chesapeake bay-friendly model horse farm by prince william soil & water conservation district
TRANSCRIPT
The Chesapeake Bay-Friendly
Model Horse Farm Project
Presented by Nicole Slazinski
Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District
Graphic courtesy of the Chesapeake Bay Program
The need: Help horse “farms”
• Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program
• Funds are for traditional, production agriculture (horse breeding farms and hay producers do qualify)
• Need to address water quality and environmental concerns
• Solution: Grant-funded project!
This project received funding from the Virginia Water Quality
Improvement Fund provided by the Virginia Department of Conservation
and Recreation (DCR), via grant number 2007-WQIF-19.
Oakwood Farm
• Privately owned horse farm in suburbia• 4 horses on 4 acres of turnout• Overgrazed• Lacked comprehensive manure management • Muddy• Unprotected stream• Owner willing to learn and adopt new
management strategies and open farm for education– Tours and education events arranged through our
agency
Field 1Front Pastures
Field 2Back
Pastures
• Pastures/Rotational Grazing• Sacrifice Areas• Stream Exclusion Fencing• Water Troughs• Manure Storage
Best Management Practices
Rotational Grazing• More than one field of pasture• Prevents grass from being overgrazed and dying• Allows for regrowth of grasses• Rotate to sacrifice area if all fields need to rest and
regrow, or if it’s wet
Rule of Thumb• If the majority of the grass in the field is less than 4”
tall, take the horses off the field and let the field rest until the overall grasses are 6-12” tall.
Resting Ready to Graze
Severely over-grazed
Front Field VS Back Field• Pasture Mix:
Orchardgrass, Bluegrass, Fescue, Clover, Annual/Perennial Rye
• No-Till Drill• No Herbicides• Applied spring
2009
• “Low-endophyte” Select Fescue
• Disking
• Herbicides applied
• Applied fall 2009
Low-Endophyte
Fescue
No-till Drill seeder (back)
Fencing Types
• Perimeter & Interior–Perimeter defines outer
boundaries• Usually permanent
–Interior defines individual grazing areas for rotational grazing• May be temporary or permanent
Painted
Fencing not painted (Front)
PermanentTraditional Horse Fencing
Fencing painted (Back)
5-Strand High-Tensile With Plastic Coating
Only Top and Middle Strands are Hot (Perimeter)
Wood Board +2-Strand Electrified Braid (Buffer)
Temporary 2-Strand Electrified Braid w/ fiberglass posts (Back Pastures)
Temporary3-Strand Electric Poly Tape
(Front Pasture)
• Pastures/Rotational Grazing
• Sacrifice Areas
• Stream Exclusion Fencing
• Water Troughs
• Manure Storage
Best Management Practices
What is a Sacrifice Area?
• An area of land you are giving up, or sacrificing, from being used as pasture
• Typically consists of bluestone or stone dust
• Can also be referred to as a “dry lot” or “hardened area.”
Sacrifice Area: Back
To Make a Sacrifice Area Work:Stormwater Management
• Direct roof runoff and surface water away from sacrifice area – Gutters and downspouts – Downspouts connect to underground pipes
that carry roof runoff to hayfield
Feeding Horses on a Sacrifice Paddock
• You don’t want horses eating hay straight off of the bluestone paddock, or they may accidently digest some of the stones!
• Solution: Alternative Hay Feeders!– Slows down grazing– Lengthens hay resources (need less hay)– Less hay waste
Feed BucketGreat idea, but horses would pull the hay out of the bucket,
drop it on the ground, and then eat from the ground.
Hay NetsWorks great, but needs regular maintenance as the horses
can chew through the ropes
Alternative Hay FeederBingo!
• Pastures/Rotational Grazing
• Sacrifice Areas
• Stream Exclusion Fencing
• Water Troughs
• Manure Storage
Best Management Practices
Buffers
• A buffer is vegetation that surrounds a waterway• This vegetation absorbs nutrients before they reach
the waterway, decreasing pollution• Pollution refers to an over abundance of nutrients
from:– Horse manure– Erosion (Loose Soil)
– Over-applying Fertilizer and/or Pesticides
• Horses must be fenced out of the buffer for it to be effective
BuffersStream
25’ buffer
Nutrients from
Manure
Buffer Fence
Buffer Before
Buffer After(~8 months later)
Buffer After(~1 year later)
• Pastures/Rotational Grazing
• Sacrifice Areas
• Stream Exclusion Fencing
• Water Troughs
• Manure Storage
Best Management Practices
Watering system on Model Farm
• Existing conditions– very limited electricity– existing well– 1 frost free hydrant at barn– 2 bathtubs (used to provide water to horses)
• The goal was on to plan to install frost free non-electric automatic troughs,
• Trough locations planned with access from multiple fields.
• 2 Bar-bar-a waterers installed.
Bar-Bar-ABar-Bar-A in 3’ of snow
• Pastures/Rotational Grazing
• Sacrifice Areas
• Stream Exclusion Fencing
• Water Troughs
• Manure Storage
Best Management Practices
Horse manure generated in U.S. could fill the Rose Bowl Stadium 22x each month – add bedding and the volume doubles or
triples
Stable Grid
Compost Fleece
Solar Panels
Bin 1 Bin 2 Bin 3
Beforeand After
CA
TH
AR
PIN
RD
SUDLEY RD
EXECUTIVE DR
¯ Legend
Pasture Acres
Sacrifice Paddock
Buffer
9 9 Fence - Perimeter
9 9 Fence - Buffer
9 9 Fence - Interior
Water Trough
Manure Storage
Þ Gate
Field 1Front Pastures
Field 2Back
Pastures
Back Pastures Before
Back Pastures(~1.3 years later)
Before Seeding and
FertilizerJan. 6, 2008
Back Pastures(~1.5 years later)
Back Pastures(~2 years later, after Snowmageddon)
Front Pastures Before
Front Pastures After(~1.5 years later)
Front Pastures Before
Front Pastures After(~1 year later)
Back Sacrifice Paddock Before
Back Sacrifice Paddock After
Front Sacrifice Paddock Before
Front Sacrifice Paddock After
Buffer Before
Buffer After(~10 months later)
Water Trough Before
Water Trough After
Questions?
Partners