Enhancing the Economic Stability of Select Limited Resource Farms through the Establishment of Micropropagated Pecan Orchards Integrated with Crops and Animals

View the project final report

• 2010 annual report
• 2011 annual report

Commodities

• Agronomic: grass (misc. perennial), hay
• Fruits: melons
• Nuts: pecans
• Vegetables: beans, cabbages, greens (leafy), cucurbits, sweet corn, tomatoes
• Animals: goats

Practices

• Animal Production: grazing management, manure management, feed/forage
• Crop Production: agroforestry, crop rotation, intercropping, multiple cropping, nutrient cycling, application rate management
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, youth education, technical assistance
• Energy: energy conservation/efficiency
• Farm Business Management: agricultural finance
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, hedgerows
• Pest Management: biological control, botanical pesticides, cultural control, economic threshold, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management, prevention, sanitation, traps, mulching - vegetative
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, organic agriculture, integrated crop and livestock systems
• Soil Management: organic matter, soil analysis, nutrient mineralization, soil microbiology, soil chemistry, soil physics, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

This request for planning grant was submitted by a team of researchers and extension professionals in a bid to develop a proposal on agroforestry. The proposal will involve the use of micro-propagated pecan orchards integrated with vegetable, forage, small ruminants and pastured poultry, for resource poor farmers in five states-Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Limited resource farmers and woodland owners in these states have faced significant production problem due to the ever increasing cost of farm inputs. These producers desire to extend their on-farm productive careers while providing an operation that can be sustained for future generations by converting existing farm operations to alternative agroforestry enterprise. The research and extension team aspire to develop a program for resource limited farmers that will incorporate innovative low-input technology of growing micro-propagated pecans intercropped with nitrogen fixing vegetables and forage crops, with small ruminants and pastured poultry introduced, for efficient forage utilization, nutrient cycling, weed control, and diversification of the production system. The proposed planning grant will enable the team of researchers and educators to network through teleconferences and face-to-face meetings. The planning grant will be used to cover the cost of three teleconferences and two face-to-face meetings in North Carolina with the outcome being the development of a research proposal.

The objective of this planning grant is to facilitate networking of research scientists and extension specialists to develop a project for resource poor farmers in Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee States. Resource poor farmers from these states face substantial difficulty in production due to the rising cost of farm inputs and the need to adopt environmentally sound practices. Our goal is to develop a low-cost, ecologically friendly system that integrates pecans, vegetable and forage crops as well as pastured poultry and small ruminants for these farmers. For the proposed project, micro-propagated pecan orchards will be established with vegetable and forage crops planted in the alleys. Leguminous forages and vegetables will enhance nitrogen fixation and hence reduce the need for inorganic nitrogen fertilizer. Small ruminants and pastured poultry will utilize the forages and vegetable by products as well as recycle nutrients into the system. In addition, small ruminants will control weeds by grazing, and minimize the necessity of herbicide use. The proposed planning grant will enable the team of researchers and educators to network through teleconferences and face-to-face meetings, and use their expertise to develop a research and extension proposal to be submitted to funding agencies (e.g. SARE, USDA NIFA) in FY 2011. The planning grant will be used to cover the cost of three teleconferences and two face-to-face meetings in North Carolina with the outcome being the development of a research proposal.