Soil Conservation District honors three operators
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Center photo: George Smartt, left, was honored for his soil conservation practices. Pictured with him are his wife, Tammy, and Marvin Lusk, who presented the award.
Right photo: Darren Womack, right, was praised for his efforts to improve the natural resources of his land. Pictured, from left, are award presenter Nelle Roller, and Sitha, Trevor and Darren Womack.
Three area farm operations were praised for their conservation efforts at the annual Warren County Soil Conservation District banquet last week.
George Smartt, Larry and LeRoy Brandon, and Darren Womack all received honors for their efforts to improve the natural resources of their land.
Smartt owns and operates 434 acres of land. His operation consists of an approximately 80 herd cow-calf operation, a poultry operation of approximately 30,000 pullets per year, and 10 acres of a grape winery operation.
Approximately 400 acres are used for pasture and hay land, 12 acres for corn silage, and 12 acres for wildlife habitat.
Over 14,000 feet of fencing has been put in place for rotation grazing and use exclusion for streams and ponds. Also filter strips and riparian forest buffers are in place along drainage ditches for water quality improvement.
A litter storage building has been installed to store litter until it can be spread at the proper time. A certified nutrient management plan has been developed to aid in applying correct amounts of litter on the appropriate fields for nitrogen and phosphorous balance.
Water tanks and over 2,000 feet of pipeline have been installed for water sources to improve water quality and grazing. A grade stabilization structure has been installed to control head cuts in ditches and to improve gully erosion.
LeRoy and Larry Brandon have a beef cow-calf operation of approximately 190 head on 456 acres. For many years, the Brandons have practiced good conservation.
They have installed 4,600 feet of cross fencing for rotational grazing. Nutrient and pest management are also done. Pasture and hay land management is a top priority.
The Brandons have installed four water tanks, over 4,500 feet of pipeline, and heavy use areas have been put in place to help improve plant health. A grass waterway has been installed to improve water quality and help with erosion control.
Soil losses are well below one ton per acre per year.
Darren Womack has a row crop operation on 1,736 acres which is divided up as follows: 75 acres in corn, 100 acres in annual rye grass, 300 acres of brown top millet, 200 acres of fescue, 300 acres of soybeans, 75 acres of grain sorghum, 150 acres of wheat and 500 acres of sericea lespedeza.
Over 1,000 acres of his cropland is in Warren County and he also farms in Grundy and Sequatchie counties.
Crop fields are rotated with varieties of millet and soybeans. The tillage procedure used most is no till. Some of the fields are double cropped.
Womack has a contract to plant warm-season grasses, including little blue stem, Indian grass and lespedeza for better wildlife food and cover on over 36 acres. He keeps soil loss levels at tolerance below the 5 tons per acre per year level.
The annual awards banquet is sponsored by the Warren County Soil Conservation District, Farm Bureau, Farm Credit Services, Valley Fertilize & Seed, and Warren Farmers Co-op.