NEWS & VIEWS Bits & Pieces
Maryland Responds to Angry Horse Farm Owners
From Royden N. Powell, III, Assistant Secretary, Resource Conservation I had the pleasure of attending the Maryland Horse Council’s meeting on nutrient manage- ment regulations to clarify what appears to be a misunderstanding of the intentions of the state’s proposed changes. In crafting these regulations, Maryland con-
sidered recommendations from Governor Mar- tin O’Malley’s BayStat science panel as well as concerns raised by numerous agricultural, envi- ronmental, and local government stakeholders, including a member of the Maryland Horse Council. T e goal of the new proposed regu- lations is to achieve consistency in the way all sources of nutrients are managed and to protect water quality, while at the same time, assuring the economic impacts are manageable. T e draft regulations have evolved through- out the process. T e fi nal proposal now includes specifi c exceptions related to incorporating ma- nure on hay and pastures acres, no-till, or highly erodible conditions, and allows winter grazing of horses and livestock. Regarding fencing, one of the most signifi -
cant changes in the fi nal draft provides fl exibil- ity for Soil Conservation District staff to evalu- ate each farm to allow for the use of alternative best management practices, such as stream crossings, alternate watering facilities, pasture management, or vegetative exclusion that are equally protective of water quality. We know that a “one size fi ts all” approach is not always best and that this provision may provide more
Dori Johnson and Caro- line Gardiner were named recipients of the August Touch of Class Award by the Maryland Horse Industry Board for their national and international successes in the sport of polocrosse,
a.k.a. lacrosse
on horseback. Both just returned from represent- ing the U.S. in a series of test match competitions in the U.K.
Johnson (Glennwood
Farm, Upper Marlboro) graduated from Bishop McNamara High School before graduating from Prince George’s Community College. She started playing polocrosse while in the Marl- borough Pony Club. She has competed in national and international competitions since 2008 and last year was named one of the top four U.S. women polocrosse players. She represented the U.S. in the World Cup competition in Great Britain, where the U.S. team fi nished in fourth out of eight international teams. Gardiner, a graduate of T e Calverton School, has represented the U.S. three times in inter- national competition. She started her international polocrosse career at the age of 16 and in 2009 she traveled to South Africa with the American Polocrosse Associations’s youth team.
10 | THE EQUIERY | OCTOBER 2012
cost-eff ective solutions for the farmer. Additionally, the timing of nutrient applica- tion is critical to eff ective utilization by crops and pastures. Applying manure in the winter, when pastures are not actively growing, in- creases the risk of nutrient losses to neighbor- ing creeks and streams. As a “stackable” mate- rial, used bedding can be safely staged on-site for spreading in the spring. T ese draft regulations strike a balance be-
tween maximizing water quality benefi ts and the practical needs of implementing require- ments in the fi eld and assuring that economic impacts are manageable. To help farmers adapt to the new regulations, we are expanding the technical capacity of the Soil Conservation Districts to address the workload issue by plac- ing 29 additional positions in the fi eld this year. T e O’Malley Administration is committed
to providing farmers with the critical fi nancial and technical resources necessary to meet our shared environmental goals. T e phased imple- mentation schedule will provide farmers with adequate time to plan practices required by the new regulations and to apply for cost-share funding to install additional best management practices. MDA has never turned a farmer away from the Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share (MACS) Program due to lack of funding. T e Administration is increas- ing its investments to implement agricultural best management practices, beginning this year, providing $5 million in additional incentives to assist farmers in meeting new requirements. While the offi cial public comment period end-
Polocrosse Players Have That Touch of Class
ed on August 13, we want to make sure citizens understand the regulations and their intent. If there are any additional questions or concerns about the proposed regulatory changes, please contact Jo A. Mercer, Ed.D., Administrator of MDA’s Nutrient Management Program (jo.
mercer@maryland.gov or 410-841-5950). T ank you for the opportunity to make this
clarifi cation. 1983 Preakness Winner Dies
Deputed Testamony, the last Maryland-bred to win the Preakness Stakes, died on September 18 at the Boniface family farm, Bonita Farm, in Darlington. T e 32-year-old was buried on the farm next to his sire Traffi c Cop and dam Proof Requested. He was the oldest living clas- sic winner in North America. Deputed Testamony was co-bred and co-
raced by William Boniface and his son J. Wil- liam Boniface with Francis P. Sears. He skipped the Kentucky Derby in 1983 and then won the Preakness by 2 3/4 lengths over the Derby run- ner-up Desert Wine. He ran in the Belmont Stakes as well but fi nished sixth. He earned $674,329 while racing from the age of two to four with 11 wins and three second places out of 20 starts. He then sired 21 stakes winners with earners of more than $18.5 million while standing at Bonita Farm. Boniface told the Maryland Horse Breed- ers Association, “T e son of very modestly bred parents, Deputed Testamony reached the high- est pinnacle of racing, a true testament to all horse breeders that anything is possible in the great sport of horse racing. A more courageous horse never looked through a bridle.”
Grants for Saving Energy
T e Maryland Energy Administration an- nounced in August that up to $200,000 in grant money is available to Eastern Shore farmers making plans to make their farms more energy effi cient. T e program aims to cover up to 75% of the cost associated with increasing insulation, ventilation, irrigation or HVAC up- grades. Proposals must increase energy savings by at least 15% and all projects must be com- pleted by April 1, 2013. Only 10 to 15 grants will be awarded.
Googoo Gaagaa’s Streak Continues On August 19, the Maryland-bred trotter
won yet again, bringing his record up to 13 wins in 16 races and setting yet another track record. T is time, the race was the Colonial at Harrah’s International in Chester, Pennsylvania where the three-year-old won in 1 minute, 52.1 seconds. To date, the horse, bred and owned by Richard Hans of Westminster, has more than $600,000 in earnings.
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