Green Horizons

"Agroforestry is about rural America and trying to help the family farm. It's impossible in today's environment and economy for the family farm to compete with what's going on in the corporate farm. What we are trying to do at the Center for Agroforestry is to . nd niche opportunities for the family farmer." - Gene Garrett, Director, University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry As an effort to educate land and forest owners about the value of agroforestry, University of Missouri Extension hosted an agroforestry workshop in Perry County, Mo., on Aug. 24, 2006. Inspiration for the workshop was based upon the opportunities for niche agricultural products the . ve practices of agroforestry can provide - products including pecans, black walnuts, chestnuts, pumpkins and gourds, decorative woody . orals, specialty wood products, and gourmet mushrooms. Timber management and livestock production in a silvopasture practice were also addressed. Kathryn Keeley, agronomy specialist, University of Missouri Extension, coordinated the event and offers the following report of the day's topics and the program's goals.

In spring of 2006, the University of Missouri Extension released the Missouri based Woodland Stewardship Shortcourse. This course was designed to give participants an overview of managing woodland for timber harvests and wildlife benefits. I held this course in Ste. Genevieve and found that is was well received.

The next logical step after this course was to take forest management one step further and encourage landowners to investigate the possibilities of incorporating agriculture production into a woodland setting. It is imperative to the economics of small farms that every acre is utilized to its fullest potential. There are many areas in the Mississippi River Hills area (Jefferson, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties) that may not be conducive to traditional crop farming, or even livestock grazing, because of topography or soil type. Forested areas are a ripe resource for area landowners.

MU Extension, in partnership with the MU Center for Agroforestry and Missouri Department of Conservation, facilitated an agroforestry field day to educate landowners of some potential woodland opportunities on August 24 at Kammler Tree Farm in Perry County.

Rick Kammler is a long time forester and landowner who began experimenting with agroforestry techniques more than 20 years ago. Kammler began his address to the field day crowd by stating: "I hope you learn from my mistakes." His presentation included a summary of his experiences with row spacing, grafting, nut cultivars, harvesting and trials with pumpkins grown underneath tree rows. He discussed what ground cover grew best for him and showed examples of trees that had been pruned correctly - as well as some pruned incorrectly.

Supplementing Kammler's first-hand experience with agroforestry, Dr. Rich Martin and Michael Edmunds of Martin Tree Farm, Cape Girardeau, Mo., presented information on marketing nuts. A black walnut plantation was started on the farm 15 years ago. Edmunds said Martin Tree Farm selects cultivars for high quality nut production.

This superb nut meat quality gleaned through selected trees has helped them achieve prices higher than market value for their nuts.

Another aspect of success Martin discussed was the assistance of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which helped the farm financially while the trees matured to production age.

The goal of the Agroforestry Field Tour was to introduce landowners to alternative ideas for woodland areas that help achieve short and long-term income. MU Center for Agroforestry Technology Transfer Specialist, Dusty Walter directed participants to resources available for several aspects of agroforestry production.

"Agroforestry doesn't have to be nut production, and can include aspects such as timber production and woodland medicinals, like ginseng. As another option, cattle can be grazed between tree rows and reap economic benefits from doing so," said Walter.

Coupled with the experience of landowners who have pioneered the field of agroforestry in the Southeast region, and the research expertise of the Center for Agroforestry, participants discovered some of the challenges and the benefits that can arise in agroforestry production.

It is always great for landowners to learn on the farm, with people experienced in the business. Through the conversations and interaction at field tours, we hope to help land and forest owners use the success of their peers to catapult their own ventures, as well as learn from their mistakes.

Kathryn Keeley can be reached at: 573-883-3548 or email Keeleyk@missouri.edu For more information on the Center for Agroforestry's research, publications and technology transfer programs, visit www.centerforagroforestry.org.