NRCS Maryland Sponsors Pasture Walks on July 7 and July 8

Maryland Media Liaison:

Carol Hollingsworth, 443-482-2902

Annapolis, MD, June 20, 2008 --- Pasture walks are one of the best ways to learn new management ideas on grazing systems that you can then use on your own farm. Many of these conservation practices can be implemented through the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)” said Elmer Dengler, NRCS Maryland State Grazing Specialist.

Two informative walks are coming up that are sponsored by NRCS and other partners at the local level:

Baltimore County Pasture Walk

On Monday, July 7th from 7:00 pm-8:30 pm, the Baltimore County Cooperative Extension Service and the Baltimore County Soil Conservation District will lead a pasture walk at Morris’ Choice Bison Ranch. This is a very unique operation that utilizes almost 40 acres of prairie or native warm season grasses in a rotational grazing system with Bison, but in a way that can be used in the same manner by beef and many other types of grazing livestock. Warm season grasses are twice as efficient as cool season grasses in utilizing moisture to produce forages and grow the most when traditional cool season forages are mostly shutdown in the hot humid summer. NRCS personnel and consultants will be discussing specific activities that are helpful in implementing EQIP pasture related activities.

Contact the Baltimore County Cooperative Extension Service at (410) 666-1022 or the Baltimore County Soil Conservation District at (410) 666-1188 x 3 for more information. The pasture walk is free, but please call to register and for directions.

Calvert County Pasture Walk

A second pasture walk is planned for Calvert County on Tuesday, July 8th, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at the Oswald’s farm, 2015 Hunting Farm’s Lane, Huntingtown, Maryland, and will feature a horse farm with excellent pasture management practices. Conservation District and NRCS staff will discuss ways to maintain or establish good pasture including the use of warm season grasses for summer pastures and how to keep pastures free of weeds. The pasture walk will allow participants to talk to the farm owner, learn from experts about weed control and Bermuda grass management, and see many inexpensive, easy-to-install practices that work on small horse farms. The walk will feature a small operation that has installed practices to reduce erosion, keep the stall areas dry and provide an all season area for animal to be outdoors when pastures are too wet or the grasses need more time to regrow.

Speakers include:

• Mike Hall, USDA NRCS East National Technology Center Grazing Specialist, an expert in the establishment and management of Bermuda grass;
• Elmer Dengler, USDA NRCS State Grazing Specialist;
• Dr. Lester Vough, forage systems management consultant for the Southern Maryland Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Council; and
• Dr. Herbert Reed, Agricultural Extension Agent.

The seminar is free, but advance registration is required. For registration and directions, call Calvert Soil Conservation District, at 410-535-1521 ext. 3.

NRCS is USDA’s lead conservation agency and has worked hand-in-hand with farmers and landowners for more than 70 years to conserve natural resources on private lands. Maryland’s landowners can learn more about conserving natural resources by contacting NRCS Maryland through USDA Service Centers collocated with their County’s Soil Conservation Districts or by visiting the NRCS Maryland homepage at www.md.nrcs.usda.gov .

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