On November 12th BGGS held the Farmer to Farmer Field Day event in Millersburg KY, which is part of The Licking River Basin. This event was in partnership with UK College of Agriculture, Food & Environment Cooperative Extension Service and the Bourbon County Conservation.  BGGS staff was on hand to answer questions and present about the programs we offer, also staff from UK Ag, Bourbon Co. Conservation and The KY Division of Water were able to speak to farmers directly about programs and cost share opportunities available for some of the conservation practices highlighted during the event.

The goal of the day was to educate farmers and local landowners on the effect agriculture has not only on water quality locally, but how a local watershed can have a great impact on the overall water quality of the planet. 21 participants joined for the event. As part of the field day, our host Charlotte Box led us on a tour of Box Farm, during which we made several stops to showcase some best management practices that are in use on the farm.

The highlight of our tour was learning the unique way of watering that is in place on the property. Utilizing a combo of tire waterers, gravity flow and a pump located in a tributary of the Hinkston Creek, they are able to provide water to livestock with little maintenance. Because of this they are able to use rotational grazing for livestock and place exclusion fencing to prevent livestock from getting directly in the creek, allowing riparian zones to re-establish, not only does this provide habitat for wildlife it also helps to combat erosion, this will have a direct effect on the water quality in the area.

The F2F program is funded in part by a farmer conservation grant from Mississippi State University.

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