Evaluating and Sharing Techniques in Silvopasture Establishment

View the project final report

• 2017 annual report

Commodities

• Agronomic: grass (misc. perennial), hay
• Fruits: apples, apricots, berries (brambles), berries (other), cherries, peaches, pears, plums
• Nuts: chestnuts, hazelnuts, pecans
• Additional Plants: native plants, trees
• Animals: bovine, poultry, sheep, swine

Practices

• Animal Production: feed/forage, grazing management, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, housing
• Crop Production: windbreaks
• Education and Training: demonstration, farmer to farmer, mentoring, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research
• Farm Business Management: agricultural finance, budgets/cost and returns, new enterprise development
• Natural Resources/Environment: afforestation, biodiversity, hedges - woody
• Pest Management: competition, cultural control, field monitoring/scouting, prevention
• Production Systems: integrated crop and livestock systems, organic agriculture, permaculture

Silvopasture – the integration of livestock, forage, and tree crops – can generate multiple high-value products with minimal off-farm input while enhancing ecological functions. Silvopasture is common worldwide, but remains largely untested in the North-Central region. Silvopastures can be created by establishing pasture under existing trees or establishing trees within existing pasture. This project aims to fill knowledge gaps faced by farmers in this region without suitable existing trees who are establishing seedling-stage silvopasture. We take a comprehensive approach to generating and sharing knowledge. To gather knowledge, we will conduct on-farm trials of establishment techniques, contextualize results with whole-enterprise records, and interview experienced practitioners of silvopasture. To spread knowledge, we will host field days, present at a conference, publish a results bulletin, and release edited podcasts of the interviews. We will also create a novel map-based online hub for information exchange among social networks of perennial agriculture practitioners, potential silvopasture adopters, researchers, educators, and other stakeholders. We target the whole region, with on-farm trials in three states and cross-region outreach. We anticipate the knowledge gained and shared will be most useful to diversified and beginning farmers and graziers.