The Westmoreland Conservation District has selected John D. Kitz as the Conservation Farmer of the Year for 2023 and recognized Dr. Robert (Bob) Hedin of Hedin Environmental with the J. Roy Houston Partnership Award at an awards ceremony at the District’s office on September 13.

Kitz Family Farm

The Kitz farm, a 140-acre cattle farm in Mount Pleasant, is managed by John, with help from his wife Kelly, and four sons – Jonathan, Joshua, Jeremiah, and Jacob.

The Kitz family involvement in conservation started with John’s father, John G. Kitz, who worked with the Conservation District in 2012 to improve streamside areas on the farm. 

Together, the District and Kitz family reduced the cattle’s access to the stream, added fencing, stabilized stream crossings, planted trees and shrubs along the stream, and provided an alternate source of clean water for the cattle.

John D. Kitz recalls that prior to the project, there was nothing along the stream except for mud. 

Now there are well established trees, shrubs and flowering plants, and the health of the stream is evident – clear water flows through with minnows and other wildlife found in the stabilized and improved section of the stream.

The farm currently has about 80 Black Angus cattle, which are fully grass fed and finished.  John supplements their food with hay grown on the family farm, thus maintaining a self-sustaining operation. 

“I come down every night and feed them and spend time with them,” John says, while also admitting to spoiling them with a molasses treat from time to time.

John practices rotational grazing on his farm, moving the herd from pasture to pasture every few days so that the grass has a chance to regrow.  As a result, the soil is less compacted, better able to retain moisture, and is protected from wind and water erosion. 

Another best management practice established on the farm includes the addition of a roofed animal heavy use area, which shelters the cattle and feeding area when they are fed hay. 

Heavy use areas provide protected surfaces from the cattle’s hooves and reduces the occurrence of large areas of mud, which could find its way into local streams.

Future projects planned for the farm include additional streambank improvements that will protect 3,500 feet of streambank.  That project is slated to begin later this year.

Dr. Robert (Bob) Hedin

The Conservation District also recognized Dr. Robert (Bob) Hedin of Hedin Environmental with the J. Roy Houston Partnership Award.

Hedin Environmental is a leader in developing passive treatment systems to treat mine drainage, which many people recognize as the orange tainted streams throughout the county. 

Hedin Environmental uses a treatment system that relies on a series of settling ponds and wetlands to capture iron sludge.  The sludge is stored onsite to allow the water to drain away. 

The remaining material, iron oxide, is collected and sold as pigment for paint and other materials.

Bob and his team have implemented multiple products throughout Westmoreland County in partnership with local watershed organizations and the Conservation District. 

Hedin Environmental has improved water quality in Sewickley Creek, Monastery Run, and Wolford Run, to name a few.

According to Conservation District Manager/CEO, Robert Cronauer, who has worked on projects with Bob for nearly 20 years, Hedin Environmental always focuses on the project first with profit as an afterthought.

“This is amazing for a company. They are clearly not profit driven, but project driven. This makes them a pleasure to work with.”

Bob enjoys transforming environmental problems and says, “The real reward is when you go to the end of a treatment system and see crystal clear water coming out, and a wetland with vegetation and wildlife in it, and you see the benefits that we are producing with these systems.”

Visit the Westmoreland Conservation District website for more information on conservation assistance in the county.

(Photos: Dr. Robert (Bob) Hedin and John & Kelly Kitz.)

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[Posted: September 15, 2023]

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