Ag Opportunities Volume 16, Number 5 November 2005 Researchers Sorting Out Medicinal Components of Elderberry at Southwest Research Center By David L. Burton MU Extension Civic Communication Specialist Since 1999, there has been an elderberry study underway at the University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center near Mt. Vernon, Mo. Funded, in part by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, the study is mainly focused on determining which elderberry cultivar grows best in southwest Missouri. Not as popular as strawberries, blackberries or blueberries, the elderberry is actually a native Missouri shrub that produces an edible purple fruit native to the Ozarks. The fruit, which is rich in vitamins, iron, potassium and protein, makes excellent jellies, syrups, desserts, and food colorings. The flowers are also edible, often prepared as fritters or used to flavor jellies and wines. The bark, leaves, flowers, and fruit all have medicinal properties and have been used for thousands of years to treat a variety of ailments. In fact, the fastest growing market for the elderberry now appears to be as a health tonic or "nutraceutical." "The berries and juice are loaded with vitamins, antioxidants, flavonoids, and other substances that promote good health. But in Europe,it's the flowers that are mostly consumed as a tea to fight colds and viral infections as an immune stimulant," said Andrew Thomas, research assistant professor in horticulture, at University of Missouri’s Southwest Research Center. According to Thomas, very little is known about the medicinal properties of the stem, bark or leaves. That is why, during the past summer, some of the new research was focused on learning, in a scientific manner, which medicinal compounds are contained in which tissues. "We are also sampling tissues at various times of year to determine if some substances may fluctuate in the plant throughout the season. We are hopeful that our results will help define additional important uses for this easy-to-grow plant which may lead to increased opportunities for farmers," said Thomas. Some of the cultivars being used in the research here in southwest Missouri were obtained from New York and Canada and those plants are showing signs of not doing well in the Missouri climate according to Thomas. The study includes more than 40 elderberry plants, gathered from different locations in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. "The ultimate goal of the study is to release a named variety or two of elderberries that will grow very well in Missouri. I’m pretty confident we can do that," said Thomas. Thomas is gathering information on the growth, vigor, cane production and disease and insect susceptibility of the berries in this research project, which is also being replicated by Pat Byers at the Missouri State Fruit Experiment Station in Mountain Grove, Mo. "The focus of our study is to learn how to grow elderberries to get the optimum yield," said Thomas. "We are also looking to see if pruning is a better option or if brush hogging it to the ground every year and then letting it grow up in stages produces a higher yield." Thomas expects the experiment to continue over the next four or five years. "We believe the elderberry has good potential as a commercial fruit crop in Missouri, but many basic questions related to its culture remain unanswered," said Thomas. Contact: Andrew Thomas, research assistant professor in horticulture, Southwest Research Center, Mt. Vernon, Mo., 417- 466-2148, thomasal@missouri.edu ******** Funds Available for Organic Producers The Missouri Dept of Ag has announced the availability of federal and state funds for cost-share assistance for certified organic producers and handlers. MDA signed a cooperative agreement with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) to administer cost-share assistance funds for national organic certification costs to qualified organic producers and handlers of agricultural products. This year state funds have also been appropriated for the organic certification cost-share program and will be distributed under the same USDA guidelines. These additional costshare monies will help provide more funding to organic producers and handlers in Missouri. To receive information regarding cost-share assistance, applicants must complete a signed application and supply a copy of their organic certificates with an invoice documenting their certification costs. Applications are available at http://mda.mo.gov/Market/certcostshare.htm. For more information regarding organic business planning and marketing opportunities, contact Allan Benjamin at 573-522-9656 or Allan.Benjamin@mda.mo.gov. ******** Growing Growers trains Kansas City farmers By Chuck Adamson, Senior Information Specialist Troostwood Gardens, a half-acre organic garden in a downtown Kansas City, Mo., neighborhood, is not your typical small farm in the making. And Ericka Wright is no typical farmer. Disabled from muscular dystrophy, Wright motors around her gardens - it’s not quite big enough to be deemed a farm yet - in a scooter. She cultivates peppers and other produce in a raised-bed planter. Her nephew Justin Burrell, 16, works the larger vegetable crop rows that surround the family’s two-story home. He spends his days when he’s not being home schooled hoeing weeds, digging up sweet potatoes, planting seed and picking all sorts of produce, from lettuce and mustard greens to tomatoes and eggplants. Wright, Burrell and three other family members just completed their first year of the Growing Growers apprenticeship program. Teamed with established organic and naturalmethod farmers, new and aspiring growers are taught book knowledge, work the fields and create real-life marketing and business plans for small farms in the Kansas City area. The Wrights plan to double the size of their growing operation next year. "We desperately need more market growers in the Kansas City area. We don’t have enough growers to supply all the need now," said Mary Hendrickson, an assistant professor of rural sociology with the University of Missouri Extension and a Growing Growers board member. "We’re trying to help them discover how to get into farming and figure out what the best markets and niches are for them." Wright’s family started Troostwood Gardens on their property a couple years ago as an activity for neighborhood youths. The area was a haven for petty crimes like vandalism, symptomatic of bored teens, Wright said. "It was something to keep them busy," she said of the garden. "We first started this as an entrepreneurial program to cut crime here." So far Wright said they’re financially breaking even on the project, but she hopes to begin earning a profit next year. She brings in from $75 to $100 each Saturday at a market held outside the Wright home on Paseo Boulevard and 52nd Street. Harvest runs 20 or more weeks annually. Money goes toward seed, the water bill and paying neighborhood teens stipends to work during the summer. "I don’t know if it will turn a good profit as much as it will make better neighbors," Wright said. The family’s mentor is JJ Farms owner John Kaiahua, a retired Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran who began growing in 1980 and actively selling his products a few years after that. The Hawaiian native owns 2 acres of land in a Kansas City neighborhood about a 10-minute drive from the Wright’s home. He said a common mistake made by new growers is planting the wrong crops. For example, many plant strawberries because they’re popular, he said. But strawberries are high maintenance crops and prone to failure here after a few years, Kaiahua said. Kaiahua sells his produce to a community-supported agriculture group, or CSA as it’s called, and to wholesalers and restaurant chefs seeking fresh naturally grown produce. His CSA is a group of 41 singles and families who pay a seasonal fee, starting at several hundred dollars for singles, to get Kaiahua’s harvests delivered to their homes once a week for 20 weeks. Kaiahua grows a variety of crops. His specialty is colored sweet peppers. "People ask me ‘How do I get into this?" Kaiahua said of organic farming. "I tell them you have to learn how to grow. You have to know your markets." Katherine Kelly, a farmer and the Growing Growers project manager, said neighbors are buying products from the Wrights and learning about natural growing methods in the process. Kelly said the family was unique because they were already running Troostwood Gardens, a commercial operation in the making. "John Kaiahua and the apprenticeship training are helping them develop their gardening skills into farming skills," Kelly said. People interested in becoming apprentices can go to www.growinggrowers.org for an application. Applications are being taken now for next year’s program starting in January. Participants can work as paid full-time apprentices or parttime volunteer apprentices. Growing Growers is meant for people interested in starting a career as a commercial grower. A $105,000 federal grant, meant to help fund the program for three years, was recently renewed for the coming three years. Contacts: Mary Hendrickson at 573-882-7463 or Jim Quinn at 573-882-7511. ******** A Little History of Broomcorn By Jennifer Barnes-Schutter, Adair County It’s not uncommon now to go to a Farmers’ Market and see growers selling broomcorn. Broomcorn has become a popular fall decoration, along with corn stalks, pumpkins and gourds. Broomcorn, a type of sorghum, is believed to have originated in Africa hundreds of years ago and spread to Europe by 1500 AD. Unlike other sorghums which are grown for grain, fodder or for making molasses, broomcorn’s only use is for making brooms and brushes. It was brought to the US in the mid-1700’s. In the late 1700’s Benjamin Franklin found a small seed on a whisk broom that a friend had brought him back from France for dusting his beaver hat. Next spring he planted that seed and it grew into a tall corn-like plant with a flowering brush of stiff fibers bearing seeds. From these more were grown for several yeas as a garden novelty in Philadelphia. Then, in 1797, a man in Massachusetts who had planted a half acre of it began to make and peddle crude brooms. Broomcorn raising and broom making soon grew into an important industry with skilled workmen producing a greatly improved product. After that, for more than a century, a good broom was one of the American housewife’s most prized possessions. No other fiber equals broomcorn for picking up dist and sweeping. Iowa was the sixth largest producer of broomcorn in the country in 1875, growing over 2,200 acres of it. There were twenty0six broom factories in Iowa in 1875 that were supplying the state with brooms. For years, east central Illinois was the largest producer with 60,000 acres under cultivation in 1935. At present, only a small acreage is grown but yields most of the seed planted in other states. Illinois is still a center for broom factories and broomcorn dealers with large plants in several downstate cities and Chicago. In the US, the main broomcorn growing regions have slowly shifted westward and are now in Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. For more information on the production of broomcorn and marketing contacts, go to the MAC List of Links at http://agebb.missouri.edu/mac/links/ Click on the letter "B" for broomcorn. ******** Missouri Woodland Steward Short Course The University of Missouri Extension announces a new short course that will be offered beginning January, 2006, for individuals interested in improving both the trees and wildlife on their property. Missouri Woodland Steward is an introductory, five-session course that will help landowners begin to realize their woodland dreams. Through four indoor sessions, individuals will learn how to "see the forest for the trees." Participants will understand the process of assessing the timber and wildlife potential of their woodlands. They will also become familiar with some basic principles and practices of forest and wildlife management. The last session will help participants begin synthesizing all of this information into a plan specific to their needs. The short course will conclude with a field trip to see first-hand some of the practices presented in the indoor sessions. The field trip will also include a visit to an unmanaged woodland where participants will gain experience in assessing the current woodland situation and make recommendations. This short course is an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with professional foresters and wildlife biologists in your area, as well as share ideas and knowledge with other interested landowners. To find out when Missouri Woodland Steward will be offered your area, contact your MU County Extension Center or MU Forestry Extension 573-882-4444, or stelzerh@missouri.edu. ********* *** In Print/On-Line *** *Entrepreneurial Farming, Part of the Plan for Prosperity in Northeast Ohio* can be downloaded from the Farmland Center website, www.thefarmlandcenter.org/documents/FinalFarmMag.pdf Sustainable Agriculture Network's publications are now available to purchase on-line at www.sare.org/ WebStore. Available publications include: * Transitioning to Organic Production: Promising conversion strategies and organic farming production practices for certified organic crop production. * Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture: Farmer experiences plus research in raising chickens and turkeys using pens, movable fencing and pastures. * How to Conduct Research on Your Farm or Ranch: Practical tips for conducting on-farm research for both crop and livestock producers. * Managing Cover Crops Profitably: Comprehensive look at the use of cover crops to improve soil, deter weeds, slow erosion and capture excess nutrients. * Building a Sustainable Business: A business planning guide for agricultural entrepreneurs that follows one family through planning, implementation, and evaluation. * Building Soils for Better Crops: How ecological soil management can raise fertility and yields while reducing environmental impact. * Steel in the Field: A combination of farmer experience, agricultural engineering and university research address how to reduce weed control costs and herbicide use. * And many more... *A Guide to Nut Tree Culture in North America, Volume 1* More than 18 experts offer advice and information on nut tree growing for pecan, walnut, hickory, hazelnut, pine nuts, beech nuts and chestnuts. Topics include nut growing history, propagation, rootstocks, processing, fruiting, marketing, and timber sales and wildlife issues related to nut trees. The cost is $65 for NNGA nonmembers; $45 for members plus postage of $5 to a US address. To order a book online, or join NNGA, visit www.nutgrowing.org. ******** *** IN THE NEWS *** Looking for a sheep shearer? The American Sheep Industry Association has been collecting contact information on sheep shearers by state. Many Shearers also travel to surrounding states so also check neighboring states for shearers who might be willing to travel. Go to www.sheepusa.org >> Industry Affiliates >> Wool Contacts >> Shearer Directory >> Missouri. If you are a shearer and want to add your name to the list, call 303-771-3500. Many people have increased quail/ rabbit populations by implementing various habitat management practices. Did you also know that several grassland birds benefit from the same habitat practices you apply? These are just a few of the grassland bird species that benefit--field sparrow, Henslow’s sparrow, upland sandpiper, greater prairie chicken. Prescribed fire, light disking, managed grazing, and woody cover control all benefit these species. Next time you are evaluating your field, take note of all the grassland bird species you see. (2005 Winter Covey Headquarters Newsletter) Ohio State University researchers are testing four polyculture systems, or modular ecological designs, appropriate for small acreages to find which system offers the best yields, fewest pests, and best profits. Four systems that have been planted for testing each combine a mix of high-value fruits and vegetables, annuals and perennials, tall crops and short ones, into 45-by-60- foot plots. Each system contains the same crops in a different arrangement, and researchers will track which performs best, all with the goal of achieving retail sales of $10 per linear foot, or $90,000 to $100,000 per acre. For more info, read the article at http://extension.osu.edu/%7Enews/story.php?id=3379 or kovach.49@osu.edu (Weekly Harvest Newsletter - Oct 26, 2005) For a complete list of home energy- efficiency tips, www.energystar.gov/heating An example of fading services for small ag shippers: Baby chicks. In an era of volume shipping, those ordering a few hundred chicks have a tough time nowadays. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), also a farmer, has been pressing FedEx to accommodate farmers who need such deliveries. FedEx won't ship the chicks. The US Postal Service still does if you make prior arrangements by calling 800-ASK-USPS for instructions. (Kiplinger Ag Newsletter, Vol 76, No 21) ******** *** ON THE CALENDAR *** Nov 7-8 - MO Forage and Grasslands Conference, Osage Beach, MO. Call 573-799-0886. Nov 12 - MO Boer Goat Bonanza, Carthage, MO. Call 417-753-4886, missouriboers@wattswoodfarms.com Nov 10 - Latino Human Risk Management Workshop, Sedalia, MO. Call 573-882-3776. Nov 18-19 - 8th Annual Central Region Woodland Stewardship Conference, Nebraska City, NE. Call 573-882- 444, stelzerh@missouri.edu Nov 29-30 - Heartland Green Industries Expo, Overland Park, KS. Call Mindy 866-682-6663 or 573-882-8320. Dec 2-3 - 2005 MO Livestock Symposium, Kirksville, MO. Call 660-665- 9866, missourilivestock.com Dec 3 - Missouri Sheep Producers Meeting, Kirksville, MO. http://ag.missouristate.edu/msp.htm Dec 3 - Rural Life Day, Jefferson City, MO. Jan 13-14 - MO Aquaculture Assn Annual Meeting and Banquet, Jefferson City, MO. Call 573-526-6666. Jan 13-14 - North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Conference and Trade Show, Austin, TX. Call 413-529- 0386 or www.nafdma.com Jan 17-19 - Illinois Specialty Crops Conference, Springfield, IL. Call 309- 557-2107 or handley@ilfb.org Jan 21 - MO Christmas Tree Association Meeting, Jefferson City. Call 573-243-5501. Feb 3-4 - MO Nut Growers Association Nut Show & Annual Meeting, Nevada, MO. Call 417-436-2351. Feb 4-5 - MO Young Farmers/Young Farm Wives Annual State Convention, Lake Ozark, MO. Call 573/751-8467. Feb 17-19 - Specialty Mushroom Grower Workshop, Columbia, MO. Call 573-882-3234 , www.centerforagroforestry.org Feb 25-26 - Missouri Equine Council 16th Annual Equine Education Celebration, Columbia, MO. Call 800/313- 3327. Feb 25-27 - Western Farm Show, Kansas City, MO June 28-30 - Grant I Writing Workshop, Springfield, MO. Call 417-732- 6485. July 12-14 - Grant II Writing Workshop, Springfield, MO. Call 417-732- 6485. July 30 - Missouri Young Farmers/ Young Farm Wives Annual Summer Tour, Chillicothe, MO. Call 573/751- 8467.