Virginia Farmers Rework Their Businesses to Protect Water Quality and Other Natural Resources
In partnership with: Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Clover Green Farm, in the Albermarle community of North Garden, has been a part of John Teel’s family for eight generations. Just because you’ve been doing something for centuries, though, doesn’t mean you can’t switch things up.
The Teels took a hiatus from livestock from 1997 to 2020, and with the return of Hereford cattle and Katahdin hair sheep, they went from 60 animal units in the 1990s to 120 animal units today. Teel attributes the growth and the improving ecosystem to a switch to a rotational grazing system. Both were possible because of a grant from the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Foundation, which received $3 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“In this area, at least, a lot of landowners have used this grant to get better water access to their fields,” Teel says. “It really is well worth it when you look at the benefits to rotate your animals.”
Using funds from the foundation, the Teels installed permanent infrastructure and portable fencing to allow each paddock of grass to have at least 45 days of rest.
Teel estimates that while his neighbors were bringing out bales of hay in November, he wouldn’t need to feed any hay until January or even February. In the winter of 2021-22, he only used 100 bales of hay compared to almost 250 bales in an average winter before beginning the rotational grazing program.
The improvement in soil regenerated almost 4 miles of streambank, resulting in deer, turkeys, bears and quail returning to the farm. The farm was awarded the 2022 Grand Basin Clean Water Farm Award for their area.
The Teels have been so successful that a neighboring property recruited them to lease their pastures. Doing so has allowed the Teels to more than double the amount of pasture they manage.
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Water Health
The Clinch Valley Soil and Water Conservation District was a sub-awardee of the NASDA Foundation grant, receiving $135,000 to disperse to farmers looking to improve their water quality and habitat resilience.
Siobhan Nishida, district manager, says some of the biggest challenges in the region are soil erosion bringing sediment into waterways and bacteria from livestock and septic systems. With many residents in Russell County relying on well water, protecting water quality is of the utmost importance.
“Every time a cow walks in and out of the stream to go drink water, they’re knocking a little bit of the edge of the bank down into the stream,” Nishida explains.
Most of the funds will go to best management practice projects such as building exclusion fences to keep cattle out of streams and alternative watering systems. A portion will also go toward educating farmers as well as children.
“If your kids are talking about these issues at home, then that will really make the adults pay attention,” Nishida says. “A lot of our kids are farm kids. We hope to get them to increase their family’s awareness of conservation programs whether their cows are in the creek, or they are actively participating in one of our projects.”
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Responsible Farming
on streambank and waterway preservation projects at the farm. Photo credit: Cool Lawn Farms
Ben Smith, a fourth-generation farmer and owner of Cool Lawn LLC, a dairy farm in Remington, has also benefited from the grant. For the Smiths, it’s only their latest endeavor to protect water quality.
He has long avoided having his herd of 980 cattle tromp in the waterways. Not only can it lead to foot rot and mastitis for the cow, but it also creates erosion of the banks and contamination of the water.
Since the early 2000s, the farm has conducted stream bank and waterway preservation projects. Most recently, Cool Lawn LLC put up 5 acres of stream bank to plant 850 trees with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Giant Food and their local milk producer’s cooperative.
“It’s just so cool, and since we did that project, that stream bank has really kind of healed itself,” Smith says. “It’s covered in grass, and it looks really good.”
The reimbursement he received from the NASDA Foundation will go toward installing a concrete feeding pad. This further protects the soil from hauling out feed wagons and, once again, provides the dairy cows with a dry place to eat.
“Anything we can do to preserve and protect the soil makes a difference for the next generation,” Smith says. “These opportunities are out here to help us. Farming’s hard enough.”
See more: Virginia Businesses and Farmers Benefit From AFID Grants, From the Valleys to the Shores