a large scale on-farm compost. He also raises 70 percent of the grain he needs for poultry and hog ventures and all of the hay he needs for beef cattle. Mike explained that without the NRCS, he would not have been able to accomplish so much on his farm in such a short amount of time.“ I rolled over the reimbursement from one program to begin another, and was able to accomplish in five years what likely would have taken me fifteen,” he said.
In the future Mike hopes to continue to reduce the crop inputs imported on his farm and move toward 100 percent grain fed stuffs produced on his farm. He says that his customers value his stewardship of the land, and that he is able to help his local community with all of his conservation practices.
fencing, he is able to increase the cows’ forage utilization by limiting the space in which they graze. When the cows have used up the forage in one area, he moves the fencing and the cows to a new section.
Mike said,“ NRCS is there to help the farmer help the land, which I think is worthwhile, respectable work.” He would encourage other farmers to utilize NRCS programs on their farms, with the understanding that they are committed to completing the program if they decide to sign up.“ The folks in the field office are there to help and advise you,” Mike said.“ They really want to see you succeed.”
Presently, Mike is working on a runoff drain that will allow the water from the barns and other structures to be collected in a storage tank that sits on a cement pad, then run under ground to assist with water management.
All of these projects have taken time and effort to develop and perfect, but according to Mike the process is well worth it in the end.“ Initially it takes some time to familiarize yourself with the programs and the requirements, but once I did this, my work with NRCS was easy,” he said.“ I could navigate existing contracts and research new programs with ease.” After some extensive research of the programs on his own, Mike got in contact with NRCS and began developing his Conservation Plan. Mike said,“ NRCS helped design each project, which took into account local rainfall, estimated cost, intended use or stocking rate, and depending on the project, how much we would be reimbursed using a percentage of the cost of implementing the practices.”
After only five years, Mike has accomplished several goals, but has many more. He is starting
Photos: Page 16, The Kwasniewski’ s now-restored barn; Page 17, top: Pam Kwasniewski and son, Mike, discuss rotational grazing; bottom: High tunnel built with assistance from NRCS. Page 18, top: Cattle utilizing Protected Barnyard pad against a picturesque background; bottom: Mike’ s compost project. Magazine cover photo: Snow-covered Heavy Use Area Protection road. Photos by Joan Harman.
18 West Virginia Farm Bureau News