Environmental Stewardship Award Winners

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Improving the land helps the Turners grow, enhance their Shorthorn herd

Bouncing along in their gator, Tom and Susie Turner point out the numerous improvements made to their Perry County property over the years: new fencing, springs development, hay storage facility, improved grass and removal of invasive plants and bushes. Tom stops at the bottom of a hill and points out the last of the couple’s major improvements – fi xing a gully that’s 6 feet deep at spots and looks like a giant raked its fi ngers through the earth. For the past 20 years, the Turners have been working hard to convert an old silica mine in Somerset into pastureland for their Shorthorns. At times it’s been daunting for the couple but determination has always trumped. With the completion of the last major project on the horizon, the Turners are looking forward to simply maintaining what they’ve worked so hard to accomplish. “People thought we should be committed for taking on this project,” Tom laughed. “At fi rst we thought we could do it on the weekends but it became clear to us that at the rate we were going we weren’t going to get anywhere and would have to move here.” When the Turners bought the reclaimed silica mine, they were living in Columbus where Tom was a faculty member at the Ohio State University teaching animal science and Susie was executive director of the Ohio Soybean Council. In 1999 a student who knew the couple were looking for land to raise their Shorthorns tipped them off about 215 acres of reclaimed land that the mining company was going to be selling. Th e location was idyllic – less than an hour from where they lived, rolling hills for pasture and wooded lots. Th e land, which had been mined since 1975, was pretty rough in spots despite the reclamation eff orts. “Because it hadn’t been mowed for years, you couldn’t tell where the gullies were. When we started mowing, I had to go ahead of Tom to spot

the gullies so the tractor didn’t fall into a gully,” Susie said. “After the company filled in the mine, they put on whatever they had and there’s almost no topsoil. That’s why so many gullies form – the sandy soil breaks down whenever water runs through it.” For the past 20 years, the Turners have focused on fixing soil erosion problems and managing the water. To reduce the wear and tear on the land, they put in fencing to create 31 paddocks and rotate their cattle every day or two. Doing that type of intensive grazing also gives them the opportunity to look over their 65 cows and their offspring. “It takes less than five minutes to move our cows in the paddock and they walk between us and we can check every hoof and eye. We had a calf this morning that had a stone in its hoof and was limping and we were able to track him down and remove the stone out of his foot without bringing him and his mom to the barn,” Tom said. This summer marked the best year yet for the quality of the grass in the pastures. Having a healthy plant structure not only benefits the cattle but helps slow down water on the farm, which in some spots is 20 feet lower than surrounding areas. “A lot of our goal is to slow down the water because when it comes, it really flows and along with it comes erosion,” Tom said. “And the better the grass is, the better our cows are because they’re in better shape and our calves are growing faster.” A major concern was access to water for the cattle. The couple put in a pipeline that runs the length of the farm with an automatic watering system that reaches multiple paddocks. They developed three springs and put in two collecting troughs with one filled with water from a barn roof. The Turners built a hay storage facility after experiencing a couple of unusually wet spring seasons. “It was a real challenge feeding our cattle because of the intense wetness. Whenever we would unroll the large hay bales for the cows to eat, the ground was so soft it was tearing up the soil. We were having to feed the cattle on the road,” Susie said. The Turners also have 50 acres of woodlands to maintain, and they’ve fenced the cattle out of those areas along with their ponds. Removing invasive plants like grapevine, multiflora rose and autumn olive is a critical but never-ending chore. Converting an old silica mine to pasture was challenging at times, and the couple didn’t hesitate to get help from experts at the Natural Resources Conservation District, Ohio State Extension and the local Soil and Water Conservation District for what some described as the “worst soils they’d ever seen.” Joe Koehler, a conservationist with the Licking County NRCS, has worked with the Turners for five years and praised them for their commitment to be environmental stewards of their land. They’ve always been very willing to follow through with practices and get stuff done in a timely fashion,” he said. Standing on a hill watching their cows graze, the couple described what they like the most about Shorthorns – about their high marbling, milking ease and maternal instinct. Susie and Tom, who grew up with Shorthorns in Logan County, traveled extensively throughout the United States looking at purebred Shorthorn herds as they searched for animals with more base width and muscle. Their goal is to eventually have every cow born on their farm. “Our objective is to produce Shorthorns that are functional and can work in the commercial industry. It’s that customer satisfaction that’s a measurement, and we have many repeat buyers,” Tom said, noting that their cattle end up in about 20 states. Most are sold at an open house Labor Day weekend and by private treaty. Like many cattle producers, improving the genetics of their animals is key. “You can’t make the same matings every year and expect the cattle to get better. That’s the definition of insanity,” Tom said. This year the couple were recipients of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Environmental Stewardship Award, which is the second OCA award they’ve received. In 2017 they were honored with the Industry Excellence Award. Tom coached the livestock judging team at Ohio State for 30 years, was OCA president and on its board and helped create the BEST youth program. Susie, who also worked for Monsanto, is on the Ohio Beef Council’s operating committee. Looking back, Tom reflected on the importance of the lessons taught while he was a livestock judge. Not only did they apply to the animals but those raising them. “Livestock judging helped me teach students how to collect information and make decisions. Most don’t raise livestock now and are in other fields but they value the experience of being pushed to make independent decisions,” he said. In much the same way, the Turners collected information from experts to help guide their vision on how to transform an old silica mine into a thriving Shorthorn cattle business. “It’s been a lot of work and we’re looking forward to just maintaining the land,” Susie said. “Hopefully, we’re an inspiration to others that you can overcome challenges.”