By Nat Colten
Operations Manager, Woodford County Conservation District
A cynic might say that farmland protection is a hot topic when it is politically expedient.
An optimist might say that widespread public concern for farmland protection is an indication of common values.
Whatever the case may be, the Woodford County Conservation District is happy to capitalize on the moment and continue its work as it has for the past 80 years.
I keep a copy of the District’s 1989 Long Range Plan on my desk. It illuminates the legacy of people like Harold Carmickle, Randal Rock, Martha Newby and Donald Mitchell whose work has helped conserve Woodford County’s soil and water resources in recent decades.
Major progress has been made since 1989 toward addressing agricultural resource concerns like erosion and water quality.
Local attorney Hank Graddy reminded attendees of our September 22nd Farmland Protection Luncheon that there have also been Land Use Planning successes – namely, the creation of the Kentucky Agricultural District Program, and the local KY River Buffer and Agricultural Equine Preserve Zoning Districts.
However, two items from our 1989 Long Range Plan continue to be of particular concern: prime farmland and water resource protection.
Farming is dependent on soil and water resources. This fact has not changed in over 11,000 years. Even before the Neolithic Revolution, humans relied on soil and water to produce wild plants and animals for their sustenance.
Human society in Central Kentucky is a far cry from subsistence, but soil and water conservation is more important now than ever before due to increasing development pressure.
In our last column, we recalled the environmental impacts of the Dust Bowl and the apparent need for best management practices like reduced tillage and cover cropping to protect soil resources from wind and rain. These are still relevant concerns.
But no amount of plant cover can protect against a bulldozer.
Like how farming practices of the past exacerbated the effects of drought and windstorms in the 1930’s, urban and industrial development today threaten to eliminate a natural resource that is geographically unique and finite.
You cannot recreate a Maury Silt Loam after an area has been bulldozed and paved.
And the impacts that development can have on water pollution, not to mention stormwater flow, are evidenced in the recently published Glenns Creek Watershed Plan: loadings of ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorous and total dissolved solids are all highest coming from the city center of Versailles.
There is some irony in the fact that the very natural resources that enticed European-Virginian settlers to establish the community of Falling Spring (later Versailles) are now polluted and bulldozed away.
Where resources are abundant, populations grow.
The District’s role is not to judge decisions made by public officials and private landowners. Our role is to emphasize and promote the value of what we are responsible for stewarding so that we can collectively understand why it is worth conserving and plan actions accordingly.
The Woodford County High School (WCHS) Land Judging Team understands this, as was demonstrated by their recent success at the regional high school land judging competition.
Tracy Probst, Woodford County ag. teacher and land judging coach, does her part to teach the importance of natural resource stewardship to all her students. Her land judging team is taking that knowledge to another level – developing skills that are transferrable to future careers and community land use planning – as they prepare to compete at state in November.
Land judging is a way of appraising the physical nature and capability of soils.
Slope, soil texture and color, landform characteristics, erosion potential and the depth to the most limiting layer all inform the capability of soil.
As they’ve prepared for competition, the WCHS land judging team has had the opportunity to assess soil cores from all over the state – considering how each soil was formed and what factors contributed.
Both sections of Mrs. Probst’s horticulture class got to learn from retired Natural Resource Conservation Service soil scientist Steve Jacobs during a mock land judging event at the high school in September. Steve provided practical guidance for land judging and shared anecdotes from his decades of experience surveying soils and supporting local communities with technical assistance.
During a recent visit to Rusty and Martha Thompson’s farm on Tyron Pike, students got to see a variety of conservation practices, which are part of the land judging contest, first-hand: a newly emerging cover crop that was planted by an aircraft (a relatively novel practice that helps get a cover crop established earlier), contour planting, grassed waterways, and filter strips to name a few.
Farming will always be relevant to our economy and survival. This is particularly evident in a place like Woodford County, and likely not taken for granted by most.
As we have been interviewing influential farmers and conservationists this year, several themes have emerged.
Financial sustainability is critical to the conservation of farmland.
The economic pressures to sell or subdivide land are strong in a county with such high land values. Most people, particularly beginners, have to consider a significant opportunity cost associated with farming.
Increasing land values, subdivision and development exacerbate land access issues faced by farmers who are trying to expand and, especially, those just beginning.
We certainly don’t have all the answers, but there is a very important human component to solving this farmland protection equation.
Support local farmers by prioritizing local spending; work collaboratively to develop new market opportunities; and listen to your neighbors who are out there, with dirt under their fingernails, actively stewarding the landscape that we all value so much.
The Farmer’s Resource Breakfast returns this year, on November 6th. If you are interested in learning more about resources available through the Ag. Resource Building, we encourage you to join us!
You can find out more about our programs and upcoming events on our website, Facebook page, or by subscribing to our newsletter. Questions and feedback are always welcome.
Nat Colten is the District Operations Manager at the Woodford County Conservation District. He can be reached directly by email to woodfordcd@gmail.com, by calling 859-873-4941 Ext. 3., or by visiting the Ag. Resource Building (180 Beasley Rd.) in person during business hours.
At the Sun’s request, Nat is now writing a bi-monthly column to educate the community on the important work of the WC Conservation District. He can be reached at (859) 873-4941 ext 3 or his office during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m