Forest Meets Farm: Profitable New Crops for Small Farms in Forested Ohio

Forest Meets Farm: Profitable New Crops for Small Farms in Forested Ohio

Summary

Interest in forest cultivated crops (FCCs) is growing fast, both among natural resources professionals and landowners. Having completed the first of a two-part training series for natural resources professionals, we are well on our way to accomplishing our short and intermediate term objectives. Many of the 50 participants have already integrated FCCs into their work with landowners. We provided an information-rich resource binder for the participants to build on the two-day introductory training, with contact information and a bibliography for accessing more in-depth information. We are now getting ready for the follow-up advanced training, which will focus more on marketing FCCs.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Year One Objectives
• 75 NRPs know the basics of 5 FCCs (including site requirements, labor needs, markets, and economic potential)
• 25 of 75 NRPs are interested in learning more about agroforestry
• 20 NRPs use information available on the list-serve or utilize a connection made with another educator as a result of our activities
• 30 of 75 NRPs feel FCCs are a useful development activity for part or all of Ohio
• 15 NRPs provide informational resources to growers relating to FCCs
• 50 NRPs feel they know where to go for information on FCCs
• 7 Foresters view FCCs as part of their job
• 5 Agency partners view the Roots of Appalachia Growers Association (RAGA) involvement in program development as helpful

Intermediate-Term Objectives
Within 12 months of the completion of the final training we anticipate:
• 3 FCC workshops organized or co-organized by persons trained in our PDP
• 15 forest management plans including understory species written by trainees

Within 3 years of the completion of the final training we anticipate:
• Responsibilities for FCCs being more than 50% of the time allocation for one or more state or regional specialists
• OSUE includes FCCs in training plan for new ANR agents in forested areas
• ODNR includes FCCs in training plan for new service foresters
• 1 or more FCC growers involved on OSUE advisory boards (zero now)
• OSUE responds to 30 landowner requests for information on FCCs

Long-Term Objectives
If we were to speculate we might look for, within 20 years:
• An agroforestry center run by OSU or NRCS in Ohio with 3 staff dedicated to training educators and addressing landowner agroforestry questions beyond the knowledge of county agents
• Non-timber forest products (FCCs in particular) in the curriculum for all introductory forestry classes in Ohio and as a separate stand-alone class offered to both forestry and agriculture students
• OSUE collaboratively working with non-profit community, grower associations and other non-traditional partners, with development of joint work plans where appropriate
• OSUE adoption of participatory or farm-based research as a core strategy for agricultural research (with 30% of the budget dedicated to these approaches)

Accomplishments/Milestones

Rather than convening two separate six-hour training courses for agriculture and forestry educators, we combined them into a longer overall training course that included both groups of natural resources professionals. In May 2002, we held our first training course, which included a day-long series of presentations by FCC specialists, followed by a field day to visit herb cultivation sites to see the plants growing in their native habitat with the indicator plants that help identify suitable growing sites. This "overview of FCC" training was attended by 50 natural resources professionals, including individuals from Ohio State University Extension (county agents and a variety of specialists), Ohio Division of Forestry (mostly State Service Foresters), a Hocking College professor, several consulting foresters, a few grower-educators, and a few landowners. This was a good mix of professionals from different backgrounds that enriched the networking opportunity afforded by the training.

Specific topics covered during the first day included:
• An overview of the history and economic opportunity of FCCs and a discussion of farm diversification, the herbal nursery trade, organic production of herbs, herb marketing, site selection using indicator species, and value-adding opportunities (presented by Edward Fletcher of Strategic Sourcing, Inc, a North Carolina herbal products company).
• A more focused presentation about American ginseng, including cultivation methods, site selection, economic opportunities, and marketing methods (presented by Andy Hankins, Virginia's Alternative Agriculture Extension Specialist, and Greg Duskey, a grower-educator from Southeast Ohio and proprietor of the Wild American Ginseng Company).
• Two presentations about other FCC opportunities, including pawpaws and mushrooms (presented by Chris Chmiel, a pawpaw specialist and proprietor of Integration Acres, a company that produces value-added specialty foods items; and George Vaughn, a mushroom specialist, and proprietor of Mushroom Harvest, a company that provides gourmet mushrooms to restaurants and spawn and growing equipment for other mushroom growers).

Building on the information-rich first day, we then followed up with a day of field tours to teach plant identification and site selection. We visited the National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs, a 68-acre forested farm in Meigs County, dedicated to researching best practices related to cultivation of medicinal herbs. We then toured United Plant Savers' nearby plant sanctuary, where we also heard from Paul Strauss about the importance of considering understory plants when developing forest management plans and conducting timber harvests.

To enable participants to dig deeper and build on the training, we provided each participant with a resource binder packed full of FCC information, including contact lists for FCC specialists, a bibliography of FCC resources, and articles and briefing sheets that provided more in-depth information about a variety of species.

Participant evaluations provided numerous insights that will help us as we plan for the advanced FCC training:
• Word of mouth is very important as an avenue of information dissemination within the natural resources community (most of the participants heard about the training through word-of-mouth, from colleagues).
• Participants attended the event for a variety of reasons (personal interest, relevant to their work, useful for management options, and for continuing education credits).
• Participants rated the overall event as a "9 out of 10."
• Vast majority of participants said they would be able to use the take-home information in their work.
• Common agreement about the need for more demonstration sites scattered throughout the area.

Accomplishments by objectives:
Year one objectives
As described above, we are well on our way to familiarizing NRPs in the region about the basics of forest cultivated crops. They recognize that landowner interest in FCCs is growing fast, and most are excited about the unique opportunity that FCCs represent. All trainees said they are better prepared to help forestland owners manage for multiple options. With the vast bibliography in the informational resource binder, trainees have the tools necessary to access FCC-related information. The great majority of participants from the first training are looking forward to learning more about the prospects of FCCs, and agroforestry in general.

Intermediate term objectives
We are well on our way to meeting our intermediate term objectives, related to NRPs taking the FCC message to landowners and providing technical assistance:
• Workshop organizing and co-organizing
Several trainees have already applied their new experience garnered from the first training. OSU Extension personnel worked with us to organize the Southern Ohio Ginseng Conference, held in October 2002 at the OSU South Center in Piketon, Ohio. This was a very successful event, attended by 80 landowners from all over southeast Ohio and beyond. Our professional partners were very pleased with the response from the event, and are looking forward to similar events that build on this success. We anticipate OSU Extension taking the lead for subsequent events, consulting us as necessary during the planning process.
• Incorporation of understory species into forest management plans
Several trainees have already incorporated understory species into forest management plans, even within the short period following the first training. Given this response, we anticipate many more plans incorporating FCCs in the intermediate term.
• Inclusion of FCCs in NRP training plans
We have made great headway in getting ODNR and OSUE to think about the potential that FCCs have to broaden the opportunities afforded to forest landowners, and the potential tool of FCCs to instigate interest among landowners in thinking about their forests. We are the recognized FCC leaders in the state, and anticipate the inclusion of incentives for FCC cultivation in upcoming cost-share programs and forest tax law, providing further reason to include FCCs in training plans for the trainees.

Long-Term Objectives
We remain hopeful about the possibility of our long-term objectives coming to fruition over the next decade or two. Already, FCCs are showing up in forestry curricula, and OSUE is seeing the mutual benefits of working collaboratively with the non-profit community, growers groups, and other non-traditional partners. And given sufficient funding, the OSU South Center at Piketon could expand beyond its horticultural emphasis (berries, etc.) to an agroforestry center that functions as a hub for addressing landowner questions beyond the knowledge of county agents.

What work is left to do?
We are currently in the planning stage for the follow-up advanced training, which will be held this coming June in Ohio's Hocking Hills region. The follow-up advanced training focusing on forest cultivated crops will build on the first year's training, and highlight marketing (of crops themselves, value-added ideas, and group marketing opportunities), how this all relates to agroforestry, and approaches for integrating FCCs within overall forest management frameworks.
• Marketing of FCCs
To cover marketing, we will be bringing in Steven Foster, world-renowned authority on medicinal herbs, and Jim Freed, Special Forest Products specialist for Washington State Cooperative Extension Service. Foster will discuss the scope, scale, and trends of the medicinal herb market, while Freed will discuss innovative approaches to marketing (including how to sell small scale, cooperative marketing, and florals and crafts).
• How FCCs relate to agroforestry
Bruce Wight, NRCS Lead Agroforester at the USDA National Agroforestry Center in Nebraska, will discuss how FCCs relate to agroforestry in general, explain related cost-share and income opportunities, and discuss ways of incorporating FCCs into riparian forest buffers.
• Integrating FCCs into overall forest management
Russ Richardson, private forester and President of the Woodland Owners Association of West Virginia, will share his experience and perspectives related to integrating the understory with timber management.

To round out the experience of the professional trainees, we will also design a related track of workshops at our 5th Annual Landowners Conference, which will be held during the two days following the Advanced Professional Development Training. This track will include much of the same content covered during the first training (introduction to ginseng cultivation, herb identification hikes, etc.).

Specific topics covered during the first day included:
· an overview of the history and economic opportunity of FCCs and a discussion of farm diversification, the herbal nursery trade, organic production of herbs, herb marketing, site selection using indicator species, and value-adding opportunities (presented by Edward Fletcher of Strategic Sourcing, Inc, a North Carolina herbal products company)
· a more focused presentation about American ginseng, including cultivation methods, site selection, economic opportunites, and marketing methods (presented by Andy Hankins, Virginia's Alternative Agriculture Extension Specialist, and Greg Duskey, a grower-educator from southeast Ohio and proprietor of the Wild American Ginseng Company)
· two presentations about other FCC opportunities, including pawpaws and mushrooms (presented by Chris Chmiel, a pawpaw specialist and proprietor of Integration Acres, a company that produces value-added specialty foods items; and George Vaughn, a mushroom specialist, and proprietor of Mushroom Harvest, a company that provides gourmet mushrooms to restaurants and spawn and growing equipment for other mushroom growers)

Building on the information-rich first day, we then followed up with a day of field tours to teach plant identification and site selection. We visited the National Center for the Preservation of Medicinal Herbs, a 68-acre forested farm in Meigs County, dedicated to researching best practices related to cultivation of medicinal herbs. We then toured United Plant Savers' nearby plant sanctuary, where we also heard from Paul Strauss about the importance of considering understory plants when developing forest management plans and conducting timber harvests.

To enable participants to dig deeper and build on the training, we provided each participant with a resource binder packed full of FCC information, including contact lists for FCC specialists, a bibliography of FCC resources, and articles and briefing sheets that provided more in-depth information about a variety of species.

Participant evaluations provided numerous insights that will help us as we plan for the advanced FCC training:
· Word of mouth is very important as an avenue of information dissemination within the natural resources community (most of the participants heard about the training through word-of-mouth, from colleagues)
· Participants attended the event for a variety of reasons (personal interest, relevant to their work, useful for management options, and for continuing education credits)
· Participants rated the overall event as a "9 out of 10"
· Vast majority of participants said they would be able to use the take-home information in their work
· Common agreement about the need for more demonstration sites scattered throughout the area

Accomplishments by objectives:
Year one objectives
As described above, we are well on our way to familiarizing NRPs in the region about the basics of forest cultivated crops. They recognize that landowner interest in FCCs is growing fast, and most are excited about the unique opportunity that FCCs represent. All trainees said they are better prepared to help forestland owners manage for multiple options. With the vast bibliography in the informational resource binder, trainees have the tools necessary to access FCC-related information. The great majority of participants from the first training are looking forward to learning more about the prospects of FCCs, and agroforestry in general.

Intermediate term objectives
We are well on our way to meeting our intermediate term objectives, related to NRPs taking the FCC message to landowners and providing technical assistance:
· Workshop organizing and co-organizing
Several trainees have already applied their new experience garnered from the first training. OSU Extension personnel worked with us to organize the Southern Ohio Ginseng Conference, held in October 2002 at the OSU South Center in Piketon, Ohio. This was a very successful event, attended by 80 landowners from all over southeast Ohio and beyond. Our professional partners were very pleased with the response from the event, and are looking forward to similar events that build on this success. We anticipate OSU Extension taking the lead for subsequent events, consulting us as necessary during the planning process.
· Incorporation of understory species into forest management plans
Several trainees have already incorporated understory species into forest management plans, even within the short period following the first training. Given this response, we anticipate many more plans incorporating FCCs in the intermediate term.
· Inclusion of FCCs in NRP training plans
We have made great headway in getting ODNR and OSUE to think about the potential that FCCs have to broaden the opportunities afforded to forest landowners, and the potential tool of FCCs to instigate interest among landowners in thinking about their forests. We are the recognized FCC leaders in the state, and anticipate the inclusion of incentives for FCC cultivation upcoming cost-share programs and forest tax law, providing further reason to include FCCs in training plans for the trainees.

Long-Term Objectives
We remain hopeful about the possibility of our long-term objectives coming to fruition over the next decade or two. Already, FCCs are showing up in forestry curricula, and OSUE is seeing the mutual benefits of working collaboratively with the non-profit community, growers groups, and other non-traditional partners. And given sufficient funding, the OSU South Center at Piketon could expand beyond its horticultural emphasis (berries, etc.) to an agroforestry center that functions as a hub for addressing landowner questions beyond the knowledge of county agents.

What work is left to do?
We are currently in the planning stage for the follow-up advanced training, which will be held this coming June in Ohio's Hocking Hills Region. The follow-up advanced training focusing on forest cultivated crops will build on the first year's training, and highlight marketing (of crops themselves, value-added ideas, and group marketing opportunities), how this all relates to agroforestry, and approaches for integrating FCCs within overall forest management frameworks.
· Marketing of FCCs
To cover marketing, we will be bringing in Steven Foster, world-renowned authority on medicinal herbs, and Jim Freed, Special Forest Products specialist for Washington State Cooperative Extension Service. Foster will discuss the scope, scale, and trends of the medicinal herb market, while Freed will discuss innovative approaches to marketing (including how to sell small scale, cooperative marketing, and florals and crafts).
· How FCCs relate to agroforestry
Bruce Wight, NRCS Lead Agroforester at the USDA National Agroforestry Center in Nebraska will discuss how FCCs relate to agroforestry in general, explain related cost-share and income opportunities, and discuss ways of incorporating FCCs into riparian forest buffers.
· Integrating FCCs into overall forest management
Russ Richardson, private forester and President of the Woodland Owners Association of West Virginia, will share his experience and perspectives related to integrating the understory with timber management.

To round out the experience of the professional trainees, we will also design a related track of workshops at our 5th Annual Landowners Conference, which will be held during the two days following the Advanced Professional Development Training. This track will include much of the same content covered during the first training (introduction to ginseng cultivation, herb identification hikes, etc.).

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Attendance of the 50 participants at the first training is a great first step toward institutionalizing forest cultivated crops in the state natural resources agencies and private forestry community. These attendees reach thousands of landowners. They also interact with their peers, resulting in a slow but sure diffusion of innovation related to the great opportunity offered by forest cultivated crops.

This SARE grant has also enabled us to further develop our reputation as leaders in the arena of forest cultivated crops, both in Ohio, and throughout the Appalachian region. We have further expanded our ability to reach both the professional forestry community and landowners through a quarterly FCC-centered column, "Under the Canopy," in the Ohio Woodland Journal. Published by the Ohio Tree Farm Committee, this publication has a distribution of over 5,000. We have also been asked to participate in the National Tree Farm Convention, to be held October 2003 in Columbus, Ohio. We will be conducting an FCC demonstration planting at the Convention, and will be hosting a tour at our 68-acre Research and Education Center in southeast Ohio.

FCCs remain especially suited to the region's small-tract forestland owners, and interest continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Our work to promote FCCs and develop an FCC industry that builds on the natural and cultural assets of the region will be strengthened greatly once we have concluded our two-part professional development training. We have been providing FCC-related technical assistance to landowners, and look forward to passing the baton to our professional counterparts, including Service Foresters, County Extension Agents, and private consulting foresters. We are presently assisting Ohio State University Extension in completing a series of publications related to FCCs, providing further evidence that this formerly under-appreciated facet of forestry is fast making inroads as a viable addition to natural resources management.