profitable farms and woodlands - a practical guide in agroforestry for landowners, farmers and...

8/11/2019 Profitable Farms and Woodlands - A Practical Guide in Agroforestry for Landowners, Farmers and Ranchers

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Proftable Farms

and WoodlandsA Practical Guide in Agroforestry forLandowners, Farmers and Ranchers


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AlleyCropping

ForestFarming

RiparianBufferStrips

Silvopasture

Windbreak

s

Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................... iii

Purpose .............................................................................................. v

Contributors ..................................................................................... vii

AGROFORESTRY PRACTICES

Alley Cropping ................................................................................. 1

Forest Farming ................................................................................. 19

Riparian Buffer Strips ...................................................................... 47

Silvopasture ....................................................................................... 57

Windbreaks ....................................................................................... 73


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PURPOSE

Profitable Farms and Woodlands: A Practical Guide inAgroforestry for Landowners, Farmers and Ranchersis a practicalhandbook on agroforestry, in an easy to read format written forunderserved and limited resource farmers and woodland ownersliving in the Southeastern U.S. Te handbook is designedto assist farmers and woodland owners establish, manageand market agroforestry projects that are diverse, integrated,profitable, healthy and sustainable. A team of agroforestry

experts collaborated to produce this manual. Rigorous andextensive reviews were made for each chapter to ensure theinformation applies to the targeted audiences and their needs.

Te 1890 Agroforestry Consortium conducted two landownerfocus groups in Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia.Although not all the suggestions were used to develop thishandbook, the reviews expressed by the underserved and

limited resource landowners were the guiding light that led tothe development of this handbook.

Te participants indicated they wanted the following subjectscovered:

What is agroforestry?

Is agroforestry economically feasible?

Are there local, state and federal resources available foragroforestry?

What are some specialty crops that could be established in thisarea?

What is the availability of potential grants and contracts?

Te handbook is presented in five chapters, one for eachagroforestry practice. Chapter topics are:

Introduction

Te Basics

Economic Considerations


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Further Assistance and information

Success Stories

Te authors sincerely hope that readers will find this guide to bea useful resource to establish and manage integrated, profitable,healthy and sustainable family farms and woodlands.

Tis handbook also provides technical guidelines with practicalinformation that may be useful to field technical staffs to trainsmall size farmers and woodland owners to establish, manageand market agroforestry projects that are diverse, integrated,

profitable, healthy and sustainable.


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CONTRIBUTORS

Boyd, Gwendolyn D. L. Associate Professor, ForestryDirector, Department of Agriculture,Alcorn State University, Alcorn, MS

Christian, Colmore S. Assistant Professor, ForestRecreation and Outreach,Alabama A&M University,Normal, AL

Fraser, Rory F. Professor, Forest Economics andPolicy, Center for Forestry andEcosystem Assessment, AlabamaA&M University, Normal, AL

Godsey, Larry D. Research Associate/Economist,University of Missouri Center for

Agroforestry, Columbia, MO

Hamilton, Jim County Director, Watauga CountyExtension Office, Boone, NC

Hill, Deborah B. Extension Professor, Department ofForestry, University of Kentucky,Lexington, KY

Idassi, Joshua O. Natural Resources Specialist, NorthCarolina Agricultural andechnical State University,Cooperative Extension Program,Greensboro, NC

Mentreddy, Rao Professor and Program Coordinator,

Plant Science and MolecularGenetics, Department of NaturalResources and EnvironmentalSciences, Alabama A&M University,Normal, AL


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Mrema, Frank A. Interim Extension Forester,ennessee State University,Nashville, N

Onokpise, Oghenekome U. Professor and Associate Dean,College of Agriculture andFood Sciences, Florida A & MUniversity, allahassee, FL

Walter, W. D. Dusty echnology ransfer/ResearchSpecialist, University of MissouriCenter for Agroforestry,Columbia, MO

Workman, Sarah W. Public Service Associate, Office ofGlobal Programs, College ofAgriculture and EnvironmentalScience, University of Georgia,Athens, GA


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ALLEY CROPPINGW.D. Dusty Walter, Larry D. Godsey, Gwendolyn D.L. Boyd,and Joshua Idassi

Introduction

Tis chapter is intended to help you design and managean agroorestry practice called alley cropping (Figure 1).

Properly applied on a landscape, an alley cropping practice canenhance and diversiy arm income opportunities, improvethe environment and create wildlie habitat. Developing anunderstanding o the interactions between trees and other plantswill help you achieve the goals o the alley cropping practice.

Figure 1.Alley Cropping with black walnut and corn

When trees are established in rows separated by wide spacingthat allow the growing o other crops in that between-row space,you have created an alley cropping practice. Depending on thespace between rows o trees, alley cropping can be designed to

use plants that do well in either ull sun or partial shade. It isalso possible to design alley cropping to begin growing sun-lovingcrops and then change over to shade tolerant crops as the treerows begin shading the alleys (Figure 2). Understanding plantinteractions and competition will help you design an alleycropping practice that meets your needs. Proper planning helpsyou achieve success.


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When properly designed and used on a arm, an alley croppingpractice can benefit overall arm productivity and the numbero arm products that are produced, while at the same timehelping to improve the environment by reducing soil loss

and improving the use o soil nutrients, such as nitrogen andphosphorus. However, or proper design it is essential to have agood understanding o the goals or your land, both short andlong term, and to design the alley cropping practice based on agood understanding o the interaction between the trees, shrubsand crops that have been selected.

Figure 2. Changing rom a sun-loving

crop o corn, established with a six-row corn planter between tree rowson 22.5 oot centers, to a wheat crop.By age 9 this planting needs to bethinned i the owner wants to main-tain row crops. Te alternative is tochange to a more shade tolerant crop,or to a tree product such as a nut crop.

Crops that can be produced in full sun include (Figure 3):

Horticultural plants, such as tomatoes, corn and blackberries

Forages, grains and oilseeds

ree crops, such as plums and nuts

Seeds, such as wildflowers or select grasses

Christmas trees

Shrubs and other landscaping plants rees or lumber and wood fiber products

Crops that can be produced at some level of shade may include:

Herbal medicinal plants, such as ginseng, goldenseal and blackcohosh


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Landscape plants like erns, mayapples, and Jack in the pulpit

Mushrooms such as shiitake

Figure 3.Lettuce intercropped with peaches until mid-June ollowed im-

mediately by a pumpkin intercrop until October. (Ontario, Canada.Source: http://www.omara.gov.on.ca/english/crops/hort/news/hortmatt/2005/16hrt05.pd)

Advantages and Challenges of Alley Cropping

Advantages of Alley Cropping

Short-term cash ow from annual crops

Sun crops compete with weeds

Soil amendments for crops also benet the trees

Trees reduce losses from runoff

Trees act as windbreaks for companion crops

Long-term income from tree products (wood, fruit, nuts)

Diversity of farm products

Challenges of Alley Cropping

Trees can be an obstacle during cultivating

Trees may compete with companion crops for light, moisture

and/or nutrients

Companion crops may compete with trees for moisture and/

or nutrients

Integrated management is often hard to do and challenging

The Basics

Design

Alley cropping is a multicropping practice two or more typeso plants growing on the same area o land at the same time inwhich the trees, shrubs and/or other plants compete or light,


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water and nutrients. An understanding o how different treesand shrubs, orages and grasses, respond to site conditions onyour arm will be an invaluable tool in designing a successulalley cropping practice. In addition to appropriate species

selection, there are a number o ways you can influence theability o plants to compete or light, water and/or nutrients.

Different plants have different spacing requirements. Whendesigning your practice, space the trees, shrubs and herbaceousplants appropriately or their mature size, or plan to thin thembeore competition reduces productivity. I you are starting withexisting trees it is likely that some will need to be removed bythinning in order to reach the number o trees (density) that youwant. I you are using new plants, this involves planting at theright density.

Between row spacing. Te overall success o your alley croppingsystem ofen is linked directly to the spacing between the rowso trees. Tere is a direct link between the distance between treerows and the years a light-demanding crop can be produced(Figures 2, 3 and 4). When the distance between rows o trees isincreased, the years an alleyway may be armed with minimalcompetition rom the trees is increased. Te spacing you selectwill be based on many actors, including whether the emphasisis on a tree related crop such as nuts or wood production, or onmaintaining crop production in the alleys between the tree rows.

I the emphasis is a change to nut production rom yoursystem, then the alleyways will need to be wide enough toallow or ull development o the trees crown as well as spacingto accommodate nut harvesting equipment. However, i theemphasis is on wood production rom the trees, you may chooseto have narrower alleyways in order to have the highest numbero tree stems per acre. Te alleys will still produce income roman annual companion crop. However, with narrower alleys, it

will be necessary to plan or an earlier change to a companioncrop which can grow more easily in a shaded environment.

I maintaining an annual income rom specific alley-growncrops is a major desire, then alleyways must be designed wide.Since many alley crops are not shade tolerant (e.g., row crops,orages, or small berry crops), alleys must be wide enough tomeet their light requirements. In addition, the spacing will be


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determined by the length o the cropping system selected. I ashade-intolerant crop is to be grown in the alleyway or morethan a ew years (5 to 10), then the spacing between rows mustbe wide (75 eet or more).

Figure 4.Spacing and row orientation impact the longevity o the alleycropping practice by influencing the competition between trees and cropsor light, water and nutrients.

Within Row Spacing. Space between trees/shrubs within a rowwill have a strong influence on their growth and development.For example, trees that are grown tightly spaced will have atendency to grow up, towards the light. Tis type o growthis highly desirable when growing trees or quality woodproduction. Additionally, as these tightly spaced trees begin toproduce shade on one another, each o their branches in theshade will begin to die and eventually all off. Tis is called sel-pruning, and is again desirable when trying to grow high qualitywood in timber production.

On the other hand, trees spaced ar apart tend to grow out, aswell as up, creating larger tree crowns. Also, the additional lighton lower branches encourages a tree to keep and grow thosebranches. While this is not highly desired in trees grown ortimber, it is desirable i a tree is being grown or nut production.Tereore, i a tree, such as pecan, is planted with the intentiono harvesting nuts, then a wider initial establishment will help

branch development and growth creating a better tree or nutproduction. And, since light is important to the crown o treesproducing a nut crop, the wider spaced trees allow or ull sunto reach that trees crown or extended longer number o yearsbeore a thinning within the row is required. For nut production,a beginning spacing o 30 eet between trees may be best.However, it is likely that some trees will need to be removed atsome point in the uture.


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Row Direction. Row direction should be an additionalconsideration when establishing your alley cropping practice.In general, by establishing tree rows on an east-west orientation,more sunlight can get to the alleyway. I however, erosion or wind

control is a concern, then trees may be established on the contourto minimize erosion, or perpendicular to prevailing winds. Inthese cases, although available light may not be maximized, yieldscan be maintained by addressing other areas that limit production.

Multiple Tree Rows. rees and shrubs within the rows can bearranged in several different ways including single rows, doublerows or other multiple row configurations (Figure 5). Factorsinfluencing how many rows to establish and the arrangemento the trees within the rows should be based on a number opotential benefits.

Figure 5.Examples o single, double and triple row configurations oralley cropping

Advantages of single and multiple row plantings

Single Row

Less ground is used

Better for nut production

Maintenance is simplied

Fewer trees to plant

Farm production is enhanced

Multiple Row

Enhanced erosion control

Better growth of trees for timber

Improved wildlife value

Greater diversication of farm products


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Equipment Needs.Te alley between the tree rows shouldbe wide enough to allow clear passage o the widest pieceo equipment. Tis includes planning to allow space or thegrowth o the tree crowns. Tis is particularly important in nut

production when early crown development is desirable. Planalleys such that ull, or multiple, passes o the equipment canbe utilized. For example, i using a 13-oot wide disk, it may bedesirable to have an alleyway 60 eet wide. Tis allows or ourpasses with the disk (52 eet) and a buffer o eight eet to ensuredamage is not done to the tree trunk (Figure 6).Te equipmentyou own will dictate much o the design and spacing chosen orthe alley cropping practice.

Figure 6. Plan or the type o equipment used in harvest and management.Row orientation, direction o travel, and turn radius o equipment should allactor into the layout o an alley cropping practice


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Management

Below-ground Management

Root Systems. rees, shrubs, grasses, crops and other plants

can have root systems that are shallow, deep or both. Plantsthat have root systems in the same depths o soil are going tobe in competition or water and nutrients, and will impact theyield and growth o each other. Ideally the trees selected or analley cropping practice should have a deep root system in orderto minimize competition with crops in the alley. However, ierosion is a concern, then trees with a more shallow root systemmay provide better soil stability. I root competition looks likeit is happening, one method o reducing this competition is toprune roots so that they do not occupy the same area.

Root pruning lowers the competition between trees and cropsgrown in the alley. Starting early will help train roots to growdeeper. I you have existing trees that need root pruning, thenpartial pruning in steps is recommended to reduce the shock

to a tree. Pruning too many roots rom older trees will damagetheir ability to collect water and nutrients, and will be evident bydamage in the trees crown. Pruning in steps involves pruningpart o a trees root system over a number o years. At the veryleast, you should begin by only pruning roots on one side o thetree in a given year. However, once the process is started you willwant to prune tree roots every year or two in order to keep themrom growing into the cropped alley.

Manual root pruning can be done by orcing the blade o a spadeinto the soil or by digging a trench. Mechanized root pruningis done with a tractor mounted ripper, coulter or chisel plow,ideally with subsurace knives attached to sever deeper roots.How close to the trunk to prune the roots depends on wherethe plants in the alleys are growing. Pruning tree roots insidea trees drip line (outer edge o the tree crown) should be done

cautiously to minimize damage to the tree.

Fertilization. In most cases extra ertilizer will not be needed.rees will benefit rom crop ertilization. Where concern existsover trees taking nutrients rom the crop, then competition canbe minimized by root pruning or by adding more nutrients.Nutrients can be added in the orm o chemical ertilizer, animalmanure or a wide range o other materials. Tis may also include


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the use o living mulches or green manures (see http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html or additional inormation).

Canopy ManagementI there is too much shade under an existing stand o trees,the canopy can be pruned to allow more light to reach theunderstory plants. You may be able to accomplish this bypruning or improved timber production. Start by removingbranches low on the stem o a tree, to raise the height at whichthe canopy begins. Tis allows more light to reach the groundrom side angles. Remember, removing more than 60% o the

trees leaves and branches (live crown) may significantly reducethe growth o the tree. It is a good general rule to always leave atleast 50% o the trees height in live crown in order to maintaingood tree growth..

rees with small fine leaves will also allow more light throughthe canopy. Tese leaves decompose rapidly and allow nutrientsto be recycled into the soil aster, and at the same time this will

begin to improve the overall soil health.

Additional considerations may include the use o trees thatlea out late in the spring and/or drop leaves early in the all.I the crop in the alleys matures in early spring like winterwheat, or heads out in late all like milo, a tree species shouldbe incorporated that best accommodates the light needs o thatspecific crop (i.e., a tree species with a late dormancy or winterwheat; or a species that drops its leaves early or milo).

Ground Management

Weed Control.Weeds are plants growing in your agroorestrypractice that you dont want there, and that compete or water,nutrients and light with the plants or which you do have amarket. Where necessary these trees, shrubs or herbaceous

plants should be removed or suppressed to reduce thecompetition with your crop plants. Weed removal can be donein a number o different ways rom herbicides, to cutting, tocultivation. An additional consideration or use in controllingweeds adjacent to trees may include mulch, abric barriers orliving mulches (plants that dont compete with your crops buthelp reduce unwanted weeds). Te control o undesirable plantsin your alley cropping practice will better ensure its success.


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Irrigation.On some sites irrigation may only be required orthe first year or two until root systems are well established. Inother cases, as in some dry areas, your tree plantings may needpermanent irrigation o some type. I you are unable to irrigate,

make sure you chose trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that willgrow in your climatic area and soils without additional water.


Economic budgeting is a very flexible process. However, effectiveuse o budgets requires an understanding o the crop practice

or system to which it is being applied. Alley cropping posessome unique economic budgeting problems because it involvesmultiple enterprises with varying cropping cycles, such as trees,row crops, orages and/or livestock.

First, unlike most agricultural crops, alley cropping has aplanning horizon o greater than one season due to the tree orshrub component. A planning horizon is simply a time period

which covers all costs and revenues or a given practice. Forsoybeans, a planning horizon may be six months to a year.For alley cropping, a simple planning horizon may be as longas 60-80 years when the timber value o trees are taken intoconsideration. However, the planning horizon may also includetree incomes much sooner than 60 years. Te time it takes tobegin realizing a money return rom the tree crop dependson the product being harvested. In the previous examples,

the harvest o timber may take 60 years, while the harvesto profitable nut crops may only take 10 years that repeat onan annual basis. Te planning horizon is or the duration oyour alley cropping practice and may include multiple incomeopportunities.

Second, because o the longer planning horizon o alley croppingpractices, many o the incomes and costs do not occur at regular

or predictable intervals throughout the entire operation, but areirregular in occurrence.

Finally, because alley cropping practices typically incorporate afixed tree or shrub component with an alleyway crop, the cropmay change over time. For example, an alley cropping practicemay start out as soybeans grown between rows o black walnuttrees, but by the time the trees are producing nuts, hay may be


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the crop grown between the rows o trees because a smoothersurace is required to mechanically harvest the nuts and lesslight is available in the alleyways. Tese three characteristics oan alley cropping practice require a specific type o budgeting

method that will be flexible enough to allow or variable crops,as well as detailed enough to show annual income or the entireplanning horizon.

Alley cropping budgeting is thereore a two-step process.Te steps are to develop enterprise budgets, and combine theenterprise budgets into a cash flow plan. An enterprise budget isa complete, detailed listing o all the costs and income expectedor each single crop, such as corn, livestock or nut and timbertrees. A cash flow plan combines the details rom the differententerprise crop budgets in the agroorestry practice and adds atime dimension. Te enterprise budget provides a rameworkor reporting and monitoring the profitability o each enterprise,and the cash flow plan provides the inormation necessary toassess and orecast the economic easibility o the agroorestrypractice over time.

Economic analysis is not meant to be a one time activity. It is aroadmap to help in determining the profitability o your alleycropping system and to assist in understanding when costs mightoccur over the lie o the planting. For more on developmento a personal enterprise budget and cash flow plan, please eelree to download the Agroorestry Economic Handbook titled

Economic Budgeting for Agroforestry Practicesat: http://www.centeroragroorestry.org/pubs/economichandbook.pd.

For inormation on profiting rom trees and other agroorestrycrops visit www.centeroragroorestry.org/profit/.

Further Assistance and Information

Technical

USDA National Agroforestry Centerhttp://www.unl.edu/nac/alleycropping.htm

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry DVDVisit www.centeroragroorestry.org, or the University oMissouri Extension web page at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/agroorestry/a1008.htm to purchase.


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ASA Book ChapterGarrett, H.E. and R.L. McGraw. 2000. Alley Cropping. IN: NorthAmerican Agroorestry: An Integrated Science and Practice(H.E. Garrett, W.J. Rietveld and R.F. Fisher, eds.). Agronomy

Society o America, Madison, WI. pp. 149-188.

UMCA Research Publicationshttp://www.centeroragroorestry.org/research/pubs.asp

From the United Kingdomhttp://www.agroorestry.co.uk/silvoar.html

From the Association For Temperate Agroforestry (AFTA)http://www.afaweb.org/alley_cropping.php

From the University of Floridahttp://csta.ias.ufl.edu/research2.htm

From Australiahttp://www.rirdc.gov.au/

Financial

Tere are a number o cost-share and incentive programs andgrants or landowners interested in the establishment o analley cropping system. You may contact your local Extensionoffice, NRCS office, or Soil and Water Conservation office orinormation regarding the ollowing cost-share/incentive plans:

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Sustainable Agricultural Research and EducationProgram (SARE)USDA-National Institute o Food and Agriculture


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Success Stories

Dan Shepherd

Shepherd FarmsClifon Hill, Missouri

Bluegrass hay and pecan alley cropping practice; buffalo ranch andagritourism business

Dan Shepherd raises buffalo or processing into lean, highquality meats and jerky, in addition to his pecan and bluegrasshay alley cropping practice. Shepherd Farms is also a nationwideleader in production, wholesale and retail distribution o eastern

gamagrass seed. Alley cropping is ideal or achieving both ourproduction and conservation benefits, said Shepherd. Weearn an annual income off the ground, while the trees are beingestablished. We also enjoy an abundance o wildlie in the habitatcreated by alley cropping. While the crops are growing we seedeer, turkey and quail utilizing this ground and the trees.


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Alvin and Shirley HarrisHarris FarmsMillington, ennessee

Growing hybrid eastern black walnuts using organic farmingprinciples: An Interview by Dr. Frank Mrema of Tennessee StateUniversity Cooperative Extension

Introduction: Just beyond the northern suburbs o Memphis,amid fields o cotton and soybeans, orested creeks and newhousing developments, lies the small amily arm owned byAlvin and Shirley Harris.

Frank: Mr. Harris, when did you learn about alley cropping?

Alvin:When Dr. David Brauer, the USDA-AgriculturalResearch Service representative in this project, talked to meabout growing eastern black walnut trees in my arm. I wantedthem ar enough so I could grow something in between whilethe trees were growing. I knew nothing about growing trees.While the trees were growing I wanted some space where I couldgrow watermelons, black eye peas and other short rotational


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crops. I was instructed to grow the trees using 25' by 25' spacing.My interest was to space them in this ormat, 25' by 30' so that Ihave more room in between the rows to grow some other crops,while these trees are growing.

Frank: Was the space in between the rows based on themachinery you were using or the crops?

Alvin:It was based on an arbitrary figure that I picked. I wantedenough space to grow three to our rows, and thirty eet wasgoing to give me pretty good spacing.

Frank: So how many types o crops do you normally plant inyour alley cropping?

Alvin:Ive grown peas, watermelon, corn, and etc. by rotatingthem every now and then. Tats the only things I have grown inbetween the trees.

Frank: Are there any other species o crops apart rom the onesyou mentioned which you grow in the alley cropping in otherareas?

Alvin:Oh yeah. I rotate the crops on the whole arm on athree to five year rotation. Everything is rotated, but I haventgrown tomatoes or anything like that in here. I have too muchother space, and I dont want to take a chance on losing a

crop o tomatoes in here. I know what I can do with them outthere. Te peas and the corn have done really well in here. Tewatermelons did really well.

Frank: Which species did you say have done well in the alleycropping system?

Alvin:Field peas all types o field peas, cream peas, purple

hull all types o field peas did well in here. Te corn did wellthe year we planted corn in the site. Also, the watermelons didreally well. So I have no complaints about their perormance inthe field. Very good results.

Frank: Did somebody come and tell you to practice this or wasit your own initiative?


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Alvin: It was mine. Nobody told me anything. But Ive beenrotating crops or years. A lot o what I do I learned overseastraveling around the world seeing how they did things.

Frank: So you traveled overseas. Tats where you learned aboutthis practice?

Alvin: Well I saw more o it over in Europe and Asia than I didany place in the U.S.

Frank: Organic arming is a costly practice, and may be veryexpensive to other armers. How do you manage and account orthe cost you inject on the alley cropping?

Alvin: I dont get the production off the whole field because thespace where the trees are, Im losing that space. But I dont dointensive arming anyway. Everything I do is organic. Tese treesare grown organically. Tere are no chemicals out here on thearm anywhere. I have been doing this or 30 something yearsand its going to stay that way.

Te orage and the blueberries we have up there, are all organic.In the last 30 years I havent used any chemical ertilizers orpetroleum based ertilizers on the arm. So I did organic armingwhen they told me it couldnt be done, and Im going to continuedoing it. Ive made money so Im not complaining. So everythingout here on this arm is organic, everything!

Frank: Is there any other reason you decided to grow organiccrops instead o others?

Alvin:Yes. I was in the military. I was trained in chemicalwarare, and I know chemicals and their affect on plants and theenvironment in general. Tat was the basic reason. And I knowi you put it in the soil the plants will absorb it and then we will

eat it in the orm o oods. I also reused to eed it to my childrenand to the general public.

Frank: Will you advise other armers to practice alley croppingsystem?


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Alvin:Alley cropping. .. Yes As ar as the trees, i they are notgoing to do it or nuts even i they put in trees or timber, whilethe trees are small they need to grow something between themmake some money somewhere because i I was growing these

or timber, what are we talking about? Forty years. Forty yearswith no income would be real trouble or a person that needsmoney. But i they space them so they can grow somethingbetween them, even or 10 years, youve got 10 years o incomerom the land. Whereas right now even with the nuts I haventlost that much on the arm yet. I am making money in this fieldevery year. Not rom the trees yet, but rom growing produce inbetween them. I still make money. Really I havent lost anything,I dont think, in this field, and I think this is the fifh or sixthyear.


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FOREST FARMINGDeborah B. Hill and Rao Mentreddy

Introduction

Sales o medicinal plants are now worth $60 billion worldwide,and over $12 billion in the United States. For example, a growero goldenseal in Georgia can earn $6,500 per acre each year. A

well-managed hive o bees can gross $300 per year or all beeproducts, and remember their value in pollinating crops. In an800-log shiitake business, a grower can earn about $6,000 peryear (see Success Stories). Returns rom timber can take 50 to 80years. In the past, orests in the South have been managed badlyor not at all. Teir quality can be improved by weeding, whichoresters call timber stand improvement (SI). Economic returnson weeding can take many years. A guaranteed way o makingcash flow aster is by arming the orest. Forest arming ismanaging the orest to produce things called non-timber orestproducts (NFP) that can be sold on a yearly or short-term basis.Non-timber orest products are a variety o crops that can beproduced in a orest. Tese include, but are not limited to:

bee products fuelwood maple syrup fence posts

medicinal plants crafts fruits & nuts mushroomsTese orest arming options need attention in different seasons.Bee products, ruits and nuts, mushrooms, and medicinal plantsare usually managed during warmer months. Maple syrupis collected and processed in mid to late winter. Firewood,ence posts and craf materials can be collected year round.Management o these options may compete with time, money

and energy needed by other arm crops. However, developingseveral o these options will improve the quality o the remainingtimber on the orested land and at the same time provide annualor short-term extra income or the arm or orest.

Many o these orest arming options need equipment, skillsand knowledge, which can be very different, depending on what


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you choose to do. For example, maple syrup production needsexpensive equipment to begin, but once you have the equipment,those costs are usually not repeated. However, maple syrup is ahigh value product with a long shel lie and can be marketed

year round. On the other hand, firewood, ence posts and crafmaterials may only need basic tools, knowledge and time tocreate a product. Tey can be collected, created and marketedat any time o year, although firewood would probably sell morerapidly and in greater amounts in the winter months.

Te economics o developing non-timber orest products in aorest arming system can be very different. Options like maplesyrup will probably need an investment o several hundreddollars to get all the necessary equipment. On the other hand,options like crafs materials and native ruits and nuts may notrequire any out-o-pocket costs other than containers to sell theproducts in. Products like maple syrup, some medicinal plants,mushrooms and honey are high-value products and will bringa quick return on investment, while crafs, jams and jellies maymake money in volume rather than in per unit value.

A variety o options and reerences are outlined in this chapterto help you look at orest arming urther. Depending on whatresources you have in your woodlots, you could choose to doone, several, or all o them. Many have specific times o yearwhen you need to work on them. Maple syrup production isusually a our to six week period in late winter/early spring, and

then you are done or the season. Crafs can be worked on allyear. Choose things that interest you and that you know you willbe able to market locally or on the Internet.

Beekeeping

Introduction

Raising honey bees in hives can produce honey, beeswax,pollen, propolis (beehive glue) and royal jelly. Tese productscan be harvested every year (honey possibly can be harvestedmore than once a year) and are valuable. From these basicproducts, several other value-added products can be developedor more income.


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The Basics

Buy your bees, equipment and materials and put your hives ina place protected rom wind and near either crops or orchards.

Get advice rom neighbors or your extension office on howmany hives to start with and what kinds o bees have been mostsuccessul in your area. Check your hives at least once a weekor disease or loss o bees. Make sure they have water and i theweather gets dry, make sure they have sugar water. Always leaveenough honey in the hive or the bees to eed on over the winter.Other beekeepers can help you with this.

Materials and Equipment

You will need bees, a beekeeping suit, gloves, hat and veil,hive boxes, supers, smoker, and hive tools. Some equipment,


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The Basics

It all starts with an idea, whether you want to make baskets, orwreaths, or sculptures, or useul objects like spoons, bowls andwalking sticks. Walk through your woods and see what kinds otrees, shrubs and ground covers you have. I you have an idea

o something to create, check with your state tourism office orwith a statewide crafs guild and see what your options are ormarketing your product. You will be surprised at what peoplewill pay good money or!


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Te kinds o materials and equipment you will need to makecrafs depends on what you want to make. Usually you need

hand tools, paints and brushes, small saws, and so orth and aspace to work that is big enough or your project.


I you are creating a product out o ound things in yourwoods (cones, seed pods, oddly shaped branches and so on), thestart-up costs are mainly your time, which, as you continue to

make your product, will also be the major recurring cost.

Fruits and Nuts

Introduction

We are talking about ruits and nuts that occur naturally inour woodlots. Tis could include persimmons and pawpaws,wild grapes and berries, black and white walnuts, hickory nuts,hazelnuts, and beech nuts. Because native ruit species seem toripen at the same time, it is hard to get a good price or them asresh ruit, since there is lots o competition in the marketplace.So, rather than marketing them as resh ruits, you might wantto consider making value-added products such as jams, jellies,

wines, ruit leathers or other products. Value-added products havelong shel lives, and can be marketed year-round. Te nuts can bemarketed resh. Black walnuts are a gourmet item, and HammonsProducts in Missouri collects them (in the hull) rom differentlocations in seven surrounding states, so there is an annual marketor them. Te other nuts can be gathered in the all and marketedthrough armers markets and local grocery stores.


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The Basics

It is important to know your woods well. Walk through themand learn to identiy the trees and shrubs that are there. I you

have native ruit and nut trees, and berries, clear some o thetrees that are right next to them so that the ruit and nut treescan spread out with more branches where the ruits and nuts areproduced. Removing some o the competition not only gives thetrees you want more sunlight, but also gives them more waterand nutrients than they had beore.


Tere are no special materials or equipment needed orgrowing and harvesting native ruits and nuts. You may wantto buy collecting baskets or bags to make collection easier inthe all, but you can also use buckets and baskets that you mayalready own. I you decide to make value-added products,then you would needwhatever materials

and equipment thatare necessary. Youmay need large pots,canning jars and lidsor jams and jellies, andermenting equipment,bottles and capsor wines.


Since there are no special material or equipment needs orharvesting native ruits and nuts, the costs are limited to whatyou decide to do withthe ruits and nuts oncethey are harvested.

Whatever containers(jars, bottles, lids, caps,labels) your value-added products aresold in are exampleso materials that willneed replacement on anannual basis.


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Maple Syrup

Introduction

Maple syrup has been made in North America or hundreds oyears. Native American tribes, particularly in the northeasternUnited States, made it rom the sap o maple trees. Productsinclude maple syrup, maple butter, maple sugar, and maplecandies. All o these products are marketable year round, and allhave long shel lives. All are also high value products.

The Basics

Check your woodlots and see what kinds o maple trees youhave. Maple syrup can be made rom any kind o maple tree.Sugar maples are the best because they have a higher sugarcontent in their sap than the other kinds o maples. You needa lot o trees (10 - 20 at least) that are airly close together inthe woods and have a minimum diameter o 10 inches. Tismay require removing some small trees, or making openings

to let some sunlight in, to avor the trees that you want to keep.Tis is one option that you should not just try to go out anddo on your own. A good reerence manual on maple syrupproduction is theNorth American Maple Syrup ProducersManual (Bulletin 856) rom Te Ohio State University.Working with that, and talking with someone else who hastapped trees, will be very helpul.


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Maple syrup production is probably one o the most expensivenon-timber orest products to get into. You need stainless steel

equipment (pans, piping, baffles or flanges in the boiling pans)to boil down the sap, and i you are going to do this as a seriousbusiness on an annual basis, you probably should have a specialsugar shack that you would use only to make the syrup. Testeam rom the boiling sap can be very sticky, so you dont wantto try this in your kitchen. Te good news is that the expensiveequipment is probably a one-time cost, but it still means themoney is going out beore the product is bringing it back in.

Sometimes you can find second-hand equipment that isnt quiteso expensive, or i you have neighbors that might be interestedin making maple syrup, too, you could buy the boiling downequipment together.


As was noted beore, the boiling equipment is the expensive part.

Tere are, however, replacement costs or collecting buckets ortubing, spiles (the spigots that go into the trees to collect thesap) and containers or selling the syrup. Maple syrup and othermaple products have long shel lives and are marketable all yearthrough many different options o outlets (local grocery stores,craf stores, armers markets, etc.).


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Medicinal PlantsIntroduction

Forest medicinal plants grow mostly near the ground undershade, and, like most plants, need special soil and environmentalconditions. It is important or the grower to understand thespecial plant-soil relations or the target plant. Many medicinalplants are most valuable or their roots. Many are alsoperennials, so that once you have started them growing in anarea, they will continue to grow year afer year. Some can beharvested every year. Some, like ginseng (Panax quinquefolius),

take many years to grow big enough or a valuable harvest.Beore you decide on what crop to grow, walk through yourwoods and find out what type o trees you have, what yoursoil type and pH are (see your County Cooperative Extensionoffice and USDA Service Center or help with this), and whatkinds o plants are growing under your trees and shrubs. Mosto the orest medicinal plants grow in mixed communities.For example, i you have mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum),

you may also have ginseng, black cohosh (Actaea racemosa),goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and/or bloodroot (Sanguinariaracemosa). One very important thing is to find out what themarket is or the plant or plants you want to grow. Most o thewell known orest medicinal plants need 60% to 80% shadeduring their growing season (spring and summer), and deep,moist, well drained orest soils with pH measurements between


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6 and 7. Tey also will grow best i they have special ungigrowing on their roots called mycorrhizae. Ginseng or example,grows well under dense shade rom tree species such as sugarmaple, basswood, tulip poplar and black walnut. Ginseng also

needs a lot o calcium and does well under maple trees whichsupply calcium. Tere are other orest medicinal plant speciessuch as vanilla lea (Carphephorus odoratissimus), roundleasundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.), true unicorn (Aletris farinosa),and trilliums (Trillium spp.) which are common in southernorests.

Medicinal plants can be grown or raw products such as theroots, stems, bark or leaves(or combinations o theserom the same kind o plant).Some can be marketed resh,but most are sold dried.Tey are bulky materialsand need proper storageand packaging. Tey willinvolve shipping costs whichmay reduce the amount oyour profit. Adding value orproduct packaging, such asmaking tinctures, lotions,steam distilled aromatic oils,and soaps could bring higher

prices and greater profits. Asuccess story is a armer inGeorgia who has developed awide range o products using organic goldenseal. Te armer isable to increase his profits by offering not only bottled productsand soaps, but also seed and roots or planting, which he cansell to other growers in the cooperative he has started. Organicproduction o medicinal plants results in a purer product and

brings the highest prices.

The Basics ginseng

Scouting your woodland will help you decide what grows bestamong the orest trees and will help you decide whether youwant to grow them as wild-simulated or woods-cultivated. Teeasier and cheaper wild-simulated method can make money on


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a large or small scale.For most o the orestmedicinal species,planting is done in

the all. Using a rakeor a garden hoe, rakethe leaves aside, makeurrows 1 inch deepand about 3 inches wideabout 18 inches apart in beds 5 eet wide and about 50 eet longunder trees that make about 70% shade. Plant stratified seed(seed that has gone through a cold period either overwinteror in a rerigerator) 3 inches apart in the urrow, cover the seedswith inch o soil and lightly press down the soil. Rake the lealitter back over the seedbed. I your soil needs something tocorrect the pH, gypsum or rock phosphate may be applied overthe surace o thebed. Te seed willgerminate the nextspring. In the wild-simulated methodor ginseng, no morework is requiredafer planting untilthe roots are dugsix to ten years later.Since many o the

medicinal plantsneed more than one year to mature or market, new beds shouldbe planted every all, or uture harvests.

One person can reasonably plant one acre or more each yearwith hand tools, even on steep hillsides. Te quality o harvestdepends on whether or not you have chosen a site that is good oryour target plants. Preparing cultivated beds (woods-cultivated)

under the orest canopy requires more labor, so it is more difficultto develop an acre o product using this method. You need smallmachinery such as a small tractor with a backhoe, and diskingand cultivating equipment, in addition to arm tools such asshovels and rakes to cultivate medicinal plants. Tis has a highercost because it needs more materials, equipment and/or labor.In this method, prepare a fine seed bed under the shade o the

10 lbs. of ginseng seeds $800

Planting labor

(160 hrs. at $6/hr.)

$960

Harvest labor(270 hrs. at $6/hr.)

$1,620

Drying labor(16 hrs. at $6/hr.)

$96

Gypsum(16 - 50 lb. bags at $4/bag)

$64


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trees, using arming equipment. Plant seeds or 1 to 2 inch longroot pieces the same way as in wild-simulated. However, withwoods-cultivation, you may need to apply chemicals to protectthe plants rom weeds, insects and diseases. In terms o both labor

and chemicals, this increases the cost o production. Te moreintensive management or woods-cultivation may give you higheryields than you would get with the wild-simulated method.Wild-simulated products ofen can be sold at a higher price thancultivated products, because they are grown without chemicals.According to some sources, a hal acre o wild-simulated ginsengcan yield about 80 lbs o roots, which is worth about $15,300 to$16,500 in net profit i sold at $260/lb. For the woods-cultivatedmethod, assuming sales at $200 per pound, growers couldaverage a gross income o $80,000, and a net profit o about$65,000. Te same yield o cultivated ginseng (grown on raisedbeds under shade cloth in fields) sells at less than $100/lb andyields a net profit o about $25,000. Tese figures include costsor labor.Materials and Equipment

Te costs o growing wild-simulated medicinal plants aredifferent or each plant type. An example o the cost o growinghal an acre o wild-simulated ginseng is as ollows:

Root yield Gross income Net income

50 lbs. $13,000 $9,232

75 lbs. $19,500 $15,732

100 lbs. $26,000 $22,232

Te amount o money you may be able to get or growing halan acre o wild-simulated ginseng depends upon the yield oginseng roots and uture prices. I a low price o $260 per poundo dried roots is used, net income will be about $15,000.


Startup costs can range rom $250 or wild-simulated to about$2,500 or a cultivated ginseng crop and depends much on thetype o medicinal plant or plants you decide to grow. Te costscould be higher i basic equipment such as a small tractor andcultivation tools or preparing the seedbeds have to be bought.


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Recurring costs include labor to weed the beds and applychemicals i needed.For inormation on growing ginseng in aorest, reer to: Boisvert, H., Nadeau, I. and Poisson, G. 2005.Ginseng Grown in the Woods, version 3.0. (Agdex 262-1)

Ministry o Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Quebec, Canada.6 pg.

MushroomsIntroduction

Lots o different kinds o mushrooms grow in our woodlots,some can be eaten and others are poisonous. Fortunately, mosto the ones you can eat look a lot different rom the ones thatcan make you sick. In addition to the kinds o mushroomsthat grow naturally in our woodlots, there are some that can

be grown commercially. Te major mushroom that is growncommercially is a Japanese mushroom called shiitake (Lentinulaedodes). Most mushrooms grow either on the orest floor or onwood. Shiitake mushrooms are grown on our native hardwoodtrees. Although they can be grown on pine and other coniertrees, the resins in those trees make the mushrooms taste unny,so they are not recommended.


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The Basics

I you are interested in native mushrooms, the first step is towalk through your woods and see what kinds o mushrooms

you find. Morels (Morchella spp.), ofen called dry land fish, arevery valuable in the marketplace and are highly prized by chesin restaurants. Tey appear in the spring, grow on the orestfloor and have a cone-shaped cap with lots o pits or holesin them they can be black, cream-colored or yellowish. Teyofen can be ound where there has been a fire, or near appleor elm trees (there might be apple trees in the woods where anold homestead once was). Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius)

are bright yellow mushrooms that also grow on the orest floor,ofen in groups, and their shape is like a vase rather than arounded cap like many mushrooms. Tese two mushrooms aremost likely ound on north or east acing hillsides where the soilis damp and cool. Both are worth a lot in the marketplace, butare very difficult to control in any way. Other native mushroomsthat can be grown commercially are:

Lions mane (Hericeum erinaceum), is a white or cream-colored mushroom that either looks likelarge cotton balls or like a rozen waterall olittle teeth in summer or all. Tese are singlemushrooms that can grow quite large andthey ofen are ound on hardwood trees thathave been injured.

Hen-of-the-woods (also called maitake, Grifola frondosa),ofen grows at thebase o trees andlooks like turkeyeathers, withmany overlappingshell-like brownand cream-coloredrosettes in the latesummer or all.

Wine cap or burgundy cap (Stropharia rugoso-annulata),can be ound alone or in groups on the orest floor, but inareas that are more open, even in grassy areas in the spring


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and summer. Tese reddish-capped mushrooms (whichgive them their commonnames) can grow to be very

large, and are best pickedwhen they are small thesize o button mushrooms inthe market.

Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae) is not a mushroom that canbe eaten, but is used as a medicinal plant. When it orms

a mushroom, usuallygrowing on logs orstumps o conier trees,it hardens quickly. Whenpicked, it can be groundto a powder and put incapsules or made intotinctures. Te Chinesecall it elixir o lie. Tese

can be ound all year, but usually grow rom spring to all.

Lions mane, hen-o-the-woods, and reishi can be grown on logs(hardwoods or the first two, and coniers or reishi). Wine capcan be grown on sawdust or wood chips. Tese mushroomsare all grown using a very similar method. You need logs o asize that you can lif and move around (usually 3 to 8 inches

in diameter and 3 to 4 eet inlength). Te trees rom whichyou get the logs must be aliveand healthy at the time youcut them. Ten you inoculatethe logs with the spawn othe mushroom you want togrow. Spawn is a mixture o

sawdust and spores o themushrooms, with a little grainadded or extra ood or thegrowing mycelium, which isthe main part o the organism.Mushrooms are the ruits othe organism. For shiitake,


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sometimes the spawn comes in the orm o small dowels whichhave been mixed with the spores so that the mycelium starts togrow. Inoculation is simply drilling holes in the logs, putting thespawn into the holes and sealing the holes with hot wax. Ten

the logs are lef to incubate or several months beore it is timeor the mushrooms to start growing.


o start a mushroom production business, you will need logs;a high-speed drill with wood bits; spawn; an inoculating tooli you use sawdust spawn; cheese wax and a flameless heat

source (a second-hand deep at ryer works well, or a hotplate); something to use to put the hot wax on the logs (dauber,paintbrush); aluminum tags; hammer and nails. It will protectyour back i you have a high table or bench, or an X-shapedsawhorse to work on when you are drilling the logs. You will alsoneed containers or selling the mushrooms, and a rerigeratorto store them. Most o the mushrooms you can grow willtake several months to incubate in the logs. Mushrooms like

moisture, so you need to make sure the logs stay damp duringtheir incubation period, and you will need either somethinglike a stock watering trough or a sprinkler system to keep themdamp. Check with your local Cooperative Extension Office tosee i there are any inoculation workshops scheduled and go toone o those to get some hands-on experience. Tere also arematerials on the Internet that can walk you through the steps oinoculation (or example, FOR-77 Growing Shiitake Mushrooms

on Logs: Step-by-Step in Pictures rom the Department oForestry at the University o Kentucky). Materials and tools arealso available rom several sources around the U.S. I you arecollecting native mushrooms, all you need are containers tocollect them into (bags, baskets) and the time to go mushroomhunting.Economic Considerations

I you do not already own a high-speed drill (800-1000 rpm),that will be the most expensive start-up cost ($100-$200). Anykind o equipment that you need to buy or your mushroomoperation (or example, an inoculation tool, $30-$40), will bea startup cost and will not need to be repeated. Te cost o waxand spawn will be the next highest cost (approximately $25


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or two pounds o sawdust spawn or 1,000 dowels enough toinoculate 10-15 logs). I you do not have your own woodlot,then the logs themselves will be a cost ($1-$2/log). You may beable to work with an ongoing logging operation and get logs

rom the tops o trees or rom large branches this may reducethe cost o the logs. Once the logs have been inoculated, theycan probably produce mushrooms or a ew years (3-5 years,depending on the diameter o the logs). I you want a steadybusiness or several years, you would be inoculating some newlogs every year. Start small (maybe 50 or 100 logs) and find outhow well the logs produce and whether or not you like workingwith logs and mushrooms. Te mushroom season runs romearly spring to late all, and i you have a building in whichyou can control heat and humidity, it is possible to producemushrooms all year long. Because the logs are usually stackedlike cordwood several logs high, 50 or 100 logs dont take upmuch space. Tey do need to be in an area where they willreceive 80% or more shade year round, so i you have a little pinestand, that might be the best place to put the logs.

Marketing these unusual mushrooms is the hard part. You willneed to contact both local grocery stores, armers markets andrestaurant ches to sell them. It would be good to check outthe market possibilities beore you inoculate logs, but i youstart with a small number o logs, you have about six monthsto do your homework beore the mushrooms start appearing.Troughout the South, shiitake mushrooms have sold rom $8 to

$16 a pound resh weight, mainly in armers markets. Selling torestaurants is like selling wholesale, so you would get less romthem, but they can be very reliable customers. Tere is no setmarket like those or corn and soybeans or these mushrooms,so you have to make your own markets. I you dont like workingwith the public and with small businesses like grocery stores,then this is not a good option or you.


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Further Assistance and InformationApiculture

State Beekeeping AssociationsBeginning Beekeeping in Kentucky

Crafts

Local or state crafs guilds or other organizationsWood workers organizationsLocal or state floral distributors/wholesalers

Exotic and Native Mushrooms

Field & Forest Products, Inc. (WI)www.fieldorest.net/

Mushroom Harvest (OH)[email protected]

Mushroompeople (N)www.mushroompeople.com

Northwest Mycological Consultants, Inc. (OR)www.nwmycol.com

Kentucky Shiitake Production Workbook VHS/DVD/CD: Growingand Marketing Shiitake Mushrooms on Natural Logs (KY)

Fruits & Nuts

Cooperative Extension county offices, State Departments oAgriculture, Nut growers associations, Orchard organizations

Maple Syrup

North American Maple Syrup Producers ManualOhio State University

North American Maple Syrup Councilwww.northamericanmaple.org

Leader Evaporator Co., Inc.www.leaderevaporator.com


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Dominion & Grimm [email protected]

LaPierre USA Inc.

http://www.elapierre.com/

Medicinals/Botanicals

W. Scott Persons. Green Gold (ginseng)Scott Persons and Jeanine M. Davis. Growing &MarketingGinseng, Goldenseal & Other Woodland Medicinals

American Botanical Councilhttp://www.herbalgram.org/

American Herbal Products Association (AHPA)http://www.ahpa.org/

Aveda Corporationhttp://www.aveda.com/

Botanical Liaisonshttp://www.botanicalliaisons.com/

Elk Mountain Herbshttp://www.elkmountainherbs.com/

Frontier Herbs

http://www.rontiercoop.com/

Hardscrabble Associates1061 Mountainview Rd., Waterbury, Vermont 05676,

USA Pfizerhttp://www.pfizer.com/pfizer/main.jsp

Steven Foster Group, Inc.http://www.stevenoster.com/


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Success Stories

Jim Day

Nashville, ennessee

Jim Day built a hoop house to grow mushrooms year-round.

Jim Day wanted to grow shiitake (Lentinula edodes)mushrooms. Tis gourmet mushroom, originally rom Japan,has become a mainstream mushroom in the United States overthe past 30 years, and gets a good price in the marketplace.Starting in 2000, Jim inoculated a ew logs, grew really nicemushrooms and established a marketing relationship with

some restaurants in the Nashville, ennessee area over the nextyear and a hal. Afer his early success, in 2003, Jim expandedhis operation rom a spring-to-all mushroom productionto a year-round production. He also established his homeplace (about 5 wooded acres with his house in a suburbandevelopment north o Nashville) as imbertop Farm (www.timbertoparm.com). In order to grow the mushrooms year-round, Jim built a hoop house, 10' by 20' with its long axis

oriented east-west. Its insulated on the north side and top,but has a non-insulated opening on the south side so thatthe winter sun can come in and help warm the inside o thebuilding by passive solar heating.

Jim wanted to work with white oak (Quercus alba) logs but washaving problems with competing ungi on the bark o his logs.


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Tis is not a good thing in a shiitake production operation,since it is really important to keep the tree bark on the logswhile the mushrooms are incubating and producing. In 2006,he submitted (and received) a grant proposal to SARE to test

different management techniques to see i he could solve thisproblem. From that research work, Jim learned the importanceo paying close attention to the logs at all stages o development,keeping good records and an activity log, and monitoring laborhours and expenses to help determine the air market value oyour product. Jim also advises to start small and grow as yougain confidence, dont be araid to make mistakes, and diversiy.

Jims logs are mostly our to six inches in diameter and aboutthree eet long. As a result o his research experience, Jimthinks that less ismore, so he makesvery ew holes inhis logs. Whenhe first started,working alone, heinoculated logswith a series o twoto three diagonalchainsaw kers,packed them withsawdust spawn andwaxed them just the way you would with dowel or sawdust

plug spawn. oday, with the inormation he got rom hisresearch grant, and rom many trial and error processes, Jimhas expanded his operation and now has 1,000 to 2,000 logs inproduction, which have been producing about 1,300 pounds omushrooms in a March to December growing season.

Since one o his best ideas was to diversiy, in 2007 he builtanother, larger hoop house where he now grows gourmet greens,

squashes (or the flowers), peppers and some oyster mushrooms,and is beginning to expand to outside production o other crops.He has an online order and delivery service and has turned hislittle arm into an economic success.


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Randy and Cindi BeaversOrganiPharmDalton, Georgia

On their 40-acre amily arm, Beavers and his wie Cindi ownOrganiPharm and grow Hydrastis canadensisor goldenseal, aplant valued or its antimicrobial properties. From goldenseal,they manuacture liquid dietary supplements. Goldenseal is onthe endangered species list due to overharvesting in the wild.Beavers developed a domesticated orm o the plant that smallarmers and landowners can grow. Tey have 23 growers in theSoutheast and are a 100-percent, grower-owned company.

In 1993, Randy and Cindi Beavers saw that they would oneday be aced with the choice o either selling her grandathersarm or moving there and trying to make a living. Te couplespent three years learning about different crops. In 1996 theydecided to build on their long time interest in native medicinalplants and try to grow several plant types organically, especiallythose considered endangered or threatened such as goldenseal(Hydrastis canadensis).

In the beginning, they did have another source o income.Although they could recognize certain medicinal plants wherethey grew naturally in the orest, Randy and Cindi had noarming experience. Starting out was even harder because therewas very little inormation available on how to grow and market

these plants profitably. Afer some trial and error in their firstfive years, they came to two important conclusions:

1. Te small, independent grower is aced with an extremelylimited market and thereore aces a very high degree orisk when trying to produce medicinal plants successully.Producing these plants as a group o growers instead o aloneallows the possibility o a wider distribution as well as the

sharing o production techniques.2. Producing science-based, value-added products rom native

medicinal plants as a group or cooperative offered the greatesteconomic return or all the growers.

Using these ideas, Randy applied or grants and awards romthe US Department o Agricultures Small Business InnovationResearch Program (SBIR). Randy ormed OrganiPharm, LLC


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(OP) in 2007. OrganiPharm is a botanical product companythat specializes in orest-grown medicinal plants. Te companygrows the raw material and processes it into various skin careproducts. OP currently has 12 member arms plus 11 additional

participating growers located in Georgia, Alabama, ennessee,and North Carolina. Over the past our years the group hasdeveloped about 10 acres o orest-cultivated goldenseal alongwith other medicinal plants such as ginseng, black cohosh, purpleconeflower (Echinacea), and both elderberry flowers and ruit.

OrganiPharm increases grower/owner profits by producing aline o certified organic herbal extracts (USDA National OrganicProgram). Te quality and reliability o their products have beenrecognized by the National Institutes o Health (NIH) through anew SBIR award to develop a series o goldenseal products to beused in NIH-unded clinical studies.

Medicinal plant production is a type o orest arming whichholds much economic promise or the uture. Randy believesthat the current trends o a) increased consumer awareness owhere the products they buy come rom, b) tighter regulationsabout product purity, and c) environmental concerns, will cometogether to make medicinal plant production a practical cropchoice or an increasing number o amily arms. However,growers must be careul when choosing the medicinal plantcrop to grow, and should work with other growers o the samecrops in order to maximize their marketing ability and share

production and marketing inormation.

Te inormation rom the Beavers project was used to developpotential on-arm orest sites to match natural sites as closely aspossible. Tey suggest the ollowing preparation and plantingprocedures:

Clear six to eight oot wide alleys between the larger trees o

scrub and undergrowth using a small backhoe. ill our oot wide beds within the alleys.

Adjust soil pH to natural conditions (pH 6.0 - 6.5) withdolomitic lime.

Use goldenseal root pieces (rhizomes) as planting stock anddivide into small pieces, each with a bud and at least one root.


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(Based on their research, the rhizome is expected to doublein size every two years, resulting in a harvest size o 18 to 20grams afer our years.)

Plant the goldenseal rhizomes on a 6 x 6 inch spacing pattern -400 plants per 100 square eet. Because o tree locations, hillsand slopes, and the need to keep enough space to work aroundthe goldenseal beds, about 25% or 10,000 square eet o bedspace is usable per acre, providing room or roughly 40,000plants per acre.

A summary o the production and yield assumptions underlying

the 5-year financial projections or the project are presented inthe tables below.

Table 1: Production Assumptions and Estimates

Planting stock cost: $5,000 per acre

Labor: 120 man hours per acre for clearing, tilling, planting,mulching (labor supplied by family)

Plants per acre: 40,000 (harvest weight = 18 grams each)

Alkaloid content: Sleepy Hollow Farms average = 7.159%

$10 for each 1% alkaloids/pound farm price for goldenseal(i.e., 3% alkaloid = $30/lb.)

1/3 of the harvest replanted

Drying recovery factor: .32

Table 2: Yield Assumptions

Estimated Yield and Return per Acre

Yield per acre 400 lbs (10,000 plants per acre)

Yield allocation 133 lbs replanted, 277 lbs netfresh harvest, 89 lbs net dryharvest

Return per acre $6,372(89 lbs dry harvest x $71.59/lb)


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able 3 indicates an annual net income potential o $5,600 peracre or a small armer with 1 acre o orestland suitable orgoldenseal production and planted according to the ollowingtotally sustainable production system:

Te armer would plant 1/4 acre o goldenseal per year or4 years.

In the 5th year the armer would harvest the goldensealplanted in the 1st year.

About 1/3 o that harvest would be replanted and harvested inanother 4 years.

No income is received in years 1 through 4. In year 5 (the firstharvest year), the armer recovers 85% o the out-o-pocketexpenses incurred in years 1 through 4.

Te price per pound received by OrganiPharm growers isroughly 3 times the bulk market price.

Costs o production are based on actual inormation producedthrough the SBIR awards.

Te system is sustainable, with the planting stock cost o thefirst our years becoming a capital investment which doesnthave to be repeated.

Tis system gives individuals thinking about starting a orestarming project an opportunity to develop a reliable incomestream on a part-time basis beore going ull time.

It also allows existing armers to diversiy their operationswithout taking away rom acreage used or other crops.


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Table 3: Net Prot or Loss from One Complete 8-year

Goldenseal Production Cycle

Item Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8

PlantingStock &Seed

$1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $0 $0 $0 $0

Tractor &EquipmentCost

$250 $250 $250 $250 $125 $125 $125 $125

SoilAmendments $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100

PropertyTaxes $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50

OrganicCertifcation $500 $500 $500 $500

Out of PocketExpense $1,650 $1,650 $1,650 $1,650 $775 $775 $775 $775

Income0 0 0 0 $6,372 $6,372 $6,372 $6,372

Proft or

(Loss) ($1,650) ($1,650) ($1,650) ($1,650) $5,597 $5,597 $5,597 $5,597


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RIPARIAN BUFFER

STRIPSColmore S. Christian, Rory Fraser and Joshua Idassi

Introduction

Riparian or streamside orests can improve your arm incomeby saving money or earning income. When planted correctly, theycan protect water quality, stop erosion o stream banks, improveood and cover or wildlie, improve habitat or fish and otherwater creatures, and improve opportunities to make arm incomethrough products harvested rom the buffer. Lon Strum in StoryCounty, Iowa, or example, says he has saved $10,000 since puttingin a riparian buffer. Beore he did, his tractor would occasionally

get stuck on the banks o the creek. Now, he no longer loses hiscrops rom flooding and enjoys the benefits o a healthy streamand improved wildlie habitat. Buffer strips and riparian zonesaround streams improve and maintain the overall integrity o thewaterway and improve aesthetics.


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Many designs or a riparian buffer strip include three zones o vegetation,each planted parallel to the stream.

Te combination o trees, shrubs, and grasses in a riparianbuffer helps protect the stream and creates a better system thanjust planting a single type o tree. In addition, trees and shrubsprovide well developed root systems and nutrient storage close

to the stream. Landowner Strum says, I dont think wevelost hardly any stream bank since (the big floods o) 1993, butbeore, we were moving ences almost every year.

One o the biggest benefits o a riparian buffer is making goodwildlie habitat. Native grasses and orbs provide differentheights, densities, shapes o stems and leaves, different floweringtimes, and different flowers and ruits to attract several different

species o wildlie. Strum says his riparian buffer is the huntingparadise o Story County right here, especially or pheasanthunting. People have come rom Alaska, Michigan, and all overIowa. Te demand is very large.

The Basics

A typical riparian orest buffer usually has three primary

management zones:

Zone I.A 30-oot area closest to the stream that is mostly treesthat can withstand periods o flooding. Te main effect o Zone1 is to stabilize the bank and provide woody trash or thestream habitat.


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Zone II. A narrower (12 to 15 eet) area inland rom Zone I withast growing native shrubs that can withstand some flooding.Teir primary water quality purpose is to take up and storenutrients. Woody stems also slow floodwater. Tis zone can be

managed or additional income rom nuts, berries or woodyfloral products.

Zone III. A wider (15 to 25 eet) area between crop fields orgrazing lands and the shrub zone o the buffer strip that filtersand absorbs nutrients and chemicals rom the fields, keepingthem rom polluting the stream. Native grasses, orbs, sedges,reeds, and wildflowers are good or their multiple benefits andability to withstand changing conditions, but dense, stiff-stemmed introduced grasses can also be effective.

Design

Te first step in creating a buffer is developing a design that willwork. You are strongly encouraged to make a sketch o the bufferon an aerial photo o the property and identiy major problem

areas, such as severe bank erosion, gullies, drainage tiles, and soorth. List the cash crops to be considered and make sure thosetrees, shrubs, and grasses grow in your plant zone (contact yourlocal NRCS office or help with this).

I the stream banks are badly damaged, you may need to mendthem with either plant or rock systems, or a combination o thetwo. o get proessional help with this restoration contact your

local Cooperative Extension Office, state orestry agency, USDAService Center, or Conservation District.

Te design should also address special problem areas, andshould address three different locations:

In the Stream.What is the present condition o the streambedand the stream banks? You may want to consider the channel

bed material, and whether or not the stream is downcutting.Look at points o erosion on the stream bank, such as slippingor bank undercutting. Tese areas may need to have their bankregraded with equipment, and then properly stabilized to slowor stop uture bank erosion. Fish habitats may be a considerationin designing changes to the streambed.


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Next to the Stream.Plants growing on land in direct contactwith the upper edge o the stream bank can both stop or slowerosion and act as a living filter. Tis area can also unction tofilter flood debris and slow flood waters. You should consider the

question: What and where is the problem I need to address? Tisquestion will help decide the kinds o trees, shrubs and grassesyou choose, and how close you plant them to one another.rees, shrubs and grasses differ in how well they can withstandflooding. Planting trees/shrubs/grasses in this area should alsotake into account the kinds o soils you have and how likely thearea is to flood. Be sure and obtain a detailed soil map o yourarea. Soils maps can be obtained rom your local NRCS officeor rom the Web Soil Survey at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov. Choose the type and kinds o plants that are adapted to yourland and soil. Choose trees and shrubs that are deep rootingand good shade producers. Shade lowers water temperatures,reduces growth o algae and improves the oxygen content o thewater. Forest arming opportunities within the riparian orestbuffer can be explored. For example, crop trees such as walnutand cherrybark oak as well as ornamental shrubs and berries, orvegetation suitable or wildlie habitats, may also be grown here.

Between Buffer and Crops.Tis area is the first deense againstdirect runoff rom neighboring land uses. Native grasses andorbs are most ofen used in this area.

Warm season grasses with stiff stems are preerred; however, it is

again a good idea to check soil types and flood requencies anddurations to make sure that the grass o choice will do well andstay or the long term. Tese grasses should provide good soilcoverage that will slow the overland flow o water, allowing it topenetrate the soil, and induce suspended sediments to drop out.Warm-season grasses are ofen used because they have both stiffstems and deep roots. Tis area may be very good or developingwildlie habitat.

Materials

A list o the different plant types, their planting location andspacing are a very important part o the design sketch. Include inyour design some types o plants that can be used as cash cropsin the short term as well as the long term. Tere are certain typeso trees and vegetation that are more adapted to grow and thrive


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in riparian buffer areas. Care should be taken to select plantsand trees that do well with wetter streamside soils and thatmeet potential wildlie needs on the site. Te landowner shouldconsult with their county orester or a cooperative extension

agent to determine the best species to plant and to review anydesign. Local and state nurseries sell a variety o wetland andstreamside trees that a landowner can choose rom. I beaversare present in the area where the buffer is to be installed, careshould be taken to protect planted trees rom damage. See able1 or potential streamside tree species to use in riparian orestbuffer plantings and design. Tis list is intended to be used onlyas a basic guide. Each restoration site is different; thereore,planting plans should be developed on a case-by-case basis. Notall o the plants listed in the ollowing tables are appropriate orall riparian buffer sites. Consult with local plant guides and/orplant proessionals i in doubt about your buffer plan.

Te ollowing website is a good source or additional inormationon possible species: http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/wqg/sri/stream_rest_guidebook/appendix_.pd


Costs

Costs will depend on the problem and the possible solution.However, most costs such as streambed changes, planting

trees and perennial shrubs occur only once. Grasses may needto be re-planted rom time to time. Streambed changes cancost anywhere rom $10 to $100 per oot; much o the cost isor heavy equipment and materials such as rocks and stones.Streamside efforts could cost rom $500 to $1,000 per acre;much o that cost is or labor and plant materials.

Products

At the same time, many products produced in a riparianbuffer can have cash value in addition to their conservationand environmental benefits. Florist or craf stores use a varietyo plants, plant parts, and plant stems. Many local stores areinterested in buying locally and sustainably grown materialssuch as berries and nut crops and even some timber productsgrown in riparian buffers. Some examples o specialty orest


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products rom riparian areas include nuts (chestnut, pecan,black walnut), ruits (black cherry, currants, elderberry, pawpaw,persimmon), woody decorative florals (dogwood, willows,witchhazel, bittersweet), and medicinals and bota

profitable farms and woodlands - a practical guide in agroforestry for landowners, farmers and...

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