Grazing Land Success in Floyd County

Dan Norton is a Georgia Grazing Lands Conservation Coalition (GGLCC) farmer in Floyd County. He applied for the GGLCC Cost Share Program in 2003 and was selected for funding. While preparing his application, Norton came to decisions about plant adaptations for his farm. Instead of restoring bermudagrass to the upland areas as it was years ago, Norton established fescue so that these well-drained areas can be grazed when it is wet during the winter.

The bottomland, previously in crops, will be planted to warm-season grasses and be used in summer when there is less likelihood of compaction. As grass sods are rebuilt in the bottomlands, the ability to recover from heavy wet use will improve and the grazing days per year will increase. Norton’s project included installing water lines and freeze proof faucets along fence line partitions in his upland grazing areas, which are planted in tall fescue.

He removed old fence and re-laid them to create long strips, about 400 feet wide, which are subdivided into grazing paddocks by polywire. In 2004, Norton removed 53 large brush piles to develop new pastureland. Norton completed his contract and received his last payment on December 12, 2005.

He completed a total of 9,804 feet of fencing, 5,368 feet of pipeline, and removed 53 piles of brush. When asked how his cost-shared practices have changed his approach to management Norton responded, “These practices have improved our ability to focus on what is good for the grass first and the grazing animal second, while maintaining a high quality environment for the animal.”

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