Tour at Stanley Diamond "S" Farm in Morgan County

A farm tour will be held at the Thornton Stanley Diamond "S" Demonstration Farm on Wednesday, October 8, 2008, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The tour will highlight an improved irrigated managed grazing system that increases farm productivity while improving water quality.

Mr. Stanley’s conservation efforts showcase the Clean Water Act, The Environmental Protection Agency, The 319 Program, The Alabama Department of Environmental Management, as well as the USDA’s WHIP, EQIP, CSP, and CCRP programs.

Irrigated Managed Grazing System

This system is a fescue and bermuda based forage system managed using a modified fencing system designed for a beef cattle operation. One of Mr. Stanley’s 40 acre rotational grazing pastures has been sub-divided with high-tensile electric fencing into 9 smaller paddocks ranging in size from 3.7 to 3.9 acres. Two additional 3-acre pastures will be used for stock piling forage for winter grazing.

The initial 50 head stocking rate will be rotated every 3 days creating a 27 day rotational cycle. This prevents overgrazing of the forage allowing maximum re-growth before grazing resumes. Water is available for the cattle at a distance of less than 600 feet in each paddock which will help evenly distribute the manure left by the cattle which in turn will reduce the need for commercial fertilizer.

With the cattle rotating out of a paddock prior to the forage being over grazed, the rooting system will be stronger, enabling the forage to more effectively filter and utilize the manure nutrients left by the cattle. The resulting healthy, high yielding forages will hold the top-soil in place, virtually eliminating soil erosion and nutrient rich runoff. This being said, streams running within the project area will no longer be negatively impacted.

By utilizing a mixture of cool and warm season grasses and providing a few acres of stockpiled forage, the need for hay harvesting and storage will be minimal while allowing more cattle to be grazed per acre. The acres left over in the former grazing system will be made available for an increased stocking capacity of the farm or for alternative enterprises.

Paddocks will be irrigated as needed when the livestock exit a grazed paddock. The irrigation system is a single 80 gpm water reel traveling gun using 4 small reservoirs as a water supply. The reservoirs and livestock water troughs are supplied by a common pipeline from two wells rated from 15 to 30 gpm.

Mr. Stanley’s Irrigated Managed Grazing System was established using 319 Program Demonstration funds from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and Technical assistance from Brian Brown, Project Leader of the Cotaco Creek Watershed Project, the Morgan County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This is a perfect example of 319 funds complementing the USDA’s EQIP, CSP, WHIP and CRP Farm Bill Programs.

The practices used on the farm, such as the Heavy Use Area Treatment, which was utilized in the construction of the access road between the paddocks and under the troughs, the Stream Crossing, Fencing, Watering Troughs, Pasture Planting, Exclusion Fencing, and Pest Management, were designed and installed according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service Standards and specifications.

For more information, contact the Morgan County NRCS/SWCD office at 256-773-6541.