Fleming County Farmer Fulfills Conservation Goals with EQIP

Updated 12/19/2008

Pictured above, Curt Fawns is shown next to a stream crossing established on his farm for cattle and equipment movement from one field to another without damaging water quality.

Most people who know Curt Fawns probably associate him with Fleming Mason Energy however, some know his heart lies in farming.  At an early age, farming was his passion, from raising large acreages of tobacco to raising beef cattle, Fawns always tried to figure out how to make a farm productive and profitable.  A few years ago he decided to purchase an old dairy farm not far from his home in Fleming County.

Fawns stated, "As everyone knows, for the last few years, making money of the farm has been tough."

Inflation costs on fuel, supplies, and fertilizer coupled with the drought that has plagued this area for the last two years and has made farming rough.  Another dilemma facing Curt was the conversion of a dairy farm to a beef cattle operation.

To convert the farm to a beef cattle operation sounds easy enough, but Mr. Fawns faced many challenges as he began.  He acquired land, previously used for silage and grain corn production.  Most of the interior fencing had been removed and the only livestock water supply was a pond and a small stream.

After struggling through a year with the beef cattle operation, Mr. Fawns realized he needed to make changes.  That’s when he decided to contact the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

District conservationist, Curtis Rosser responded.  “The first step in conservation planning is to evaluate the resources and recognize the concerns.”

Rosser also stated, "In Mr. Fawns' situation the major resource concern was the quality and quantity of water, cattle had free access to the stream and pond.  The second most important concern was the lack of forages."

Rosser goes on to explain that in a grazing system, cattle don’t like to look for food farther than 800 feet from their source of water, therefore cattle will tend to overgraze the forages nearest the water supply.  In Mr. Fawns’ situation, the water sources were near the front of the farm, and not evenly distributed.

NRCS suggested Mr. Fawns apply for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) to assist with cost share incentive payments to implement the practices needed to protect and enhance the environment.  Proposed practices included developing a livestock watering system from a county water source.  Also, to protect the quality of the existing water, fencing the stream and pond was necessary to exclude or limit livestock access.  Fawns also needed to subdivide some of the larger fields for better utilization of the forages and to begin implementing his rotational grazing plan.

In addition, Fawns needed to improve his forage quantity and quality in the fields that had been extensively cropped and improve the soil condition and fertility through soil testing and seeding.

During the first year of the EQIP contract, Mr. Fawns has already installed approximately 6500 feet of pipeline and eight livestock watering facilities (tanks).  He has also begun some of the fencing in spite of the drought. 

Mr. Fawns feels more confident now, even though he is still a long way from what he wants to accomplish.  He feels he could not have accomplished his farming goals without the EQIP assistance from NRCS.

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