Sustainable Pasture Management for Horses

2004 Annual Report for ENE04-088

Project Type: Professional Development Program
Funds awarded in 2004: $79,100.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2007
Matching Non-Federal Funds: $15,000.00
Region: Northeast
State: New Jersey
Project Leader:
Dr. Carey Williams
Rutgers University Department of Animal Sciences

Sustainable Pasture Management for Horses

Summary

The goal of the Sustainable Pasture Management for Horses project, known in our area as “The Mid-Atlantic Equine Pasture Initiative”, is to develop a pasture management program for horse farms in New Jersey and surrounding states in the Mid-Atlantic region. Of the thousand plus agricultural extension agents, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) representatives, and other related agency and industry professionals in NJ, MD, DE, northern VA, eastern PA, and southern NY, 25 professionals will understand and advocate best pasture management practices, and will help impact farm managers adapt better manure management, reduce weed competition, increase nutritive value, and promote application of fertilizers to maintain soil nutrients based on soil tests in their pastures.

This sustainable emphasis over a three-year period will lead to improved pasture quality and water-soil conditions. We seek to accomplish this through the professional development of extension agents and other industry professionals as field consultants and advisors. The essential elements of this pasture project include regional training meetings to extension, NRCS and other industry professionals, test soils and pasture forage for nutrient content, provide material accessible via web site, and video documentation. Some of the key educational components include soil fertility, weed control, poisonous plants, grass species selection, selecting hay, pasture composition, paddock design and fencing, on-farm strategies to protect water quality, manure management, mosquito breeding sites, and proper fertilization based on soil test results.

This project will expand the knowledge base at the extension staff and industry professional levels; it will provide a longer-term programmatic focus on sustainable pasture management. Our goal will be monitored by pre- and post-project soil and forage analysis, photo and video documentation, website expansion and surveys from each of the professionals in the participating states.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Of the thousand plus agricultural extension agents, NRCS, and other related industry professionals within the Mid-Atlantic region, 25 of these professionals will understand, and advocate best pasture management practices; this group will then impact farm managers to adapt better manure management, reduce weeds and increase native nutrition, improve water quality, and maintain proper nutrient soil loads in their horse pastures.

The three-year period will lead to the sustainability of the project and improved pasture quality and water-soil conditions on many of the participating farms. In order to attain this programmatic goal and forge stronger client ties into our academic community, we will outreach established agents coupled with a new Program Assistant to assess, implement and monitor sustainable practices. We seek to accomplish this through the professional development and training of agricultural extension agents and those in the private professional service industry as field consultants and advisors. This pasture project will expand the knowledge base of extension personnel and provide a longer-term programmatic focus on sustainable pasture management. We have seen too many instances of resource mismanagement in equine operations that are too densely populated, poorly maintained manure disposal, inappropriate selection of turf grasses, poor nutrient management plans, and associated runoff problems of non-point source pollutants.

Verification that our target will be attained by seminar sign up sheets and evaluations, pre- and post soil and pasture grass surveys, grower data bases and input cards, participant mailing lists, photo and video documentation, website expansion and environmental surveys from each of the agents and professionals in the participating states.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Within year one we have successfully organized a team of specialists from each of our participating states to take a major role during the three-year project to develop a training program with workshops and a module to be used as a guide and take home material for the extension agents, agricultural advisors and other industry professionals that attend the pasture seminars.

We have determined a complete list of the key educational components that will include farm specific pasture goals, importance of pasture for horses, soil fertility, best management practices, pasture renovation, parasite issues, pest control, on-farm strategies to protect water quality, drainage, site considerations, weed control, poisonous plants, grass species selection and pasture composition, hay selection, paddock design and fencing, manure management, proper nutrient and fertilizer addition to match soil tests, and eliminating mosquito breeding sites.

The only minor modification we have made thus far was to create pasture workshops in place of our training seminars. We have started by each state specialist making a list of potentially interested individuals to participate as trainees for the entire program. Once trainees are determined (early spring 2005) we will start with a series of workshops within each state to serve as mini-modules at the respective farms (5 farms per state). These workshops would take place over the next 2 years, cover all the educational topics listed in the previous paragraph, and be hosted at the farms we are targeting. This would create a working relationship with the trainers, trainees, and farm owners/managers. These workshops will be organized by our group who will be responsible for determining the appropriate experts to instruct the workshops and provide written material to include in the end-of-program Training Module.

After the 2 years of workshops trainers and trainees will host two or three large pasture seminars for industry professionals and general horse public, on the pasture information we choose. After these seminars the Training Module will be organized with material from the workshops and from the seminars.

We are currently planning our large pasture seminars, which will now take place near the end of the second year and into the third. All extension, NRCS and other related agency professionals (e.g. feed and seed dealers, veterinarians, etc.) in the Mid-Atlantic region would be invited to attend these seminars. Suggestions for possible seminar venues include in NJ Rutgers University, Cook College; in MD Howard County conference rooms and existing pasture walks; in DE the University of Delaware farm and educational facilities; and in VA the Virginia Tech MARE (Middleburg Agriculture Research and Extension) Center.

We determined we would provide various pasture tools (including: soil tests, fertilizing info, grass species ID, toxic plant evaluation, nutrient management plan, GPS Aerial map of farm, pasture parasite load, pasture nutrient composition, endophyte testing, and networking) to 25 farms in the Mid-Atlantic region. Gathering pre- and post-project samples and surveys will be the determining factor in whether the farm has received any improvement due to the educational pasture program.

The end-of-program Training Module will consist of a wide variety of teaching materials that will be collected throughout the pasture workshops, these will include fact sheets from various states, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Equine Agriculture Management Practices, a CD with all the PPT presentations as well as curriculum notes, demonstrations, evaluations, and possible digital video segments. Some of these materials have already been gathered and prepared and will be sent by hard copy after the first of the year. (Unfortunately due to the project coordinator being hospitalized for the greater part of December these materials are not able to be sent before the end of the calendar year.)

We will document on-farm improvement from farms in the five states will be measured by soil and pasture grass tests, general animal health, manure disposal procedures, and farm water-quality determined through surveys taken by the agents and other professionals.

Near the end of the project we will select 5 agents and professionals, and 5 farms for recognition in transitioning to sustainable pasture management programs and practices. This will not only give recognition incentive to agents and educators, but also keep us informed with the progress made.

This project will demonstrate professional improvement of 25 agricultural extension staff and other related industry professionals in the Mid-Atlantic region by expanding their client base and benefiting general knowledge of pasture and related topics. This will be verified by having overall agent reports completed at the end of the program.

Collaborators:

Robert Mickel

mickel@aesop.rutgers.edu
Agricultural Agent and Regional Livestock Agent
Rutgers Cooperative Extension
RCE of Hunterdon County
PO Box 2900
Flemington, NJ 08822
Office Phone: 9087881339
Website: www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/depts/rutgers/rutgers.htm
Erin Petersen

petersdr@umd.edu
Lecturer and Extension Horse Specialist
University of Maryland
2115 Jull Hall
College Park, MD 20742
Office Phone: 3014054690
Website: www.equinestudies.umd.edu
Amy Burk

amyburk@umd.edu
Assistant Professor
University of Maryland
1121 Animal Science Center
College Park, MD 20742
Office Phone: 3014058337
Bill Sciarappa

sciarappa@aesop.rutgers.edu
Agricultural & Resource Management Agent
Rutgers Cooperative Extension
RCE of Monmouty County
4000 Kozloski Road
Freehold, NJ 07728
Office Phone: 7324317260
Website: www.visitmonmouth.com/07050coopext/
Karyn Malinowski

malinowski@aesop.rutgers.edu
Dean of Outreach and Extension
Rutgers University
Cook College
88 Lipman Dr., Martin Hall
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Office Phone: 7329325000
Website: www.esc.rutgers.edu