A Few Bucks Solve Big Water Problems

By Lisa Schmidt

The corrals at the Boxelder Ranch stretched across Boxelder Creek for more than 100 years, but when Joe Urick arrived there, he saw a more efficient way to work cows if the corrals could be moved.

"I wouldn’t fault the guy who put (the corrals) in. This system had worked for years, but I thought a different set-up would work better for me," says the Fergus County ranch manager.

Ranch owner Sara Campbell worried about how the corrals were impacting the creek’s water quality so she agreed to Urick’s plan.

Seeking Assistance

Urick turned to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for help and found a cheap solution to a potentially expensive problem. He and Campbell applied for financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Their contract was for 75 percent cost-share, a total cost to them of $6,649.

“Animal waste management is a high priority for NRCS and we’ve set aside a statewide funding reserve for all animal feeding operations to ensure Montana’s livestock producers have a voluntary source of assistance for resource issues related to water quality,” said Dave White, NRCS state conservationist in Montana. “While NRCS does not deal with the regulatory side of the animal feeding operation issue, we want to provide the most cost-effective and least-intrusive solution possible to assist producers in complying with Montana Department of Environmental Quality requirements or, better yet, help them avoid regulation.”

How EQIP Works

EQIP is a voluntary program that provides assistance to farmers and ranchers who face threats to soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land. NRCS has set national priorities to optimize the environmental benefits of EQIP. The first priority is to reduce nonpoint source pollution, such as nutrients, sediment, and pesticides, as well as reduce groundwater contamination and conserve ground and surface water resources.

States also identify priority natural resource concerns within the state that help guide which applicants are awarded EQIP assistance. Local work groups, usually at the county level, then adapt state priorities to local conditions. As a result, EQIP can be different between states and even between counties.

EQIP changed slightly with Congress’ authorization of the 2002 Farm Bill. The revised program offers flexible contracts that can range from one to 10 years and the contract limits were increased to $450,000. Cost shares range from 50 percent to 75 percent. Limited Resource Producers and Beginning Farmers get special consideration and are eligible for 65 percent to 90 percent cost-shares.

Timely Concern

Campbell’s concern about how her 500 head of cattle would impact water quality was timely. The Environmental Protection Agency has implemented new rules to regulate how animal feeding operations can pollute streams and lakes. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will enforce those rules under the Montana Water Quality Act.

According to those agencies, a ranch has an animal feeding operation if animals are stabled or confined and fed or maintained for at least 45 days during any 12-month period, and crops, forage, or post-harvest residues are not sustained in the normal growing season over any portion of the facility. The 45-day period does not have to be 45 consecutive days, but a total of at least 45 days, including, for example, feeding hay in a corral during the winter.

When a Permit is Required

A discharge permit is required when an animal feeding operation has more than 1,000 animal units or discharges waste into state waters. The operation will be required to meet permit conditions and make the required facility changes to prevent the discharges from storm events, up to the 24-hour, 25-year storm event. When a discharge occurs, an animal feeding operation is considered a point source regardless of the number of animals and requires a permit. DEQ permitting costs: For more than 1,000 animal units, a discharge permit has a $450 application fee and an annual fee of $300. For fewer than 1,000 animal units, a discharge permit has a $350 application fee and an annual fee of $200.

When an animal feeding operation has fewer than 1,000 animal units and does not discharge pollutants into state waters, it is considered a nonpoint source and does not need a permit.

Simple Solutions

The simplest, most cost-effective solution to protecting water quality and preventing the need for a discharge permit is to eliminate the chance of waste running into a stream or pond. Some people plant buffer zones of perennial grasses, shrubs and trees along the shoreline. Urick and Campbell used NRCS’s EQIP to help pay for moving the corrals, and in his case, the cost was only $6,649.

"We got the corral out of the creek because the environmental issue was just going to get worse. Now we’re done with that and can move on to other projects," says Urick.

For the Betterment of All

Urick cares as much about taking care of the environment as his neighbor, but he would never go to the hard work of moving a set of corrals just to improve fish habitat. The new system had to work better for him and pay for itself.

It does.

The new corrals sit on a drier site a half a mile from the creek and runoff drains away from the creek.

Well water piped a half mile fills frost-free troughs. Water had never been a concern while the corrals straddled Boxelder Creek, but Urick and Campbell were glad to have a reliable source when the creek ran dry for the first time ever during the drought of 2002.

The trees around the old corrals offered natural protection from the wind. The new site is wide open so Urick built windbreaks where 100 heifers are turned out after they calve.

The prize benefit is the new system of driving cattle to the corrals. At the old set of pens, cattle would have to weave their way through a web of houses, outbuildings, and brush. The new design includes natural funnels that point the cattle into large pens.

“It’s a lot easier getting cattle into and out of the corrals now,” Urick says.

The new system also allows Urick to safely work cows alone, too.

“I work by myself a lot. I can do a lot with the cows alone so that’s nice,” he says.

According to Ted Hawn, NRCS district conservationist at the Lewistown field office, ranchers have more options today. “On all these ranches, the corrals were built along the creeks. That’s where the water was. Now, with pipelines and stock water, people can move their corrals and protect water quality and fisheries,” Hawn said.

Newly-planted willows line the creek bank and grass stands waist-high at the old corral site. Urick will bale hay there and graze it again in the fall. Besides the feed value, Urick wants to reduce the fire hazard near his outbuildings.

“I’m convinced that moving the corrals was the right thing to do,” Urick says.

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Last Modified: 04/21/2005