Agroforestry: Transforming Unproductive Woodlots Into Productive Livestock Operations.

2008 Annual Report for FNC07-673

Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2007: $5,709.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2010
Region: North Central
State: Ohio
Project Coordinator:

Agroforestry: Transforming Unproductive Woodlots Into Productive Livestock Operations.

Summary

WORK ACTIVITIES
The Rockin’ M Ranch is an 18-acre former apple orchard that is primarily covered with second growth, mixed, Eastern hardwood forest. This land was purchased by us, the McNerney’s, in 1977. The father of the previous owner planted several stands of Eastern white pine, red pines, and spruce trees. These plantings are probably fifty years or more old. We planted approximately 2,200 Eastern white pines in 1978-1979. None of these stands have been managed over the years of their existence. These evergreens covered approximately six acres on the Rockin’ M.

We returned to this 18-acre property, after an absence of approximately ten years, in September 2004. We brought back with us a small goat herd we had started in Texas in May, 2001. While in Texas, Dawn McNerney was active in the Texas Agriculture Extension Service’s Master Gardener program. In that program she learned the value of pasture management and rotational grazing. Based on that value and knowledge, the Rockin’ M, starting in 2005, has been set up in eight pastures of approximately two acres each. Portions of the pine and spruce stands described above are in six of the new eight pastures. The rest of the property consists of the house and gardens, an acre pond, and the driveway.

Because of the overgrown status of the pine and spruce stands nothing grew under the thick canopy of the trees. Therefore, approximately a third of the available pasture space was worthless. We had originally planted the pine trees under the advice of an Ohio State Forester with the assumption that these trees would one day be marketable. Sadly, there is no longer an active market for pine trees in northeast Ohio. After four years of trying to market the trees, we basically had no success.

Not wishing to totally destroy the pine trees and to totally destroy these resources, we decided to pursue a Silvopasture or Agroforestry option. This option focused on thinning the pine stands using TSI standards, opening the canopy to allow for growth of pasture crops suitable for goats, and retaining 20 to 25 percent of the pine stands for potential future logging. We pursued SARE support as our research into marketing the pines showed that there were many Ohio and Midwestern farmers facing similar problems: a marketable stand of softwoods with limited to no markets and a reluctance to destroy possibly decades of growth of softwood forests. Silvopastures might be an option for many farmers especially those with softwood stands growing on hilly areas less suitable for standard agronomy.

To date we have completed approximately 40 percent or more of the thinning work. We are trying to clean the thinned areas of logs and branches as we proceed. We are burning the branches and logs larger than ten inches in diameter. The smaller part of the logs, ten inches and smaller, which is also the greatest part of our thirty year old
stands are being chipped by the Service Department of the Village of Richfield to be given as mulch to the citizens of Richfield. This has been a terrific partnership with the Village. The chipping occurs on our property and all we need do is stack the logs in a place convenient for Village staff to access the logs. We appreciate this green solution to burning all the waste materials.

To date, we have received $2,850.50 in SARE funding. The overall project, to date, has cost $12,259.78. Project expenses include equipment purchase, equipment maintenance, labor, and supplies and materials.

RESULTS
• Completed forty percent of the thinning process.
• Established practical methods for cutting, trimming, stacking logs, and burning refuse. Purchase of front end loader with fork attachment has been a key to successfully and easily moving materials.
• Established sound relation with Service Department of the Village of Richfield for chipping process.
• Seeded, in March 2009, the one pasture in which the thinning process has been completed.
• Learned that we will suffer wind shear damage to the trees that have been left in the pastures.
• Learned that professional loggers are more trouble than they are worth.

In the late fall of 2008, Dawn found an advertisement in the Farm and Dairy newspaper from a professional logger seeking to buy pine logs. We contacted that person and agreed to a logging process. The logging process dramatically changed what we were doing. We had been thinning the smaller trees and saving the larger trees for possible future logging. The logger desired the larger trees leaving the smaller trees. We let him work in pastures we had not started yet. He used a skid steer machine to move the logs around. The skid steer left huge ruts in all areas logged by the professional logger. The professional logger also left branches and tree tops throughout the logged area, but did pile up large amounts of refuse. The logger stacked the logs he desired in separate piles. To date, the logged trees have never been picked up. We have not received any of the promised commissions. We have large stacks of refuse to burn and large amounts of scattered refuse to still collect and burn. Finally, the logger damaged farm/pasture gates as he dragged logs to pile sites. All in all not a good experience.

Dawn is working with the Village of Richfield to schedule a Farm Tour as part of our outreach responsibilities. The proposed date is 8 August 2009.

WORK PLAN FOR 2009
Our plan for the remainder of this calendar year and the remaining time in the SARE grant is to complete the thinning process, complete the clean-up of all refuse materials, level the ruts in the pastures, and do a frost seeding in all areas in Spring 2010. Our goats will continue to be rotated through all eight pastures during this summer. The one completed pasture is showing much better growth of seeded materials. The partially completed pastures are also showing some increase in growth of plant materials.

We will continue to work with the village for the chipping process. Some of the logs not collected by the professional logger may be given to Amish carpenters who have their own log mill.

We are currently sending soil samples to the Agriculture College at Pennsylvania State University for testing. Those test results will tell us if we need to amend our soil in any way.

OUTREACH
We do have a Farm Tour scheduled for August 2009.

We do plan on having Field Days in Spring 2010 when the project is complete and we have data to share. We have been taking “before” pictures of each of the thinned pastures for use during Field Days. We are also doing counts of the trees in each of the pastures so that we have data on the number of trees removed and the number saved.

We have been keeping Gretl Whiteleather, our local Conservation Service agent updated on our progress and activities. She will be assisting with the Farm Tour in August 2009 and will be part of Field Days in 2010.