Earth-friendly horse farm

Some horse farms could be friendlier—friendlier to the environment, that is.

That's what Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation and Prince William County's Soil and Water Conservation District are trying to achieve on Edith Kennedy's Gainesville farm through the Chesapeake Bay-Friendly Horse Farm Project.

The project's 30-plus partners and supporters seek to teach owners of small horse farms environmental best management practices, ensuring nutrient-rich, sediment-laden and pesticide-polluted runoff do not enter waterways.

At Kennedy's place, this meant giving Oakwood Farm an extreme makeover: renovating pastures, creating buffer areas and installing fencing.

The operation is becoming the prototype of a bay-friendly farm, and Kate Norris, manager of the soil and water conservation district, said it will be used for outreach and teaching.

Thus far, Oakwood is the only Virginia farm that has implemented best management practices.

Change of opinio

Kennedy, whose family has owned Oakwood for decades, said when she first started working with Norris, who suggested fencing off the creek, she thought, "They're a bunch of tree-huggers."

But once she understood the idea was to create a buffer to absorb runoff, she was pleased.

While Kennedy has not had to pay for the renovations, she has agreed to allow her farm to be opened to the public as it was last month when the Nokesville Horse Society, another supporter, took part in a tour and educational session.

During the event, visitors were led through three sections of renovations and had the chance to look at "befores" and "afters."

In the front pasture, Norris showed fencing improvements that include a transition from barbed wire to some electric fencing.

She explained how physical fences provide physical barriers, but electric fences provide more of a psychological barrier.

Norris then described how the pasture had been sectioned off to support rotational grazing and to deter over-grazing. Prior to the renovations, the pastures were one big field, which was completely overgrazed.

Beata Coss, a conservation specialist with the soil and water district, gave visitors a tour of the front sacrifice area, a fenced-in section used to keep and feed the horses in poor weather.

Coss explained that, in order to maintain pastures, in wet weather, horses should eat in this area rather than from grassy fields that can become too muddy and trampled when it rains.

The enclosure's surface, formerly made of mud, now has a crushed bluestone ground. The sacrifice area also includes state-of-the-art horse troughs and gutters.

In the back pasture, the soil and water district's Nicole Ethier further explained the need for fencing off the creek to create a buffer area.

She led visitors through the pasture, discussing grass types, when to plant grass and pH levels.

According to the soil and water district, this kind of education is important because larger horse farms are rapidly being replaced by smaller farms run by non-traditional farmers.

Free soil analysi

Many small farm owners don't know, for example, that it takes 90 to 120 days to seed and grow a pasture

Norris said that if you allow an animal to eat in a new pasture before then, the seeds haven't had time root deeply, and the animals will pull the new grass up by the roots.

Many residents also don't know that the agency offers free soil and land use analysis to Prince William residents.

In addition, project partner the federal agriculture department's Natural Resources Conservation Service will also provide information and resources for landowners.

Oakwood continues to evolve as a model farm, Norris said, which is what her agency wanted.

Since the farm is privately owned and supported by a number of local businesses, she is pleased.

"We wanted to do [the project] on a private farm so we could hear about experiences from non-conservationists," she said.

What does Kennedy think?

"It's been a great experience for me," she said. "From a horse owner's perspective, this is ideal."