Ag Opportunities
Volume 15, Number 6
May-June 2005

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Site Selection Critical for Successful Cultivation of Black Cohosh
by Andrew L. Thomas,
Horticulture Researcher at Southwest Research Center, Mt Vernon, MO
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Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa or Cimicifuga racemosa) is a perennial
herb in the buttercup (Ranuncul aceae) family that is commonly used
for treatment of menopausal symptoms. The high demand for this
native forest-dwelling plant is leading to serious over-harvesting
from the wild, and presents Missouri farmers and foresters with an
opportunity for potentially-profitable cultivation. For more
background and information on the black cohosh research underway at
Southwest Center, see the January 2002 Rumminations (Vol 18 No 1).

The principal medicinal organ of black cohosh is its large fleshy
rhizome, which appears to be especially sensitive to heavy soil and
prone to fungal attack if soil drainage is not adequate. The plant
is usually propagated by rhizome divisions, and is even more prone
to fungal attack during this critical establishment stage. After an
earlier crop failure (attributed to a fungal root rot) in an
established black cohosh nursery bed, two new experiments were
conducted in the same soil to determine if certain horticultural
approaches could help plants avert fungal infection under
less-than-ideal conditions. Transplanting black cohosh rhizomes at
various depths (shallow, deep), in various seasons (fall, spring),
and a soil fungicide treatments were evaluated.

The experiments were conducted in a shade house at Shaw Nature
Reserve of the Missouri Botanical Garden (MU’s partner in this
research), located near Gray Summit, MO. The soil within the shade
house bed is a Hartville silt loam, which is considered a "somewhat
poorlydrained" soil. Despite this dubious soil drainage
classification, the site had been previously used for a successful
tree nursery and we felt it would be satisfactory for black cohosh
cultivation.

The planting depth study evaluated the effect of planting depth and
fungicide on rhizome survival under these marginal soil conditions.
Four treatments were replicated twelve times across the shade house
using 228 plants. Treatments were 1) shallow planting, 2) shallow
planting with fungicide, 3) deep planting, 4) deep planting with
fungicide. The tops of the rhizomes were set just under the soil
surface for shallow planting and approximately 2.5 inches below soil
surface for deep planting. All were planted on Oct. 8, 2002. Two
days after planting, a soil drench fungicidal treatment of "Subdue
Maxx" was applied, according to directions.

The planting season study evaluated the potential benefit of
delaying planting until spring so that rhizomes do not lie
susceptible to fungal attack in cold, wet soil over winter before
becoming established. As in the first study, four treatments with
six plants each were randomized within each of 12 blocks across the
shade house. Treatments were 1) fall planting, 2) fall planting with
fungicide, 3) spring planting, and 4) spring planting with
fungicide. The 288 rhizomes were randomized and divided into two
groups. Half were assigned fall planting while the remaining half
were stored loosely within a composted sawdust medium inside plastic
bags in a refrigerator for six months. On Oct. 8, 2002, the fall
planting of 144 rhizomes was completed while the spring planting of
over-wintered rhizomes occurred on April 2, 2003. The tops of all
rhizomes were set approximately 1 inch below the soil surface. Two
days after the fall planting, and eight days after the spring
planting, a soil drench fungicidal treatment of "Subdue Maxx" was
applied to the appropriate plants.

Survival data were collected from the variously-treated plants on
three different dates (May 13 and July 10, 2003, and May 17, 2004).
The majority of fall-planted rhizomes survived the initial 2002/2003
winter and emerged in spring, but quickly began to succumb to fungal
root rot thereafter. The spring-planted rhizomes emerged soon after
planting, but also quickly became diseased. Rainfall was generally
normal that year, but by July, 2003, the majority of emerged plants
had become infected with root rot and were dead or dying, regardless
of treatment. The rhizomes were left in place through spring, 2004,
when a final survival count was made. Statistical analyses revealed
no significant differences in rhizome survival among any treatments
in either of the two experiments.

We found that neither shallow planting, nor spring planting, nor a
single post-planting fungicide application successfully compensated
for poor soil water drainage in the presence of pathogenic fungi. If
a site is suspected to have even a "somewhat" poorly-drained soil,
cultivation of black cohosh is unlikely to be successful, and
potential producers should carefully evaluate their soil before
considering cultivating black cohosh.

(Southwest Center RUMINATIONS, Apr - Jun, 2005, Vol 11, No 2)

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Farm BeginningsTM Program Expands to Missouri
************************************************

Farm BeginningsTM, a mentorship and education program for farmers
just starting out, will now be offered in MO, thanks to funding from
North Central SARE. Farm Beginnings was developed by the Land
Stewardship Project in MN, and the program has been offered there
since 1998, amassing many success stories. The hands-on program
trains new and transitioning farmers in innovative, low-cost farming
practices that sustain both farm families and the land, using a
combination of classroom instruction, farm tours, and one-on-one
mentoring. Starting in Oct 2005 the program will be offered in MO,
with classes taking place twice a month in West Plains. Field days
will continue on through the spring and summer of 2006. for more
info, call 1-800-433-3704 or
http://agebb.missouri.edu/mac/fbp/index.htm


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The Market for Local Food: Fad or Real Trend?
By Mary Hendrickson, Ph.D.
Community Food Systems and Sustainable
Agriculture Program
************************************************

Buying locally produced food is no fad. In the ten years between
1994 and 2004, the number of farmers’ markets across the United
States rose from 1,755 to 3,137 - a 78 percent increase! Certified
organic farms nearly tripled because of growth in demand. In 2003,
two out of three consumers used organic products at least
occasionally, with organic and natural food sales at six percent of
total food store sales.

Chefs are seeking out locally produced foods for their flavor and
quality. Three out of five chefs surveyed by the Univ of NE were
interested in receiving direct shipments from the farm. In St Louis,
MU researchers Beth Barham and Lewis Jett found that 83 percent of
high-end chefs were already purchasing locally produced products,
but almost all of them wanted to purchase more. We now also have 200
college food services across the country buying at least one food
product from their local community.

Why are these deep-seated trends appearing now? Americans are
looking for good tasting, high-quality food. In short, we’re
developing our taste buds! Flavorful food that is fresh is a winner
for anyone’s table. Just as important is consumers’ interest in
supporting their local economies. Nearly 70 percent of consumer
households surveyed in IA, MO, NE and WI rated supporting their
local farmers as extremely or very important. Almost 60 percent of
Americans polled nationwide thought that family farms should be
supported even if it meant higher food prices.

What do all these statistics mean for MO farmers? First, we have a
great market! We don’t have enough farmers for all the farmers’
markets that operate in places like Kansas City and St Louis, and
even more markets are under consideration in small and large
communities across the state.

Second, infrastructure remains a critical need. We have mainline
produce distributors in Kansas City and St Louis who are desperately
seeking out locally produced foods in response to demand from chefs
and other customers. Some farmers are seeking to create their own
farmer-controlled distribution networks by partnering with chefs and
processors. Third, our farmers need to get more products -
especially those that benefit the most from being grown and
processed locally (think succulent strawberries, ripe tomatoes and
natural meat) - moving in the channel to grocery stores, restaurants
and schools.

Are you interested? I hope so - as do all the other MO consumers
hungry for great food!


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Small Farm Profitability Materials Available
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What makes a small farm profitable? There may be as many answers as
there are small farms! However, research conducted by the North
Central Initiative for Small Farm Profitability provides over 40
case studies and a number of research reports about small farm
strategies to create and maintain profitability. You can check out
research information and case studies at the website,
www.farmprofitability.org. Through our office, you can get a CD that
contains much of the same information broken into seven different
topics, including marketing strategies, new generation cooperatives,
equipment sharing, alternative production practices, farm
diversification, farm succession strategies and internet marketing.
Each topic area contains ready-made PowerPoint presentations that
will help disseminate ideas about small farm profitability. Get your
CD today! Call Sharon Naylor at 573-882-3776 or
NaylorS@missouri.edu.


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Increased Goat Population Gives Rise to New Organization
**********************************************************

Residents of southwest MO have probably noticed a large increase in
the number of goats grazing in area fields.

As a result of this increase, Univ of MO Extension, Southwest MO
State Univ and several local producers, have teamed together to form
a new organization called the MO Boer Goat Association.

The mission of this group - with assistance from the universities -
is to help provide educational workshops for the public regarding
goat production.

Future workshops on nutrition, parasite control, reproduction and
foot care are being planned.

For more info on workshops or joining the MBGA, visit www.mbga.org/
or call Extension Dairy Specialist Stacey Hamilton at 417-637-2112.


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Lincoln Explores Raising Bluegill
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Land grant universities, like Lincoln University, have a mandate to
serve the agriculture community. Aquaculture is the latest research
project LU has taken on to serve minority and small-operation
farmers. To remain strong in the world market, American farmers must
diversify. And with the trend toward healthier, high protein foods,
the World Food Organizations suggests aquaculture may need to
increase production by 25 percent to meet future demands, Hicks
said.

This region of the country does not have a prominent fish food
source, Hicks said. In the southeast, catfish has become a viable
farm product. Because that region has a longer growing season, the
central region cannot compete in catfish, Hicks said.

That's why blue gill sunfish, a native to MO, was selected. Local
colloquialism may call them perch, but Hicks corrected that true
perch are in the bass family and come from the Great Lakes. LU
researchers are developing the methodology to make blue gill sunfish
a food fish item, Hicks said.

Three main goals of this grant-driven research are to create a
fast-growing, high-density race, to construct an efficient
recirculating system to discard waste and to develop ways to convert
unused agriculture buildings into aquaculture environments. The
first year, the researchers began with commercial fish, pulling the
largest and smallest for genetic testing. This spring the offspring
of those first selected fish will be tested for how fast they grew.
Then this third year a molecular geneticist will be hired to find
the right genetic component to encourage fast growth and disease
resistance.

"They have to be market-ready in about a year," Hicks said. "These
facilities are like haying rent.

"(A farmer) can't wait five years for growth as in the wild." The
ultimate goal is a fish that reaches about .75 of a pound in 16
months. At 11 months, some of the second-year fish have reached .33
of a pound. "We've made good progress," Hicks said.

Four researchers currently on staff are charged with an education
responsibility too. Hiring student assistants will offer "a great
experience before they look to see what they really want to do,"
Hicks said.

The aquaculture research will be expanded in the future to other
species, Hicks said. In fact, last year a simple test for better
survival rates of freshwater shrimp resulted in some helpful tips
for small-business farmers, Hicks said.

Note: This is a portion of an article written by Michelle Reagan
about the research being done at Lincoln. The complete article is
available
http://www.newstribune.com/articles/2005/04/09/business/0409050023.txt.


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In Print
*********

*Choosing Your Market-A direct Marketing Decision Tool* This on-line
workbook helps farmers identify the direct marketing strategies that
will best fit their farm. It is not a comprehensive guide to all
avenues of direct marketing, as it focuses only on four of the major
direct-marketing strategies: farmers' markets, on-farm markets,
community supported agriculture, and internet marketing. It provides
up-to-date, key information on these markets and additional
references to successfully meet the challenges and opportunities in
direct marketing. www.boannsbanks.com/go/

*Bobwhite Quail Habitat Appraisal Guide* This guide will help
identify the quail habitat requirements that are in shortest supply
on your farm. See if you have adequate nesting cover, brood cover,
covey headquarters, and food supply on your farm for quail.
Implement management practices on the habitat type most lacking.
http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/miscpubs/mp0902.htm


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IN THE NEWS
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The Southwest Center will not be having a regular Grazing School
this year, but will be offering a one-day Advanced Grazing Workshop
on Tuesday, July 12 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Intended primarily for
those who have already attended a basic Grazing School, this
workshop will focus on summer grazing practices. This workshop will
cover heat stress, use of summer annuals, weed identification and
control, tips for grazing bermudagrass and caucasian bluestem, and
other topics. Just as with the basic Grazing Schools, this workshop
will combine classroom presentations with outdoor field
demonstrations. An announcement and registration form will be
available after Apr 15 at the Center’s website:
http://aes.missouri.edu/swcenter. or call 417-466-2148 (after Apr
15) for a form. The fee for the workshop is $15.00 and includes
lunch, breaks and materials

Certified Naturally Grown, a grassroot organization, follows the
USDA organic guidelines but does not participate in the
certification process. Inspected a minimum of once a year, paperwork
concerning the farm is available online. This program does
laboratory pesticide residue testing on a randomly chose 10% of
member farms to maintain the integrity of the program and certified
produce. Currently, seventeen MO farms are listed as CNG. For info,
www.naturallygrown.org

The Organic Farming Research Foundation is offering research grants
of up to $15,000 for organic farming research and related topics.
Deadlines for proposal consideration are July 15 for the fall
funding cycle and Dec 15 for the spring funding cycle. For more info
see OFRF’s Web site (www.ofrf.org), call 831-426-6606 or email
research@ofrf.org.

An effort is underway this legislative session to update the MO
First Linked Deposit Agriculture Program, formerly known as MoBucks.
This program was established to assist farmers and agricultural
operations by making low interest loans accessible to them. The
program makes funds available to lenders at a reduced interest rate.
These lenders must agree to make reduced interest rate loans to
agricultural borrowers through the MO First Linked Deposit
Agriculture Program. Legislation is advancing to increase the amount
of money invested in the MO First Linked Deposit Program from $360
million to $720 million. This legislation also allows more beginning
farmers to be eligible for lower interest loans by increasing the
size and value of the qualifying farm, which previously had been a
limiting factor to loan recipients. These provisions are included in
House Bill 468, sponsored by Rep. Ron Richard, and Senate Bill 270,
sponsored by Sen. Delbert Scott. (MO Dept of Ag E-newsletter, April
2005)

As American diets continue to change with fruits and veggies playing
a bigger role, along with ethnic and ready-to-eat foods, the food
industry is refocusing to serve an extremely diversified marketplace
that's also getting more lucrative: Per capita, US real buying power
is rising 1% a year. US farmers face greater competition from
foreign counterparts plus fellow farmers who specialize production.
For example, sales of organic foods are growing by 20% a year.
Consumers are becoming more discerning. Shoppers are getting to know
more about the foods they put into their bodies, owing to a wave of
new studies and information, including the government's new food
pyramid. USDA's latest nutritional guidance will have a long-term
effect on American food consumption habits. Check it out at
www.mypyramid.gov

The Organic Price Index will probably survive a financial crisis
that arose when its USDA funding lapsed. It's the only posting of
organic wholesale and farmgate prices for major markets. Begun
online by the Rodale Institute in 2003, the index covers about 40
commodities and may be expanded in May. USDA lists organic prices
only infrequently. OPX managers and participants are working to keep
the OPX going.


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ON THE CALENDAR
*****************

May 20-22 - Show Me Lamb Camp, El Dorado Springs, MO. Call
417-466-3151.

May 25-26 - Closing the Gap - Opportunities and Challenges for Small
Farmers and Ranchers, Langston, OK. Call: D. Chongo Mundende at
405-962-1631

May 28 - Country Life 101: Keeping Things Simple, Silex, MO. Call
573-485-7261 or http://riverhillsfarmersmarket.741.com/home.html

June 2 - Strawberry Field Day, Mountain Grove, MO. Call
417-926-4105.

June 3-5 - MO Forest Products Assn Summer Meeting, Lake Ozark, MO.
Call 573-634-3252.

June 9 - Grape Field Day, Mountain Grove, MO. Call 417-926-4105.

June 20-22 - Midwest Stud Ram Sale, Sedalia, MO.
dougkg@earthlink.net

June 21-23 - Greenhouse Short Course, Cape Girardeau, MO. Call
573-888-4722.

June 22-23 - Grow Native! Native Landscaping Conference, St Louis,
MO. Call 573-782-4059.

June 30 - Blueberry Field Day, Mountain Grove, MO. Call
417-926-4105.

July 7-9 - 4th Heartland Apiculture Conference, Edwardsville IL.
Call 217-796-3597.

July 29-Aug 7 - Ozark Empire Fair, Springfield, MO.

Aug 4 - Greenley Memorial Research Center Field Day, Novelty, MO.
Call 660/739-4410.

Aug 11-21 - MO State Fair, Sedalia, MO.

Aug 23 - Graves Chapple Memorial Research Plots Field Day, Rock
Port, MO. Call 660-744-6231.

Aug 31 - Delta Center Field Day, Portageville, MO. Call
573/379-5431.

Sept 8-9 - Southwest Center Education Field Day, Mt. Vernon, MO.
Call 417-466-2148.

Sept 23-24 - Midwest Forest Industry Show, St Louis, MO. Call
573-634-3252

Oct 6-7 - Wurdack Youth Field Day, Cook Station, MO. Call
573-743-3301.

Oct 29-30 - MO State Beekeepers Assn Fall Meeting, Lake of the
Ozarks, MO. Call 636-394-5395

Nov 3-5 - National Small Farm Trade Show & Conference, Columbia, MO.
Call 800-633-2535.

Dec 2-3 - 2005 MO Livestock Symposium, Kirksville, MO. Call
660-665-9866, missourilivestock.com

Dec 3 - Rural Life Day, Jefferson City, MO.

Dec 11-13 - MO Governor’s Conference on Ag, Osage Beach, MO.

Green Hills Farm Project 2005 Farm Walk Schedule

Green Hills Farm Project welcomes all families to our open farm
walks. Always bring your children! Please call ahead to let the host
family know how many to expect. The host family provides the main
meat coarse and drinks. It would be appreciated if all members and
guest bring a side dish and service set for each participant. Bring
Lawn Chairs.

Some Farm Walk host will have a special guest speaker. Many past
walks have had a variety of guest speakers from our State University
Extension, MO Dept of Ag, special interest groups, and specialist
from our own communities. Our farm walks are very social, but also a
time of sharing information and learning.

Come on out and join us for a great time on our farms! For more
information about Green Hills Farm Project please contact: Jordan
Bentley jbentley@cvalley.net ; Allen Powell at powell@mcmsys.com
website: http://agebb.missouri.edu/sustain/ghfptours.htm

May 19 - 5pm. Dennis & Becky McDonald, Galt, MO, 660-673-6508. We
will look at managed intensive grazing of mother cows/calves that
were born last fall and have wintered on stockpile and supplement
hay. 2. Look at bull herd and linear measurement. 3. Feedlot data
will be presented comparing cattle back-grounded at a slow rate from
500-800 lb and then fed hard to market weight to those fed hard from
500 lb to market weight. 4. New winter waterer and spring waterer.
Email: grazingacres@grundyec.net

June16- 5pm Eric & Hope Bright Farm, Bucklin, MO 660-695-3567.
Pastured dairy cattle managed with MIG. See a wide variety of farm
projects—greenhouse; apple orchard; berries; vegetables and eggs!
Also see. 1. Newly installed solar stock water pipeline system; 2.
New dry structure for erosion control in a ditch; 3. Progress on
grant received from MDA for economically feasible pasture renovation
on a grass-based farm; 4. The latest on the operation of the
wood-fired greenhouse; 5. Developments in the grass-based dairy; 6.
An overview of pasture renovation completed last fall, including
grazing alfalfa. Bring Lawn Chairs.

July 14- 5pm Doug & Diane Peterson, Ridgeway, MO, 660-824-4276.
Cattle and MIG. "We have a cattle only operation at this time. We
have expanded quite a bit in the last few years and are still trying
to get everything figured out. We will look at one or two different
grazing systems. One will be fairly large with 200 cows being run
together as one herd. This large of a herd have some very unique
benefits and problems. Because we expanded our grass base faster
than we wanted to purchase cows we run a combination of our own cows
plus some contract cows for other people. We have also started
selling a limited amount of grass fed all natural beef to customers
in the Kansas City/St Joe area."

Aug 18- 5pm TBA

Sept 15- 5pm Allen & Tauna Powell, Laclede, MO, 660-963-2685. See a
short presentation about ranching and traveling in Australia and
then sample a staple of Australian fare - vegemite! I do have some
interesting information on what Australia is doing as far as value
adding beef products. Of course we'll show you cattle, sheep,
chickens, and gardening. Allen will take those interested to the far
reaches of our operations to give you an idea of how spread out we
are and how those are managed a bit differently because of the
distance from our home place.

Oct 20- 4pm. Matt & Tina Reichert, Brunswick, MO, 660-548-3283. "MIG
Cow/Calf operation and Boer African Meat Goat brush and weed control
project that is being expanded. See how the "$500" ponds have worked
out which were built last summer. We are expanding our Bed and
Breakfast to include some youth camps this summer as well as family
camps."

Nov 18 - Tentative Dinner in Brookfield, MO

Grazing Schools across the State

Northwest Central Region
June 10 (evening) and June 11 (daytime)—St Joseph. Call Debi McKay,
816-232-6555 x 3, debi.mckay@mo.nacdnet.net or Curt Walker,
816-232-6555 x 139, curt.walker@mo.usda.gov

Sept 14-15 - Thompson Farm, Spickard. Call Sarah Clark, 660-359-5685
x 3, scott.roy@mo.nacdnet.net

Sept 21-22 - Guilford. Call Debi McKay, 816-232-6555x3,
debi.mckay@mo.nacdnet.net or Curt Walker, 816-232-6555x139,
curt.walker@mo.usda.gov

Central Region
May 12-13 - Argyle, VFW Gasconade Co SWCD. Call Diana Mayfield
573-437-3478 x 3

June 16-17 - University Wurdack Farm, Cook Station) Call Dent Co
Extension 573-729-3196

Sept 21-22 - Waynesville. Call Pamela Cornelius 417-532-6305 x 3

South Central Region
May 2-4 - West Plains. Call Randy Saner 417- 256-2391,
SanerR@missouri.edu or David Harrison 417-256-7117,
david.harrison@mo.usda.gov

May 4-6 - Hartville. Call Missy Wollard 417-741-7343 x 3,
missy-wollard@mo.nacdnet.org or Ted Probert 417-741-6134,
ProbertT@missouri.edu

Sept 22-24 - Willow Springs. Call Randy Saner 417-256-2391,
SanerR@missouri.edu or David Harrison 417-256-7117,
david.harrison@mo.usda.gov

Southwest Region
May 3-5 - Ozark. Call Ian Kurtz 417-581-2719 x 110,
ian.kurtz@mo.usda.gov

June 22-23 - Crowder College, Neosho. Call Lynn Jenkins 417-451-1366
x 3, lynn.jenkins@mo.usda.gov or Dave Whitson 417-455-9500,
whitsond@missouri.edu

Aug 9, 11, 16, 18 (evenings) and Aug 13 (daytime) - Carthage. Call
Mark Starnes 417-358-8198 x 3, mark.starnes@mo.usda.gov

Aug 23, 24, 25, 30, Sept 1 (evenings) and Aug 27 (daytime) -
Bradleyville. Call Shelia Braden 417-546-2089,
shelia.braden@mo.nacdnet.net

Oct 25-27 - Bois D'Arc. Call Mark Green 417-831-5246 x 3,
mark.green@mo.usda.gov

Oct 27-29 - Marshfield. Call Mark Emerson 417-468-4176 x 3,
mark.emerson@mo.usda.gov

Southwest Central Region
Sept 7-8 - Hermitage. Call David Wright 417-745-6613 x 3

Sept 20-21 - Butler. Call Diane Bradley 816-884-3391 x 3

Oct 13-14 - Brumley. Call Lisa Tellman 573-392-5667 x 3

Northeast Region
Aug 26-27 - Macon. Call Mark Collins 660- 385-2616 x 3 or Charles
Chaney 660-385-2173

Linneus Schools
Sept 27-29 - Beginning Grazing School, Linneus. Call Joetta Roberts
573-499-0886, mfgc@mchsi.com