Landowner Vignette

 
Featured Landowner : Dave Johnson
Location: Glade Spring, Virginia
Type of Operation: Dairy Farm

A Legacy of Clean Water

Highland Dairy sits amidst the rolling hills and meandering streams of Washington County. Dave Johnson operates the family farm that was started by his father in 1965. There are approximately 500 cows on the 1100 acre farm. While the number of dairies has been steadily decreasing in this region, Dave’s conservation ethic and excellent management skills have made this a model farm.

The farm has become a training ground for future conservationists, as well as the general public. Dave installed rock riprap, fascines and cedar revetments to stabilize stream banks, excluded livestock from all waterways, and installed two 2600 gallon reservoirs for livestock water. He also planted riparian buffers along the streams to filter pollutants from crop fields. Each year students from nearby schools visit the farm to monitor water quality in the streams and learn about different conservation practices.

In 2001, Dave received the Clean Water Farm Award from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was also recognized by the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council for his outstanding forage production. Everything was going well--until he discovered a leak in his waste storage pit.

He worked with NRCS and the conservation district to install a system that would handle manure and milk house waste. This included a 1.2 acre storage pond, a 75,000 gallon collection basin, and a solids separator. Water is flushed from barn drains to the collection box, where solids and liquids are separated. The solids are stored on a covered platform and directly applied to the land according to a nutrient management plan. The liquids are piped to the pond and then underground to crop fields where it is applied using a traveling big gun irrigation system.

Dave is always adding to his operation and improving his systems. Recently he installed a pack barn to improve the comfort level for his herd. The pack barn has a concrete pad on one side of the barn where the animals are fed. Manure deposited in this area is flushed to a separator and the water recycled. The other side of the barn has a dirt floor covered with sawdust where the cows can lay down and rest. Cycling cows through the pack barn reduces health problems.

Water quality is important to the Johnson family. Dave says, “We do a lot of kayaking and we have seen good and bad streams. That’s why I bought 20 acres I didn’t need-- so I could protect both sides of the stream. My Dad thought this was the prettiest place on earth. I want it to be that way when I pass the farm on to my daughters.” He is one step closer to his dream since his oldest daughter graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in dairy science and came back to work on the farm.

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