Brewster-Barnes also recommended owners use fencing to keep horses away from streams, sinkholes, ponds, forestland, and eroded areas. | Photo: Erica Larson/The Horse

Tammy Brewster-Barnes, MS, extension associate, spoke to students, veterinarians, farm owners, and horse enthusiasts about horses and the Kentucky Ag Water Quality Act at the 2019 University of Kentucky Equine Showcase, held Jan. 26 in Lexington.

She covered water-quality issues relating to horse farms, as well as best management practices (BMPs) for preventing water pollution on or near farms, creating a water and soil conservation and nutrient (manure) management plan, and accessing resources available to help landowners comply with the Kentucky Agricultural Water Quality Act (AWQA).

The Kentucky General Assembly passed the Kentucky AWQA in 1994 with the goal of protecting the surface and groundwater resources from pollution resulting from agriculture and forestry activities. The act promotes practical natural resource management systems that protect Kentucky’s waters and complies with government rule and regulations. It mandates that landowners of 10 or more acres who apply plant available nutrients or who export manure must develop and implement a nutrient management plan as part of their agriculture water quality plan