Cleaning Up Watersheds, One Farm at a Time

By Val Van Meter

The McCann farm may be a century old, but plenty of new ideas can be found on its 148 acres.

Jed Rau, a technician with the Lord Fairfax Soil and Water Conservation District, can point with pride to this “Century Farm” as a place where the owners have invested in management practices designed to conserve water resources and protect water quality.

In July 2006, a water conservation plan — called a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan — was developed for the Opequon Creek-Abrams Creek watersheds.

“I was hired because this was done,” said Rau. “I’m here to carry out what the plan said.”

Accomplishing the goals of the plan involves encouraging farmers in the two watersheds to adopt best-management practices that reduce the sediment and bacteria going into the two creeks. The federal government offers various programs to share the cost of implementing best-management practices.

Judy McCann Slaughter was one of the local landowners who endorsed the effort.

“It was a business decision,” she said.

She raises shorthorn cattle on her Stephenson farm, which was founded by her great-grandfather in 1892. He was a Union soldier who fell in love with the Valley during the Civil War.

“We’re not out to feed the masses,” said Slaughter. Instead, the farm specializes in raising grass-fed beef cattle sold directly to customers and growing organic asparagus.

Her customers are health-conscious, said Slaughter, who has 80 head of cattle and 20 head of sheep.

Her cattle drink clean water from covered springs instead of a muddy stream.

As an added benefit, “we’re protecting the environment,” said Slaughter.

One of the programs she signed up for was stream fencing.

The fencing keeps the cattle out of the the two spring-fed runs, reducing sediment from eroded banks and bacteria in the water, Rau said.

Because of the TMDL study, one of the first in the state, Rau can offer an 85 percent cost share to farmers in the Opequon and Abrams watersheds if they implement stream fencing practices.

“The rest of the district is 75 percent,” he said.

On the McCann farm, Rau said, more than 3,500 feet of fencing was installed.

“This is the only major stream fencing we’ve been able to accomplish” in the two watersheds, he said.

The fences effectively cut the cattle off from Hiatt and Lick runs, but they also create separate pastures, each with an automatic waterer.

That has had several benefits, Slaughter said.

Grazing in the various pastures has been much more even, she said. In the past, the cattle had to walk to the stream from different parts of the farm. For that reason, some areas had heavier traffic and grazing than others.

With the cross fencing, Rau said, “You get maximum use of your pasture.”

And, Slaughter said, her cattle “were losing weight,” walking from 800 to 1,000 feet from food to water.

The waterers held up well last winter, she said. The cattle quickly learned to use the covered tanks, pushing down on a large rubber ball in order to obtain water.

When released, the ball pops back up, closing the opening and keeping the water cleaner and safe from freezing.

“They are insulated,” Slaughter said.

If the water does ice up, the ice can be broken by simply pushing down on the ball. Usually, said Rau, that happens because the cows drip water on the outside of the ball while drinking.

Slaughter checks on her cattle every day, so it’s no extra work to walk by the waterer and give the ball a push.

She has had no problem with algae buildup in the tanks, and they are easy to clean, she said.

While the fencing was being installed, Slaughter also signed on for another TMDL program: trees.

Native species were planted in a 35-foot buffer on both sides of the streams.

Slaughter’s young seedlings will grow to mature hardwoods, holding the stream banks in place with their roots.

Already, Slaughter said, the stream banks that were denuded are growing thick grass.

For farmers worried about losing acreage, another program offers a 50 percent cost share for a 10-foot buffer, said Rau.

Cost share assistance for tree-planting can be up to $650 per acre, said Rau, who can “mix and match” federal programs with the needs of farmers.

For example, some programs can pay much of the cost of piping, tanks, and even a pump or well in order to get cattle off stream water.

Other programs offer help with planting cover crops or cropland conversion to hay or pasture. Both practices help to reduce erosion and sediment buildup in streams.

The assistance is aimed at active farmers, Rau said. To participate, a farmer must have a five-acre parcel and have earned $1,000 in gross receipts from farming for each of the past five years.

The farmer must also agree to participate in a practice for a certain period. The time period can differ with the type of practice, said Rau.

Slaughter said she has been walking the McCann farm since she was a little girl, “a shadow behind my grandfather.”

Back then, she said, many quail could be seen in the fields.

After she took over the farm, Slaughter noticed that she didn’t hear them any more.

Since the stream fencing was installed, she has discovered a bonus: quail calls can be heard on the McCann farm again.