Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

NE-1941

2022

PA State Report

• Fundamentals of Equine Pasture Management virtual course
  • 68 registrants
  • 26 PA counties, 8 states
  • 91-96% intend to use information learned
  • Over 50% of evaluation respondents plan to complete following practices within 2 years:
    • Rest pastures after grazing for 2 or more weeks
    • Develop a rotational grazing system and/or subdivide large pastures for rotation
    • Soil test every 3 years
    • Apply lime/fertilizer based on soil test results
    • Identify forages present in pastures
    • Select new forages to seed in pastures
    • Identify weeds in pastures
    • Choose herbicides based on weeds present & spray at the right time
    • Evaluate pasture condition at least annually
    • Overseed a pasture
    • Reestablish a pasture
  • Farm visits which include any of the following topics: pasture management, weed control, toxic weed ID, and soil & hay sampling
  • 3 Pasture Walk Workshops, 40 total registrants
  • 2 Conservation District collaborative workshops, 19 total attendees
  • 3 Pasture-focused webinars, 479 registrants
  • Other focus areas:
    • Horse hay
    • Parasite control
    • Tick control
    • Educating new horse owners
    • Amish phone hotline for general horse management advice

Amy Biddle, University of Delaware

1. A brief synopsis of your research and outreach work completed on the NE-1941 project:  Project 1:  Work on cyathostomin resistance included optimizing culture conditions and collection of larvae from three levels of moxidectin, pyrantel, and fenbendazole. RNA is being extracted for RNA-Seq analysis to identify resistance mechanisms.  Project 2: Black soldier fly (BSF) consumption of equine manure to investigate waste reduction and reduction of cyathostomin larval load. BSF were cultured on equine feces from high and low shedding horses. Fecal egg and larval counts were measured in addition to waste reduction compared with control feeding through the larval life cycle. Feasibility for developing BSF systems for people with a few horses to grow supplemental feed for household chicken flocks.
2. An impact statement for your work:  Project 1 will point to mechanisms of resistance as potential targets for the development of more effective and efficient dewormer drugs with less environmental impact. Project 2 demonstrates the potential for using BSF larvae to convert horse manure into a protein source for chickens while reducing cyathostomin worm burden.
3. A list of publications:  None to report.

University of Massachusetts

The research related to NE-1941 during 2021 and 2022 was focused on two themes as follows:

• Reducing environmental impacts of equine operations through implementation and education of Best Management Practices. For this research activity, two pilot equine operations were selected and several BMPs were implemented. The BMPs included, the installation of gutters and French Drains to direct clean roof water into the ground to prevent mud, rotational grazing to prevent overgrazing, an aerated composting system to manage collected barn wastes, and excluding animals from wetlands and streams.
• Pasture management and extending grazing seasons. For this section, a series of pasture management and grazing systems were presented and recorded. The list of these workshops follows:

Webinar series on Pasture management. Recorded and now available to view online.

• Summer Annuals with Caleb Goossen of MOFGA https://ag.umass.edu/crops-dairy-livestock-equine/videos/grazing-forage-seasonextension-webinar-series-summer-annuals-with-caleb-goossen-of-mofga

• No-Till Pasture Improvement with Rick Kersbergen of UMaine Extension. https://ag.umass.edu/cafe/videos/grazing-forage-season-extension-webinar-seriesimproving-pastures-with-no-till-methods-with-rick 

• Brassicas and other cool-season annuals with Heather Darby of UVM Extension. https://ag.umass.edu/crops-dairy-livestock-equine/videos/brassicas-other-cool-season -annuals-with-heather-darby

• Stockpiling with Troy Bishopp: 60 Days From Your Fall Feeding Plan https://ag.umass.edu/crops-dairy-livestock-equine/videos/stockpiling-with-troybishopp-60-days-from-your-fall-feeding-plan

Carey Williams, Rutgers University

Traditional cool-season grass pastures in temperate regions of the Northeast United States typically experience low productivity in summer months. This "summer slump" results in increased expense for horse operations associated with costly supplemental feed. Grazing strategies incorporating warm-season grasses, which produce high yields in hot summer months,

into traditional systems have shown little economic advantage in cattle. Due to differences in nutritional management goals and drivers of enterprise profitability in equine operations, integrated systems may have greater utility for horse producers. However, little published research exists in grazing of warm-season grasses by horses. This project will investigate the

potential for increased pasture productivity through implementation of integrated, sequentially grazed cool and warm-season horse pasture systems. Three rotational grazing systems (1. traditional cool-season, 2. bermudagrass integrated into cool season, and 3. crabgrass integrated into cool-season) will be evaluated under grazing by twelve adult Standardbred horses

over a full grazing season. Productivity will be assessed by measuring forage yield and persistence of planted forage varieties. This project will also evaluate the effect of test forage (bermudagrass or crabgrass) and establishment method (inter-seeding or monoculture) on productivity, forage nutritive value, and horse body condition. Finally, this project will determine if this grazing strategy would provide an economic advantage to horse producers. Costs of establishing and maintaining pasture systems will be compared with supplemental feed expense. Results of this project will inform equine grazing management decisions with the goal of improving economic sustainability of horse operations in the Northeast US. 

Pasture Management Objective

Conservation of forage through application of grazing schemes that allocate time and space available for grazing may lend to facilitating a greater uniformity of forage supply throughout the year through stockpiling of both cool- and warm-season pasture plants during times of peak production. Additionally, the incorporation of cool and warm-season annuals to complement perennial pasture may be a useful approach to increasing productivity per acre and extending animal grazing days. An increase in forage productivity per unit of pasture area along with improvement of uniformity of forage supply throughout the year should also decrease chances of overgrazing which in turn should have positive impacts on soil health.

Objectives:

1. Identify grazing management schemes that promote uniformity in forage supply across annual grazing cycles and extend the number of available grazing days.
2. Determine the effect of incorporating warm- and cool-season annuals that complement existing perennial pasture productivity per acre and number of horse grazing days.
3. Explore alternative forage species to extend the grazing season.
4. Undertake a survey about equine environmental management that can be given in any of the participating states.
5. Educate agency personnel (USDA-NRCS, county Conservation Districts, etc.) about the horse industry, horse farm management, and recommended practices for horse farms to empower them to work more comfortably and effectively with farm owners.
6. Increase access to environmental stewardship information and recommendations from research for horse farm owners and managers through online content and face-to-face trainings and demonstrations.

This year objectives under 1-3 are completed.  Due to COVID some things had to be altered or shortened. Everything has been analyzed and the process of writing journal articles, meeting abstracts is ongoing.  A doctoral dissertation is also complete for a PhD student to confer their degree in Jan. 2022.

Objective #4: is also completed in terms of the survey and the data collection.  An undergraduate honors project utilized this data and it is currently being re-analyzed and written up into a journal article and possible factsheet.

For objective #5 webinars have been underway with NRCS personnel and other professional agencies.  As for # objective 6, outreach is utilizing as many webinar or other online venues as possible), utilizing results from this project.

University of Florida

Peer Reviewed Publications:

Vasco, A.C.C.M, K.J. Brinkley-Bissinger, J.M. Bobel, J.C.B Dubeux, Jr., L.K. Warren, C.L. Wickens. 2021. Digestibility and nitrogen and water balance in horses fed rhizoma peanut hay. J. Anim. Sci. 99(11):skab284. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab284

Abstracts:

Vasco, C.M., L. Silva, K. Mullenix, L.L. Dillard, C. Wickens, L.K. Warren. 2022. 56 Characterization of pasture management by horse operation purposes in Florida. J. Anim. Sci. 100(Issue Suppl. 1):4-5. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac028.007

Multi-media presentations and other creative works:

Wickens, C. 2022. Equine manure & pasture best management practices. UF Research YouTube Channel. Produced by Jessica Wells. Posted February 17. Available at: Equine Manure & Pasture Best Management Practices - YouTube. Views: 23.

Wickens, C., M. Lusk. 2022. Equine BMPs mobile responsive website. Developed in collaboration with AUSTN Ltd. and UF IFAS Web Services. Available at: https://animal.ifas.ufl.edu/equinebmps/

Grants:

Bainum, C.L., T. Wilson, C.L. Wickens. Improving best management practices on equine operations through establishment of mixed warm-season grass-legume pastures: A model for facilitating peer-to-peer learning. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Water Policy, Mini-grant Program. Funding period: 2021-2022. Amount: $9,317.

Rutgers University

1. *Kenny, L. B., D. Gimenez, J. S. Caplan, A. Al-Sarraji, M. Alhilo, M. G. Robson, W. Meyer, A. Williams. 2022. Rotational grazing reduces equine trampling effects on macropore infiltration. Soil Tillage Res. 225:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.still.2022.105539
2. *Weinert-Nelson, J. R., A. Biddle, and A. Williams. 2022. Fecal microbiome of horses transitioning between warm-season and cool-season grass pasture within integrated rotational grazing systems. Ani. Microbiome. 4:41. doi: 10.1186/s42523-022-00192-x
3. *Weinert-Nelson, J. R., W. Meyer, and A. Williams. 2022. Crabgrass as an equine pasture forage: impact of establishment method on yield, nutrient composition, and horse preference. Transl. Anim. Sci. 6:1-12. doi: 10.1093/tas/txac050
4. *Weinert-Nelson, J. R., W. Meyer, and A. Williams. 2022. Diurnal variation in forage nutrient composition of mixed cool-season grass, crabgrass, and Bermudagrass pasture forage. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 110:1-6.  doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103836

Extension Factsheets

1. *Weinert-Nelson, J., C. Dolan*, and Williams. 2022.  Non-structural Carbohydrates and Equine Warm-season Grass Pastures. Rutgers Cooperative Extension. FS1340. New Brunswick, NJ. pp. 1-6. 
2. *Weinert-Nelson, J., and Williams. 2021.  Crabgrass Integration in New Jersey Horse Pastures. Rutgers Cooperative Extension. FS1339. New Brunswick, NJ. pp. 1-5.