Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Allen West plows a field in Bedford County using a team of Belgian draft horses to pull his plow. He said farming with the team is not very time-efficient, but it's fuel-efficient, quiet and actually a little fun.

Allen West takes off a harness and other tack worn by his Belgian draft horse at his barn in Bedford County.

Allen West said plowing and preparing his 5-acre plot for planting took about a month -- a job that would have taken him about three days if he had used a tractor instead of a team of draft horses.

In a world that's used to revving on all cylinders, Allen West finds his slice of serenity behind the reins of his two chestnut-colored draft horses, tilling the land much as his ancestors once did.

Clad in beige overalls, he guides the plow through tufts of grass, the machinery clanking and squeaking, in what could easily be a scene from days long gone if it weren't for the occasional ringing of the cellphone in his pocket.

For years, West, a General Electric employee in Salem, has spent his evenings and weekends out on this five-mile tract of Bedford County land where he grows soybeans, alfalfa and hay.

He does his work the old-fashioned way -- with eight horse legs instead of four wheels -- going against the grain of an industry that for many conjures up images of exhaust-puffing tractors and diesel-fueled machinery.

"I'd buy fuel, but what's the use if I got a horse. They earn their keep that way," West said.

At age 53, West finds himself among a small minority of modern-day farmers tapping into this less costly source of horse power.

While horses have long been the mainstay on Amish farms, their popularity is gaining some momentum in certain agricultural circles as an offshoot of the organic foods movement and in response to rising fuel prices that are tipping over $3 a gallon in some parts of the nation.

Lifestyle changes -- such as city folks moving to the countryside -- have also contributed to a renewed interest in horse farming, said Lynn Telleen, editor of the Waverly, Iowa-based trade publication, The Draft Horse Journal. Many of the journal's new subscribers, he said, are coming from a demographic of younger couples who hail from an urban background but relocate to a small plot of rural land on which they intend to farm.

"A lot of them have this notion of living in the country and growing their own food with horses as romantic," Telleen said. He added that the demand for organic products has also spurred some to seek out this more natural way of farming.

"It is just part of the overall philosophy," he said.

Plus, farmers can simply grow the fuel needed for a horse to survive, rather than have to import it from other countries.

To this end, the environmental benefits are also attractive to agricultural producers. There is less soil compaction, making it gentler for the earth and seedlings, and horses don't spew off carbon and other chemical gas into the air, although they do leave behind the kind of waste that can do some mild damage to a haplessly placed shoe.

Logging, for instance, is one segment of agricultural industry that for years has employed horses as an eco-friendly alternative to using machinery.

One logging crew in Southwest Virginia, the Healing Harvest Forest Foundation in Floyd County, has even made promoting this less-evasive form of forestry its main mission. It, too, uses teams of draft horses to drag out logs from the forest, cutting the weakest, unwanted trees first and leaving the healthier greenery room to grow.

Cost is similarly a factor in using horses, but opinions tend to diverge on how much using a horse can actually save over using a tractor.

"If you already have them, it is cheaper and a lot more fun," said Midge Harmon, a spokesperson for the Virginia Draft Horse and Mule Association. But if that cost includes buying the animals, training them to the plow and purchasing the equipment, then perhaps hopping on a tractor would be thriftier.

"It is a consideration of cost and time, not rushing to finish something," Telleen said.

West said he took about a month to plow, disk and smooth out his 5-acre plot of land.

He could have done the same job on a tractor in about three days for the cost of three tanks of gas -- about $125.

To be sure, the horses need fuel, too, costing him about $200 a month for grains and hay. But West said he'd keep the horses regardless of whether he used a tractor.

"If you work your horses and farm with them, they will pay their way," he said.

Even so, horse farming still makes up only a sliver of the nation's total agricultural production -- a ratio that has stayed relatively consistent since the years following World War II when use of draft horses plummeted with the advent of improved tractor power.

While the expenses of using a horse may in some cases be cheaper, the cost in time can be prohibitive for some farmers who are used to using a tractor.

After all, a working horse has to stop every once in a while to rest.

"We're about the only three that fool around with the draft horses," said Russell Harmon, who was helping West with his field one evening in April.

Harmon, who also lives in Bedford County, brought along his own draft horses and plow.

But for Harmon, like many horse farmers, this traditional way of turning the soil is more of a pastime -- a way of getting out in nature -- than a financial necessity.

On this particular evening, the field was so quiet that it was possible to hear the crickets buzzing in the grass.

Miles away from the county's major thoroughfares, the air was crisp, anticipating the coming summer.

"We ain't into golf or bass fishing," Harmon said while taking a break from the work with his two sweaty horses. "This is our hobby."