Is Jo similar to using a hoe?

Last night Don sensei had us working on Jo kata. We practiced katas one, two and three for most of the class. During kata number three, I was reminded or visualized the dropping block as something similar to the movements you'd perform while using a hoe! Rather than attacking my partners jo, I instead dropped my jo while pulling back in a sweeping motion. It kept me on the line with my partner and put me in the correct position for the next movement.

Pretty wild in my opinion.