Project Overview
Annual Reports
Information Products
Commodities
- Animals: goats
Practices
- Pest Management: biological control, flame
Proposal summary:
The project incorporates the USDA approved methods of goat browsing and prescribed burns to maximize control of invasive species and invigorate native savanna growth in multi-use timber stands. An on-farm research/demonstration plot will be established for comparing the effectiveness of individual and combined control methods for invasive species in timber.
Description of farm or ranch and project coordinator background
The project will be conducted at Prairiewood Farms; a 52 acre timber and hay farm located on the Des Moines River Valley in Boone County Iowa. The farm has been engaged in numerous conservation programs through the local USDA-NRCS and works closely with local conservation groups to encourage better utilization of timber resources.
Ray Hansen, owner and operator of Prairiewood Farms, has over 30 years of off-farm experience working in education, agri-business and business development. Hansen will serve as the Principle Investigator (PI) and has recently completed training in the Master Woodland Management Program offered by Iowa State University.
Livestock for the project will be provided by Goats on the Go, a livestock production partnership between Aaron Steele and Chad Steenhoek, both of Ames, Iowa. Goats on the Go was founded in 2012 by two Central Iowa families who have a passion for conservation, small-scale agriculture, and rural living. Together the co-founders are experienced in a wide range of complimentary disciplines including; land-use planning and zoning, low-impact
development, soil and slope analysis.
Other Key Stakeholders and Partners include:
* Research Coordinator: Penny Perkins – Certified Technical Service Provider for NRCS conservation plans. Perkins has worked with Prairewood Farms in developing and modifying the farm’s conservation plan and will serve as the research coordinator for the project.
* Jordan Resources LLC – Local Certified Burn Consultant from Boone, Iowa.
Problem/Solution
In 2006 Prairiewood Farms began an aggressive Timber Stand Improvement (TSI) project working closely with the local USDA-NRCS and the local state forester. This plan was developed around the owner’s interest in improving wildlife habitat, improving the quality of potentially harvestable hardwoods, and to restore the timber savanna habitat. Unfortunately, the implemented crown release did not include provisions for controlling the invasive species that were present in limited volume at the time. After the tree canopy was opened up, the
environmental conditions resulted in unprecedented growth and spread of invasive species including; multaflora rose, bush honeysuckle and buckthorn. The invasive species have since flourished to the point that resulting understory is too thick for the landowner to manage the timber understory for any of the intended practices. Many landowners throughout the NC-SARE region share this familiar scenario of rampant invasive species growth, as
evidenced by the previously funded SARE grants:
1. FNC08-737
Eliminating Invasive Buckthorn With Goats, An Ecological and Habitat Restoration Study - North Central 2008
2. FNC01-346
Control of Invasive Species Threatening Native Grasses in a Flint Hills Pasture - North Central 2001
3. FNC10-815
The economic value of multi-species grazing of cattle and goats utilizing goats for brush and weed control - North Central 2010
4. FNC09-788
White Earth Goat Maanadikoshensag Project North Central 2009
These previously funded SARE research projects all shared the commonality of using goats to control invasive species. Projects such as these have played a significant role in developing the practice of using goats for controlling invasive species, which is now recognized by USDA-NRCS as an accepted conservation practice for EQIP funding (code 528). However, the partners in this project believe that browsing is only part of the solution to long-term management of invasive species. Once the invasive species are reduced to more manageable levels, follow-up practices should be implemented to achieve the following:
1) Maximum control of the interfering species
2) Stimulate the desired natural understory regrowth
The project team’s goal is to demonstrate that browsing followed by a controlled burn will improve control of the invasive species and stimulate more rapid recovery of the depleted natural understory. Additionally, the project team hopes to illustrate to landowners, technical service providers and state agencies that future TSI projects may need to utilize multiple approaches to provide long term control.
Timeline
Research Methodology and Timeline:
Late Winter 2015:
The landowner and project team will identify 10-12 acres within the existing timber stand that is conducive to setting up replicated trial plots that will compare USDA-NRCS EQIP approved methods for controlling invasive species. Due to the fact that there are no identical tracts of ground, the team will divide the 6 plot areas with consideration given to:
• Size
• Density of invasive species and timber
• Ability to safely establish and control a prescribed burn
Early Spring 2015:
Team will isolate the research plots and prepare them for the replicated trials.
The list below illustrates the division and replication of the 3 methods being evaluated.
Plot 1: Burn Only
Plot 2: Grazing Only
Plot 3: Grazing followed by burn
Plot 4: Grazing Only
Plot 5: Grazing followed by burn
Plot 6: Burn only
Adjacent areas within the existing property will serve as the “control” or baseline data for no-burn and no-goats treatments.
Fall 2015:
Coordinate with Certified Burn Contract to burn the appropriate research plots.
Spring 2015 - Fall 2016:
Data collection: The Research Coordinator will identify the plot areas, conduct and document pre and post evaluation assessments and do a 6-12 month follow-up assessment. The research coordinator will also communicate with a local certified burn contractor regarding timing and sequencing of the burns. Once a burn is tentatively scheduled, the team will solicit volunteers and additional crew members to manage burn lines in a way that preserves the integrity of the research.
Fall 2016:
Complete final assessment and report.
Ongoing:
Educational outreach and demonstration
Outreach
Project partners will make themselves available for presentations, workshops and field days to present their findings to interested groups and organizations. The team estimates requests for presentations at a total of 6 instate/region workshops or conferences. The following list represents organizations that the key stakeholders belong to and/or work closely with, that have expressed interest in using the research site for a field day or presentation:
• Woman, Food and Agriculture Network -WFAN – Field Day
• USDA - NRCS – Field Day
• Practical Farmers of Iowa - Field Day
• Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
• ISU Forestry Department - Field day or class trip
• ISU Master Woodland Managers - Class visit
• Boone County Conservation - Site visit
Additionally, the landowner will be available for any outreach programs or on-site visits as part of his 30 hours of volunteer outreach requirement to fully complete the Iowa State Master Woodland Mangers program. The landowner completed the classroom portion of the Woodland Managers Program in October 2014.
The project partners have a diverse professional network and will be able to distribute findings to their respective organizations for inclusion in newsletters, articles, web postings and fact sheets.
Previous Research
As indicated in a previous section, SARE has funded several projects exploring the use of goats for the control of invasive species. However, none have compared the effectiveness of using Prescribed Grazing (USDA_NRCS Code528) compared to or in combination with Prescribed Burning (USDA_NRCS Code 112).
The project team hypothesizes that browsing followed by a prescribed burn will produce a higher percentage of control. This project also predicts that a combined approach will simultaneously create a more manageable burn scenario and invigorate a quicker regrowth of native savannah understory plants.
The previously funded SARE research projects listed below all shared the commonality of using goats to control invasive species. Projects such as these have played a significant role in developing the practice of using goats for controlling invasive species, which is now recognized by USDA-NRCS as an accepted conservation practice for EQIP funding (code 528). However, the partners in this project believe that browsing is only part of the
solution to long-term management of invasive species. Once the invasive species are reduced to more manageable levels, follow-up practices should be implemented to achieve the following:
1) Maximum control of the interfering species
2) Stimulate the desired natural understory regrowth
The project team’s goal is to demonstrate that browsing followed by a controlled burn will improve control of the invasive species and stimulate more rapid recovery of the depleted natural understory. Additionally, the project team hopes to illustrate to landowners, technical service providers and state agencies that future TSI projects may need to utilize multiple approaches to provide long term control.
Related SARE Research Projects:
FNC08-737
Eliminating Invasive Buckthorn With Goats, An Ecological and Habitat Restoration Study
North Central 2008 Farmer/Rancher Project
FNC01-346
Control of Invasive Species Threatening Native Grasses in a Flint Hills Pasture
North Central 2001 Farmer/Rancher Project
FNC10-815
The economic value of multi-species grazing of cattle and goats utilizing goats for brush and weed control
North Central 2010 Farmer/Rancher Project
FNC09-788
White Earth Goat Maanadikoshensag Project
North Central 2009 Farmer/Rancher Project
Evaluation
A replicated trial format will allow for a comparison of the effectiveness between the treatments: burns, browsing, and combined browsing and burns. Participants plan to do a second and third year evaluation to monitor longterm impact.
The project will utilize pre-assessment of density, post-assessment of density, and follow-up assessments every three months until the end of the project period. Additional documentation related to the goats will include: feeding rates, forage choices, habitat and environmental impact.
If the hypothesis is supported by the assessment data, subsequent burns and browsing plans will be developed to maximize long-term control of the invasive species. Plan revisions will be done in conjunction with the local state forester.
Costs associated to this research project will also be compared to alternative methods of control including chemical and mechanical control.
Project objectives from proposal:
Two primary Objectives:
1) Maximum control of the interfering species
2) Stimulate the desired natural understory regrowth
