The Equine Industry

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The Equine Industry

• The Northeast Pasture Research and Extension
  Consortium
• Gary Bergmann VP and General Manager Stonegate
  Standardbred Farms, Inc.

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The Equine Grazing Industryin the Northeast

• The Economic Impact
• The Research And Education Needs For Nutrition
  and Environmental Impact
• The Quality of Life Benefits for the General
  Population

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• Look back at mans struggle for freedom,
• trace his present day strength to its source,
• and youll find that his pathway to glory
• is strewn with the bones of the horse
• (anonymous)

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National Economic Impact Source American Horse
Council 2005 survey

• The horse industry contributes approximately 39
  billion in direct economic impacts to the U.S.
  economy on an annual basis.
• Racing, showing and recreation all generate
  between 10 billion and 12 billion in annual
  direct impacts.
• When considering indirect and induced spending,
  the horse industry annually generates
  approximately 102 billion for the U.S.
  economy.

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National Economic Impact

• Of the total 102 billion in economic impacts
  reported, approximately
• 32.0 billion is generated from the recreational
  segment,
• 28.8 billion from the showing segment,
• 26.1 billion from the racing segment and
• 14.7 billion for other industry segments.
• Approximately 1.96 million people own horses,
  with another 2 million people involved as
  volunteers or through a family affiliation.

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National Economic Impact

• The horse industry sustains approximately 1.4
  million full-time equivalent jobs on an annual
  basis, with over 460,000 of those jobs created
  from the direct spending within the industry.
• There are approximately 9.2 million horses in the
  U.S. with approximately 3.9 million involved in
  recreation and another 2.7 million horses
  participating in horse shows and other
  competition.
• The dollar figures do not include tourism
  dollars to hotels, restaurants, etc., generated
  by people attending equine events such as horse
  shows, major races (i.e., The Kentucky Derby, The
  Devon Horse Show, The Hambletonian, etc.) ,
  etc..

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Tax Dollars
 
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Northeast Impact

• AHC figures indicate that 964,625 equines reside
  in the northeast states of CT, DE, ME, MD, MA,
  NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, WV
• This number represents nearly 10.5 of the total
  equine population of the U.S. living on 6.2 of
  the land mass, including water.
• Applying this percent to the national figures
  means the Northeast is generating 10.71 billion
  dollars of revenue, creating 147,000 FTE jobs and
  contributing 197.4 million dollars in tax revenue

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Challenges Facing the Equine Industry

• Encroaching Urbanization
• Loss of Equity Through Down Zoning
• Loss of Right to Farm Freedoms
• Environmental Issues
• Increased Costs

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• Horse farms rely on the equity of their land to
  borrow against
• The capital obtained is used to upgrade the
  livestock quality and make capital improvements
  to their property
• The money is also used to carry expenses until
  the sale of their horses, particularly breeding
  farms
• Down zoning building lot size reduces the number
  of available lots on large acreages therefore
  reducing the overall net equity value of the
  land, even effecting the sale of development
  rights

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Horse Farm Manure Management

• Each farm should have a plan for managing manure
  spreading and disposal.
• Store manure in a dry, level, impermeable
  location free from storm-water runoff.
• Manage storm-water to prevent manure
  contamination of water bodies and eliminate
  runoff.
• Control animal access to streams and waterways.
• Control farm erosion.
• Neighbors, bedding, feed, odors, emergency
  management.

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Separation of commercial and recreational horse
operations
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According to Nelson Bills, Professor of
Agricultural Economics at Cornell University

• The way federal agricultural statistics are
  compiled reflects traditional agricultures
  ambivalent relationship with the equine
  industry,
• There is a real disconnect between what we see
  in the working landscape and whats in the
  Census of Agriculture statistics,
• In many locales, equine operations are a key
  part of the rural landscape but remain largely
  unrecognized in farm statistics.

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Grazing Nutrition and as an Economic Alternative
to Feed Concentrates

• Commercial farms rely on grasslands
• Recreational facilities could better utilize
  grass

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Environmental Impacts

• Manure management
• Maintaining pervious cover
• Preservation of open spaces and grasslands

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Research and Educational Needs for Equine
Operations

• Land Grant Universities equine research and
  extension projects
• Rutgers Universitys Equine Science Center and
  Model Farm
• Federal Projects in Work

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Quality of Life Benefits

• A viable agricultural industry that is
  economically sustainable
• An industry that benefits the general population
  by improving their quality of life through the
  preservation of open spaces
• An industry that benefits the environment by
  providing a means for groundwater recharge
• An industry that provides immeasurable benefits
  to handicapped persons through handicapped riders
  programs
• An industry that provides tremendous pleasure to
  the people that own and ride horses

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Conclusion

• In order to maximize equine operations and to
  achieve the results needed by a 102 billion
  dollar industry that provides pleasure, open
  spaces, quality of life and tax dollars for
  everybody, the equine industry needs
• a concerted effort by the producers, USDA, ARS,
  NRCS, NESARE, Land Grant University Research And
  Extension services
• Supportive federal funding

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References

• The American Horse Council Report June 2005,
  Washington, D.C.
• Pennsylvanias Equine Industry Inventory, Basic
  Economic and Demographic Characteristics,
  Department of Dairy and Animal Science College
  of Agricultural Sciences The Pennsylvania State
  University University Park, PA
• The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture,
  Harrisburg, PA
• The Mid Atlantic Equine Pasture Initiative
• Dr. Michael Westendorf, Associate Professor,
  Rutgers University
• Nelson Bills, Professor of Agricultural
  Economics, Cornell University
• Landworks
• Microsoft TerraServer Imagery USA
• U.S. Geological Survey

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Acknowledgements

• Dr, Carey Williams, Rutgers University
• Dr. Ray Bryant, ARS USDA
• Dr. Charles Krueger, NE Pasture Consortium
• Jill Koehler, NRCS
• Dr. Karen Malinowski, Rutgers University
• Ms. Kathleen Costello, editing
• William Costello, photography