Project Overview
Commodities
- Agronomic: wheat
- Additional Plants: native plants
- Animals: bovine
Practices
- Animal Production: grazing - rotational
- Crop Production: agroforestry, cover crops, no-till
- Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research
- Natural Resources/Environment: hedgerows
- Production Systems: integrated crop and livestock systems
Proposal summary:
A two-year diversification project using agroforestry and cover crops was implemented in Mulhall, Oklahoma. The project purpose was to diversify the traditional winter wheat and beef cattle wheat system by utilizing agroforestry and cover crop components. Initial project results were presented at the 2016 Organic Oklahoma Conference and with a group 4 H students who were involved in cattle judging. The barriers to implementation include high labor cost of planting and watering permanent trees and the proper timing of cover crop planting. The agroforestry system shows promise for use but still needs work on better medium term high value crops and pollinator habitat.
Project objectives from proposal:
Objective 1
Set up two 10 acre agroforestry alley cropping sections in wheat fields.
Objective 2
Develop a more diversified approach to winter wheat production that encourages a mix of economically viable trees with insect trap crops in the hedgerow.
Objective 3
Provide beneficial insect habitat within the each of the 10 acre systems.
Objective 4
Develop production expertise for several alternative crops.
Objective 5
Use cover crops to build up soil organic matter.
Objective 6
Monitor any changes in wildlife presence at the two locations.