Fay and Dale Herr

By Kelly Donaldson, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

"I try to save the soil. If you don't have soil, you're not going to grow anything!"

The Herr family farm began in 1912, when Dale Herr's grandfather bought his first farm near Kirkwood, Lancaster County. He purchased two additional farms in 1932 and 1937, for a total of 301 acres. Today, Dale Sr., and his son, Dale Jr., are third and fourth generation farmers on this land. They grow beans, corn, hay and wheat, and do everything they can to keep their soil from eroding into their local stream and the Chesapeake Bay.

Their creek, the Octoraro, runs right through the farm on its way to the Susquehanna River. When Dale Sr. was young, he was frustrated by the gullies and other signs of erosion on his farm. Initially, he says, he began implementing conservation practices to save the soil on his property, but he also realized that those actions have a much bigger impact. By keeping the soil on his property, he’s keeping it out of the Octoraro and out of the Bay. Herr says it’s a commitment to do things right.

Dale started implementing conservation practices on his farm in 1975 when he began to contour the land. He added terraces and waterways in 1977. Although he has a few heifers on the property, they can't wade through the Octoraro. They’re completely fenced out of the stream, and have been for over 20 years. Herr uses a spring house to provide the cattle with water.

With help from various Farm Bill programs, plus a significant investment of his own time and money, Herr has installed 1.4 acres of waterways, 1,700 feet of diversions, 3,900 feet of underground outlets, 12,000 feet of pipe outlet terraces, 220 acres of conservation crop rotations, and 8.1 acres of forested riparian buffers. He says that the conservation practices have improved the soil and organic matter, so that his farm is now able to yield 200 bushels of corn per acre.

Dale has also committed to protecting the Octoraro and to improving its water quality by planting trees along its banks. This streambank buffer will help prevent further soil erosion, remove pollutants from the water, and keep the water temperatures cooler for fish and macroinvertebrates.

In November 2005, CBF and 21 students from Smith Middle School were invited to the Herr property to plant 150 trees along the Octoraro, and to study its water quality. The students found that the water quality in that stretch was very good, supporting a variety of aquatic life. Herr's conservation and cow-fencing efforts are the cause.

A total of 1,000 trees were planted on the Herr property along the Octoraro. Most of the trees planted by CBF and the students are so healthy that they are already growing above their protective "tree tubes." When the meadow flooded last fall, some of the tree tubes had to be straightened, but overall Herr has a 99.4 percent survival rate.

Herr and his wife Fay believe it’s important to leave their farm in better condition for future generations. He notes that sometimes it takes trial and error to learn what works best on a property, but he feels good knowing that his farm is in much better shape since he has made changes that affect water quality.

Links: Learn More About REAP a New Proposal to Help Fund Farm Conservation

PA’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program

5/18/2007