Don’t Miss the
March Agroforestry
Satellite Broadcast

To address the growing interest in
agroforestry, the USDA-NRCS will be
producing a satellite broadcast that will
address the purpose, concepts,opportu-
nites, and benefits of agroforestry. The
broadcast is planned for March 20, 1997
and will be broadcast from studios in
Washington, DC.

The program is targeted to field level
resource professionals and practitioners

Begin preparations for the
satellite broadcast on
March 20, 1997.

Call the information line
for further details
as they become available.

and will provide information on: 1) what
agroforestry is, 2) how agroforestry links
to sustainable agriculture, sustainable
forestry, and sustainable communities, 3)
the different types of agroforestry prac-
tices, (alley cropping, forest farming,
riparian forest buffers, silvopasture, and
windbreaks), and 4) regional opportuni-
ties for agroforestry.

The broadcast will be a combination
of speaker’s presentations in the studio,
live discussions, video segments of actual
agroforestry applications in different situ-
ations, and phone-in question and answer
sessions with the viewers.

Of special interest is the development
of a much-needed agroforestry video to
be produced from this broadcast. There
have been many requests for a video deal-
ing with agroforestry and this shortened
and edited version of the broadcast will
be useful for creating awareness of agro-
forestry. It will be useful to inform view-
ers about how agroforestry relates to sus-
tainable natural resource programs, pro-
mote the concept of agroforestry, and to
train natural resource professionals and
practitioners how to apply agroforestry
practices in their area. As information
about the video becomes available, it will
be printed in future issues of JA.

Local groups who wish to participate
in the broadcast are encouraged to make

(Forest Products from page 4)

systems. A few innovative producers have
experimented and developed their own
agroforestry production systems for a
number of these products. Locating these
individuals involves numerous phone
calls and a bit of luck.

To address these needs the National
Agroforestry Center in cooperation with
several partners, is planning a symposium.
in 1998 to assess the potential and synthe-
size the state-of-the-art of growing SFP’s
in agroforestry systems. The symposium
will summarize sources of available pro-
duction and marketing expertise for SFPs
grown in the United States, summarize
information on economics, species and
production systems.

Obviously, growing SFPs in managed
systems is a niche enterprise whose mar-
kets are tempermental. Obtaining infor-
mation on the production and marketing
contacts for SFP’s can be difficult and
frequently is unavailable. Because the
interest and need for information will
continue to grow, answers will gradually
emerge over the next few years. We at the
National Agroforestry Center, USFS
Pacific Northwest Region, and Cornell
University perceive that growing SFP’s in
agroforestry systems is a win-win situa-
tion for the landowner and the environ-
ment.

Source: Adapted from USDA Agricultural

Information Bulletin 666 (1993); Arny, Hill and

Worms ‘Alternative Forest Products’ (1994);
Beyfuss, American Ginseng Production in New York
State’ (1994) Cornell Cooperative Extension Service

Bulletin; USDA Farmers Bulletin 2201; Mater
Engineering Report for Missouri.

advance arrangements for a local down-
link and contact cooperators and partners
in your area to invite them to attend and
participate.

At the time of this printing we do not
have coordinates for the downlink.
However, a special information line has
been set up. Call 402-437-5178 ext. 41
after February 21, 1997 for more infor-
mation about the downlink coordi-
nates, starting time, and length of the
broadcast. If you have other questions,
stay on the line until after the recorded
message is completed and leave your
name, number, and a message and
someone will get back to you as soon as
possible.

Greenery for Crafts is
Big Business

In the northwest, floral decoratives
such as swordfern fronds, beargrass,
and salal are gathered from public and
private forests and sold to European
and urban markets. Markets for floral
decoratives have been increasing or
steady with total sales in 1989 over
$49.6 million.

Gathering of swordfern fronds
dates from the turn of the century.
Today swordfern is harvested year-
round from shaded forest areas.
Beargrass is found in open areas in
alpine and subalpine western forests.
The long stem leaves of this lily are
used by native Americans to make
baskets and by florists for decorative
arrangements. Beargrass is reported to
be the highest volume SFP exported
to Europe. Until recently, salal, a
shrubby understory evergreen, was
considered a weed species. Now salal
is harvested year-round for floral
arrangements. Only undamaged deco-
ratives are marketable. Thus, the
leaves of all decoratives, must be
examined for deformities, spots, and
insect damage.

Sources: Adapted from USDA Agricultural

Information Bulletin 666 (1993), and USDA

Pacific Northwest Region Olympic National

Forest Bulletin ‘The forest beyond the trees’
(1993).

Proceedings of the Fourth North
American Agroforestry Conference
held in Boise, ID in July, 1995
are available.

To order a copy of Building a
Sustainable Future send US$35
(plus $5 for US or $10 for non-US
shipping and handling) to
Conference Proceedings,
Attn. John H. Ehrenreich, Editor,
College of Forestry, Wildlife, and
Range Sciences, University of
Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844-1135
Phone 208-885-7600

Inside Agroforestry 5



(Forest Products from page 3) —--—~-—-—-—~

erties. In 1993, approximately 230 mil-
lion pounds of ginseng was produced in
the United States with 90 percent being
shipped to China, Korea, and Japan. In
the United States, ginseng pills and roots
are sold in health food stores. The market
price varies considerably depending on
the method of production that is used.
Wild ginseng can sell for as much as
$400 a pound dry weight, while the mar-
ket price for artificially cultivated ginseng
varies from $32 to $80 per pound. Prices
for woods-cultivated ginseng can range
from $100 to $300 per pound depending
upon how the product appears.

Ginseng is native to the eastern hard-
wood forests and traditionally was gath-
ered from these forests. However, over-
harvesting has severely depleted native
stands and in some cases brought it to the
brink of destruction. Ginseng can be cul-
tivated from seeds, seedlings, and roots in
shaded beds under tall hardwood trees.

The most productive beds are on moist,
but well-drained north- or east- facing
slopes with a loamy soil and heavy leaf
litter layer. Yields are reduced by weed
competition and damage from insects,
slugs, diseases, and rodents. Roots are
harvested from four to seven years after
planting, with about one ton of ginseng
produced per acre. Currently, ginseng is
cultivated throughout most of the United
States. In Kentucky, wild and cultivated
ginseng production averages close to $5
million.

Mushrooms, floral decoratives, and
short-rotation woody crops are examples
of other special forest products that can
be readily incorporated into agroforestry
systems. However, before starting to pro-
duce these SFPs, an entrepreneur needs to
locate or develop potential markets and
locate available production information
and expertise.

Potential markets are often local stores

Missouri

or cooperatives. For example, shiitake,
matsutake, truffle, morel, and chanterelle
mushrooms are often sold directly to
gourmet, French, and Asian restaurants,
Asian and natural food stores, or a mid-
dleman or cooperative for resale to larger
more distant markets. Because markets
for salal, beargrass, and other decoratives
are in urban areas and overseas, these
products are often marketed through
cooperatives or local buyers. Nonlocal
buyers also can be reached through the
Internet.

University Extension Services, the US
Forest Service, US Natural Resources
Conservation Service, and local growers.
are possible information sources on pro-
duction and marketing for well-known
products. However, there is a lack of
information on less common products
(e.g. mushrooms, salal, saw-palmetto),
especially their production in agroforestry
(See Forest Products on page 5) -——

Alley Cropping to Help Feed Buffalo Herd ———— —

rows of his maturing pecan trees.

Editor's Note: Landowners like Dan Shepherd, who
use innovative approaches to manage their land
resources must be commended. Shepherd Farms is
another unique agroforestry example to learn from,
Some pioneers have learned how to
use their land to the fullest, and Dan
Shepherd is one of those innovative pio-
neers. Shepherd Farms has implemented
a unique agricultural system which liter-
ally lets one operation “feed” from the
others. In fact, Shepherd’s buffalo feed
on hay grown in alley cropping practices.

4 Inside Agroforestry

To help feed his herd of puttato, Dan. Shepherd hi harvests hay between

Shepherd’s
2,800 acres of
land near Clifton
Hill, Missouri is
divided between
diverse agricul-
tural operations
which all work
together. They
include alley
cropping between
pecan trees, a
cow/calf buffalo
operation, and
growing eastern
gamma grass for
grazing and seed.

The Shepherds purchased their land in
1970 where they grew traditional crops
such as corn and soybeans and raised buf-
falo. They started with a 12-acre test plot
of pecan trees, experimenting to find the
best method to start their orchard. In
1981, the Shepherds planted 5,000 pecan
trees, knowing that they would have to
wait 20 years before the trees would reach
full nut production. In the meantime, they
have been using the spare land in the

alleys between the rows of pecan trees to
grow corn and hay, which helps feed the
herd of 700 buffalo.

When Dan and his father began farm-
ing, they knew that they needed unique
operations to diversify their program and
bring in a stable income. “We chose the
pecans and the buffalo because we have
more control of the prices,” Shepherd
said, “instead of letting the markets
decide for us.”

The pecan trees, now in their 15th sea-
son, have begun producing nuts. Shepherd
will continue to alley crop corn and hay in
between the tree rows until the trees
become too large and shade out the crops.
He is pleased, though, that he could use
the land in the most productive manner
for such a long period of time.

“You have to look long-term,”
Shepherd said. “The benefits out-weigh
the costs of both time and labor .”

Dan Shepherd has taken traditional and
not-so-traditional agricultural practices
and implemented them into a system
where each enhances the others. This is a
good example of a successful sustainable
new-wealth enterprise.



North Carolina

Gathering Pine Needles for Profit -

Editor’s Note: North Carolina Pine Needle Producers have found a profitable
product that is benefiting the environment, Pine straw is just one of many special
‘forest products landowners have learned to market.

Landowners in North Carolina are taking what used to be a
forest by-product and harvesting it for a profitable gain. The col-
lection and distribution of pine needles for mulch and landscap-
ing uses has become a hot special forest product operation, espe-
cially in the South. It would also be an easy way to profit from
an existing agroforestry silvopasture operation.

Gathering pine needles, often called “pine straw,” for land-
scaping use began decades ago. When the sand hills of North
Carolina were devastated by a series of forest fires in the early
1960's, firefighters noticed that in places where needles had been
gathered from the forest floor, the trees didn’t burn as fast or as
hot. Landowners soon realized that this profitable practice of col-
lecting needles was actually helping the trees protect themselves.

Terry Bryant, a leading pine needle producer from Carthage,
NC, has made this alternative product his way of life.
“Originally, pine needles were used for mulch to control erosion
on hill sides,” Bryant said, “but because they were so beautiful
and long-lasting, they’re now being used for other purposes like
landscaping around trees and shrubs.” Long leaf (Pinus Palustris)
conserve moisture and buffer against extreme temperatures.

Bryant and other pine needle producers follow a strategic
method for growing and harvesting the best possible product. He
says that planting trees at proper distances apart, removing
undergrowth, and raking the needles into rows is essential for a
clean product that bales easily. He uses a foreign-made hay-baler
because it makes easier-to-handle bundles with its smaller cham-
ber to save costs. Bryant doesn’t use excess packaging or labels
for his product, although some producers do.

“We sell retail and wholesale to landscapers and homeown-
ers,” Bryant said. “Of course, we like to sell in quantity, but we
do sell a few bundles at a time to landowners.” He receives any
where from $3.50 to $4.00 per bundle with about 70 to 120 bales
per acre.

(Shiitake from page 1)

Pine needle
producers have
learned that the
production of
pine needles can
actually improve
the environment.
Many landowners
who wish to cash
in on pine needle
production have
planted their trees
as windbreaks or
on hills to control
erosion under the
Conservation
Reserve Program.
Although envi-
ronmentalists are
speaking out, con-
cerned about
effects of pine
needle production
on endangered
species such as woodpeckers, producers have proven that their
production helps control the woodpeckers’ most dangerous
predators, the squirrels. Raking also cultivates many plants in the
longleaf wiregrass ecosystem.

Pine needle production has a fairly quick return and is long-
lasting. After eight years, Bryant’s 100 acres of 17-20 feet tall
long-leaf pine are already producing needles. “I'll probably be 90
before my trees start to decrease in production,” Bryant said.

Terry Bryant and other North Carolina pine needle producers
have found an environmentally-conscious operation that yields
great financial rewards.

: at A
Forming a windrow for baling requires shap-
ing, fluffing, and removal of sticks, cones, and
foreign matter.

owned farms using hardwood logs.
Hardwood-grown mushrooms are the
highest quality product and successfully
compete against large commercial grow-
ers using artificial substrate.

As you can tell, it is relatively easy to
grow shiitake. However, making money
is another matter. Mushroom growing as
a commercial enterprise is closely depen-
dent on good marketing. While the mar-
ket in North America and Europe is
steadily expanding, at times supply still
exceeds demand, which causes prices to
fall below cost, something no farmer can
sustain for very long.

Here is a possible scenerio of a one-

person farm. A small farm (less than
5,000 logs) can produce 45-65 pounds
per day (at 0.25 to 0.33 Ib/flush/log).
Labor is needed for soaking the logs, har-
vesting the mushrooms, packaging them,
and then selling them. A small farm with
perhaps a father and his son or daughter
and hired help in season, inoculating
4,000 logs per year will generate $20,000
to $30,000 pre-tax annual income or
about $10 per hour of labor, assuming an
average sale price of $4 per pound. If a
steady buyer at $8 per pound can be
found, returns go up dramatically. For
this reason, many shiitake farmers devote
as much time to marketing as to produc-

tion, driving long distances to service
gourmet restaurants and health food stores.

Shiitake has adequate nutritional quali-
ties to serve as a main dish. Its oriental
mystique makes for an easy entree into the
vegetarian/health food/gourmet circles. As
the baby boomers begin to age (the lead-
ing edge is now 50 and the back edge is
30), they will demand foods that are fill-
ing without being fattening. Endowed
with blood-pressure lowering qualities
and a demonstrated antiviral property, shi-
itake sales could take off quickly as this
flavorful mushroom becomes for America
what it has already become in Japan: a
popular all-around food.

Adapted from 1996 MushroomPeople Catalog
1-800-692-6329.

6 Inside Agroforestry


— New-Wealth Enterprises —-—--—-—--—

Sustainable new-wealth enterprises is
aterm you have to ponder for a moment,
but once you understand it, it makes per-
fect sense.

The context of sustainable as used
here, is a long-term land use that is envi-
ronmentally-sound, profitable, and meets
people’s needs. New-wealth is value that
did not previously exist. And enterprise is
a project undertaken that often requires
some boldness or adventurous spirit.

Inside Agroforestry

National Agroforestry Center x6) y

Here, we’re talking about a business ven-
ture.

When you put it all together, we are
referring to new industries based on sus-
tainable land uses that generate new
wealth. New-wealth is a key point,
because there are many examples where
value is converted from one form to
another, and there is very little new value
added, or value may even be lost. In other
cases the cost of materials is very low,

Winter, 1996

but the value of the product is very high.
The purpose of the term sustainable new
wealth enterprises is to draw attention to
what we really want to accomplish in an
enterprise and the community it effects --
sustainably generating new wealth by uti-
lizing renewable natural resources, when
nature is debited and does not demand
repayment.

Consider a farming operation, where

~ ~ (See Sustainable on page 2)

Growing Shiitake Mushrooms is a Spawning Possibility —--

The shiitake (pronounced she-eh-ta-
kay) mushroom is one of the most popu-
lar foods in Japan and a major staple in
China and other parts of the Pacific Rim
that is also growing in popularity in the
US. As a protein source, it has the com-
bined attributes of being appetizing, nour-
ishing, dietetic, and healthful. Growing
shiitake mushrooms is yet another alter-
native crop possiblity that can be incorpo-
rated into an agroforestry system.

Shiitake grow on hardwood logs under
forest shade where cold running water is
nearby. They prosper in sixty percent or
better shade outdoors (not darkness)
where ventilation is good. Oak logs are
usually used, but many other hardwoods
can also produce these mushrooms. Logs.
are derived from young, living, healthy
trees that are selected from stands need-
ing to be thinned. Among commercial
growers, a standard log width is 4 inches,
cut to 30 to 48 inches long. Care must be
taken to avoid damaged bark. Pines and
other conifers will not produce shiitake.

Holes are drilled in the logs and shi-
itake inoculum is inserted. The logs are
stacked to allow air movement. It takes 4
to 20 months for a log to become com-
pletely colonized by the fungus.
Mushrooms are harvested while the caps
still have curled edges and are less than 4
inches in diameter. Logs will fruit twice a
year, in the spring and fall. Shiitake will

store well fresh for two to three weeks in
cloth or paper bags. If dried or frozen,
they will keep much longer.

According to the Mushroompeople of
Summertown, Tennessee, North

This Issue

HB Forest Pharming?...page 2
g f..-Pag

A Summertown, Tennessee mushroom grower examines shiitake-producing logs.

America’s oldest mail order supply firm
for specialty mushroom growers, the most
successful shiitake mushroom growers in
the United States are still the small family
- (See Shiitake on page 6)

I Special Forest Products in Agroforestry Systems...page 3

I Selling Pine Straw for a Profit...page 6

@ Summary Table of Special Forest Products...page 7


Special Forest Products

Specialty Examples Use Region of the United States
Ps .
Products es @¢ 8
a 2 2 A
i « | 3 g i 2 2
a
538 2 2G @ & 2
Food Shiitake and matsuki mushrooms _ food, medicinals xX X X X K XK XK X
Black locust and plum honey food, candy KX KX KX K X
Walnuts, acorns, pecans, and food, dyes xX X X X K K XK X
Pinon pine nuts
Blueberries, huckleberries, and _ food, dyes xX xX X KX K K XK X
other berries
Maple, birch, and boxelder sap _ syrups, candy xX xX xX X xX Xx
Specialty Items Cedar and pine oils aromatics, crafts KX X X XK K K K X
Poplar, willow, and fuel, paper KX X X X K K K X
switchgrass biomass plantings
Cedar, poplar, and willow mulches, animal xX X X XK X x
residues bedding, litter
products
walnut crotches, wormy wood, decorations ».¢ Kk X X xX xX
chestnut, diamond willow, and, carvings
and cedar veneer
Decoratives Salal, bear grass, sword fern, decoration, crafts xX X X X X
and other greenery projects
Club fern, spanish moss, and decorations, crafts xX xX X xX xX
other mosses projects
Wild grape, kudzu, vine crafts x X xX
maple, and other vines
Medicinals Ginseng longevity, general xX X X xX X XK XK X
strengthening, teas, herbs
Goldenseal eyewash, laxative, xX X X
tonic hemorrhagic
Saw-Palmetto food, prostate health xX
Herbs Slippery elm bark food flavoring, laxative X X
Elder flowers food flavoring, eye X X XK XK K K X X
and skin health

Eucalyptus leaves

flavoring agent, expectorant

Inside Agroforestry 7


Message From the Manager

In the news you have probably heard about “pharming,”
where modified genes are injected into livestock to make them
produce specialized pharmaceuticals (medicines) that are used to
treat human diseases. Well, something similar is happening in
agroforestry. There is an expanding interest in growing high-
value specialty products in agroforestry systems — forest farm-
ing. The strongest interest is focused on medicinal and botanical
plants, mushrooms, herbs, and foilage plants.

Forest farming is the intensive culture of specialty crops
under a forest cover that has been manipulated to provide the
correct growing conditions. Most of these high-value crops are
forest-based, for example ginseng, goldenseal, shiitake mush-
rooms, and beargrass. Products are sold to the health food, floral,
landscape, and crafts industries.

Actually, there are opportunities for growing specialty crops
in all five types of agroforestry practices. Sensitive crops that
require more light, like flowers, herbs, and vegetables, can be
grown in alley cropping systems. Nut trees such as hybrid hazel-
nuts can be planted as windbreaks, and specialty crops such as
Christmas trees and nursery stock can be included in the design.

A commentary on the status of agroforestry
as reported by Program Manager, Bill Rietveld

Forest Pharming?

Pine straw and pine cones can be harvested from silvopasture
systems. And, riparian zones can be planted to short-rotation
woody crops, usually hybrid poplars, to provide a riparian buffer
strip and income from woody biomass.

This issue of Inside Agroforestry is focused on enterprise
development through agroforestry. There’s a big story to tell, and
the articles in this issue only give an overview. The Center is
planning several activities with partners to realize the potential of
growing specialty products in agroforestry systems, and you will
hear more about them as they develop.

We feel that agroforestry is a win-win situation for the envi-
ronment and the landowner. But to get people to agree with us,
collectively we must provide compelling reasons for adopting
agroforestry. Those compelling reasons are there (conservation
and income), and are rapidly being developed and documented as
this issue of JA illustrates. Our job, as natural resource profes-
sionals, is to provide the landowner with options and tools to
assist sound land stewardship decisions. We will accomplish this
by developing improved technologies, information, and tools and
demonstrating how they work.

(Sustainable from page 1) ——-——~

many inputs are required to produce a
bushel of grain. Without subsidies, it may
be very difficult to produce grain at a
profit at today’s prices. And many farm-
ing practices are not sustainable.
Growing organic grain is more sustain-
able and generates a higher value prod-
uct. Converting corn to ethanol is con-
verting value from one form to another. It
creates new businesses and jobs and
expands the market for corn, but it does
little to generate more value (profit) on
the farm.

In contrast, there are alternative land
uses and crops that are more sustainable
and can potentially generate more new
wealth on the farm. Agroforestry —

tion, and growing high-quality sawlogs
and livestock in a silvopasture system. A
further example is an agroforestry-based
fee hunting enterprise.

There is of course, a relationship
between the amount of new wealth poten-
tial and the amount of risk involved.
Obviously everyone is looking for a low-
tisk enterprise with minimal costs and
high profits. Beyond this are the social
aspects, where landowners and communi-

The New “Working Trees for Communities”
DISPLAY is now here

The “Working Trees for Communities” display shows how
agroforestry technologies can help create more

ties are looking for enterprises that are
compatible with their culture and values.
Elsewhere in this issue of JA are exam-
ples of potential sustainable new-wealth
enterprises based on agroforestry. The
purpose is to present ideas and options,
recognizing that they are not tried and
proven systems and markets for the prod-

ucts may not exist.
by Bill Holmberg, American Biofuels, Washington, DC and
Bill Rietveld, NAC Program Manager

growing multiple crops on the same piece
of land through vertical integration and
utilizing the beneficial interactions
between trees and crops. Examples
include converting a farm woodlot to a
forest farming operation to produce gens-
ing, growing black walnut and grain or
forage crops in an alley cropping opera-

sustainable community environments. It’s available on a
loan basis and is a wonderful informational aid to use at
meetings, workshops, or just in your office. The only cost
involved is the cost of sending it to the next user.
Call Clover at 402-437-5178, ext. 14 to reserve.
“Working Trees For Communities” brochures are also
available to accompany the display. They're free
and we have a large supply ready to be distributed.

2 Inside Agroforestry


Growing Special Forest Products in Agroforestry Systems — -

by Mary Ellen Dix, National Agroforestry Center, Lincoln, Nebraska
James Freed, USFS, Pacific Northwest Region, Olympia National Forest, Olympia, Washington
Louise Buck, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

“Many special forest products
have tremendous economic value,
particularly when the
production is incorporated
into tree plantings that serve
an additional purpose,
such as a windbreak
or a riparian buffer strip.”

—Mary Ellen Dix

Earn a profit from a forest before the
trees are cut or without cutting them at
all? Believe it or not, it’s happening in
many areas. Special forest products (SFP)
are tangible products derived primarily
from plants, fungi, microorganisms,
invertebrates, and animals found in forest-
ed areas, that are being harvested. These
products fall into five general categories:
food, herbs, medicinals, decoratives
(including floral greenery and dyes), and
specialty items (including aromatic oils
and wood products). See the table on page
7 for more information.

Special forest products have recently
gained considerable attention as an alter-
native income source for contractors who
gather them from public forested land in
the Pacific Northwest, Southern, and
Eastern regions of the United States.
Often the gatherers of products in this $5
billion industry are former lumbermen or
lumberwomen, farmers, or urban
dwellers. The increasing demand has
caused over-harvesting in some forests,
which has threatened the very existence of
some of the products.

Because of increased restrictions on
access to the forests where specialty prod-
ucts can be found, there has been a grow-
ing interest in producing SFP in agro-
forestry systems -- in other words, farm
the forest. “Forest farming” is the inten-
tional culture of specialty crops in a man-
aged system. Many SFP’s have tremen-

Gathering of swordfern fronds dates from
the turn of the century. Today it is harvested
year-round from shaded forest areas.
dous economic value, particularly when
their production is incorporated into tree
plantings that serve an additional purpose,
such as a windbreak or riparian buffer
strip. Some examples include: ginseng
culture in forest farming systems; short-
rotation woody crops in riparian buffer
strips; saw-palmetto in southern pine
plantations; floral decoratives or mush-
rooms on private forest lands of the
Pacific Northwest; shiitake mushroom,
nut, or syrups in Midwest agroforestry
plantings; and Christmas trees in northern
Great Plains windbreaks.

Characteristically, agroforestry sys-
tems that produce SFPs are intentionally
established on private land through the
integration of forestry and agricultural
practices. These systems are intensively
managed to make a profit from SFP’s and
at the same time provide multiple conser-
vation and environmental benefits.

This concept is not new. Harvesting
and management of SFP’s has been a
long-standing practice for generating sup-
plemental income in Europe, Asia, and
other countries. Ginseng, a high value
botanical is a classic example of a special-
ty product. Asians value the dried roots of
this medicinal herb for its stimulant prop-

———— (See Forest Products on page 4)

There’s More Than One
Reason to Plant Poplars

Short-rotation woody crops (SRWC)
combine both environmental benefits
and income generation. Fast growing
poplar trees are prized for paper produc-
tion because their lignin is weaker than
in other trees and less costly to break
down. For these reasons, poplars have
been hybridized and cultivated to pro-
duce more biomass annually than any
other hardwood or conifer tree in the
US. This high biomass production is
dependant on fertile, well-drained soil,
abundant water, total weed control, and
an absence of insects and disease damage.

Riparian buffer strips in the
Midwest and Northwest are ideal sites
for woody biomass plantings because
of their fertile soil and availability of
water. Other ways SRWC can be incor-
porated into agricultural production
systems include windbreaks, timber-
belts, border plantings, and alley crop-
ping. Poplar trees in these plantings
also provide wildlife habitat, erosion
control, aesthetic screens, and wind
protection. Their roots filter agricultural
wastes from surface and subsurface
water. The wood can be used as fuel,
matches, toothpicks, pulpwood, chip-
board, and as a feed supplement. The
leaves are nutritious and comparable to
alfalfa in protein, carbohydrates, and
other nutrients. Futuristically, drug
companies could genetically engineer
poplar leaves to produce essential phar-
maceutical drugs or biodegradable
polymers.

Poplar plantings are harvested when
trees are 7-8 inches in diameter or
every 5-10 years (average 7 years).
Generally, plantings need to be 30 acres
or larger for the grower to break even
on harvesting costs. In the Northwest,
approximately 50,000 acres are now in
biomass plantings. This is expected to
double in the next five years.

Sources: Gary Kuhn, USDA-NRCS and Ned
Klopfenstein, NAC. Also adapted from ‘The poplar
‘from 0 to 60 in 80 days, Poplar Council of the US

Inside Agroforestry 3