Inside Agroforestry

So, What’s This Talk About Carbon Anyway? ........Page 2

Conservation Buffers Work .....................................Page 3

Over 150 RC&D’s Involved in Agroforestry......Pages 4-5

Take A Look At What Events Are Coming Up........Page 8

Spring, 2000Forest ServiceNatural Resources Conservation Service

Inside This Issue

“Dead Zone” in The Gulf of Mexico is aNational Problem; Agroforestry CanHelp

Report on theStatus of OurNation’s Water

Mississippi River Basin and its major tribu-tary rivers (after Meade, 1995).

Calculated nitrogen sources of theMississippi River Basin.

by Kimberly Stuhr, Technology Transfer Specialist, NAC, Lincoln, Nebraska

It’s called Hypoxia. Hypoxia occurswhen the dissolved oxygen level inwater is too low to sustain life. Duringthe last decade, up to 7,000 squaremiles of the Gulf of Mexico, near themouth of the Mississippi River,become oxygen-depleted each year.“The Dead Zone,” as it is oftenreferred to by fisherman, unable tosustain animal life during the summerand fall.

As the Mississippi River dumpsexcess nutrients from its basin, into theGulf, (See Figure), algae are pro-duced. As this organic matter dies, itsettles to the bottom and oxygen isconsumed as it decomposes. This cre-ates a hypoxic condition.

Human-caused hypoxia elsewherein the world has had serious economicimpacts on fisheries. Costs impactcommercial fishing, consumers ofseafood, tourism, recreational fishing,and non-users discouraged by per-ceived pollution. Commercial andrecreational fisheries in the Gulf cur-rently generate $2.8 billion annually.

In late 1999 the National Water-Quality Assessment Program(NAWQA) published its first report inthe series, The Quality of Our Nation'sWaters. The report, based on sampling20 large watersheds, presents insights

on nutrients, herbicides, and insecti-cides found in surface and groundwa-ter. Differences in land use, chemicaluse, land management practices andnatural processes were examined tohelp explain results. High levels ofnitrogen and phosporous were detect-ed in agricultural areas and at least onepesticide was detected in almost everywater and fish sample collected fromstreams. For more information on thisU.S. Geologic Survey Circular # 1225visit: www.usgs.gov

“At least one pesticide

was detected

in almost every

water and fish sample

collected from streams.”

(See Dead Zone on page 6)

Hypoxia is not unique to the gulfof Mexico. It is also found in theNorth, Baltic, Adriatic, and BlackSeas, Long Island Sound, and Japan’sSeto Island, and the Chesapeake Bay.Dozens of the worlds hypoxic zoneshave already lost benthic, or bottom-dwelling, organisms needed to sup-port fish populations and fishingindustries.

The Gulf of Mexico’s hypoxiaproblem is the largest human-caused,coastal problem in the WesternHemisphere. The hypoxia begins inlate spring, reaches a maximum in

Leguminous Crop N Fixation

25%

Human Sewage

2%

PrecipitationDeposition

15%

Non Agr.Fertilizer

3%

Agricultural

Fertilizer

Dead Zone

NAC

NAC Director’s Corner

2 Inside Agroforestry

A commentary on the status of agroforestryby Center Director, Dr. Greg Ruark

Forested Buffers Needed in Agriculture

concentrations. The greatest concentrations were oftenassociated with storm events.

Each year 1 billion pounds of pesticides are appliednationally, with about 75 percent of this applicationoccurring on agricultural lands. Most agricultural pesti-cides are in the form of herbicides, since insecticides areapplied more selectively and at lower rates. The mostcommonly detected herbicide in streams and groundwa-ter was atrazine and its various breakdown products. Atleast one pesticide was found in almost every water andfish sample collected from streams, and more than half ofthe streams contained five or more pesticides.Groundwater was also affected, with nearly one-quarterof the samples registering two or more pesticides.

The report concludes that… "the reduction of nutrientsand pesticides concentrations in streams and groundwater clearly require management strategies that focus onreducing chemical use and subsequent transport in thehydrologic system."

Agroforestry practices, like forested upland and forest-ed riparian buffers, have been shown to reduce water pol-lution when they are located in strategic positions on thelandscape. These buffers can slow and reduce the trans-port of runoff to streams, thereby allowing more time forthe environment to degrade pesticides and animal wasteproducts and increase the infiltration of water and conta-minants into the soil.

On the front cover of this issue we mention the recent-ly published USGS report, The Quality of Our Nation'sWater. This report examines the condition of our Nation'swaterways and groundwater. Unfortunately, the progressin cleaning up contamination from point sources has notbeen matched by the control of runoff from non-pointsources, especially fertilizers and pesticides applied inagricultural and urban areas and nutrients from animalwastes. States found that 40 percent of the surface watersthey surveyed were too contaminated for basic humanuses, such as fishing and swimming. Concerns for aquat-ic life were also expressed.

Annually, in the United States 12 million tons of nitro-gen (N) and 2 million tons of phosphorus (P) are addedas commercial fertilizers, while an additional 7 milliontons of N and 2 million tons of P are applied as manure.Each year, much of this fertilizer finds its ways into sur-face waters and groundwater. The USGS report estimatedthat 90 percent of N and 75 percent of P in surface watersoriginates from non-point sources.

The study evaluated samples taken since 1991 fromtwenty large watersheds distributed across the U.S.Nutrient concentrations varied seasonally in response tochanges in precipitation, streamflow, and fertilizer ormanure applications. The highest levels of N in bothstreams and groundwater were associated with agricul-ture. High P levels were found near areas of livestock NAC

by Kimberly Stuhr, Technology Transfer Specialist, NAC, Lincoln, NE

surface. Others are not convincedthere is a cause and effect relationship.

The one fact that both sides agreeon is that atmospheric carbon dioxidelevels have risen 30 percent since thebeginning of the industrial revolution,primarily from burning fossil fuels.

The good news is that agroforestrycan help! Adominant considerationfor rebalancing the global carboncycle is to find ways to promote the

Carbon, carbon, carbon! Are youwondering what carbon really is andhow agroforestry can help “capture”it?

Basically, carbon dioxide in theatmosphere traps heat that is leavingthe Earth and radiates it back. Thiskeeps the average Earth temperaturelivable. Too much carbon dioxide isbelieved by many scientists to resultin an overall warming of the Earth’s

What’s All This Talk About Carbon?increased growth of trees and shrubs.Much of this opportunity will occuron farms and ranches.

Windbreaks, Riparian ForestBuffers, Silvopasture systems, andShort Rotation Woody Crops prac-tices can help help reduce atmospher-ic carbon dioxide levels while at thesame time,protecting crops, livestock,soils, and water resources and pro-vides additional on-farm income. NAC

Inside Agroforestry 3

Conservation Buffers Work...Environmentally andEconomically

Just three years ago, Secretary ofAgriculture Dan Glickman committedthe U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) to the National ConservationBuffer Initiative as a means ofincreasing farmers', ranchers', andwoodlot owners' awareness of conser-vation buffers and helping thoselandowners install 2 million miles ofbuffers by the year 2002. That's a lotof buffers, the equivalent of aboutfour trips to the moon and back.

Landowners, many of whom wantto do the right thing environmentally,have responded. To date, they've usedfederal and state land retirement, cost-share, easement, and private programsto add 753,000 miles of buffers to theAmerican landscape. And even morebuffers are likely now that USDA hasannounced several new incentives thatshould make a key federal program-the Conservation Reserve Program(CRP) continuous sign-up-even moreeconomically attractive.

The CRP continuous sign-up wasadded to the 1996 farm bill to enticelandowners to use buffers more wide-ly in addressing water quality andother conservation challenges. Thecontinuous CRP is distinctly differentfrom the general CRP in three ways:1) landowners can offer land forenrollment at any time, 2) enrollmentis non-competitive; and 3) eligibleland need not be classified as highlyerodible land.

From the outset, the buffer initia-tive has had the support of most agri-cultural and conservation organiza-tions. Agricultural groups see buffersas a way for landowners to meet theirenvironmental stewardship responsi-bilities voluntarily and perhaps avoidmore onerous regulatory programs.Conservation interests view buffers asa means of achieving multiple envi-

by Max Schnepf, USDA NRCS Public Affairs Liaison, Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny, Iowa

ronmental goals, including soil ero-sion control, air and water qualityimprovement, fish and wildlife habitatenhancement, flood control, carbonsequestration, and conservation ofbiodiversity.

Buffers come in all kinds, shapes,and sizes. Their applications vary,depending on a landowner's goals.New York City, for example, is pay-ing farmers in the Catskill Mountainsto install filter strips and other buffersto protect the city's drinking watersupply. Landowners in the PacificNorthwest and New England arebeing encouraged to install riparianforest buffers as a means of protectingthe habitat of endangered salmonspecies. In Missouri, researchers andfarmers continue to experiment withtree-based buffers, including alleycropping and windbreaks, not only toprotect the environment, but also todiversify farming operations and cre-ate new profit potential through theproduction of forest commodities.Elsewhere, landowners are applyingbuffers to reduce soil erosion and sed-imentation, minimize nutrient andpesticide pollution, and even manageodor pollution from confined live-stock production facilities.

Buffers work economicallybecause of the incentives provided bygovernment agencies, like USDA,

and, in some cases, private-sectorpartners. A growing body of scientificknowledge also demonstrates thatbuffers work environmentally. Recentresearch at Iowa State University, forexample, shows that grass filter stripscan remove up to 90 percent of sedi-ment in sheet flow in the first 20 feetof the filter strip.

Work at the same central Iowaresearch site also shows that bufferswith trees are capable of significantlyreducing the nitrate in subsurfaceflow. Removal rates, however, appearto be influenced significantly by anarea's subsurface geology.

ANational Academy of Sciencesstudy completed in 1993 suggestedthat conservation buffers were amongthe important practices that could beused by landowners to reduce non-point-source water pollution. Giventhe many other conservation benefitsof buffers and the potential for incor-porating profitable forest crops intobuffers, such as timber, fruit and nuttrees, and ornamental shrubs, conser-vationists should take note ofSecretary Glickman's recent admon-ishment in Conservation Voices mag-azine:

After acknowledging that landown-ers must assume ultimate responsibili-ty for taking advantage of the oppor-tunity to install buffers offered by thecontinuous CRP sign-up and otherprograms, the Secretary suggestedthat USDA conservationists and theirmany partners also assume someresponsibility for advising farmers,ranchers, and woodlot owners aboutthe opportunity they have to usebuffers for environmental improve-ment. If that advisory role is indeedaccepted, the environmental qualityenjoyed by all Americans will certain-ly be the better for it. NAC

“USDA conservationists

and their many partners

also assume some responsibility

for advising farmers, ranchers,

and woodlot owners

about the opportunity they have

to use buffers for

environmental improvement.”

4 Inside Agroforestry

National RC&D Survey of Agroforestry

The National Association of Resource Conservation andDevelopment Councils (NARC&DC) worked with NAC todesign and administer a national survey of RC&D on agro-forestry during the summer of 1999. The survey wasdesigned to determine the extent and geographic locationof agroforestry practice throughout the United States. TheNARC&DC analyzed the survey and will publish a reportby early summer. Maps and graphs are used to illustratewhere agroforestry practices are being used, where RC&DCouncils are involved in agroforestry projects, and wherethere are opportunities to apply more agroforestry prac-tices. It also suggests what types of assistance will be need-ed to enable landowners and support agencies to betteradvance the adoption of agroforestry technology.

Summary. Of the 315 RC&Ds, 222 completed the agro-forestry survey (71 percent return). Of these, 2/3 have haddirect involvement in agroforestry projects. The surveyshowed that the use of, interest in, and demand for agro-forestry is extremely high in all regions of the country. Thereport provides details on the six major agroforestry prac-tices of: 1) alley cropping, 2) forest farming, 3) wind-breaks, 4) riparian forest buffers, 5) silvopasture, 6) specialapplications.

Alley Cropping. Thirteen percent of the RC&Ds from 22states responded that alley cropping is utilized in theirareas, while many others indicated a potential for expand-ing the use of this practice. Eight RC&Ds have activelypromoted the practice. Two, used seminars and confer-ences, while others were involved with helping to grow

by Greg Ruark, Director, NAC, Lincoln, Nebraska

herbs and medicinals, planting hazelnuts in contour strips,and cropping between rows of black walnuts. Single andmultiple-row hardwoods are most frequently used for alleycropping, but single or multiple-row softwoods are alsoused. Alley cropping is generally found in the eastern halfof the country with three exceptions: Oregon, Washington,and Texas. Minnesota and Kentucky reported the use ofshort rotation hardwoods species, such as hybrid poplar, inalley cropping systems.

Forest Farming. Thirty-four percent of the RC&Ds from34 states reported forest farming practices in their areas,with the Midwest and Southeast encompassing 70 percentof the activity. Mushrooms and ginseng are the most fre-quently grown. Twenty-one RC&Ds are directly involvedin projects ranging from seminars, conferences, tours, anddemonstrations. Three have helped develop cooperativesand associations to help market products. The applicationof forest farming has a great variety of opportunities, but a

Percentage of RC&D Councils reporting an agroforestry prac-tice being used in their area.

In Need Of Attention...

• MarketsMarkets need to be developed or expanded to increase the adoption of some agroforestry practices. Some RC&Ds are already working with partners to identify or create niche markets, but greater involvement by USDAagencies, like the Agricultural Marketing Service and Rural Development is needed.

• Landowner Information and EducationThere is a need to demonstrate the economic benefits of many agroforestry applications. RC&D areas can help local partners reach the landowner, but need support to develop educational material.

• General Public EducationThere is a need for increased efforts to inform the public about the benefits they receive from agroforestry. RC&Ds can incorporate this information into many of their education programs.

• Assistance to RC&DRC&Ds need more financial resources to allow them to bring together landowners and communitieswith relevant local, state, and federal partners.

Over 150 RC&Ds Involved in Agroforestry Projects!

Alley Cropping

Forest Farming

Riparian Buffers

Silvopasture

Special Applications

Windbreaks

Approximately the same number offorested riparian buffers were plantedas were naturally regenerated. Thesebuffers are commonly used to addressmore than one issue at a time, with thedominant intent being controllingstream bank erosion, followed by con-trolling non-point source pollution, andenhancing wildlife habitat. In addition,restoration, aquatic habitat, and aes-thetics were all addressed more thanhalf of the time. There were 104RC&Ds directly involved in forestedriparian buffer projects. Most workedin partnership with others like Soil andWater Conservation Districts, NRCS,FS and EPA. They are also workingwith various watershed organizations,The Nature Conservancy, and FutureFarmers of America chapters.

Silvopasture. Thirty percent of theRC&Ds reporting, or 67 Councils in 32states, observed silvopasture systems

being used. About 60 percent of the activity was in theSoutheast and occurred most often in southern pine stands.Improved farm economics was the primary motivation fortrying silvopasture systems. Other issues that wereaddressed to a lesser extent by silvopasture included ero-sion control, water quality, and wildlife habitat.Silvopasture systems are being promoted by RC&D’s usingtours, meetings, brochures, and grazing trials. One RC&Darea holds an annual forestry awareness week for youth,while another helps with grant writing to encourage thepractice.

Special Applications. Fifty-two percent reported specialagroforestry applications in their RC&D areas.This includ-ed 28 states, of which more than a third are located in theSoutheast. Visual screening of unsightly areas is the mostcommon special application and was listed by 58 percent ofthe RC&Ds in 31 states. The need for interface buffers,such as greenbelts, between agricultural activities and com-munities was identified by 51 percent in 29 states. Thirtyfour percent used agroforestry to control noise in 21 states.The disposal of municipal waste was cited by 23 percent ofthe RC&Ds, while the disposal of animal waste was 22 per-cent. Trees were used to control dust in 21 percent of theRC&D areas, while application for odor control was 19percent. Woody biomass production was reported in onlynine percent of the RC&Ds and occurred in nine states. Toorder a free report: www.rcdnet.org or www.unl.edu/nac.

Inside Agroforestry 5

need for market development was identified by 10 percentof the RC&Ds.

Windbreaks. Windbreak usage was reported by 68 per-cent of the RC&D areas in forty-three states. Of theRC&Ds reporting windbreaks, 82 percent hadfarmstead/community windbreaks, 68 percent had fieldwindbreaks, and 56 percent reported livestock wind-breaks.The issues most often addressed by windbreakswere reducing wind velocity, lowering energy costs, habi-tat for wildlife, livestock protection, and reducing soil ero-sion. Some opportunities for expanded adoption were men-tioned such as, living snow fences along roadways andscreen plantings in the interface between agriculture andcommunities. Windbreaks have been planted in manyareas since the 1930s and many have reached maturity. Anumber of RC&D areas observed that many windbreaktrees are deteriorating and dying. Also, many windbreakshave been removed due to changes in farm machinery andthe adoption of center pivot irrigation. The availability ofcost share programs was viewed as essential to increase theadoption of some windbreak practices.

Riparian Forest Buffers. This was the most frequentlyused agroforestry practice and was reported by 81 percentof the RC&Ds. Opportunities for installing additionalbuffers are recognized by 93 percent of the RC&Ds. NAC

There were 151 RC&D Councils that directly promoted one or more agroforestry projects.

Projects include:Riparian Buffers 104Special Applications 60 Silvopasture 12Windbreaks 65 Forest Farming 44Alley Cropping 8

Survey returned — RC&D Promoting one or more practiceSurvey returned — RC&D Not promoting agroforestry projects

6 Inside Agroforestry

(Dead Zone from page 1)

New Living Snowfence Brochure Available

Visit NAC’s web site at: www.unl.edu/nac topreview a new full-color brochure on livingsnowfences. This brochure discusses the bene-fits, planning, plant selection, and design ofliving snowfences. It applies throughout mostof the United States, but is especially applica-ble to the Northwestern U.S. If you aren’t ableto view a copy and order from the web site,fax a request to 402-437-5712.

midsummer, and then used to disap-pear in the fall. Today, when autumnrolls around, it only shrinks.

The Gulf’s hypoxia was firstrecorded in the early 1970s, but per-sistent hypoxia began being observedduring the 1990s. In 1993, the severefloods which flushed nutrients frommidwest soils caused the hypoxiczone to double in size.

Although the source of the problemvia the Mississippi river is varied, pre-sent-day usage of fertilizer, especiallynitrogen, is considered the primaryproblem. Nitrogen export from theMississippi River Basin has increasedup to seven-fold over the last century.Other nutrients play a role and candrastically affect marine food chains.

The good news is that agroforestrycan help. Mike Dosskey, ResearchEcologist for NAC says, “riparianforests have been shown to filter out amajority of the nitrogen from runoffthat passes through them.” He added,“Hypoxia is a non-point source prob-lem, so part of the solution will requirea wide-spread installation of buffers.”

Hypoxia has been found in theChesapeake Bay. In 1983 an agree-ment, led by the EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) was signedby the bay states, to cooperate to solvethe bay’s water quality problems.According to Al Todd, ChesapeakeBay Program Liaison, “riparian forestbuffers have presented a very promis-ing and useful tool in terms of nutrientremoval. They provide multiple bene-fits by also helping to restore fisheriesand stream systems, as well as providewildlife corridors.” Todd adds, “I liketo describe the Chesapeake Bay as aheart, and the stream systems andriparian areas as the circulatory sys-tem connected to the heart. The healthof the circulatory system plays a bigrole in the health of the heart itself.”Adapted from “Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia: Landand Sea Interactions” by the Council forAgricultural Science and Technology TaskForce Report. June, 1999.

Farming the Forest for Specialty ProductsProceedings Now Available

Held in Minneapolis, MN in October, 1998, copies of these proceedingsfrom this conference are for sale while supplies last (US $25.00, includesshipping). To order call CINRAM at (612) 624-4296 or mail your orderand payment (checks payable to the University of Minnesota) to: CINRAM Proceedings • University of Minnesota • 115 Green Hall • 1530Cleveland Avenue North• St. Paul, MN 55108

For more information: www.cnr.umn.edu/FR/cinram/

Carbon: Exploring the Benefitsto Farmers and Society

August 29-31, 2000 • Des Moines, Iowa

Attend this international conference and find out:What carbon is worth environmentally, economically, and agronomical-

ly What is known about carbon management, sequestration, and othergreenhouse gas mitigation measures How to manage carbon on agricul-tural land How carbon credit trading might work What’s over the hilland on the horizon

Take advantage of roundtables, panel discussions, and poster presenta-tions, offer opinions of what carbon policies and practices might workbest, and express concerns with policy makers, scientists, and others.

Conference information: www.cvrcd.org/carbon

NAC

Inside Agroforestry 7

by Sally Eugair, Soil Conservation Technician, USDA NRCS, Rutland County, Vermont

Editors Note: Sally Eugair, SoilConservation Technician with the USDANatural Resources Conservation Service inRutland County, Vermont has been successfulwith getting riparian forest buffers establishedin her area. Following are some of herthoughts.

I don't want to see our nation'swater supply ruined. Having livedoverseas for several years, I havefirst-hand knowledge of how seriouspolluted waters can be. I am stronglyopinionated regarding water quality,and working with farmers can be real-ly gratifying when I see the measuresthey take to help protect our waters.

On-farm conservation practicesthat help prevent water pollution aregrowing in Rutland County. Over thelast three years, I have installed andcontracted 140 acres of riparianbuffers. Since January 2000, alone, 43acres went in to buffers to excludelivestock from the waterways. Andmore landowners are waiting forassistance.

Many landowners can see the bene-fits of fencing their livestock awayfrom streams, but the cost can be pro-hibitive. As a farmer myself, I under-stand how difficult it is to take 70 feet(35 feet on each side of the river,times the distance of land along theriver) out of production. Installing apipeline for alternate water supplies,building a crossing area for livestock,planting trees and shrubs, and

Riparian Forest Buffers and Livestockin Vermont

Stream CorridorRestorationTechnology

-An Introduction-Sunday, July 9 and

Tuesday, July 11, 2000

Two one-day workshops will beoffered during the Soil andWater Conservation SocietyAnnual Meeting in St. Louis,Missouri. Each workshop willintroduce the principles,processes, and practices ofstream corridor restoration.

For more information:www.swcs.org

Spotlight On Success Vermont

installing electric fencing and charger,in addition to maintenance can be aserious financial burden. I feel thatthis awareness allows me to talk withlandowners on a common level whenit comes to encouraging them to pro-tect streambanks and ultimately thewater quality of the entire watershed. Ibelieve that riparian buffers and useexclusion are the least expensive prac-tices available to protect water quality.Landowners are doing their share forthe environment. The financial invest-ments they make towards water quali-ty benefit everyone. With obviousinstallation costs aside, the landownerstill has to pay taxes for land that istaken out of production each year toaccommodate the buffers. Also, thelandowner is responsible for mainte-nance of the buffer, which can requirereplacement costs and hours of fencemending .

Lots of one-on-one contacts, part-nerships, and incentive programs pro-vide the means by which I am able tohelp landowners achieve water pollu-tion prevention."What is impressive inall of this is that all of our goals arebeing reached - improved water quali-ty and wildlife habitat is being pre-served for the next generation."Through the USDA's EnvironmentalQuality Incentives Program (EQIP),Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and strong partners such asU.S.Fish and Wildlife Service(Partners for Fish and WildlifeProgram) ,The Nature Conservancy,Vermont State License Plate Grant,and assistance from the GreenMountain College Students and theVermont State Community WorkCrew I have been able to fully imple-ment most projects.

Plains & PrairieForestry Association

(PPFA) AnnualConferenceLas Vegas, NM

August 8-10, 2000

The Conference topics include:Protecting and Restoring RioGrande Bosque; CorrizoDemonstration - restoringPinyon and Juniper ecosystems;and Pecans in the Desert -using small diameter trees.

For more information contact:New Mexico Energy, Minerals &Natural Resources Department

505-425-7472

“As a farmer myself,

I understand how difficult

it is to take

70 feet of land along the river

out of production.”

NAC

Upcoming EventsJune 18-21, 2000

RC&D National Conference, Ogden, UT. Contact: www.rcdnet.org.

July 8-11, 2000Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference. “Gateway to the Future - Conserving Private Land.” St Louis, MO. Contact, Pat Mulligan, 515-289-2331, ext. 17 (patm@swcs.org)

August 8-10, 2000 Plains and Prairie Forestry Association Meeting, Las Vegas, NM. Contact: Paul Lyons 505-425-7472.

August 29-31, 2000Carbon: Exploring the Benefits to Farmers and Society. Contact: www.cvrcd.org/carbon.

September 8-10, 2000American Ginseng Production in the

Inside Agroforestry is published quarterly by theUSDA National Agroforestry Center. Phone: 402-437-5178; Fax: 402-437-5712.

Greg Ruark, Center Director ext. 27Michele Schoeneberger,

FS Research Leader ext. 21Rich Straight, FS Lead Agroforester ext. 24Bruce Wight, NRCS Lead Agroforester ext. 36Kimberly Stuhr, TT Specialist/IA Editor ext. 13Mike Majeski, FS Agroforester

St. Paul, MN phone: 651-649-5240Jim Robinson, NRCS Agroforester

Fort Worth, TX phone: 817-509-3215Gary Kuhn, NRCS Agroforester

Spokane, WA phone: 509-358-7946

Web Site: www.unl.edu/nac

MissionThe National Agroforestry Center (NAC) is a partnership of the USDA Forest Service,

Research & Development (Rocky Mountain Research Station) and State & Private Forestry andthe USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Center’s purpose is to accelerate thedevelopment and application of agroforestry technologies to attain more economically, environ-mentally, and socially sustainable land-use systems. To accomplish its mission, the Center inter-acts with a national network of partners and cooperators to conduct research, develop technolo-gies and tools, establish demonstrations, and provide useful information to natural resource pro-fessionals.

USDA policy prohibits discrimination because of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or handicapping condition.Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any USDA-related activity should immediately con-tact the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.

Opinions expressed in Inside Agroforestry are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the poli-cy of the USDA Forest Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

21st Century. Leeds, NY. Contact: BobBeyfuss, 518-622-9820;www.cce.cornell.edu/greene.

October 10-13, 2000Third Biennial Conference: Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations Group. Syracuse, NY. Contact: 315-470-6891, ce@esf.edu, www.esf.edu/willow