Green Options in Farm Management and Construction

Elaine Long BaileyCalvert County 4-H Educator

Heather BuritschTalbot County Master Gardener Coordinator

Shannon DillTalbot County Agricultural Extension Educator

GREEN is . . .

• Conservation-oriented• Environmentally

friendly• Of low ecological

impact• Sustainable• Concerning ourselves

today for what is available tomorrowhttp://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Kermit_the_Frog

Conservation-oriented

• Water• Energy• Soil• Other resources

Water on the Farm

Uses

• Water for humans• Water for animals• Water for crops• Water for bathing animals• Water for washing

equipment or facilities

Direct Sources

• Wells• Wells or springs• Wells, springs,

ponds• Wells, springs,

ponds• Wells, springs,

ponds

How can we effectively manage water?

• Keep wells protected (contamination and caving)

• Clean out springs (debris)

• Prevent vegetative overgrowth in ponds

• Repair leaks, drips, and other “escapes” of water

• Proper pasture management/soil protection

Energy•Turn off lights when areas not in use

•Turn off heat (or AC) when areas not in use

•Replace incandescent bulbs with energy saver ones

•Longer life

•More efficient use of electricity

•To learn more, go to www.energystar.com

Alternatives to Save Energy

• Proper insulation for temperature-sensitive areas

• Tack rooms, observation areas, feed rooms• Bonded Logic’s UltraTouch

insulation

• Recycled jeans

• See www.bondedlogic.com

http://63.134.198.236/images/Kids_with_UT_large.jpg

Soil Erosion

• Water• Wind• Relates to water

management, landscaping, farm planning

www.ent.iastate.edu/images/practices/tillage/conventional/erosion.jpg

Some Other Simple Changes

• Use feed bags as trash receptacles

• Recycle paper, plastic, (glass), etc.

• Reduce, recycle, reuse . . . retrofit

• Reuse items imaginatively

Brainstorms

• Baling twine• Baling twine makes neat

craft projects– 4-H’ers make lead ropes,

dog leashes, cat scratching posts

– Rugs

• Repair devices• Scrub buckets

http://www.horsegroomingsupplies.com/pictures/files/9/1/1/3/CoolProject006.jpg

Think “outside the box”

Land/Property Management

Nutrient Management

• Nutrient Management incorporates– Soil Tests– Crops and Crop Nutrient Needs– Manure Usage

• A law in Maryland if you have over 8,000 pounds of animals (8 full size horses)

• A good farm management and environmental practice

Benefits of Nutrient Management

• Reduces fertilizer costs

• Gives pH values – pH helps plants use nutrients

• Better management and usage of forage and pastures

• Better manure handling and management

Basic Types of Pastures• Continuous

– animals are allowed to graze in the pasture for extended periods of time

– animals often do well in this system since they are allowed to choose the plants they eat

– plants are often overgrazed and undergrazed in this system

Continuous Grazing

Basic Types of Pastures

• Rotational– animals are allowed to graze for only a limited period of

time and animals are moved when existing forage has been removed

– intensive rotational grazing systems subdivide pastures into paddocks and use high stocking rates where animals are forced to eat all forages

– this system is most efficient

Rotational Grazing

Maintaining Pastures• Rotate• Clip• Drag Manure • Irrigate/Sprinkler if possible___________________________________• Soil Test (3 yrs)• Fertilize/Lime• Spray/Herbicide• Overseed

Through the grazing season

Done Yearly

Recycle Your Manure

• An average 1,000-pound horse produces 9 tons of manure a year containing valuable fertilizer elements.

• Horse owners have a responsibility to manage the manure that is a byproduct of their industry.

• Manure is commonly stockpiled prior to use. Adequate storage area allows for greater flexibility in timing of manure use.

• Manure can be composted and used for gardens, pastures and flower beds. It have valuable nutrients and increase soil fertility and organic matter.

Horse Manure Compost

• Produces a relatively dry end-product that is easily handled.

• Reduces the volume of the manure (40 percent to 65 percent less volume and weight than the raw manure).

• At proper temperature, kills fly eggs and larvae, pathogens and weed seeds.

• Has less of an odor compared to raw manure and is more easily marketed.

• Produces manure that acts as a slow release fertilizer and an excellent soil conditioner.

• To be done right, composting requires an investment of time and money. Machinery required includes a tractor, a manure spreader and a front-end loader. Some ammonia-nitrogen is lost during the composting process, and an ammonia odor may result for a short period. When composting is done on a large scale, additional land and machinery requirements exist.

Bin Sample

Jessica Paige, WSU Cooperative Extension, Whatcom County

Landscapes and Plants

Toxic Plant Management

• Most horses will not eat toxic plants if they have access to good quality forage

• Plants contain toxins to deter browsing– To prevent browsing, the toxin

makes the plant unpalatable

Toxic Plant Management

• Always be aware of toxic plants. Be most concerned when:– Horses are undernourished– Horses do not receive adequate forage– Pasture grasses are no longer available due to

overgrazing, drought, or changing seasons– The plant has been know to cause poisoning in

healthy horses

Toxic Plant Management

• Toxicity can be difficult to diagnose

• Symptoms range from mild irritation to death

• Severity depends on:• Availability of the plant

• Toxicity of the plant

• Amount ingested

Plants that are MILDLY toxic

• Alsike Clover

• Buckwheat

• Buttercup

• Onions and Garlic

• Pokeweed

Plants that are MODERATELY toxic

• Black Locust

• Black Walnut

• Buckeye or Horse Chestnut

• Curly Dock

• Hemp Dogbane

• Horse Nettle

• Milkweed

• Oak

• Rhododendron/Azalea

• Spurge

Plants that are EXTREMELY toxic

• Wild Black Cherry

• Groundsel

• Hemlock (poison and spotted)

• Jimson Weed

• Red Maple

• Water Hemlock

• Yew

Useful Websites for Toxic Plants:

• http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/comlist.html -- Cornell University Poisonous Plant Database

• http://www.vth.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants/ - Colorado State University Guide to Poisonous Plants

• http://vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/bytox1.htm - Purdue Toxic Plants by Degree of Toxicity

Sustainable Landscapes

• Windbreaks

• Low-Water Landscapes with Natives - Xeriscaping

• Rain Gardens and Rain Barrels

• Riparian Buffers and Diversion

Windbreaks• Slows wind on its downwind side for a distance 10X

the height of the trees

• Shelter for horses

• Provides shelter and food for wildlife

• Reduces dust, thus improves air quality

• Noise reduction

• Can mix in deciduous

trees and shrubs

Eastern Red Cedar

Windbreak Plants•Plant a diverse mix of trees – prevent spread of disease and loss to severe weather

•Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana

•Eastern Hemlock, Tsuga canadensis

•Northern White Cedar, Thuja occidentalis

•Eastern White Pine, Pinus strobus

Eastern Hemlock Northern White CedarEastern White

Pine

Low Water LandscapesXeriscaping

• Xeriscaping is a term used for a waterwise, natural landscape using native, drought-tolerant plants. – Mulch beds– Water only when plants need it– Plant trees and shrubs in mass plantings – Improve soil structure– Reduce runoff– Attract pollinators

Redbud

Rudebeckia

Salvia

Xeriscaping Plant List• Ornamental Trees – Redbud, River Birch, Crapemyrtle

• Shade Trees – Ginkgo, Red Oak, Tupelo, Pin Oak

• Evergreens – American Holly, Red Cedar, Scotch Pine

• Deciduous Shrubs – Red Chokeberry, Smoketree, Pinxterbloom Azalea, Rugosa Rose

• Evergreen Shrubs – Glossy Abelia, Junipers, Northern Bayberry, Cherry Laurel, Pyracantha

• Herbaceous Plants – Butterfly weed, Bearded Iris, Coral Bells, Yarrow, Coreopsis, Red-Hot Poker, Black Eyed Susan, Sedum, Salvia, Hens and Chicks, Goldenrod, Lamb’s Ear, Purple Coneflower, Salvia, Zinnia, Sage

Xeriscaping Plants

Butterfly Weed

Purple Coneflower

Redbud

Black Eyed Susan

Ginkgo Biloba

SedumSalvia

Sage

Sedum

Image Credit: Stanton Gill

Rain GardensA dish-shaped garden that is planted in native,

wetland, wet prairie wildflowers, grasses, trees and shrubs that collect water and recharge the water table, thus preventing polluted runoff.

Rain Garden Features• Designed to collect water, but not hold it.

• A berm can be used around the garden to “hold” the water in

• After a rain event, water will drain within 4-6 days.

• Attracts birds, dragonflies, beneficial insects, and pollinators.

• Can be used as a buffer to shoreline areas

Plant list for clay soil in full sun

• Red Milkweed - (Asclepias incarnata) • White False Indigo - (Baptista lactea)• Blue Flag Iris - (Iris versicolor) • Smooth Penstemon - (Penstemon digitalis) • Prairie Blazingstar - (Liatris pycnostachya) • Wild Quinine – (Parthenium integrifolium)• Yellow Coneflower – (Ratibida pinnata)• False Aster – (Boltonia asteroides)• Sweet Black-Eyed Susan – (Rudbeckia subtomentosa)• Ironweed – (Vernonia fasciculata)• New England Aster – (Aster novae-angliae)• Stiff Goldenrod – (Solidagio rigida)• Fox Sedge - (Carex vulpinoidea)

*Weems Creek Conservancy

Blue Flag Iris

Prairie Blazingstar

Ironweed

Wild Quinine

Stiff Goldenrod

Fox Sedge

Plant list for loam to sandy/loam soils in full sun

• Red Milkweed – (Asclepia incarnata)• White False Indigo – (Baptista lactea)• Blue Flag Iris – (Iris versicolor)• Smooth Penstemon – (Pestemon digitalis)• Nodding Pink Onion – (Allium cernuum)• Prairie Blazingstar – (Liatris pycnostachya)• Wild Quinine – (Parthenium integrifolium)• False Aster – (Boltonia asteroides)• Sweet Black-Eyed Susan – (Rudbeckia subtomentosa)• Ironweed – (Vernonia fasciculata)• New England Aster – (Aster novae-angliae)• Ohio Goldenrod – (Soldiago ohioensis)• Fox Sedge – (Carex vulpinoidea)

*Weems Creek Conservancy

Red Milkweed

Smooth Penstemon

Nodding Pink Onion

Rain Barrels• Collect and store roof rainwater runoff

• Provide a free source of soft water

• Contains no chlorine, lime or calcium

• Can help reduce your water bill

• Can be directed into a garden

• Easy to build or buy

Image: Low Impact Development Center

Riparian Buffers and Diversion

• Riparian Buffer is an edge planting towards a stream, creek or body of water slows down and absorbs some run-off and pollutants

• Diversion is a long earthen embankment built across the slope to direct runoff water from a specific area

Helpful References and Websites• Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and

Conservation Landscaping – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

• Conservation Choices for Maryland Farmers – MDA

• Xeriscaping and Conserving Water in the Landscape – UME Home & Garden Mimeo #HG25

• www.hgic.umd.edu

• http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/ORG/WATER/WM/dsfm/shore/documents/rgmanual.pdf

Questions?

• Elaine Long Bailey elbailey@umd.edu

• Heather Buritsch buritsch@umd.edu

• Shannon Dill sdill@umd.edu