Project Number: 6226-63000-003-01
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jul 01, 2012
End Date: Jun 30, 2017

Objective:
1. Develop conservation practices and Best Management Practices to manage the fate and transport of agricultural chemicals. 2. Determine the effects of riparian and upland buffer strips and grazing management practices on antibiotic runoff from pastures fertilized with poultry litter. 3. Enhance tools available for integrated production systems that include agroforestry and poultry/livestock production. 4. Develop outreach materials and programs focused on integrated agroforestry and poultry production with an emphasis on small and veteran run farms.

Approach:
Management practices will be evaluated that optimize the proportion of landscape/small farm in pasture with buffers and trees to maximize environmental and economic returns. Effects of trees and buffers on runoff and water quality will be evaluated to reduce off-site environmental impacts. Poultry litter will be applied each year on watersheds that are hydrologically isolated with earthern berms and equipped with flumes and automatic water samplers. There will be five treatments: (1) overgrazed, (2) rotationally grazed, (3) rotationally grazed with grass buffer strip, (4) rotationally grazed with riparian buffer strip, and (5) hayed. Each treatment will be replicated three times. Concentrations and loads of antibiotics in runoff will be measured from every rainfall event that results in runoff.