August 13 Deadline for Comments on New Nutrient Management Regs

http://www.mda.maryland.gov/pdf/proposednmregs2.pdf

The link above includes the proposed changes in the Maryland State regulations for nutrient management.  Please look them over and let me know know if you have any suggested changes based on your experience with horse farm stewardship.

Thanks

Land Stewardship for Horse Farms includes innovative ways to manage manure.  One approach would be regional centers for horse manure composting as recommended in this 2004 study from Montgomery County.

Montgomery County Horse Study

 2004

“Another issue that is becoming more and more critical is manure management. With the passage of the Water Quality Improvement Act , anyone with more than eight animal units or who grosses more than $2,500 per year must have a nutrient management plan. As part of the plan, animal owners must account for how their manure is disposed. Many horse properties in Montgomery County who are required to have a nutrient management plan are already having difficulty finding acceptable ways of disposing of their stall waste, either because they don’t have enough land to spread it and the cost of having it hauled away is prohibitive or commercial haulers already have more clients than they can handle. Composted horse manure makes an excellent fertilizer and soil amendment. But most horse operations don’t have the room or the manpower to devote to the composting process. There is a great need for regionally located manure composting facilities, or at least a drop-off point, where the owners of livestock—not just horses—can bring their manure . Gardeners , nursery operators, and landscapers all could make use of the final product . Nominal fees could be charged at both ends to help offset operating costs of the facility.”

Source: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Content/DED/AgServices/equine-survey.pdf

University of Maryland Pasture Seminar Series

Nutrition and Health of the Pastured Horse

Can pasture meet the nutritional needs of your horse? What are some of the health concerns that may affect pastured horses? Learn about these issues and ask your questions of our experts on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 6pm at the University of Maryland Equine Rotational Grazing Demonstration Site - 4241 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042! Please RSVP to jenreyn@umd.edu or 301-406-1547.

Our Featured Speakers:

Dr. Amy Burk: Dr. Amy Burk serves as the Coordinator for the Equine Studies Program in the Animal and Avian Sciences Department at the University of Maryland. Her main responsibilities include teaching Horse Management and Equine Science, advising undergraduate Animal Science majors, advising the 80-member Equestrian Club, as well as serving as a statewide Extension Horse Specialist.  Her Extension education programs, including the Equine Rotational Grazing Demonstration site, teach horse owners about proper equine nutrition and pasture management for optimal horse health.  She has received awards for her teaching and advising including the Poffenberger Excellence in Teaching and Advising from the University of Maryland and the Educator of the Year from the Equine Science Society.  Dr. Burk completed her graduate work in Animal and Poultry Sciences as a Pratt Fellow in Animal Nutrition at Virginia Tech. She specialized in equine nutrition, earning an M.S. in 1998 and a PhD in 2001. 

 Justin Sobota MS, MSM, DVM: Founder of South Mountain Equine LLC, Dr. Sobota is a graduate of Penn State University and the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. He also completed masters degrees in nutrition and management from the University of Florida which propelled him to be employed as an equine nutrition consultant for two international feed companies prior to attending veterinary school. He completed an equine surgical, medical, and ambulatory internship at Woodside Equine Clinic in Ashland, VA prior to the establishment of South Mountain Equine in Middletown, MD.  Recently, he became a member of the International Veterinary Chiropractic Association. 

Farm Stewardship Meeting Announcement

Thursday, July 12 

6:30 - 9:30 pm 

Persimmon Tree Farm 

1030 Bloom Road

Westminster, MD  21157-8006

410-876-8645

 ++Farm Tour++

++Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts'

Farm Stewardship Certification and Assessment Program++

++Maryland Grazers Network++

++Nutrient Trading Update++

++University of Maryland Pasture Seminar++

++Open discussion of Farm Stewardship issues++

AND

Celebration of the three Horse Farms now recognized by the 

Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts as "Certified Agriculture Conservation Stewards"

Karla Stoner's Bloomsbury Forge

Steve Darcey's Edgewood Farm 

and our host

Carolyn Krome's Persimmon Tree Farm 

RSVP

theryjane@gmail.com

202-527-2145

Maryland Horse Council Farm Stewardship Committee

May 15, 2012 Quarterly Meeting Report

The Farm Stewardship Committee's mission is to demonstrate the positive contribution of well-managed horse farms to the protection of our natural environment and to encourage and support Maryland horse farm owners and managers to achieve the highest standards for healthy horses and environmentally-sound farm practices.

Moving toward these goals, we presented three interesting projects at the Quarterly Meeting.  The first presentation was on the relatively new (established 2009) Farm Stewardship Certification and Assessment Program (FSCAP).  http://www.mascd.net/FSCA/index.htm  The program is under the auspices of the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts.  The program director, Gerald Talbert (geraldtalbert@verizon.net; 410-247-1973) made the points that the certification is completely voluntary, meets the highest standards of environmentally-sound farm management, includes a free comprehensive farm evaluation and provides farms meeting the certification standards with an impressive farm sign (attached), "Certified Agricultural Conservation Steward” and a picture and descriptive paragraph on a dedicated FSCAP webpage.  Thirty-sixfarms have been evaluated and 24 have been certified.  These include two horse farms, Persimmon Tree Farm and Steve Darcey’s Edgewood Farm.  The owner of Persimmon Tree Farm, Carolyn Krome (krome@verizon.net), presented lovely pictures of her horse boarding and competition facility and described her positive experience with receiving her farm certification and tapping into other technical assistance and financial support to meet her goals of quality farm management.  She has graciously offered to host a Maryland Horse Council Farm Stewardship Committee meeting at her farm to further explore these and other programs.  

The second presentation was on Nutrient Trading by George Maurer (gmaurer54@gmail.com) and Steuart Pittman (dodonfarm@verizon.net).  They reported that the nutrient trading market was getting up and running and that horse farms may be able to "sell" nutrient credits earned through good farmpractices, such as not using as much fertilizer as allowed under present nutrient management plan guidelines.  George proposed that he could evaluate the potential of Maryland Horse Council member farms to receive credits and help connect with the credit buyer.  Steuart is having his Dodon Farm evaluated for credits and is identifying a potential buyer. 

The third presentation was by Les Vough (vough@umd.edu; 301-405-1322) and Michael Heller (mheller@cbf.org; 301-351-4940) of the Maryland Grazer's Network.  The Grazer's Network was established in collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the University of Maryland and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.  It has been targeted toward providing technical assistance and, especially peer-to-peer mentoring, on rotational grazing for the cattle, goat and sheep industries.  As our horses also graze and healthy pastures are good for them as well as for the environment, the Grazer's Network is interested in exploring how to engage Maryland horse farms in their activities.  

If you are interested in more information on any of these programs, please feel free to contact the project leaders directly and/or me or Farm StewardshipCommittee vice chair Amy Burk (amyburk@umd.edu).  We will be organizing a meeting of the Farm Stewardship Committee and all interested Maryland Horse Council members.  Please let me know if you are interested in attending and I will make sure you get the meeting information.  We are hoping to hold this meeting at Carolyn Krome's Persimmon Tree Farm (http://www.persimmontreefarm.com/facilities.html) and to include a farm tour. 

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2012 University of Maryland Extension Pasture Management Training Series for Horse Owners

From Jennifer Reynolds (Coordinator-Equine and Poultry Extension Activities
Dept. of Animal and Avian Sciences at the University of Maryland) ...

In one week we will begin our 2012 University of Maryland Extension Pasture Management Training Series for Horse Owners with a Twilight meeting April 19, 2012 from 6-8 pm at our Equine Rotational Grazing Demonstration Site!

Our featured speaker will be Doug Tregoning.  Doug Tregoning was raised on dairy and grain farm in upper Montgomery County, MD. His major emphasis of study in college was agribusiness and agronomy. He obtained his Masters Degree from West Virginia University in Agricultural Economics. After college, he went to work at the Montgomery County Extension Office as an Extension Agent with an emphasis on small, part time farmers and the equine industry. He conducted numerous seminars, workshops, field days and classes for equine audiences over his Extension career. He retired from Extension in 2010 but was rehired on a part time basis to provide Extension programs in the areas of agronomy, grain marketing and outreach education.

The evening will begin with a tour of our facility, showcasing a rotational grazing system for horses and sharing our work with the site.  Mr. Tregoning will then be discussing how to renovate those pastures that have been overworked and overgrazed throughout the winter, bringing them back into production.

Please see the attached brochure for details on our other Pasture Management Training Series events, address and registration information.

Call in (301) 405-1547 or email (jenreyn@umd.edu) your registration today! We look forward to seeing a great crowd at this event!

Pasture Walk April 24

Attention Horse Farm Owners and Managers.  Montgomery County is offering a FREE Spring Pasture Walk.  Please see the event info and sign-up information below.  


The Montgomery County 2012 Spring Pasture Walk continues on Tuesday, April 24, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Mrs. Gail Joyce’s Farm at 27772 Ridge Road, Damascus, MD 20872.

This is a great opportunity for the equine community to learn about pasture weed identification, pasture renovation and the use of MAX Q Tall Fescue as a pasture forage from equine educators and the Joyce’s. Your participation will benefit your equine operation and the environment.

Attached is the brochure containing the details for the April 24 pasture walk.

To register, or for information, please contact Ms. Karen Walker at 301.590.2855 or visit our websitewww.montgomeryscd.org

Sincerely,

Eddie Franceschi
Equine Resource Conservationist
Montgomery Soil Conservation District
18410 Muncaster Road
Derwood Maryland 20855
Office 301-590-2855 Fax 301-590-2849
http://www.montgomeryscd.org/

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

2012 spring pasture walk.pdf 275K   View   Download