Sustainable Pasture Management for Horses

Sustainable Pasture Management for Horses

Summary

The goal of the Sustainable Pasture Management for Horses project, also known as “The Mid-Atlantic Equine Pasture Initiative”, is to train extension agents, governmental agency employees, and other industry professionals to serve as informed field consultants and advisors to horse farmer owners and managers in New Jersey and surrounding states in the Mid-Atlantic region. This objective over a three-year period is to increased outreach and assistance to these clientele, improve their knowledge, and adoption of practices that improve pasture quality and reduce environmental impact.

The essential elements of this pasture project include regional training meetings, and the development of training materials (PowerPoint presentations), as well as a summary of resources accessible via web sites and video. Some of the key educational components include soil fertility, weed control, poisonous plants, grass species selection, pasture composition, paddock design and fencing, on-farm strategies to protect water quality, manure management, and proper fertilization based on soil test results.

Our goal is to have 25 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 that will understand and advocate best pasture management practices. Using this gained knowledge they 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.

Expected outcomes include the expansion of the knowledge base at the extension staff and industry professional levels, and longer-term programmatic focus on sustainable pasture management. Achievement of these outcomes will be assessed by pre- and post-project evaluations from each of the professionals in the participating states. These evaluations would evaluate our training seminar and the tools given to assist the professionals in developing their own program. It will also evaluate pasture program plans and then if they were carried out and as to how useful and effective they were in the eyes of the producer.

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 nutritional value of the grasses, 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 condition and water-soil quality 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 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 grasses, poor grazing management, poor nutrient management plans, and associated runoff problems of non-point source pollutants.

Verification of attaining our target will be achieved through the use of seminar sign up sheets and evaluations, 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

Rutgers University, Best Management Showcase Equine Facility:
One of our milestones is to help develop demonstration horse farms where professionals can host meetings and demonstrate proper environmental stewardship. One such farm we are in the process of developing is at Rutgers University. The goal of this project is to create a research and educational venue at the Cook College, Equine Science Center (ESC) to showcase best management practices (BMPs) for equine and other animal facilities. This goal will be met by accomplishing the following objectives: 1) implementation of stormwater BMPs that will minimize water quality impacts, 2) conducting research on the effectiveness of these BMPs, 3) implementation of pasture management strategies that are protective of the environment, 4) creating an effective manure management system to minimize the environmental impacts of animal waste, and 5) conducting educational demonstrations and workshops for stakeholders on pasture, manure and water quality issues over the course of the project.

To date, the perimeter fence is completed, weeds have been identified, soil tests and proper fertilizing was also completed and will continue being maintained spring 2007, and 3 of the 5 fields have been completely renovated and re-seeded. One of those fields includes plots of 11 varieties of grass species to use as a teaching demonstration area. The fence layout for the rotational system and sacrifice lots have been planned and are ready to be implemented this spring or summer.

Four BMPs for storm water management have been selected for implementation at the ESC: 1) bioswale (treating agricultural/pasture/road runoff), 2) dry well (treating roof runoff), 3) infiltration trench (treating roof/road runoff), and 4) bioretention basin (treating agricultural/pasture runoff). Additionally, riparian buffers will be designed for controlling and treating stormwater runoff from the agricultural fields that are associated with the ESC. The dry well BMP has been completed and the other designs are in the process of being finalized. The bioswale should be completed by the end of spring 2007.

The location for each manure stacking pad and central composting station has been established. In addition, the excavation plan to construct these facilities has been finalized. The first manure stacking area has been completed and is currently in use. Plans for the composting site are underway. The farm has also had a Certified Nutrient Management Plan recently completed and is in the approval process with NRCS.

An educational program will be centered on the newly constructed BMPs at the ESC. Horse owners and other farmers will be able to view the storm water management practices and to talk with the people who designed, constructed and maintain these BMPs. Twilight educational meetings and workshops/seminars will focus on teaching this clientele how to identify areas of concern at their facilities and select the appropriate BMPs that can be constructed to address these concerns. The Rutgers Cooperative Extension personnel who are involved in this project will all participate in the workshops and twilight meetings.

Several fact sheets will be published (3 manure management fact sheets and bulletins already in print and will be sent via hard copy) to disseminate the data generated by this project. These fact sheets will be also be available via the RCE website (www.rce.rutgers.edu) and the ESC website (www.esc.rutgers.edu). The team will develop a newsletter annually that will detail the progress of the project; stormwater, manure, and pasture management tips; and water quality issues. Other methods of communicating the results of the project include on-farm extension agent consultations with farmers, publication in peer-reviewed journals (i.e., Journal of Extension), and lectures and seminars around the state and region. In addition, the RCE website “Horse Pasture Management,” will be regularly updated to include information from this project. The progress of our project will be posted on this site quarterly, including color pictures, and announcements for upcoming twilight meetings and short courses.

Some of our partnerships include USDA-NRCS, New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Department of Environmental Protection, Environmental Protection Agency, and Northeast SARE. Other sources of funding for research on the pasture, manure and stormwater systems have been obtained. The project has generated a significant level of interest in the Northeast.

Horses 2007 Farm and Land Management Short Course:
Horse owners and other farmers will be invited to the BMP showcase at the Rutgers University Equine Science Center for the first time on March 31st and April 1st, 2007 where the ESC, Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), and Rutgers Cooperative Extension will host Horses 2007 Farm and Land Management Short Course. The venue will provide an opportunity for small animal farm operators and horse owners to see a variety of BMPs that have been designed to address similar conditions that may exist on their farm. The full program and registration information for the Farm and Land Management Short Course can be seen on our website (www.esc.rutgers.edu).

Speakers from New Jersey and Pennsylvania involved in Extension and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide a variety of topics on pasture, manure and stormwater management issues. Horse farm owners and managers will be taught the principals of pasture growth and rotation, weed identification and management among a variety of other lecture and demonstration topics on Saturday, March 31, 2007. Sunday’s, April 1, 2007, program will include lectures and demonstrations on manure disposal and storage options, and water quality strategies. Each day will start off at the Geiger Turfgrass Education Center’s conference room, followed by an afternoon of pasture walks and BMP demonstrations at the Ryder’s Lane Equine Facility. Also available to those interested will be Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) continuing education credits. We will also provide various educational materials (“Weeds of the Northeast” and “Horse Owners Field Guide to Toxic Plants”) to help aid the attendees be more proficient in helping manage the pastures on their farms.

University of Maryland, Equine Rotational Grazing Project:
Development of farmland for housing is on the rise in the Mid-Atlantic region causing an increase number of “horse farmettes” with a high horse stocking density. The smaller acreage requires more intense management in order for horses to derive nutritional benefits from the pasture, while protecting the environment from sediment and nutrient run-off. The University of Maryland has an opportunity to become a leader in teaching horse owners in the Southern Mid-Atlantic Region how to incorporate rotational grazing practices into their small farm horse operations by developing a model rotational grazing system at its Central Maryland Research and Education Center in Ellicott City, MD. The 4.5-acre site will feature 4 pastures with access to a sacrifice area that contains a run-in shed, water, and hay feeders. The fencing will be a mix of safe types available including wood, PVC, and electric tape and braid. The main purpose of the rotational grazing project is to acquire data during annual observations of 4 horses maintained on the site, and to be used for regional, state, and local field Extension educational programs on pasture management and rotational grazing.

4-H Environmentally Friendly Farm Training Modules:
Several 4-H youth leaders took part in our training program and will participant in the development of educational materials that are geared towards middle school to high school youth projects and programs. This program is designed to help 4-H and FFA leaders, science teachers, and agricultural professionals teach the principles of pasture and manure management in order to provide youth with the knowledge and skills necessary to make sound environmental decisions in managing their animals and farms. There are four individual modules proposed for this project (Toxic Plants, Pasture Management, Manure Management and Hay), each will consist of a CD with PowerPoint presentations and newly designed “youth oriented” fact sheets; lesson plans will also be included in some of the modules. The first module on toxic plants is nearing completion (“Danger in the Grass”) and a hard copy of the outline and more details of the project will be sent via snail mail. Also included as hard copies will be a print out of a sample PowerPoint presentation and lesson plan, along with a few already completed fact sheets. Additional funding for future modules will be sought out after determining the success of the Toxic Plant module.

Other Regional Educational Programs:
A full list of programs is going to be sent via hard copy on our evaluation form, with some brochures and programs as well. However, throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region there have been many pasture programs developed and carried out. What this has shown us as an organizing group is that this topic is definitely popular and there is a need for more programs. More programs dealing with pasture management and other environmental issues are planned for various counties across the state of New Jersey.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

At the end of our training sessions in December of 2005 we had asked the attendees to evaluate the program in terms of the potential value of the module and training session itself. The summary of these evaluations was reported in the 2005 Annual Report. This year we sent out follow up surveys asking attendees and others who purchased the training module but did not attend the training session last year, to evaluate the effectiveness of the module and its contents, along with give us an update on the educational programs they have been hosting. Evaluations have come in and are very positive with positive outcomes for many of the programs. Below I will summarize the evaluation on our program which was sent to the program attendees and module users one year after the initial training session.

The evaluations asked the participants to rank each category on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most valuable and 1 being the least valuable. After a year of working with the module the attendees felt the fact sheets were the most valuable portion on the CD with an average score of 4.4. Attending the actual training session with speakers demonstrating the module PowerPoints and the PowerPoint presentations themselves were scored an average of 4.0, however, not everyone filling out the survey actually attended the training session. Participants valued their opportunity to create a network of pasture professionals that will be able to assists them in developing their pasture programs for equine operation managers and owners least and gave this a 3.3. Unfortunately due to bad weather we had to end the second training session early to ensure all attendees returned home safely so networking at that session was cut short and again not all those surveyed had the opportunity to network. The evaluations asked the participants to rank the value of each PowerPoint presentation and the scores ranged from 3.8 to 4.3 with “Horse Health and Pasture Importance” being the highest ranked presentation.

When asked what types of presentations the attendees have been invited to give nearly all of those surveyed had talked at least once in the last year on a variety of topics. These ranged from “Nutrient Management for Small Horse and Livestock Producers”, “Equine Pasture Management”, “Marketing Hay to the Equine Industry”, “Pasture Forages Identification and Selection”, “Toxic Plants”, and “Pasture Management and Hay Quality”. The most widely answered question was details on workshops and conferences that the attendee has been involved with organizing. A complete list will be sent as a hard copy on the evaluation, and a few brochures from various programs will also be included. However, some programs included “Equine Nutrient Management and More…” including two sessions, Dec. 6 & 9, 2006, some topics included Equine Digestion and the Formation of Manure, Equine Manures (EM) and “N” Availability, GIS Technology, EM and Water Quality, Composing EMs, Equine Grazing Strategies, Hay and Pasture Fertilizer Management, and other NRCS related programs; “Pasture 101: Soil Fertility and Pasture Rotation”; “Certified Grassland Professional – The first step in becoming nationally certified” with topics including Pasture Management, Pasture Goals, Toxic Plants, Plant ID and Forage Yields, Manure and Mud Management, Structural BMPs in pasture situations; “Common Sense Approach to Horse Management”, featuring topics on pasture mgt, mud/manure mgt, equine dental care, and nutrition; Workshops including “Producing Hay for the Equine Industry” for 1-full day and “Hay Quality for Horse Owners” for one full evening.

Fifteen pasture walks or field meetings were reported along with 174 answered equine related pasture phone and e-mail consultations, and 64 actual farm visits for pasture consultations. Newsletters, newspaper and magazine articles, fact sheets and bulletins have also been produced and hard copies will also be sent with supplemental materials. Many of the surveys also indicated plans for future workshops and field meetings over the spring and summer of 2007.

Collaborators: