Development and implementation of an equine environmental stewardship program

Development and implementation of an equine environmental stewardship program

Summary

In 2011 fourteen cooperating horse farms were used as demonstration research sites and the team has visited a total of 34 farms. The team helped to secure agency match conservation funding to assist some of the horse farms. During this reporting period, the team members have been invited to attend state and national educational programming to train agency staff (train the trainers) from Conservation Districts, NRCS, and Cooperative Extension, and the Mid-Atlantic Nutrition Conference held in Maryland. Project information was presented at State Conservation Nutrient Management Advisory Board and the Pennsylvania DEP meetings.

Over the past 2 years, during Ag Progress Days, the team has reached 1,000s of horse owners with the Equine Environmental Stewardship topics. The project team hosted several three day trainings. Over 285 farm managers have completed the 3-4 day short courses offered in Chester, Centre, Northampton, Montgomery, York, Union, Columbia, Westmoreland and Clinton Counties in Pennsylvania and Orange and Ulster County, NY. Over 3,200 additional farm/horse owners have attended individual workshops dealing with environmental stewardship and farm management issues.

As a result of completing the short course: 90% to 100 % of the participants indicated that they had a large increase in knowledge about: forage biology and growth; how to renovate pastures; how to identify forage species; how to properly store and utilize manure; how nutrients effect plant growth; how to apply nutrients based on a soil test report; the importance of identifying weeds in pastures; who to contact for assistance with pasture and nutrient management planning.

To date, 88% of all surveyed workshop participants adopted at least two BMP strategies to improve conditions on their farm. Information gathered from the project’s start generated up to 7 scientific abstracts and presentation at national meetings, two articles, several popular press and tread magazine articles, state-wide survey, two national webinars and two PA webcasts. After farm visits, 60% of farm managers incorporated the suggested practices into their operations. The remaining 33% reported that they wanted to utilize the suggested practices, but required financial assistance or more technical information. Results of the information gathered in the team’s program is utilized and examined by federal and state regulatory agencies assisting the agencies in potential regulations and assistance concerning equine farm operations.

With the continual growth (50% increase) of the equine industry in PA and the increasingly important role that the industry plays in supporting the state’s agricultural economy, the equine team has provided expertise for the horse farm operations in state and nationally. The equine team has provided expertise and scientific technology for regulatory agencies, legislatures and horse farm managers. The synergy created through this collaborative project team effort has help broaden the resident education, continuing education, and research programs of the Penn State Equine Science Program so that it can better support the needs of Pennsylvania’s growing equine industry.

• Heavy use area for horse farms, were added as BMP. Several farm added them to their operation after attending educational programs.
• Sample “Equine Extension Stewardship Newsletter” featuring proper feeding of horses
• Horse pasture canopy cover before programming.
• Sample horse pasture cover after adding BMP presented to the farm owners.

Objectives/Performance Targets

The Equine Stewardship Program Team members developed an extensive curriculum, for the equine industry. University faculty and staff are utilized in specialized teaching areas. Additional stakeholders helped with the teaching of educational programming include NRCS, Conservation District representatives, veterinarians and agricultural service providers. Equipment utilized in the educational efforts consists of DVDs, power points, web-sites and webinars, utilization of the national eXtension HorseQuest for program distribution, and Penn State University publications and resources. The team incorporates a variety of methods to assist farm owners in making research-based decisions about the BMPs on farms.

Twelve educational workshops (Equine Environmental Stewardship Programs) were conducted across the state focused on BMPs to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution and promote horse health. Workshop impacts are collected using pre, post evaluations to determine actions taken by farm owners. Through demonstration research farms, field days, web-sites, DVDs, workshops, seminars, newsletters, articles in the popular press such as Lancaster Farming, PA Equestrian, and other extension activities, BMPs and conservation practices were disseminated to equine managers at all levels. Project information is also, available through the PSU DAS web site; http://www.das.psu.edu/research-extension/equine/adult-education and Equine Science Newsletter websites.

Additional presentations by the work group includes: PSU Extension Spring In-Service (21 County Agents), Ag Progress Days (2,500 attendees), American Horse Council States Issue Forums (110 participants), World Horse Expo(32,000 attendees), Equine Science Society (209 Equine professionals) and Mid-Atlantic Nutrition Conference (122 Equine Nutritionists) and Southern States Nutrition Conference(93 Equine Nutritionists). Team member have provided technical assistance to agency and legislative representatives initiating nutrient regulation.

To date, 285 farm managers completed the Equine Environmental Stewardship short course and developed a farm plan that includes at least two strategies to improve pasture and manure management practice. 88% (250) of these managers, representing 8,350 acres, implemented two or more of the strategies identified in their farm plan.

Fourteen farm owner/managers have participated as demonstration farms and the farms have implemented the following:

•Development of heavy use areas/stress lots to reduce grazing pressure and increase canopy cover and pasture quality. N=12
•Implementation of rotational grazing plans. N=10
•Renovating pastures based on a management plan which provides weed control, fertilization and overseeding recommendations. N=12
•Fencing stream corridors to restrict horse access to streams. N=1
•Ration evaluation and modification to reduce excess nutrients in manure. N=14

The 14 farms that increase canopy cover 70 to 80 percent, reduced sediment loss by an estimated ton per acre per year, resulting in a potential soil loss savings of 518 tons/year.

Routine overfeeding of dietary protein and phosphorus results in significant nutrient losses in manure. Ration’s protein levels averaged 62% and phosphorus 92% above the NRC requirements. Proper ration formulation adjustment resulted in Nitrogen excretion reduced by nearly 30%/farm.

Managers of equine operations frequently do not have agricultural backgrounds and often need assistance in developing farm management plans, the Equine Team is offering an Environmental Stewardship short course, a four part educational series that provides practical hands-on experiences that will help farm owners develop the knowledge and skills necessary to adopt environmentally sound farm management practices. Equine research is providing exciting new information that is generating many changes in recommendations in the management practices that have been in place for many years. The short course provides workshops that are designed to help horse owners and others involved in the industry:

•Understand the role that pastures play in providing nutrition and enhancing physical development and overall health.

•Learn to manage the potential health risks that may be associated with pasture forages and toxic plants.

•Evaluate pasture productivity and quality.

•Understand the importance of maintaining adequate plant canopy cover in absorbing soil nutrients and reducing soil erosion.

•Properly collect soil samples, interpret the soil test results, and implement an environmentally sound fertility program based on the soil test report.

•Learn to identify the major forage species.

•Identify and develop a plan to manage weeds and toxic plants associated with equine pastures.

•Develop sustainable pasture management plans by incorporating rotation, dry lots, and limited turnout into the grazing plan.

•Understand the link between erosion, sediments, and excess nutrients and water quality.

•Properly store and apply manure to reduce potential ground and surface water contamination.

•Understand and comply with current nutrient management regulations in the state.

• Donna Foulk speaker at the World Horse Expo, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, PA , Conducting a workshop on “Equine Environmental Stewardship”
• “Environmental Stewardship” display during the PA Equine Council
• Dr. Marvin Hall, PSU Extension Specialist, during workshop on grass identification.
• Pasture walk during Clinton County Equine short course.
• Workshop conducted at the World Horse Expo, Harrisburg, PA Feb. 2011

Accomplishments/Milestones

Swinker, A., Worobey, S., McKernan, H., Meinen, R., Kniffen, D., Foulk, D., Hall, M., Weld, W., Schneider , F., Burk, A., and Brubaker, M., 2011. Profile of the Equine Industry’s Environmental, Best Management Practices and Variations in Pennsylvania. J. Eq. Vet. Sci Vol. 31:334-335.

Foulk, D., Swinker, A., and Hall, M., 2011. Using an Equine Pasture Evaluation Disk (EPED) to Document Canopy Cover and Evaluate Pasture Improvement, J. Eq. Vet. Sci. 31:336-337.

Swinker A.M., 2011. Update of Nutrient Management Regulations and the Equine Industry, Proceedings of the 9th Annual Mid-Atlantic Nutrition Conference, p.122-131.

Swinker A.M., 2011. Update of Nutrient Management Regulations and the Southern Region’s Equine Industry, Proceedings of the Southern States Nutrition Conference, p.102-118.

Over 135 horse owners and farm managers attended the first short course which was piloted in Northampton County. Since then, over 285 farm managers have completed short courses offered in Chester, Montgomery, York, Union, Columbia, Westmoreland and Clinton Counties in Pennsylvania and Orange and Ulster County, NY. Over 3,000 additional farm/horse owners have attended individual workshops dealing with environmental stewardship and farm management issues.

As a result of completing the short course:
•90% to 100 % of the participants indicated that they had a large increase in knowledge about: forage biology and growth; how to renovate pastures; how to identify forage species; how to properly store and utilize manure; how nutrients effect plant growth; how to apply nutrients based on a soil test report; the importance of indentifying weeds in pastures; who to contact for assistance with pasture and nutrient management planning.

Participants planned to adopt the following strategies:
•74% planned to add additional paddocks and / or stress lots to reduce grazing pressure.
•72% planned to generate a forage, weed and toxic plant inventory for their farm.
•72% planned to renovate the pastures to introduce new varieties and thicken the stand.
•66% planned to have a nutrient management plan developed for their farm.
•86% planned to apply nutrients based on soil test results.
•66 % planned to develop a proper manure storage facility.
•80% already contact or planned to contact Cooperative Extension for assistance.

Research has shown that it is important to maintain at least 70% to 75% canopy cover in pastures. Below that, erosion and significant sedi¬ment and nutrient loss can occur. Nutrients and sediments can have a negative effect on both ground and surface water quality. A pasture canopy cover that is above 70% is considered good and will adequately prevent extensive soil erosion. Ideally, canopy cover should be maintained above 80% and the canopy should be composed of plants that provide nutrition for the horses.

Since horses do not uniformly graze pastures, evaluating pastures using single line-intercept methodology does not provide accurate data. To meet the need for an efficient and accurate method of evaluating canopy cover and document plant species, the Penn State Equine Team developed the Equine Pasture Evaluation Disc (EPED). The EPED is easy to use and provides accurate, random information. The EPED is randomly tossed throughout the entire pasture by walking a “W” pattern. A minimum of 20 tosses is necessary to provided accurate data. An arrow on the edge of the disc indicates the location that the data is to be collected. Only plants that touch the point of the arrow are recorded. If the arrow lands on bare ground or something other than a plant, that information is recorded as well. From the data collected, the % of the pasture that is covered by plants can be determined and the % of the pasture covered by plants that provide nutritional value for horse can be evaluated.

• Poster presented at the Equine Science Society Meetings, Murfreesboro, TN
• Extended Abstract “Equine BMP Survey” presented ESS May 2011 Meetings vo. l31,No. 5-6,
• Equine Pasture Evaluation Disk (EPED) Poster presented at the Equine Science Society, Murfreesboro TN
• Extended abstract “Equine Pasture Evaluation Disk (EPED) ” presented at the ESS meeting May/June 2011.
• Equine Pasture Evaluation Disk (EPED) Fact sheet
• Equine Pasture Evaluation Disc EPED used for pasture canopy cover
• Sample short course flyer for the Equine Environmental Stewarship Program
• Sample of evaluation for one of the learning modules
• Sample evaluation one of 48 lectures conducted at the World Horse Expo Feb. 2011
• Program lay out for the Short Courses
• Sample data collection table

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Fourteen farm owner/managers that completed the Environmental Stewardship short course have been selected to participate in a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grant project designed to help farm managers implement practices to increase the canopy cover and desirable forages in pastures, reduce nutrient and sediment loss from farms, and reduce the overfeeding of nutrients in the ration. The cooperators have implement at least two identified practices designed to reduce phosphorous levels in their feed and /or reduce soil and nutrient loss by increasing canopy cover within the pastures. Most literature reports the need for maintaining 70-75% vegetative cover in pastures. Below this level significant sediment loss can occur. A minimum of 10 of the farms have been selected for this project based on the criteria that the pastures are overgrazed and have canopy covers that are less than 50%. The target for the 10 farms is to increase canopy cover to 70 to 80% which will reduce sediment loss by over 1 ton per acre, per year. Soil loss figures are being derived using RUSLE2 Erosion Calculations. Routine overfeeding of dietary protein and phosphorus results in significant nutrient losses in manure. The adoption of lower-nitrogen and phosphorus feeding practices for the test farms is expected to result in reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus loading. If 30% of PA’s operations (approximately 64,800 equine), implement feeding practices that meet requirements, there would be a reduction of 195 tons of nitrogen and 56 tons of phosphorus/yr., respectively.
Practices being implemented on test farms include:

•Development of heavy use areas/stress lots to reduce grazing pressure and increase canopy cover and pasture quality. N=12
•Implementation of rotational grazing plans. N=10
•Adoption of an intense rotational grazing program that involves constructing paddocks and moving horses on a weekly/ daily basis. N=1
•Renovating pastures based on a management plan which provides weed control, fertilization and overseeding recommendations. N=12
•Fencing stream corridors to restrict horse access to streams. N=1
•Managing water flow on heavy use areas by constructing bioswales. N=1
•Ration evaluation and modification to reduce excess nutrients in manure. N=14

The project team is still collecting data from the project farms. This year’s drought and 100 year flood has made this part of the project a real challenge. Many pastures required additional field work.

• Equipment used at one of the horse farms for re-seeding pastures
• Sefried farm — horse pasture canopy cover after application of no-till seeding.
• NE SARE GRANT – Equine Environmental Stewardship Program Name of Farm: Stonewall Stables Farm owner / manager: Craig Seyfried Seyfreid Horse Farm, Sample of what was collected
• Setting no-till driller Craig Seyfried Horse Farm
• Before reseeding lack of cover in the horse pasture

Collaborators: