Kentucky Farmers: Leaders in Sustainability Jon and Sylvia Bednarski Sherwood Acres, Oldham Co., KY Sherwood Acres started as a dream

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1 Jon and Sylvia Bednarski Sherwood Acres, Oldham Co., KY Sherwood Acres started as a dream for Jon and Sylvia Bednarski in 2000, when they purchased 35 acres of unimproved land along Harrods Creek in Oldham County. Jon, who grew up in Vermont, spent summers working on his uncle s dairy farm giving him his first interest in agriculture and the land. In 2003, the family purchased three Belted Galloway heifers, marking the beginning of their farming enterprise. Over the next several years, Jon developed Sherwood Acres and a beef program where they sell meat direct to markets in the Louisville metropolitan area. As the farm grew to 150 acres and 50 cows, so did Jon s commitment to sustainability. The Bednarski s cattle are raised on pasture for 20 to 24 months and are then processed. They use a rotational grazing system where the cattle are moved every four weeks. The cattle are fed in a smaller area during the winter, and the manure is collected and composted. Due to their location along Harrods Creek, they make sure that the cattle do not contaminate the water by setting back fences and only allowing them to cross the stream when absolutely necessary. Since 20 to 25 percent of the farm is woodland, Jon enrolled those acres in the Conservation Reserve Program and met with the Kentucky Department of Wildlife to map out a plan to ensure they could protect the wildlife from nearby housing developments. Jon gained much of his farming and land stewardship knowledge through the University of Kentucky s Cooperative Extension Master Cattlemen, Master Grazer, and Master Stocker programs. He also serves on the Oldham County Conservation District board and is a leader in a number of other agriculture organizations. In 2011, Jon received the Oldham County Master Conservationist Award and the Kentucky State Master Conservationist Award in Sherwood Acres was also the inaugural winner of the Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award in Because of our location to the metropolitan area, Jon said, we play a large role to what is happening with conservation, and it is important to do the right thing for everyone.

2 The Bowling Family Old Homeplace Farm, Clay Co., KY The history of Old Homeplace Farm in southeastern Kentucky dates back to the mid 1800s. No written record exists of the family s crops or livestock, but we imagine that it was like most other Kentucky farms of that period: highly diversified and remarkably self-sufficient. The Bowling Family, like many other farm families in their area, had eventually dedicated their pasture acreage of the farm to raise beef calves to sell to cattle feeders. They found, however, that this business model was neither financially or ecologically sustainable for their farm. They then decided to look back to their heritage and consider the increased demand for local, fresh foods in Appalachia. The Bowlings diversified and began raising grass-fed cattle, sheep, and goats, as well as pasture-raised chickens and pigs to process and sell direct to local customers. As their success and family grew, they purchased additional land and are now growing and selling naturally-raised produce. It is their philosophy that food can and should be produced in a way that heals the land from which it comes. They work with a number of agencies to ensure their practices protect the soil and the water. The Bowlings also use an intensive management system that helps them produce food more naturally and sustain resources. Pastures are rotated often to reduce the spread of disease and parasites. Letting different animal species graze together also allows for a more efficient use of native plants. When the animals are in the barns, the Bowlings collect and compost their manure, which makes a nutrient-rich soil additive for their pastures and crops. Honeybees are kept on the farm for their pollination services, allowing produce and pastures to reach their full potential. While their current method of farming is a lot of work, they believe their sustainability practices provide them a quality of life like no other.

3 Todd Clark Clark Family Farm, Fayette Co., KY Todd Clark is a first generation farmer in Lexington. He began helping a neighbor farmer as a young teenager and had his first tobacco crop at age 16. By the time Todd was 18, he was leasing a house and land and had branched out to cattle and hay operations. By his early 20s, Todd had expanded his operation to leasing several hundred acres of land, purchasing his first farm when he was 24 years old. This original 72 acres served as the home farm for his current operation of over 400 acres, including pasture management, grass-fed beef, sheep, pasture-raised poultry, tobacco and hay. His location served as the basis for eventually providing grass-fed and pasture-raised meats, poultry and eggs. The central Bluegrass is known for its pasture and grass, and the farm is located in Lexington, which is a great market demanding local foods. In 2002, the University of Kentucky Grazing School served as a catalyst for the farm s current grazing management. The UK College of Agriculture, along with countless extension classes and trips to New Zealand and Australia, have helped to broaden his knowledge of land, water, and our part in managing these finite resources. The farm sits in the Cane Run Watershed, which provides drinking water for nearby Georgetown. Todd manages his farm to ensure the animals do not pollute the water. Pasture management is also very intensive. Livestock are rotated on pastures and the chicken shelters are moved daily, providing the chickens access to fresh grass as well as leaving behind precious nutrients. Todd said the challenge is to better understand the environment and how we fit into it. His goal is to improve and conserve our landscape for our families and future generations.

4 The Halcomb Family Walnut Grove Farms, Logan Co., KY Farming and caring for the land has been the vocation and passion of the Halcomb Family for many generations. From settling of the Home Farm in the 1830s to the present day, each generation has embraced this opportunity and responsbility. As the farm has progressed through the generations, it has transformed from being a self-sufficient pioneering farm into a commercial farm, producing grains that move into global trade. They primarily use a threecrop rotation corn, winter wheat, and soybeans but are exploring other crops as weather patterns have changed and the demand for renewable energy biomass has increased. Diversification and improved sustainability is their goal Their commitment to preserving the land is greater than ever. Science has given them a better understanding of the interaction of all the parts involved in a business focused on living organisms. In the late 1960s, the Halcombs started to reduce tillage of their land to preserve the soil, increase organic matter and improve water holding capacity, and their acres are now farmed using a continuous no-till system. They aslo use a number of modern technologies, such as GPS, field mapping, crop chlorophyll meters and data analysis, which allow them to significantly reduce the amount of nutrients they apply to their crops. Education is also extremely important to the Halcomb family. Each family member brings critical knowledge and experience to help them succeed and provide continual improvements well into the 21st century.

5 Jerry & Valerie Peery Springhill Farms, Hickman Co., KY While growing up in Hickman County in western Kentucky, Jerry Peery operated a tractor on his father s farm starting at the age of seven. He farmed side-by-side with him during his teenage years, and began farming on his own after graduating from high school in Today, Jerry and Valarie live and farm on the first piece of land they bought together in By purchasing other farms, their Springhill Farms operation has grown to nearly 1600 acres of cropland, with 200 additional acres of unplanted land, and 300 acres of rented farmland. Consistently seeking out new technologies and methods for improving their row crop operation, the Peerys began experimenting with no-till farming more than 40 years ago, before many farmers had considered it. They adopted a 100 percent no-till practice on every acre around Dedication to conservation, especially soil health and water quality, led the Peerys to plant different varieties and blends of cover crops after harvest to protect the land from erosion while putting nutrients and organic matter into the soil. By constructing grass waterways and filter strips on the farm, they control gully erosion and filter rainwater runoff to protect water quality and limit soil erosion while reducing time and resources required to prepare fields for crops production. These conservation practices, combined with the use of precision farming technologies to manage inputs like seeds and fertilizer, have lowered overall operating costs while increasing crop production. At the same time, valuable habitat and forage has been maintained for many species of wildlife. Through their lifelong work, the Peerys are leaving a conservation legacy for their children, grandchildren and generations to come. They teach their belief that it is their moral and spiritual responsibility to do everything they can to leave the land in better condition than when they began farming it.

6 Charlie Williams West Wind Farm, Hart Co., KY Known to his neighbors as the tree man, Charlie Williams owns and manages West Wind Farm, just about 15 miles from the geographic center of Kentucky. His long history of forest management began when he was 12, when his grandfather presented him with a deed to a 90-acre woodland part of a tract originally purchased by Charlie s great-great-greatgreat grandfather, Andrew Lang, in Today, West Wind Farm includes 1,100 acres of Lang s original tract, and Williams has planted more than 75,000 trees on the property. Charlie works with the staff of the Kentucky Division of Forestry, and they believe he is a shining example of a conservationist. His concern for the environment has also led him to support the Bacon Creek Watershed Council of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, as well as serving on the Board of Directors of the American Cave Conservation Association. You need to use idle spots in the land to discover the treasurers of the soil, said Charlie. In a biotic enterprise, you must always let ecology trump economics. That is the only way you can reach a place where you can revere the stability, integrity, and beauty of the land. In addition to sustainable management of his land, Williams takes pride in educating the next generation of woodland owners and conservationists. He has held more than 4,000 Forestry Field Days a day of work and learning on West Wind Farm. If you can teach young people who come to your farm that day something they never knew about trees, you ve had a successful Forestry Field Day. If you ve taught them well, they will teach others, Williams said. Sustainably managing my woodlands for water, wildlife, wood, and recreation, which is the tree farm mission, has been a lifetime of meaningful and fulfilling work and play. For me, and all the tree farmers I know our commitment to sustainable forestry is the cornerstone of our belief system, Williams said.