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Fencing Streams, Still 75 Percent Off!
If you're like many landowners in western Loudoun, you probably have some kind of wet spot on your property. It could be a stream or a pond, or maybe a spring or a wetland. If you have water, and you've got animals, the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District continues to have funds available to keep the two apart.
Horses and cattle (or any other livestock) that get their water from a pond or creek are at a health disadvantage compared to their trough-watered cohorts because of bacteria in surface water. Even if the bacteria doesn't make them visibly sick, it puts a stress on their system that can lead to lower weight gain and puts pressure on their immune system. When livestock have access to streams, their waste (yes, that kind of waste) puts excess nutrients and bacteria into the streams.
To help solve both the environmental and herd health problems, cost share funds are available to fence animals out of streams, ponds, and wetlands, and to help install alternative water sources. Up to 75 percent of the costs for fencing and water troughs can be covered by the programs offered by the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District. Special emphasis is being placed on the Catoctin Watershed in northwestern Loudoun, due to the TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) program in place there, but similar programs are available for the entirety of the county. The fence must remain installed for 10 years, and must be placed at least 35 feet from the stream bank. Board fence, high tensile, or woven wire may be used, but the same cost share rate (75 percent of $4.44 per foot or the actual cost per foot of fence, whichever is lower) will be used.
So there are strings, but if you're looking to make your farm a little more "green" and get some "green" for doing it, give the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District a call at 703-777-2075.
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