They had to find a way to stop the cows from going to the bathroom in the creek.
The solution? Nose pumps.
“Most people have never heard of them,” said Kensington Conservancy land stewardship coordinator Carter Dorscht.
In 2014, Desbarats-based conservation group The Kensington Conservancy received a $149,900 Trillium grant to protect 85-acres of ‘Provincially Significant Wetlands’ at the mouth of the Stobie Creek.
Just up the creek along Highway 17 sits the farm of Charles Stobie, whose cows for years have been bathing and drinking out of the creek.
Stobie’s farm might be familiar to travellers — it’s the one with the large rock formation in front of it five minutes east past Desbarats.
His family has owned the farm since the 1800s, which is why the creek bears his name.
From a conservation perspective, Stobie’s cows were a problem since they added to the erosion of the creek — which was already a problem because of farming in the area — and because their manure was spreading harmful ecoli.
Both of these issues were contributing to the degradation of the wetlands area less than a kilometer downstream.
They were able to fence the creek off but, the problem was, how would Stobie’s cows still get access to drinking water?
The solution came in the form of nose pumps, which they had heard of by way of conservation projects happening on Manitoulin Island.
Dorscht said that he had never even heard of them before but based on his research they were big in the United Kingdom, where they’re made.
So, the cows now access water by pressing their noses against the pump which sucks up water via a hose into a little plastic dish.
The pumps are portable and can be used on both sides of the river, depending on where the cows are grazing.
Although the two they installed on Stobie’s farm are unheated seasonal pumps, it’s also possible to have solar powered heated ones that can withstand the winter.
They even come with a small-sized dish on the side so calves can access water.
Dorscht said that once the head 'alpha cows' started using the pumps, the rest followed.
The cows have apparently taken to it quite well said Stobie, who’s happy with the changes to his property.
Before the pump and fence, his cows would sometimes try to cross to the farmlands on the other side of the creek by walking through the mud.
In recent years “a cow old enough to vote, if you know what I mean” got stuck in the mud and he’s happy to be relieved from that possibly happening again.
Dorsch said he’s had lot of positive feedback about the pump.
“We’re hoping other farms will see them as an alternative,” he said.