Roundabout Farm
Farm Name: Roundabout Farm
Location: Leonardtown, St. Mary’s County
Owners & Operators: Steve Sisterman and Deborah Koehler
Production Type: Equine Boarding Farm
Farm Size: 28 acres; 18 pasture acres
Years in Production: Since 2009
Starting to Farm and Working with the Conservation District
Steve Sisterman and Deb Koehler bought the 15 acres that became Roundabout Farm in 2008. The built the barn and first 3 pastures in 2009. They added 13-14 acres over the next couple of years, which allowed them to put in a dedicated sacrifice lot and 3 more pastures for rotation. Steve and Deb started working with the St. Mary’s Soil Conservation District in 2008-2009.
Ag Conservation Planner: Sara Lewis
Sara is a Conservation Planner and Equine Specialist with the Maryland Department of Agriculture. She works at the St. Mary’s Soil Conservation District office in Leonardtown.
Additional Technical Assistance: Luke Mudd, Soil Conservation Technician and Adam Lyon, MDA Area Coordinator
Take a Virtual Tour of Roundabout Farm
“When we met, I had a lot of horse knowledge. As a horse owner, and especially if you’re running a small business like our boarding business, you’re thinking of everything that the horses need from safety to nutritional value. And that’s where the Districts came in, to make sure that we’re doing optimal care for these horses. So we took our horse knowledge and blended it with that. It’s been wonderful- you just can’t beat that mixture.”
– Deb Koehler
Best Management Practices (BMPs) on the Farm
Roundabout Farm worked with the staff at the St. Mary’s Soil Conservation District to identify resource concerns and BMPs that were a best fit for their farm. Some of these practices were funded through the Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share (MACS) Program, but others were fully paid for by the landowner. Steve notes that the process was lengthy, but he has all of the designs in hand for any of structures that he might install in the future. BMPs on the farm include:
- Prescribed Grazing/Rotational Grazing
- Heavy Use Area Protection
- Manure Storage
- Fencing
- 30-40 foot buffers around the ponds
- Waste storage structure
- Sacrifice lot
- Manure management
- Pasture management
- Nutrient management
- Bat box for insect management
- Grazing Management Plan
BMPs Planned for the Future:
- Extending outlet pipe to move stormwater out of the field
GIS Resources Used for Planning
GIS resources are essential for conservation planning. Planners make use of information from aerial photographs, soils layers, elevation and contour layers, wetland delineations, critical areas and more to determine the appropriate practices and best sites to locate each practice.
Click through the images to see different layers available to help with planning. All of these were created using the Maryland MERLIN Online GIS Tool.
Additional Resources:
- NRCS’s Field Office Tech Guide
- The 9 Steps to Conservation Planning
- Maryland MERLIN Online GIS Tool
- Web Soil Survey
- UME Equine Resources
- Maryland Horse Industry Board
- Pasture and Manure Management Tips for Horse Owners
- Horse Owner’s Guide to Best Management Practices
- Official Guide to Maryland’s Licensed Stables
Partners:
