Improving Reclaimed Areas

[Drose]

I just bought 33 acres of newly reclaimed coal mines. This has been surface mined and all put back in to pasture ground. The ground consists of mostly slate rock and poor barren soil. It has been hydro seeded and starting to have a decent stand of fescue. What are some ways I can start to build the ground and get it going in the right direction?

The bond from the coal company won't release for a few more year so I wont be able to put cattle on it until then. Im trying to come up with a 3-5 year plan and get the property to its maximum potential. Any ideas on where to start?

 

[Drose]

This is a a section of the property for reference.

 

[daneg]

Winter feed cows on it, Bale graze or spread manure.

 

[Drose]

Winter feed cows on it, Bale graze or spread manure.

I won't be able to until at least next year. The coal company has to have their reclaim surveyed and it has to have so much stem count to pass for their bond to be released.

We do bale graze and feed hay on another section we have that was reclaimed but it's been a slower less fruitful process than I anticipated. I will be feeding on that piece as soon as I am able though.

 

[kenny thomas]

Do you own the property or gonna lease it from the coal company or someone?
If you own it then you can do more. Very first thing i would do is a soil test. I will bet it needs lime. That will make a huge difference in improving the soil.
Where are you located?

 

[Drose]

I own it now. The previous owner had it stripped and wanted to sell after he sold the coal. I got it at a VERY good price and it's just a half mile down the road connecting to a property we already lease. I had some of my own property stripped back 7-8 years ago and it's been a very slow process building the ground back to a usable state. I didn't have all the rock and slate to deal with on mine though. I'm in southeast Ky close to Corbin.

 

[kenny thomas]

I own it now. The previous owner had it stripped and wanted to sell after he sold the coal. I got it at a VERY good price and it's just a half mile down the road connecting to a property we already lease. I had some of my own property stripped back 7-8 years ago and it's been a very slow process building the ground back to a usable state. I didn't have all the rock and slate to deal with on mine though. I'm in southeast Ky close to Corbin.

The reason I ask is i deliver off road fuel to several coal mines from Pineville Ky to West Virginia . Thought it might have been one that just finished north west of Hazard.
My thoughts are still soil test. UK Extension has done experimental work on reclaiming for close to 50 years. Might get your local Ag agent to help.

 

[wbvs58]

You might have to have a tree fall down over the fence so your cows can get through to it.

Ken

 

[coachg]

Chicken litter , any organic matter . We are cutting hay on some reclaimed land now . It's been several year reclaimed and other than a few washes it has really good grass .

 

[Brute 23]

Will they let you burn it? With no cattle for a couple years a good burn program could help manage regrowth of unwanted things and put some of that grass back in the soil. Not sure if that is common in the area.

Definitely agree on letting some one in the are help.

 

[Drose]

Technically since I am the owner I can do whatever I want with the property now. The coal company has to come back in 2 years to fix some big cuts and drains they had to leave so I hate to get on their bad side because I don't have any power over the mineral or reclaim contract. I thought about bringing in some old partially rotted hay bales and spreading them best I could. I will probably lime and bale graze it in the fall before the weather turns.

 

[BC]

Several good suggestions. Check with UK Extension and soil test. I like Coachg's suggestion on chicken litter. If you can get some litter or any kind of manure for that matter it will help. That soil is kind of "dead" like some of our old worn out cotton land that was farmed to death.

 

[kenny thomas]

Technically since I am the owner I can do whatever I want with the property now. The coal company has to come back in 2 years to fix some big cuts and drains they had to leave so I hate to get on their bad side because I don't have any power over the mineral or reclaim contract. I thought about bringing in some old partially rotted hay bales and spreading them best I could. I will probably lime and bale graze it in the fall before the weather turns.

A couple thoughts, unless the post mine use listed agriculture or pasture you may be limited on what you can do until its released from the permit. You could become responsible for any type of damage that the inspectors might not like. Probably not but might be worth checking.
If you have any more of your property mined then get soil testing and seeding to your needs in the reclamation permits before you sign the agreement. Right now the coal is booming so they will be more agreeable.

 

[50/50Farms]

Poop. We had a patch of of rocky barren ground on a promontory of a lake on a property we were trying to nurse back to health and after becoming frustrated to all hell with it we began getting poop by the load and just coating the sumbeech and by the time we quit using the place you could have laid down and taken a nap in the grass on that point.

 

[Travlr]

Technically since I am the owner I can do whatever I want with the property now. The coal company has to come back in 2 years to fix some big cuts and drains they had to leave so I hate to get on their bad side because I don't have any power over the mineral or reclaim contract. I thought about bringing in some old partially rotted hay bales and spreading them best I could. I will probably lime and bale graze it in the fall before the weather turns.

You should put your location on your profile. Advice could depend on north/south, east/west factors. If you are in Arkansas you will get different advice than if you are in Pennsylvania. Nevada and Virginia would be different advice.

Whatever you do, the first layer needs to be tilled deep into whatever you have.

 

[kenny thomas]

You should put your location on your profile. Advice could depend on north/south, east/west factors. If you are in Arkansas you will get different advice than if you are in Pennsylvania. Nevada and Virginia would be different advice.

Whatever you do, the first layer needs to be tilled deep into whatever you have.

He is in eastern KY. Tillage is pretty.much impossible on reclaimed coal mine land. Its loose big rock covered by smaller rock, covered by a few inches of soil. Not even good topsoil as most of it has sandstone base material. It takes several years to break down but adding the organic material sure helps.

 

[SDM]

If you can get it, lime-stabilized biosolids at ~35 dry tons/acre would be the trick.

https://powellriverproject.org/

 

[kenny thomas]

Great advise on the same area except in VA.
Just for information., powell river project closed after the landowner sold all the property (160,000 acres) to a natural gas company from Texas. I worked that area a lot and am still in a 15 ,000 acre hunt club that joins it.