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Home My WebLink AboutAgriculture Land Use Practices - Six Mile Creek Watershed 1996 AGRICULTURAL LAND USE PRACTICES SIX MILE CREEK WATERSHED TOMPKINS COUNTY NY Six Mile Creek Watershed Ag Practices 1 TOMPKMS COUNTY SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT SIX MILE CREEK AGRICULTURAL LAND USE SURVEY Prepared by: Harry Mussell Agricultural Resources Conservation Specialist April-June,1996 OVERVIEW This survey was initiated to identify and evaluate agricultural nonpoint pollution problems that might impact water quality in the Six Mile Creek Watershed. The agricultural tracts in the watershed were identified using the aerial photos and farm records of the Farm Service Agency,USDA,farm conservation plans from Natural Resources Conservation Service,USDA,input from the Tompkins County Water Quality Coordinating Committee and field observations by District staff. The venue for this survey was a modified Tier I Agricultural Practices survey. This survey was based on the Tier I/Tier II system developed by the Skaneateles Lake Watershed Agricultural Program(SLWAP),and was modified by District staff to more accurately reflect agricultural practices and soil conditions encountered in Tompkins county. The survey was completed by on-site interviews with owners and operators of 94%of the lands in Six Mile Creek Watershed identified as agricultural operations. Participation in this survey was on a voluntary basis,and all but one landowner contacted by the District participated in the survey. (Three out of state landowners were not contacted,but their properties were visited by District staff.) The information contained in this report was derived by summarization of the data obtained from the survey forms combined with direct observations made daring the inspections of the agricultural operations in the watershed. The generalized information presented below is organized along the same lines as the risk assessments utilized in Tier II worksheets for agricultural practices. OVERALL CONCLUSIONS This survey has not revealed a single critical water quality issue relating to agricultural use of the lands in the Six Mile Creek Watershed. Several minor instances relating to clean water management were observed,however,taken in toto,these issues do not represent a serious threat to the maintenance of high water quality in the watershed. These issues,such as roof water runoff and clean water diversions as located as sites far removed from perennial streams in the watershed. Much of the agricultural in Six Mile Creek would be categorized as"nontraditional'as exemplified by the fact that the most prevalent farm practice identified was boarding horses. In further support of this observation is the fact that,of the 5 farm operations which indicated anticipating a change in operation within the next 5 years,4 were going to shift their emphasis to horses or goats,while only one farm indicated an anticipated reduction in operations. Six Mile Creek Watershed Ag Practices 2 SALIENT FACTS (1996) SURVEY COVERAGE: 26 Active Properties 12 Inactive Properties AREA COVERED BY SURVEY: 7,056 Acres (Total watershed acreage: 34,400) TYPE OF OPERATION: (Some farms listed more than once) Cash Crop 9 Replacement Dairy 2 Horses 8 Sheep 2 Beef 6 Hardwoods 2 Dairy 5 Winery 2 Hay 3 Bed&Breakfast 1 LAND USAGE Pasture: 1,592 acres Crop/Hayland:2,671 acres Livestock Resident in the Watershed: Cattle: Dairy-333 Beef-304 Horses- 123 Sheep- 125 Pigs-350 Goats-2 Twelve farms spread manure,however,only two spread daily. 20 properties have a stream on or within 50' of the property. Of these: 7 have crops within 50' of the stream. livestock have limited access to the stream on 6 farms. PETROLEUM STORAGE: 14 farms store petroleum on the property. There are 2 buried petroleum storage tanks on farms in the watershed. There are 27 above ground petroleum storage tanks on the farms,only 4 have any sort of spill containment. BARNYARDS: Eight farms have barnyards. Surface water can potentially run through 4 barnyards. Roof water enters 6 of the barnyards. Six Mile Creek Watershed Ag Practices 3 RISK ASSESSMENT SIX MILE CREEK AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES SURVEY 1. Environmental risk due to pathogens from farm operations. All of the dairy farms in the watershed age manage their herds. Calves under six months old do not come in contact with older livestock. In all manure spreading operations,consideration is given to the location and timing of spreading of calf manure to minimize runoff risk. 2. Manure management. Manure not spread on a daily basis is stored/composted in an environmentally benign manner on all dairy farms. The horse farms all reported at least minimal composting of their manure before application to fields or crops. All operations indicated reduced or no spreading on environmentally sensitive frozen grounds. 3. Stream management. All of the properties with streams flowing through them indicated that livestock have limited access to the streams. In most instances,crossings are through restricted access points,and watering points are also limited by fencing. 4. Milking center management. There are only two milking parlors in the watershed,and the milkhouse waste from both is being handled in such a way that it does not represent a water quality issue. 5. Silage storage. Silage is stored on only 8 farms in the watershed. Silage leachate and seepage is acceptably controlled on all farms,primarily through careful control of moisture content of the silage. The trend within the watershed is to shift to Ag Bags for silage storage,greatly reducing the dangers of seepage. 6. Petroleum storage. The farms surveyed contain 29 above ground petroleum storage tanks. Only 4 of these have any type of spill containment installed,none have secondary spill containment. This represents potential storage of 7,975 gallons of petroleum products in the watershed without adequate spill containment. Above ground storage of petroleum products represents the greatest potential risk to water quality in the watershed. 7. Fertilizer management. Nine farm operations indicated that they apply fertilizer on an annual basis,however only 4 operators indicated that fertilizer application is determined by soil testing. Only one farm in the watershed is attempting to coordinate fertilizer applications with manure spreading. Establishment of sound nutrient management plans for the larger farms within the watershed should be a high be a priority goal in watershed management for Six Mile Creek. District personnel are currently providing this planning for several farms in the Owasco Watershed,and could do the same for the farms in Six Mile Creek. 8. Pesticide management. Six farms indicated that they apply pesticides on at least a biannual basis. Farmers that apply their own pesticides are all Certified Pesticide Applicators,as are the contractors employed by the other operators. None of the operators use fungicides or insecticides on a regular basis. The two herbicides mentioned most frequently were Roundup and Atrazine. Roundup is one of the most environmentally acceptable herbicides for weed control. Those farmers using Atrazine indicated that they were in full compliance with DEC regulations on the rates and locations for using this material. Six Mile Creek Watershed Ag Practices 4 9. Waste disposal. A. Solid waste: There are no active farm dumps in the Six Mile Creek Watershed. All participants indicated that solid waste that is not recyclable is either picked up by contractors or is delivered to approved land fills or solid waste pick up points. B. Petroleum waste: Over 80%of the used crankcase oil generated on the farms in the watershed is recycled. Roughly 12%is used for lubricating chains and equipment,and 8%is burned in heating stoves specifically adapted to this purpose. None of the operators interviewed reported storing used motor oil on their properties. C. Used Antifreeze: The volume of used antifreeze generated by agricultural operations in the watershed is small. However,as we have observed in other surveys of this type,the farm operators do not have a clear understanding of acceptable methods for disposing of this waste. This problem is not unique to Six Mile Creek,nor to Tompkins County;there is a clear need for the development of both national and local policies relating to disposal of used antifreeze. 10. Soil management. Soil erosion,usually associated with streambanks,was the most frequently encountered problem illuminated in this survey. Due to the high proportion of the agricultural lands in Six Mile Creek Watershed that are in permanent pasture,haylands and meadows,rill and sheet erosion were not encountered as problems in this watershed. 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