Green Horizons Newsletter - AgEBB

Green Horizons

Volume 8, Number 4
Fall 2004
Market Opportunities

Specialty gourmet mushrooms: A forest farming cash crop

What could a dark, damp forested area of your small acreage be good for? A variety of potentially profitable crops, including specialty mushrooms. The Center for Agroforestry is conducting research to produce specialty and gourmet mushrooms, like shiitake, morel and the European black truffle, in forest farming settings. These forest farming products can sell at high retail prices and grow well on small acreages.

shiitake mushrooms
Specialty gourmet mushrooms, like shiitake, shown above, can be profitable value-added agricultural products when grown in a forest farming system. Informative presentations on growing shiitake mushrooms will be included in the Center for Agroforestry upcoming Specialty Mushroom Workshop, Dec. 3-4, 2004, in Columbia, Mo. (see pg. 10)
In a forest farming practice, light, or shade levels, is intentionally managed in a forest to favor the growth, or enhanced production, of certain shade-loving plants. These shade-loving plants that may be grown in the understory of a forest are often termed non-timber forest products--demonstrating the possibility for successful growth of both timber and other products simultaneously in a forest farming practice. However, to accomplish this objective, forest canopy densities must be controlled by manipulating the structure and /or species composition of the forest. These manipulations then influence light levels available to the forest floor.

Properly applied to the forest environment, the forest farming practice can enhance and diversify farm income opportunities, while at the same time making significant improvements to the composition and structure of the forest for long term improvements in overall health, quality and economic value. Long term tree crops and short term understory crops can be grown simultaneously on the same forested land, and result in a healthy, sustainable forest environment.

It is very important to start small when establishing a forest farming practice. The intensity of the practice, and the value of the product being grown, makes it likely that the initial management of small acreages will provide greater encouragement to landowners. On a very small area (5 acres or less) the vertical, horizontal and belowground dimensions are managed intensely to produce multiple crops simultaneously. One example of this process is highlighted in the adjacent article on Ozark Forest Mushrooms, a timber/forest farming operation in the state’s Ozark region.

Advantages of Forest Farming:
  • Improved forest health resulting from properly thinning and managing the forest.
  • Intermediate income opportunities while timber matures.
  • Diversified farm income of land otherwise not used.
  • Disadvantages of Forest Farming:
  • Requires intensive management.
  • Markets for some products are not yet fully developed.
  • Requires a broad knowledge of both trees/forest and plants to properly manage to improve growing environments for both.

  • [ Back to Articles ]