We help people
care for their land.
care for their land.
This program helps me and other students learn about the environment and teaches us to be future leaders to help us and others.
–Michael, 13
Horses & Livestock
Our rainy climate demands unique strategies for raising animals. Whether you have a couple of horses, a few head of cattle, or a commercial operation, we can help you address the most common challenges: manure management, pasture health, mud, and water quality.
Pasture Calendar
Healthy, unstressed plants will begin to grow earlier in the spring, produce more during the summer, and continue later in the fall.
To get the most out of your pastures:
Reducing Mud
Mud is more than a messy inconvenience to feeding, watering, and cleaning; it harbors bacteria and fungi that cause serious skin and hoof infections, and is a perfect medium for the transmission of viral and parasite infections. It also contaminates runoff water with pollutants and sediment, which can degrade water quality in our streams and rivers and put you in violation of agricultural water quality laws.
So what can you do about it? Learn about some techniques that have worked for other horse and livestock owners. You may not be able to eliminate mud, but you can reduce the amount of mud by managing rain water and manure.
Managing the Manure Pile
It just keeps piling up, literally. A 1,000 pound horse or cow can produce 50 pounds of manure per day. Livestock and horse manure management is a challenge on most of the properties we visit. A few key practices can help you turn this waste product into an excellent fertilizer source.
Location, Location, Location
The manure pile should be located in a dry, flat area as far away from downspouts, ditches, streams, rivers, wetlands, ponds, and the property line as possible. Water plus manure makes a muddy mess for you, and can be a source of water pollution. Another important consideration is to choose a spot that is convenient for you to haul the manure to. If you plan to use a tractor to load, move, and turn the pile be sure to put the pile in a spot that you can access with machinery year round. If you plan to use a wheelbarrow, locate the pile closer to the barn. If your current pile is in a wet, muddy, difficult to access location, tarp the pile and do not add any more manure to it. Create a new manure pile in a better spot, and let the old pile breakdown until you can spread it during the dry season.
