Vegetative Systems Treat Livestock Runoff

Vegetative Systems Treat Livestock Runoff

Related ATTRA Publication: Constructed Wetlands

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Livestock Producer Environmental Assistance Project recently held a tour showcasing four Nebraska cattlemen who are using vegetative treatment systems to control and treat runoff from their open livestock lots. The project, funded by a Nebraska Environmental Trust grant, is designed to help small- and medium-sized cattle and cow-calf producers. Vegetative treatment systems are a substitute for the conventional holding pond. Instead of a pond, producers use an area of perennial grass called a vegetative treatment area that drinks up the water and nutrients in the liquid runoff. The tour featured some unique vegetative treatment systems, including a sprinkler system and a feeding area for cow-calf pairs that is surrounded by four grazing paddocks.