When James and Michelle Goss inherited Michelle’s family farm in 2016, they planned to start a beef cow and calf operation on the old dairy farm. With only a few cattle in the early days, they eventually worked their way up to a 30-head operation in Center Township of Snyder County, Pennsylvania. The couple knew they wanted to expand upon their operation but were not sure where to begin. Several changes needed to take place, including an improved winter-feeding area and pasture management. After hearing about USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and its grazing assistance to producers in the area, they contacted their local NRCS field office.

In 2017, Goss met with NRCS to discuss concerns with his animal concentration area (ACA). There was a large mud hole on his farm, which made feeding cattle difficult during the winter months. NRCS explained the prospects of building a concrete heavy use area protection (HUAP) for winter feeding and explained how the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) may be able to assist with funding.

Then, an Inventory and Evaluation (I&E) was developed for the operation that identified several resource concerns, including the ACA, overgrazed and wet pastures, and cattle access to surface water. The I&E also listed several conservation practices to address the concerns including a roofed HUAP and waste storage facility (WSF), a prescribed grazing plan, streambank fencing, and a riparian forest buffer.

In 2018, Goss completed his conservation plan with NRCS after he had a private sector planner develop a nutrient management plan for his farm. To qualify for EQIP funding, a comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP) is required.

The CNMP included a prescribed grazing plan, which called for the conversion of two crop fields into pasture, which would address the poor conditions. Goss recently began to use temporary fencing to graze the crop fields after the first cutting of hay. He was eager to gain the ability to graze the fields on a more permanent basis.

The grazing plan also called for a riparian forest buffer, stream bank fencing, stream crossing, a watering system, as well as trails and walkways. The conservation practices would enable Goss to graze the pastures more efficiently; by preventing sheet and rill erosion and protecting water quality by restricting livestock access to the stream.

NRCS was able to offer Jim and Michelle a Beginning Farmer AFO/ CAFO contract in 2019, which would provide cost incentives for the construction of the planned CNMP practices. The project would implement the roofed HUAP and WSF, pasture and streambank fencing, stream crossing, trails and walkways, access roads, a frost-free water system including a water well, and the riparian forest buffer. Once these practices were installed, Goss would be able to adopt and implement the prescribed grazing plan.

The NRCS Bloomsburg Technical Office developed a design for the HUAP and WSF during the winter of 2019. Goss also installed the pasture and streambank fencing in the winter before the construction of the engineered conservation practices began in spring of 2020. While working closely with NRCS, Goss was able to install all the structural practices included in his prescribed grazing plan and EQIP contract. With the HUAP and WSF constructed, he also took the opportunity to reseed his existing pastures.

Goss continues to work with NRCS and local producers on the development and implementation of his prescribed grazing system. Once his newly reseeded pastures can be grazed, Goss will be able to fully utilize his pasture base while protecting soil and water quality. He looks forward to closing out his EQIP contract with a review of his grazing and nutrient management records in 2021. Jim and Michelle were so pleased with the improvements to the grazing operation, they have already begun to discuss the potential further expansion of the pasture system.