The Jefferson County Conservation District is proud to announce one of this year's Finalists for the brand new Conservation Farmer of the Year recognition program! Mr. Brooks Baker of Warrior, Alabama is one of four finalists for 2021. The Conservation District’s new program recognizes individuals or family partnerships directly engaged in farming and exemplifying excellent conservation stewardship on their farm. Part of the qualifications of this recognition is to have demonstrated an adherence to sound conservation principles.
Tucked away, behind the new Warrior Elementary School sits Baker Farm, a family owned and operated farm. Mr. Brooks Baker is certainly passionate not only about being a good steward to the land but also passing along this message to younger generations. This was recently demonstrated as he led about 500 Warrior Elementary students on a hayride tour of his 240 acre farm. During this tour, students, teachers, and staff were able to listen and learn about several innovative programs and practices Mr. Baker has installed through his participation in USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). These resource conservation practices don’t just enhance production but conserve the land and its resources. For example, the students enjoyed learning about his pollinator garden. Although the field was mostly dormant now due to the cold season, Mr. Baker planted a one acre field full of beneficial flowers and native plants for the local pollinators to forage earlier this year. These include bees, butterflies, and even other obscure pollinators like moths and bats to just name a few.
“Bees forage up to 6 miles, so I know my friends nearby who keep bees and harvest their honey are foraging from my garden,” he explained.
These native flowers will bloom again in the spring and provide an essential habitat, but also food not just for the bees but humans too through the production and harvesting of honey. This voluntary conservation practice is provided through the NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). This is a five-year program that rewards the landowner for maintaining existing conservation practices that have been installed and allows for new conservation enhancements.
Additionally, Mr. Baker has several hay fields that he utilizes with a large barn holding over 100 large round bales! In Alabama, most hay farmers can harvest about 3 cuttings from a field throughout May to November. That is usually about three tons of grass per acre! However, the weather conditions can be an uphill battle. Nevertheless, Mr. Baker is fortunate to have many bales of hay already in his barn, ready for buyers and to feed his livestock for the winter season. Hay is often fed as a supplemental forage but can be the main source of nutrition for animals in the winter when the warm season forage has become dormant.
Many hay farmers are also cattle farmers and Mr. Baker and his family maintain a large herd of cattle as well. These two commodities often pair well together and are common in Jefferson County. It was a treat for the students to see the new calves, one born just the night before the tour. Mr. Baker and his volunteers explained how they care for the cows and showed students how they feed them too. He pointed out the cross fencing that had been installed and how splitting up pastures is a good practice of “rotational grazing.” This NRCS practice benefits both the cows and the land in that it allows them to have grass to graze for a longer period of time throughout the year instead of one pasture being overgrazed to the bare soil. In this practice the grass in the unused pasture will grow back faster and stronger because the grass is not overgrazed and will not have to be replanted so frequently.
All of these conservation practices that Mr. Baker actively maintains are clear examples of why he is deserving of this new recognition program. Mr. Baker is a true example of how land stewardship should be managed and passed on to upcoming generations so that they too understand and adopt the values of conservation and good stewardship.
To mark the occasion, the District awarded Mr. Baker a metal sign to display at the entrance of his farm and awarded him with a $500 check.
article & photography by Holly Lynne Killian, District Administrative Coordinator of the Jefferson County Conservation District