Expanding Agroforestry in the Coon Creek Watershed to Protect Water and Provide a New Crop to Farmers

Commodities

Practices

The Coon Creek Watershed Project was launched in October 1933, the first large-scale soil and water conservation project in the United States. Today, that legacy lives on in the producer-led Coon Creek Community Watershed Council (CCCWC), a non-profit organization working to increase awareness of, access to, and adoption of land management practices that advance community well-being and flood resilience in the Coon Creek Watershed. As an organization of firsts, we are proud to partner with the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative (UMHDI) to be the first watershed council in Wisconsin to become a UMHDI Early-Adopter Commercial Partner (EACP), and lead the way in helping growers adopt hazelnut-based agroforestry. As an EACP, the CCCWC will have priority access to new hazelnut cultivars, and with that access, a responsibility to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully establish and grow the cultivars. To do so, CCCWC member growers will partner with UW-Extension to implement on-farm research projects to answer key establishment questions and then communicate the results through our outreach and education programs.

1. Develop a network of early-adopter hazelnut growers in the Coon Creek Watershed through training events, farm tours, group-buys, and facilitated peer-to-peer learning.
2. Conduct on-farm participatory research to evaluate the impact of tree tubes, irrigation, and pruning on establishment of two of the UMHDI Adventure Series™ cultivars and 'Northern Blais' from the Grimo breeding program.