Comments about ‘Vermont farmer experiments with cold-hardy rice’

"harvested with a horse-drawn reaper binder, which cuts and bundles the plants and is a green alternative to the small combines more often used."

I would be interested in seeing if a horse-drawn reaper is actually "greener" when the feed and waste of the horse(s) is added to the equation. When animals were the primary source of agricultural work ~ 40% of the food grown was consumed by the horses, oxen, etc.