Agroforestry Training for Professionals in Missouri and the Midwest

Project Overview

ENC04-084
Project Type: Professional Development Program
Funds awarded in 2004: $47,890.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2008
Matching Non-Federal Funds: $11,973.00
Region: North Central
State: Missouri
Project Coordinator:
Dusty Walter
Email
University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry

Annual Reports

Commodities

  • Additional Plants: trees

Practices

  • Crop Production: windbreaks
  • Education and Training: extension, networking, on-farm/ranch research, workshop

    Abstract:

    A multi-agency training was organized in January 2006, attended by eighty-five resource professionals. An Agroforestry Training Manual was created, used and distributed at all trainings. Eight additional landowner workshops were held in 2006-2008, attended by 177 landowners and resource professionals in Missouri, Iowa and Illinois. Before/after surveys revealed significant gains in knowledge at all nine trainings. As a direct result of agroforestry trainings, the Missouri NRCS set aside $1 million to fund a Windbreak sign up. 120 applications were funded totaling more than $407,000. Twenty seven miles of windbreak/shelterbelts will be established in Missouri due to this effort.

    Project objectives:

    The overriding outcomes of the proposed stage 1-3 trainings delivered to diverse agencies and organizations will be evidenced in greater partnering across agencies, broadened agroforestry knowledge base among resource professionals, and increased benefits to farms through adoption of agroforestry and other integrated land management practices.
    Short-Term Outcomes:
    Knowledge about agroforestry and communication within and between core agencies and organizations will be strengthened. The number people key individuals within each of the core groups with a working knowledge of agroforestry practices will be increased. Further, as a result of the farm tour and case study activities, participants will be given the opportunity to interact across agency and organizational boundaries that may exist, and thereby create or enhance networks.
    While agencies cannot afford to send all pertinent personnel to a 1½ day training event, there is merit to having a broad spectrum of individuals within the core groups aware of, and educated about, the potential benefits to properly applied agroforestry practices. The primary outcome of Stage 2 activities will be based on the number of people from within a core group that attend the specialized agroforestry training, and partnerships that are created and enhanced as a result. Paramount to the success of core group, or intra-agency, trainings will be the input and participation from group members that attended the Stage 1 activities. These individuals will prioritize the areas of importance with respect to their agency or organization, and assist in developing an effective curriculum to communicate the impact potential of agroforestry to the priority area.

    A quantitative outcome of Stage 3 trainings will be the number of landowners attending regional agroforestry workshops. A secondary outcome will be the direct benefits to the existing UMCA Technology Transfer Model as measured by the increase in regional on-farm implementation of agroforestry practices. The existing UMCA Technology Transfer Model emphasizes the merit of field days/workshops that use University of Missouri Farms and Centers to highlight current scientific research in conjunction with visits to farms where landowners are practicing agroforestry. This delivers both science and experiential knowledge to landowners attending workshops and enhances the learning opportunity for educators. Outcomes from Stage 3 activities will strengthen our existing Technology Transfer Model.

    Short-term outcomes achievable within the 3-year span of this Program are: 1) an increase in the knowledge of agroforestry practices and their benefits to sustainable farming by core participants and their perspective agencies or organizations; 2) enhanced networking and partnering between core participants working with farmers; 3) a greater utilization and adoption of agroforestry practices to enhance sustainable farming by using interactions between farm resources to the benefit of farm operations.

    Intermediate Outcomes:
    Policy changes within agencies and organizations will reflect knowledge gained and an appreciation for the benefits of agroforestry practices applied to the farm. This will result in greater cooperation and collaboration between agencies, organizations, and natural resource disciples when recommending agroforestry and other sustainable forest and farm management practices. As agroforestry practices increase in number and mature there will be a diversification of products produced and marketed from farms.

    Long-Term Outcomes:
    Increased landowner adoption of agroforestry practices will result in a greater diversification on farm landscapes, enhanced farm sustainability through product diversification and enhanced stewardship of farm resources. In 2013, five years after the end of the agroforestry PDP trainings, the number of trained professionals and landowners practicing agroforestry will be reassessed. This will include a description of the types of agroforestry practices that are being adopted, where, and why. It will also revisit barriers and constraints to wider implementation by core groups and landowners. An updated Directory of Agroforestry Professionals and Landowners in Missouri will be compiled and published.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.