This was a student project by Erin Rudemiller, Conner Cunningham, and Evan Bluemel for Jake Boswell and Ethan McGory's course LARCH 4960 in Autumn 2018. For the past one hundred years, Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory, better known as Waterman Farm, has been used for production agriculture. As Columbus has urbanized, the function of the farm has changed. Our proposal looks to a more sustainable and better managed future for Waterman while also implementing best management practices. A desire to improve the conditions of the cattle on site called for the removal of seventy-five acres of corn silage on site. Corn silage is currently the main source of nutrition for cattle, which is known to be detrimental to their health. Changing the cattle’s current diet involves transitioning them to a 100% grass diet via a daily intensive rotational grazing system. This pasture based system would mitigates sewage issues and improve manure management on site, as the manure would be evenly spread over pasture and broken down by chickens. The removal of silage opens up significant acreage for small scale research to move into the north sector of the site. A 200’ x 200’ grid acts as the main organizational structure of our site that creates a flexible planning strategy that can better adapt to researchers’ specific needs. - Erin Rudemiller, Conner Cunningham, and Evan Bluemel
