CNMP Win-Win For New Cattleman
by Jason Johnson,
Public Affairs Specialist
A comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP) is turning into a win-win
situation for Winneshiek County cattleman Pat O’Regan – by helping him trim
input costs and reduce manure and sediment runoff.
O’Regan is a retired Army officer who, along with his wife and two children,
purchased 200 acres of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) ground in rural
Decorah in 2004. “I always dreamed of coming back [to northeast Iowa] and
running a cattle operation,” said O’Regan.
He approached the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) to help achieve his goal of running an 80-100 head
organic cow-calf operation. O’Regan met with Winneshiek County District
Conservationist Todd Duncan from NRCS to discuss an overall conservation plan
for his farm. “We discussed a conservation plan to treat all resource concerns,”
said Duncan. “We immediately looked at options for rotational grazing and a CNMP,
because of his need for an animal waste system.”
A CNMP is a specific plan that addresses the management and treatment
necessary for a farmer to protect soil and water resources, including manure and
wastewater handling and storage, nutrient management, land treatment practices,
record keeping, feed management and other utilization activities. A CNMP must be
developed and implemented for producers who install animal waste storage or
treatment facilities with funding through the
Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP).
EQIP is a voluntary conservation program administered by the NRCS that
assists in the installation and implementation of structural and management
practices on eligible agricultural land.
New Animal Waste System
With
funding assistance through EQIP, O’Regan installed a 5,000 square foot concrete
sediment basin, plus an 800 square foot stacking pad, to a newly constructed
cattle barn in 2007. The basin helps prevent manure and sediment runoff, and
allows O’Regan to more efficiently scrape, store and safely apply manure to
cropland and pasture.
CNMP Development/Implementation
Soils tests completed as part of his CNMP implementation show areas of his
100-acre pasture lacked optimum nutrients. “I’m able to use all of the manure
and eliminate the cost of applying nitrogen and potash,” he said. “My cattle may
not be the biggest profit maker right now, but the manure they provide has great
value.”
O’Regan chose a technical service provider (TSP) to develop his CNMP. He says
the TSP supplied a final report that provided test results and proposed how much
manure to apply and where to apply it. “I now know I’m putting just the right
amount of nutrients on the pasture,” says O’Regan. (To locate a TSP, visit the
online registry at http://techreg.usda.gov/.)
Rotational Grazing System
NRCS also designed a multipaddock rotational grazing system for O’Regan’s 100
acres of pasture where livestock move from paddock to paddock, according to
forage use. Rotational grazing allows pastures to rest and regrow, provides for
a longer grazing season, more evenly distributes manure (fertility) throughout
the paddocks, controls weeds and brush naturally, improves the quality of feed
for cattle, and prevents soil erosion by maintaining a uniform forage cover.
Rotational grazing can even help increase stocking rates.
O’Regan’s pasture is divided into seven paddocks. He says rotational grazing
allows for easier fall and spring calving, which is important since he mostly
works alone. “I put my fall calving cows on one side and my spring calving cows
on the opposite side and actually rotate two groups at the same time –
staggered,” said O’Regan. He says he plans to market the cattle twice per year
to better handle the workload. He also plans to expand his grazing system when
adjacent CRP ground expires this fall.
Fencing and Watering Systems
Fencing and watering for the rotational grazing systems were also financed
through EQIP. O’Regan installed 14,200 feet of fence to establish the paddock
grazing system. In addition, he ran pipeline to pasture to provide water for the
cattle. Two permanent watering tanks are accessible throughout the paddock
system, and he moves two portable tanks when needed.
Roof Runoff Structure
He also built a roof runoff management system for his cattle barn through
EQIP to keep storm water from the sediment basin. O’Regan says the roof runoff
system is the best kept secret on the property. He figures the system may have
already paid for itself. Heavy June rains could have caused severe erosion and
structural damage on the property, but the roof runoff system helped prevent it.
“The cost to benefit ratio on roof runoff management is one of the best of all
EQIP practices,” says Duncan. “Keeping rainwater out of the sediment basin helps
manage that entire area.”
Organic Future
O’Regan is currently producing natural beef, which means he doesn’t include
any steroids or hormones in his livestock operation. He is waiting a few years
to become certified organic until he can better gauge its cost-effectiveness. In
the meantime, his operation is chemical-free. “I don’t like sprays or
herbicides,” he said. “I would rather mow the weeds than spray them.”
To learn more about a conservation plan to protect natural resources on your
farm, visit your local NRCS office. More information about EQIP in Iowa is
available online at
www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/stateeqip.html.
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