Farmer hopes to turn acreage into sponge
Richard Burd is trying to make a 120-acre sponge. “Yes. I guess that would be a good way to describe it,’ the Smithfield area farmer said.
But it’s much more than that. It’s an experiment in how better to reclaim land that has been strip mined.
Since the 1970s, the state Department of Environmental Resources, which today is the Department of Environmental Protection, has been making sure strip mined land is reclaimed.
Land Reclamation is the process where a mining company takes the land they have mined and returns it to a usable and productive piece of acreage. This process may include moving mass amounts of earth and rerouting water. Land Reclamation is now required by the department of Interior of the United States and is covered under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.
However, Burd, who has educated himself in land quality during his decades as a grain grower, insists that while most reclaimed areas may grow grass they are poorly suited for more viable crops.
“The land may be put back according to all regulations. It can even be done so the environmental people are happy. But typically there is a 40 to 60 percent reduction in its productivity,’ Burd said. “And with the price of corn today, a 100 percent rate still won’t give you great cash flow.’
Because of that, he refused to let his farm be strip mined.
Until now.
“We are trying to amend the soil with organic material to make it better than if was before it was mined,’ Burd said.
Burd has succeeded in improving land by adding more organic matter, in most cases hay, chopping it and spreading it by the ton over his fields. The hay helps the soil capture and hold moisture as well as install more nutrients.
Burd now hopes to use that same concept to replace stripped earth.
Through a partnership with friend Tom Hill, a third generation coal operator, Burd plans to replace earth removed in the mining operation in stages or “horizons.’
Hill explained that the first horizon he removed from a 12-acre section on Burd’s farm, the topsoil, was set aside. The second layer or horizon was also removed and segregated. The third horizon – the one on top of the coal – Hill and his workers also kept apart from the other layers.
“When we put this all back we will put the ‘C’ horizon back first. They we are going to mix organic material with the ‘B’ horizon before putting it back. We will put the ‘A’ horizon (the top soil) on top of that,’ Hill said.
What Burd hopes to create is a spongy field that is full of nutrients and moisture. “Instead of a layer of good stuff (top soil) that’s anywhere from a few inches to three feet deep, we’ll have something going down maybe 30 feet,’ he said.
“One of the biggest problems we have in this county is we have a lot of clay. With all the rain we have been getting, if it stopped raining for two weeks or more, we would find ourselves in another drought condition. That’s because the soil won’t hold the water very long,’ Burd explained.
Hill, his partner in this project, Bradley Jacobs, Burd and Fred Sumey, who works with Burd, have one hurtle to cross.
“We aren’t sure how to mix the quantities of soil and organic material together,’ Burd said.
With a minimum of 9,000 tons of organic material to be mixed with more than 10 times that quantity of soil, Burd is looking for something akin to the largest cement mixer ever created. “We have old sawdust, bark, hay and other stuff,’ Burd said.
Hill, however, thinks he can push the materials together, working them into one homogenous heap.
Hill, whose grandfather started the family coal business in 1917, had been “after Rich for 10 years to let me strip his farm.’
“Then one day, Rich just called us,’ Hill added.
The coal, Hill added, while not anthracite, is top quality hard bituminous, with a very low sulfur content. “It’s excellent coal that we will have no problem marketing.
“I am fortunate to have someone like Tom who will agree to do what I want. I am taking some of my coal money and putting it back into the soil,’ Burd said.
Hill will have to spend more time on the operation because of Burd’s specifications.
“We have a very good reputation. We have a very good rapport with the state and federal environmental people. The state and federal people are here one to two times a month and they don’t let you know when they are coming,’ Hill explained.
Hill estimates the 120-acre Burd farm has from 10 to 15 years worth of coal on it. The first work has been to remove the coal from a 12-acre site. Hill hopes to do the rest of the farm in similarly sized tracts.
“The only problem we can’t address until we get into this is compaction,’ Burd warned.
By that he means how the heavy equipment used to restore the land will impact its quality by its sheer weight or how much it compacts the soil.
“It should be spongy. You can find out if soil is going to be good just by walking on it,’ Burd said.
It may take several years for Burd’s experiment to be fruitful. The first year he plans to plant a crop with good roots to prevent erosion.
After that, he can plant crops on the stripped area.
“The lifeblood of the soil is organic matter. If it has it, the soil holds water and the roots can penetrate it. “In theory what we are doing should really work. But we can’t do this unless the (coal) operator is not willing to go out of his way to work with you. The most important thing is we don’t want to do anything that might destroy the soil,’ he said.