Green Horizons

Larry Harper, center, holds the Terry Johnson Agroforestry Award as Sandra Hodge, of the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry and Bruce Wight, lead agroforester at the National Agroforestry Center, Lincoln, Neb., look on.

Larry Harper was awarded the 2001 Terry Johnson Agroforestry Award at the Seventh Biennial Conference on Agroforestry in North America in Regina, Saskatchewan in August. The award is granted to a professional, landowner, or individual who has provided sustained quality, innovative application, renowned research, outstanding technology transfer, exemplary education or other notable actions in the field of agroforestry.

Harper practices alley cropping and silvopasture agroforestry on his farm, HarperHill Farms in Butler County, Mo. He was honored for his work in promoting agroforestry by holding numerous field days at his farm, in cooperation with the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry - providing other landowners and natural resource professionals with hands-on learning experiences.

While editor of Missouri Ruralist magazine, Harper wrote many articles highlighting the use of agroforestry by various individuals, and provided outstanding leadership as a spokesperson for agroforestry throughout Missouri and the Midwest. Harper was the founding editor of Green Horizons, and now regularly contributes to the newsletter, helping thousands of readers more fully understand agroforestry. In addition, his active involvement with the Walnut Council and as a landowner in the Association for Temperate Agroforestry has also strengthened agroforestry.

Harper has also worked closely with the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry in a research project exploring the impact of cows in a 9-year-old walnut silvopasture practice. Watch the next issue for that story.