Field day focuses on new farming practices


Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007
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By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer

Photo by Ronnie Day

Taking a guess

Leon Burton and his grandson, Rob Estes, guess the weight of a log during Saturday’s field day activities.

Foxden, a beautiful 2,200-acre tree and cattle farm on Hernando Road, was the site of the 11th Annual Field Day, Saturday. Eight field-stop presentations and a big turnout of cattlemen, tree farmers and conservation enthusiasts helped make the day a success for all.

Sen. Ralph Doxey gave the keynote address at noon while guests enjoyed fried catfish and all the fixings a la Sheriff Kenny Dickerson.

Photos by Ronnie Day

Co-sponsors

Steve Elgin, president of the Marshall County Cattlemen’s Association, and Buck Hobbs, president of the Marshall County Forestry Association, are pictured as they help conduct Saturday’s program.

This year’s theme - “Silvopasture- the Integration of Forestry and Cattle” - highlighted the new farming practices being applied in Marshall County.

Art Waymire purchased the property from a timber company in 1991. The timber company had clear cut all the pine. Erosion was claiming the top soil. Most of the existing hardwood was saved. Waymire sought to restore the land to its original, pristine luster using modern farming practices. He learned about trees and cattle and the mixture of the two and the means of recycling material on the land - the wood, water, structures, grasses and rock. He planted food plots for wildlife and improved pastures, tributaries, ponds and lakes.

Art Waymire has garnered numerous awards since he bought the farm as an investment and place to live before the loss of his first wife in the 1990s.

Waymire received the state’s Conservationist Farm of the Year award in 2002, the local, district and state Tree Farmer of the Year award in 2003, and took second place in the Southern Regional Tree Farm of the Year in 2004. Waymire serves as president of the Mississippi Forestry Association and of the Mississippi State Forestry Commission.

Foxden mixes wetlands, timber (hardwood and pine) and cattle production and provides a lush environment for wildlife, both flora and fauna. This year’s tour wove these elements together into a fine five-mile tour.

Silvopasture is a way to get more than one income on tree farms that take decades to mature. Cattle provide extra income and help keep firelanes and fence rows clean and kudzu under control. There is no trouble with cattle damaging established stands of trees.

Waymire has said he bought the land for forestry as a long-term investment for the future of his children and grandchildren.

Before acquiring Foxden, he was a successful businessman.

This is the first time Foxden has served for a combined forestry and cattle association field day. Last year, Woods’ Farm in Byhalia was the site of the joint field day put on by the Marshall County Forestry Association and the Marshall County Cattleman’s Association.

Waymire was the founding president of the Marshall County Forestry Association.

Talking pines

Tim Traugott of Mississippi State University talks to some field day visitors about growth rings on pine trees.

His property is managed to maximize the production of forest products and cattle using the best conservation practices and procedures to promote wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities while protecting the environment and land.

A forest stewardship plan was prepared to meet these goals by former county forester Eddy Pou and Waymire and the plan was adopted in 1994. The plan included a cattle operation that has proven to be quite successful and the management plan has been recently updated by Alan VanValkenburg.

This year marked the third forestry field day on the farm with each one providing new and fresh stops.

Foxden has been made available for both youth and adult educational tours.

Some features of interest on the land include:

the Line Shack - a family recreational center built by Waymire for his grandchildren’s pleasure.
a 95-acre lake. The south levy road on the lake runs parallel to Pigeon Roost Canal, built in the 1920s or 1930s.
clipped and overseeded food plots for wildlife on all fire lanes.
several sandstone deposits that have been mined and the rock used for erosion control.
several observations towers and a large hay shed that were constructed from pine trees which once lined the entry road to Foxden. The trees were harvested and sawed into lumber when they were discovered to be damaged by insects.
improvement of all existing structures including an old milk barn and the plantation home.

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