Hertfordshire. Source: Commons Wikimedia. Have you ever thought about how farmers and market gardeners care for “baby” plants, for example, by covering them with a glass cloche to… Continue reading Agriculture & the International Year of Glass 2022

Food Awareness & Loss 2022 AIMA Lecture Series

AIMA recognizes the International Day of World Awareness of Food Loss and Waste The International Association of Agricultural Museums (AIMA) invites you to a one-hour program via ZOOM. Speakers will address museum collections, policies, protocol, and programming aimed at increasing awareness of the numerous costs of food loss and waste. To join the event, please… Continue reading Food Awareness & Loss 2022 AIMA Lecture Series

World Donkey Day 2022 AIMA Lecture Series

Register now!Donkeys are an integral part of the culture, the history and the future in numerous countries in the world. Donkeys (and mules parented by donkeys) have been, and still are, important for agricultural production and marketing as well as for transport. Donkey traditions have been encapsulated in museums around the world, but donkey technologies… Continue reading World Donkey Day 2022 AIMA Lecture Series

Ox Ploughing at the National Agricultural Museum of Korea (NAMUK)

We recently held a cultural event on May 14th, demonstrating traditional Korean farming practices through a live oxen ploughing performance at our museum’s outdoor terraced fields. This event not only showcased the ‘Gyeori farming culture’ but also featured a hands-on rice planting experience with over 200 students from a nearby elementary school, emphasizing the importance… Continue reading Ox Ploughing at the National Agricultural Museum of Korea (NAMUK)

From Farm to Fork

An agro-industrial complex in the Eure departement, France, in the early 20th century. These Salers cattle belong to the Nassandres agro-industrial complex, made up of a sugar beet factory-distillery (in the Risle valley, between the Seine and the Eure) and six farms (Chrétienville, Les Rufflets, Bigards, Feuguerolles, Beauficel , Beaumontel), very close to the factory, representing… Continue reading From Farm to Fork

Ploughing With Oxen

The main theme of the picture is ploughing with oxen. The composition of the image is conceived diagonally. In the foreground, three pairs of oxen are laboriously pulling a plough. Behind them you can see two figures of peasants in caps, one of whom is driving the oxen with a whip and the other steering… Continue reading Ploughing With Oxen

Working Reindeer in Sápmi, the Land of the Sámi

The Sámi are the indigenous peoples of Sápmi, a region stretching over the northern parts of Scandinavia (i.e. Finland, Sweden and Norway) and parts of the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Reindeer herding is one of their traditional livelihoods. Reindeer as cultural heritage Sámi cultural heritage relies to a large extent on the reindeer. The hunting-… Continue reading Working Reindeer in Sápmi, the Land of the Sámi

The Animal Power Behind the Vallus at Malagne

– Capucine, a jenny without equal, at Malagne, the ArcheoPark of Rochefort (Belgium). In the heart of the Rochefort countryside in the Province of Namur in Belgium, there is a little gem of nature and heritage interwoven: the site of the Malagne Gallo-Roman Villa, nestled in a green setting, where our visitors discover the remains and… Continue reading The Animal Power Behind the Vallus at Malagne

A Visit From The Veterinarian

In 1880, when cattle were commonly part of communities, most people seeing this image would probably have understood the story it tells. Today, since few people have exposure to cattle in any way, the details of the scene are easy to overlook without a little interpretation. There are two cattle in the picture, and one… Continue reading A Visit From The Veterinarian

The Political Symbolism of the Triple Yoke in Castile in the 15th-16th Century

Many agricultural implements have been elevated to the status of symbols, either as representatives of a social class or, as with a special type of yoke, as a symbol of an idea of political domination. Ferdinand II of Aragon (reign 1472-1516) chose a yoke for three animals as his personal emblem and, although it appeared… Continue reading The Political Symbolism of the Triple Yoke in Castile in the 15th-16th Century

The Most Historic Chicken You Never Heard Of

The Crèvecoeur chicken is among the oldest of the standard-bred fowls of France and the longest known French breed in the United Kingdom. The breed gets its name from the village of Crèvecœur en Auge in Normandy, France. “Crève Cœur” translates literally as “broken heart.” Editor’s Note: Jeannette is a connaisseur of the Crèvecoeur chicken… Continue reading The Most Historic Chicken You Never Heard Of

What a Difference a Decade Can Make

How bulls are getting shorter. When I started my role as the Director of the Canada Agriculture Museum (since renamed) in 2009, the definitive “rock star” in our bovine herd was Goody – a massive Hereford Bull. He was a mild-mannered giant that quietly amazed visitors with his impressive size in all aspects. Standing beside… Continue reading What a Difference a Decade Can Make

Childcare on Farms in the First Half of the 20th Century

Until the middle of the 20th century, children were an integral part of the farming economy from an early age. Their care by adults (parents, family members, farm labourers) and their learning and work were closely interlinked and could hardly be separated from each other in everyday life. The animals working on the farms, especially… Continue reading Childcare on Farms in the First Half of the 20th Century

A Hames Inquiry: Location? The Clues are in the Images

After nearly 70 years of “playing” with working horse material and non-material culture especially from the UK and Ireland, I like to think that I am reasonably experienced in identifying where photographs without a given provenance have been taken. For example, in the following photograph. The above photograph shows a three-horse team drawing a Ransomes… Continue reading A Hames Inquiry: Location? The Clues are in the Images

Dairy processes on a micro-farm in 21st-century Pennsylvania

For the past 40 years or so, a “house cow” has been a valued part of our family. We have had a series of seven cows of different breeds, including two Jerseys, three milking shorthorns, a shorthorn/ Holstein cross, and our current cow: a Jersey/ brown Swiss cross. Thanks to these marvelous animals, our family… Continue reading Dairy processes on a micro-farm in 21st-century Pennsylvania

Grand Messe des Bouviers du Monde

Le “Draft Cattle Symposium” au Laboratoire de Plein-Air Lauresham sur le Site UNESCO de l’Abbaye de Lorsch en Allemagne, 8-10 Mars 2024 Voir des vues aériennes et autres vidéos de la rencontre (Courtoisie Lauresham et Arbeitsgruppe Rinderanspannung) i Cette rencontre était le produit de convergences entre divers acteurs et réseaux intéressés par les bœufs de… Continue reading Grand Messe des Bouviers du Monde

World Milk Day 2024 AIMA Lecture Series

The International Association of Agricultural Museums is pleased to share the recording of WORLD MILK DAY – 1 June 2024 – available HERE. The program conveyed the importance of milk and dairy products for pastoralists across time and place. Program: Debra Reid, PhD, Curator of Agriculture and the Environment, The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Michigan, USA:… Continue reading World Milk Day 2024 AIMA Lecture Series