Inside Agroforestry

Demystifying Agroforestry...page 2

US EPA’s “319” Program and Agroforestry...page 3

A Windbreak for Blowing Dust and Snow Control...page 4

Agroforestry Satellite Broadcast ASuccess...page 7

National Agroforestry Center

Inside This Issue

Establishing a Good Demonstration

Marketing

Agroforestry

Marketing is defined as a set of activities aimed at facilitating exchanges with

target clientele. Successful exchange

requires an understanding of clientele

needs and providing products or services

that meet those needs. Marketing is especially appropriate for natural resource and

agricultural leaders, as we depend on the

voluntary actions of private landowners

to achieve most agroforestry goals.

There is a process to follow to achieve

effective outreach. By following this

pathway, you can prepare targeted outreach materials to satisfy the goals and

objectives of your program.

There are six essential steps.

1. Define your objective. First, you

must decide what you want to accomplish. Your objective should be specific

and results-oriented. The more specific

you make your objective, the easier it will

be to develop your message, identify your

target audience, and evaluate the success

of your outreach efforts.

2. Identify your Target Audience. You

must decide who you are trying to reach.

Chances are you will identify several different target audiences for each objective.

The more specific you make your audiences, the easier it will be to develop a

targeted message for that audience. Once

you have identified your audience, you

need to collect information about the

members of that audience — their demographic make-up, knowledge of the mesDemonstration plantings create living examples for people to see, making it easier to understand and accept a particular technology.

(See Demonstration on page 2)

(See Marketing on page 6)

Demonstration plantings can be one of

your most valuable technology transfer

tools. They create living examples for

people to see and touch, making it easier

to understand and accept a particular

technology. They’re cost-effective

approaches to increasing public awareness of agroforestry and developing

mechanisms to promote adoption by

landowners.

If you’ve identified a problem, need,

or opportunity and are thinking about

establishing an agroforestry demonstration site, the next step is to ask yourself a

few important questions. A high quality

agroforestry demonstration project

requires a lot of preplanning, financial

resources, a multi-disciplinary planning

team, and a commitment to monitor and

perform periodic maintenance after the

site is established.

Here are the questions. Once you have

answered the first question, the remaining

will be much easier to complete.

1. What are the objectives for this

demonstration site? (protection, conservation, education, etc.)

2. Which agroforestry practice is best

suited to the situations? (windbreaks,

alley cropping, riparian forest buffers,

forest farming, etc.)

3. Who will provide the technical

expertise? (diagnosis, design, installation,

monitoring, maintenance, etc.) and,

4. Who should be involved, directly or

indirectly? (local offices of federal/state

agencies, associations, local residents, etc.).

The success of a demonstration project depends on gaining local interest and

support. As budgets tighten and work

loads increase, agencies and organizations

are more likely to participate in a demonstration project that involves multiple and

diverse partnerships. Well-defined and

orchestrated partnerships spread the

financial and technical responsibilities

among individuals, groups, and agencies.

Be sure to keep the planning committee to

a managable number and choose mem-
Message From the Manager

2 Inside Agroforestry

About a year and a half ago, Jerry Vap, then president-elect

of the National Association of Conservation Districts, visited the

Agroforestry Center. Jerry wanted to know more about agroforestry. After we finished our enthusiastic presentations, Jerry

remarked: “There’s a lot of good information here, but its not

being picked up by the people who need it. You guys have a

marketing problem!”

Jerry was right. We are now in our sixth year of agroforestry

development. The impacts from our efforts depend on your perspective. If you see the glass as half full, you would note the

expanding interest in agroforestry in universities, agencies, and

conservation organizations. If you see the glass as half empty,

you would note the slow increase in adoption of agroforestry

practices in the CRP and other programs. We now have a

Continuous CRP Signup that provides the best incentives ever to

adopt certain agroforestry practices (riparian buffers, shelterbelts,

living snowfences, field windbreaks). We’re hoping that adoption will increase, then we will have applications on the ground

to stimulate more adoption. But, are strong incentives all that it

takes? I believe that it requires a combination of marketing, technology transfer, and incentive programs to get adoption. If people don’t understand something, they won’t accept it, and if they

don’t accept it, they won’t adopt it.

Evidence that we still have a marketing problem (and technology transfer deficit) comes from a recent survey we conducted on agroforestry technical assistance. Overall, we found that

we have made progress from where we were a few years ago.

But a lot of misunderstanding about agroforestry exists out there.

Forest Farming was frequently misunderstood to be farm forestry

— plantations of Christmas trees, walnut or pecan, hybrid poplar,

or traditional woodlot forestry. Silvopasture was often misinterpreted to be woodland grazing with minimal management. And

riparian buffer strips were often misunderstood to be streamside

management zones retained after forest harvesting. Bottomline,

we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.

In the continuum of agroforestry development, we are finally completing the definition phase. As with other emerging subject areas, it has taken some time to adequately define the concepts and practices. Now we need to communicate them so they

are clear, understandable, and useful. The primary goal of our

new book Agroforestry: an Integrated Science and Practice, due

out later this year, is to make agroforestry clear and understandable. The book will be used as a basis for a new agroforestry

training course currently under development. The training course

is targeted to NRCS field professionals and their conservation

partners. Hopefully these developments will make progress to

demystify agroforestry, so that people understand and accept it,

and we see more of it on the ground.

A commentary on the status of agroforestry

as reported by Program Manager, Bill Rietveld

Demystifying Agroforestry

(Demonstration from page 1)

bers who have the drive and desire to finish the project.

After selecting the appropriate agroforestry technology to demonstrate, establishing partnerships, and inviting others to

be involved, you can begin planning your

project. The three most common phases

include: 1. site assessment; 2. design and

maintenance plan; and 3. technology

transfer plan.

When beginning site assesment, thorough knowledge of the project site is fundamental to assure project quality and

success. Consider soil characteristics,

existing vegetation, current land use,

future land-use conflicts, and accessibility

and visibility of site. Location is a key

factor for locating a demonstration, just as

it is for a business — it must be visible

and accessible. 

Planning initial design concepts should

include input from all project partners.

The plan should indicate and address the

following: maximum and minimum

requirements for length and width of the

planting, orientation of the planting,

selection of tree species, source of planting stock, cost-share programs utilized,

and maintenance plan set forth.

To be successful, a demonstration site

must not only be properly installed but it

must be periodically monitored and properly maintained. The greatest pitfall of

any demonstration is a lack of commitment for maintenance. The same groups

involved in planting should commit to

returning to maintain the site. This needs

to be agreed upon before the demonstration is established. Remember that these

follow-up monitoring and maintenance

visits can be turned into wonderful educational/informational opportunities.

Finally, the technology transfer (TT)

plan is the cornerstone to any demonstration project. When developing the TT

plan, ask yourself these questions: who

will coordinate and administer the TT

effort?; and, what delivery mechanisms

currently exist and what needs to be

developed?

Field trips, workshops, interpretive

signs, handouts and brochures, and media

coverage are effective methods of delivering technical information.

In-field agroforestry demonstration

projects are excellent teaching tools that:

promote the use of appropriate technology to address a problem; show proper

design, installation, and maintenance

techniques; are located on a highly visible site and are easily accessible; are

maintained and utilized as an outdoor

classroom; have an adequate supply of

printed educational materials available

for distribution; and have signs installed

to describe the project, mentioning partners involved.

Watch for Agroforestry Note #6, Guide to a

Successful Agroforestry Demonstration Project

which will be published soon.
Inside Agroforestry 3

Can the EPA’s “319” Program Help Launch Your

Agroforestry Project?

Wondering how to fund that agroforestry project? Maybe the US

Environmental Protection Agency’s

(EPA) “319” Program can help.

Section 319 of the federal Clean Water

Act provides funds through states and

tribes for the prevention and abatement of

nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution

and restoration of watershed resources.

The “319” Program is administered by the

US EPA through its regional offices and a

counterpart agency in each state or tribe.

This program is a potential source for 60

percent funding of agroforestry projects

which improve or protect surface or

ground water quality.

What agroforestry practices might

qualify?

Any agroforestry practice which has

high potential to improve and protect

clean water and aquatic habitat may be

appropriate for funding under the “319”

Program. Such practices might include:

bioengineering using plantings for stream

bank and shoreline stabilization; alleycropping and bio-terracing on highly

erodible soils; riparian buffers used for

restoring aquatic habitat or for filtering

out sediment, nutrients and/or pesticides

from runoff, including urban storm-water

runoff.

What types of projects are funded

through “319”?

Each state and tribe is given latitude in

how it wishes to allocate the “319” fund

allotment it receives from the EPA. Most,

however, limit eligibility to projects of

one to three years duration and activities

which promote landowner and public

acceptance of best-management-practices

(BMPs). Such activities include: education about BMPs, field demonstrations,

resource restoration, technical assistance,

and assessments related to NPS pollution

and aquatic habitat restoration. Projects

that make information available about

qualifying agroforestry practices or

demonstrations of them may be equally

eligible for funding as projects where

such practices are actually installed.

What are “319” funds not for?

The “319” Program is not intended to

accomplish widespread implementation of

BMPs to improve water quality. For this

purpose, there are other cost-share incentive programs provided by federal, state,

and non-governmental agencies.

Activities such as research generally

will not be funded through the “319”

Program, although assessment of existing

technologies or adaptations may be appropriate.

Finally, “319” funds should not be

envisioned as funding to maintain a project or program indefinitely.

Who is eligible to receive “319”

funds?

All state and local units of government, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations are eligible to receive

a grant from the “319” Program. For project locations within the boundaries of

tribe reservations, check with the tribal

government. Federal government agencies

are not eligible to receive a “319” grant,

although they may still be an active partner in a “319” project. Project sponsors

regularly subcontract with federal partners

for the cost of project work.

How do you apply for “319” funds and

get your project going?

Usually, project proposals are annually

solicited by, and submitted to, the state or

tribal agency responsible for the “319”

Program. Some states and tribes also offer

mini-grants that are available on shorter

notice.

The “319” Program normally requires

that 40 percent of the total costs of a funded project be borne by other non-federal

contributions, called “matching” funds.

“Any agroforestry practice 

which has high potential to

improve and protect clean 

water and aquatic habitat 

may be appropriate for funding

under the “319” Program.”

by Michael Dosskey, National Agroforestry Center and University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska and

Alan Everson, US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, Kansas City, Kansas

(See “319” on page 7)

Benefits of Riparian

Forest Buffers

Riparian buffers play many important roles in the ecosystem. They can be

natural or planted and can offer a

landowner generous benefits in return

for minimal expense and care.

Functions of riparian buffers are:

Filtering Runoff: Rain and sediment

that runs off the land can be slowed and

filtered in the buffer settling out sediment, nutrients, and pesticides before

they reach streams. Infiltration rates 10-

15 times higher than grass turf and 40

times higher than a plowed field are

common.

Leaf Food: Leaves fall into a stream

and are trapped on woody debris (fallen

trees and limbs) and rocks where they

provide food and habitat for small bottom dwelling creatures (such as insects,

amphibians, crustaceans, and small

fish) which are critical to the aquatic

food chain.

Canopy and Shade: The leaf canopy

provides shade that keeps the water

cool, retains more dissolved oxygen,

and encourages the growth of beneficial

algae and aquatic insects. The canopy

improves air quality by filtering dust

from wind erosion, construction, or

farm machinery.

Fish/Wildlife Habitat: Wooded

stream corridors provide the most

diverse habitats for fish and other

wildlife. Woody debris provides cover

for fish while preserving stream habitat

over time. Forest diversity is also valuable for birds.

Nutrient Uptake: Fertilizers and

other pollutants that originate on land

are taken up by tree roots. Nutrients are

stored in leaves, limbs, and roots

instead of running off into the stream.

Through a process called “denitrification,” bacteria in the forest floor convert harmful nitrate to nitrogen gas,

which is then released into the air.

Adapted from Riparian Forest Buffers White

Paper. Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

January, 1996.
Spotlight On Success Idaho

4 Inside Agroforestry

Raft River Valley Dust and Snow Control Project

“We had a kick-off party.” Julie

Thomas, Mid-Snake RC&D

Coordinator, explained. “We

invited people from the coordinating organizations, landowners - about 60 people. We took

them to the site and gave a presentation on what we wanted to

accomplish and how we were

going to do it . Then we had a

picnic. It was one of the highlights of the entire project.”

Thomas is speaking of one of

the most extraordinary agroforestry demonstration projects

ever.

The Raft

River Valley

Blowing Dust and

Snow Control

Demonstration

Project was conceived out of a

basic need for

safety along a

nine mile stretch

of Interstate

Highway 84 in

Cassia County,

Idaho. Strong

winds cross this

highway blowing

winter snows and dry summer dust, causing poor visibility. A

total of 199 injury and fatal accidents were reported from 1988 to

1991 on this stretch of road, once called “The Most Dangerous

Freeway in America” by USA Today.

The East Cassia SCD, Mid-Snake RC&D, Cassia County

Commission, Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), and other

organizations and individuals identified the persistent problems

in the Valley, which is essentially treeless.

Conservation organizations, landowners, and concerned individuals realized that agroforestry held a possible answer to their

problem. With the help of partners and funds totaling $107,000,

over 50 square miles was designated as prime land for the project

that would include living snowfences along the highway and

field windbreaks on adjacent cropland. Understanding the enormity of the need, the partners decided to address only a 2 1/2

mile section as the demonstration project.

The ideal demonstration should serve many purposes and provide multiple benefits. The project coordinators kept four main

objectives in mind as they planned the demonstration: 

Protection: The planting of a living snowfence would reduce

wind erosion, improve irrigation efficiency, improve public safety, provide wildlife habitat, and improve aesthetic value.

Economic Enhancement: The 1989-1993 ITD maintenance

records show that damages relating to blowing dust and snow

have an adverse impact on emergency maintenance, plowing and

applying chemicals, storm patrol, and snow and ice control.

Damages for the five year period total approximately $179,800

on I-84 and nearby State Highway 81. Other economic impacts

included damage to irrigation equipment on farmland near the

roads, as well as lost time and added mileage during weatherrelated road closings.

New Technology: Living snowfences are not common to the

Raft River Valley. Before this project, there were no examples of

living snowfences in the area and it was felt that after the

landowners saw the benefits, the project would “snowball” and

living snowfences would become common practice in the Valley.

Improved Design: There were also no examples of complete

cropland windbreaks being applied in the Valley. Benefits of

windbreaks are much the same as a living snowfence, but

applied in a different design. Most importantly, this demonstration location provided an opportunity to display and monitor

treatment practices needed to solve the complex resource problems within the Raft River Valley.

The technical aspects of the project were designed by NRCS

Forester Gary Kuhn, Seattle, Washington, and NRCS representatives from the East Cassia SCD, Steve Schuyler and Dave

Steube. They designed the living snowfence as two twin rows of

high density shrubs and trees. The field windbreaks were a single

twin row of shrubs and junipers. Species were chosen for their

tolerance to harsh, dry climates and soil conditions of the region

as well as their effectiveness in controlling snow and dust.

To help protect the young seedlings, a fabric mulch was laid

to guard against weeds. A drip irrigation system was installed

and a fence constructed to protect the plantings from animals.

A demonstration doesn’t do much good unless it teaches

something. Making people aware of the project and its benefits is

essential. According to Thomas, marketing the demonstration

project began before the first tree was planted. The kick-off party

promoted the project at a grass-roots level. Other marketing tools

have included a booklet, interpretive signs on site, and several

tours, including one for the president of the National RC&D

Council.

“We’ve only completed the first phase of the project,”

Thomas said. “We have a ten mile stretch and only two and a

half miles is planted. We need help from the landowners.

Everyone wants to know how to do it. We will be happy to help

plan and develop the project further, but more funding is going

to have to be provided.”

This project has not only been successful in reaching its conservation objectives, but has also taught the public of Cassia

County, Idaho how agroforestry technologies can work for them. 

The cost of installing a windbreak is about $3.00 per foot,

including soil preparation, trees/shrubs, irrigation, mulch, planting, fencing and miscellaneous costs.

Ground preparation begins for the 2 1/2 mile

demonstration project.

“Occassional Blinding Dust

Storms” sign warns motorists

of the potential hazards on

Highway 84.
Inside Agroforestry 5

Have you ever tried to encourage a

skeptic to adopt some new technology

that he/she just couldn’t understand? Has

inability to convince them of the worth of

your recommendations left you frustrated

and wishing you could just show them

what you mean? Very few of us, who

have tried to convince landowners to

adopt our conservation forestry practices,

have not faced this aggravation.

The National Agroforestry Center

(NAC) has long been a believer in the

power of quality demonstrations. They

are exceptional teaching tools when executed properly. Over the last five years

the Center has cost-shared nearly fifty

demonstrations throughout fifteen states.

The “demo’s” introduce new or unused

technology including: snow management, stream bank stabilization, wind

control, wildlife habitat enhancement,

outdoor living barns, and alley cropping.

When we cost-share a demonstration

project we insist that it: promote appropriate technology to address a problem or

opportunity; is located in a highly-visible

easily-accessible site, is well maintained;

and has a technology transfer plan to utilize it.

During the last five years of cooperating with partners on cost-shared demonstrations we’ve learned some very valuable lessons: 

1. Develop a plan: There is no future

in developing a demonstration that doesn’t begin with a well-thought-out plan.

The plan must, at a minimum, contain

proper design specifications, appropriate

What NAC Has Learned About Demonstrations

Our new “working trees for agriculture” display is now

available for you to use on a loan basis. It has been revised to show

all five types of agroforestry practices and where they apply. 

We have a new tabletop version too. It’s a wonderful informational

aid to use at meetings, fairs, workshops, field days, or just 

in your office. The only cost to you is UPS shipment to the next

user. Contact Clover Shelton, 402-437-5178, ext 14 at the Center to

reserve it. And, don’t forget about the “working trees for communities” display and accompanying brochures. They are available too.

Working Trees for Agriculture

maintenance, and an

adequate technology

transfer agenda. 

2. Involve partners:

The more partners

involved and have

ownership in the project, the greater the

chance of success. 

3. Choose the right

site: Where you put

the demonstration is as

important as what is

demonstrated. If people can’t readily get to

it and see it, it’s a

waste of time and

money. 

4. Do it right: There is no need to

demonstrate how not to do something.

There are plenty of mistakes out there

already! 

A well-planned and orchestrated demonstration project is a perfect opportunity to get local groups involved and educate them

on the benefits of agroforestry practices.

5. Reach out: In order for the demonstration to be effective, there must be a

suitable technology transfer process

defined and applied. And, 

6. Keep it maintained: If the demonstration doesn’t have a well defined,

scheduled, aggressive maintenance program, you might as well not do the

demonstration. Otherwise, you’ll be

demonstrating “how not to do something”

(see number 3 above). 

NAC is planning a future publication

that lists existing agroforestry demonstrations. If you or your agency have quality

demonstrations of agroforestry technology that you would like to have included in

this publication, please drop us a letter

with the name of the demonstration, the

location, directions, and purpose. We’ll

be glad to include your site in our publication.
6 Inside Agroforestry

(Marketing from page 1)

sage, attitudes about/perceptions of the

message, and the various communication

channels they use.

3. Develop your message. Now that

you are armed with background information on your target audience, you’re ready

to develop the message. Be specific.

Show a benefit to your audience and be

action-oriented. Put yourself in the position of your target audience and ask yourself the questions they will ask: “Why

should I care about this?” “What’s in it

for me?” Specific benefits for your audience might include: it’s free, it’s convenient, it saves time, it saves money, or it

improves the environment.

4. Prepare your formats. How are you

going to display your message? To

achieve maximum impact, several different formats should be used. Formats

include printed materials such as fact

sheets, newsletters, flyers, and posters;

promotional items such as magnets,

bumper stickers, rulers, and tote bags; and

media outlets such as radio and TV public

service announcements; and news stories.

5. Identify Distribution Mechanisms.

Often the flyer or fact sheet has been

printed before anyone asks, “How are we

going to get this to our target audience?”

It is important to know the distribution

mechanism for your message before you

develop any outreach materials. This

mechanism will affect your budget planning (postage costs add up), the design of

your format, and the methods in which

you choose to disseminate the message.

Possible distribution mechanisms include

mail, trade associations, community organizations, door-to-door dissemination,

phone calls, events, mass transit, billboards, and media outlets.

6. Evaluate your Impact. How do you

know if your outreach effort worked or,

more importantly, didn’t work? It is critical to assess your efforts and to evaluate

specific components to improve or modify your future outreach efforts. Review

your objective and turn it into a question.

Phone surveys and questionnaires are

commonly used to solicit information

from the target audience.

Remember that reach x frequency =

results. For example, you can’t just tell

your audience once that riparian buffers

are a good thing, just as soda pop companies don’t ask you only once to buy their

Eye-Catching Outreach

Materials

Once you’ve chosen how to get your

message out, the use of design, graphics, text, and color helps to easily and

cost-effectively enhance your materials

to grab peoples attention.

Design: When desgning outreach

materials, use restraint. There are lots

of creative ideas out there, but select

only two or three elements to use on a

piece. The use of white space will

greatly enhance the overall look. Fonts

are increasingly used as design elements in addition to text. Fonts can be

stretched, wrapped, reversed, enlarged,

turned sideways, or repeated to create

visually appealing materials.

Graphics: Graphics should be used

whenever possible to highlight concepts, break up blocks of text, and create areas of white space. Make your

graphics large enough to have impact.

When using graphics be sure that they

photocopy well. Line drawings work

best. Be careful about using several different graphics of the same size on a

page, this diminishes the overall impact

of all of the graphics on the page.

Photographs can be incorporated into

outreach materials, but make sure that

each photograph will reproduce well

and is relevant to the piece.

Text: Many people spend a great

deal of time preparing graphics and

producing an award-winning layout

only to plop in text that is wordy and

uninteresting. Spend time making your

text come alive to your readers. Once

the text is written, take the time to

shorten it. Avoid the use of acronyms

and highly technical words.

Color: Use color. At the very least

use colored paper for your fact sheets

and flyers. You are competing with lots

of printed information out there and

color gets you noticed. Be sure to

choose paper that photocopies well.

A Midwest Agroforestry Workshop

is scheduled for June 11-13, 1997 in

West Lafayette, Indiana. The workshop

will bring together a cross section of

natural resource agencies (local, state,

and federal), conservation organizations, farm organizations, and other

individuals from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio,

and Wisconsin. They will discuss how

to: 1) promote and create awareness of

the economic and environmental benefits of agroforestry and 2) develop a

network to facilitate the technology

development and transfer of agroforestry in the Midwest.

Registration will begin at 5:00 pm

on June 11, and the program will begin

at 7:00 pm with an Agroforestry

Practitioner Roundtable. Midwest farmers will share their experiences with

agroforestry. On Thursday morning,

speakers will present Spreading the

Word About Agroforestry and Public

Support for Agroforestry. In the afternoon, participants will attend concurrent technical sessions covering alley

cropping, forest farming, riparian forest

buffers, silvopasture, and windbreaks.

Concurrent discussion group sessions on Friday will focus on the questions:1) What is the agroforestry vision

for their state? 2) What will it take to

achieve that vision? and 3) Would a

regional network to exchange information help facilitate agroforestry adoption?

The workshop will end with a panel

of individuals representing the farm

community, research groups, technical

assistance providers, and economic

development groups addressing the

question: “Where do we go from

here?”

There will be an optional field trip

on Friday afternoon which will include

several examples of alley cropping,

innovative windbreak designs, and

riparian buffers. 

Registration for the workshop is $90.

For more information, contact Bruce

Wight at 402-437-5178 ext 36 or the

Geode RC&D in Burlington, Iowa at

319-752-6395.

Midwest Agroforestry

Workshop

products. Promoting clean water, or any

agroforestry practice, is an ongoing

affair...

Adapted from “Getting in Step - A Pathway to

Effective Outreach in Your Watershed” by Charlie

MacPherson and Barry Tonnins
Inside Agroforestry 7

(“319” from page 3)

Matching funds can be in the form of

cash or, in general, the cash value of

materials, equipment, and services used in

conducting a project.

The award of “319” funds is competitive within the state or reservation. The

state or tribal agency evaluates and ranks

all of the proposals according to how well

they address priority needs. For a successful proposal, a grant is made by the state

or tribal agency to the project’s primary

sponsor.

Tips for increasing your chances for

funding:

Design your project to address high

priority needs in your state or tribe.

Priority needs may include projects

emphasizing certain types of activities

(e.g., information and education),

addressing specific problems or technologies (e.g., sediment control), or conducting your project in certain locations (e.g.,

high-risk watersheds or water bodies).

Each state and tribe sets these priorities,

which can be found in the solicitation

notice (often called a “Request for

Proposals,” or RFP) and the state/tribe

NPS Management Program Plan.

Involving partners in your project,

especially local partners, including

landowners, state and local government

agencies, conservation districts, private

enterprises, non-profit organizations, or

others, improves your chances for funding. Partnerships imply broad-based interest, skills, and support for your project,

and improve the chances that it will be

conducted successfully.

It is important to pay close attention to

special eligibility and conditions that

apply in your state or reservation. For

more information, contact your state,

tribe, or regional “319” Program

Coordinator.

Good Luck!

To address the growing interest in

agroforestry, a 2 1/2-hour USDA satellite

broadcast on March 20 provided information on the purpose, concepts, opportunites, and benefits of agroforestry. 

The program, targeted to field professionals, provided information on: 1) what

agroforestry is, 2) the different types of

agroforestry practices, (alley cropping,

forest farming, riparian forest buffers, silvopasture, and windbreaks), and 3) how

agroforestry links to other USDA programs.

The broadcast began with messages

from Forest Service Chief Mike

Dombeck (represented by Ann Bartuska)

and NRCS Chief Paul Johnson. Both

emphasized that agriculture and forestry

need to be brought together, rather than

separated on the land, and partnerships

are necessary to get the job done.

The body of the broadcast was a combination of

speaker’s presentations,

live discussions, video segments of agroforestry

applications in different situations, and phone-in question and answer sessions

with the viewers.

The broadcast ended

with presentations on how

agroforestry links to the

bigger picture. Fee Busby,

new NRCS Deputy Chief

for Science & Technology,

discussed the relevance of

agroforestry to NRCS’s

new National Conservation

Buffers initiative and the

current Continuous CRP

Signup. Adela Backiel,

USDA Director of

Sustainable Development

Programs described the

role of agroforestry very

eloquently: “Agroforestry

provides one of the best

concrete examples of how

we can implement the principles of sustainable development. It is integrated

Agroforestry Satellite Broadcast A

Success

Staff at the NRCS studio in Washington, DC. make six

months of planning come alive.

Panel members prepare to go “live” to discuss “What is

Agroforestry?”

Don’t Miss

Home on the Range? Trees and

Shrubs on Western Rangelands

Plains and Prairie Forestry

Association Annual Meeting 

June 24-26, 1997 

in Rapid City, South Dakota. 

Contact Pete Schaefer for more

information at 605-688-4732.

cross-cutting science and practices. It

helps create farms and forests that balance productivity and profitability with

environmental stewardship. It’s collaborative stewardship. It’s conservation. It’s

partnerships between public and private

sectors. It’s integrated science and

research. It’s public participation and

involvement. It’s vital rural communities.

And, it’s diversity in opportunities, markets, and landscapes.”

The broadcast will provide a muchneeded agroforestry video to help inform

people about what agroforestry is and

how it relates to sustainable development.

Watch future issues of IA for more information.

If you were unable to watch the broadcast, a videotape is available for your

use. Call our information hotline at 402-

437-5178 ext. 41 and leave a message. 
Upcoming Events Address Corrections

June 11-13, 1997 

Midwest Agroforestry Workshop,

West Lafayette, IN, contact: Bruce 

Wight 402-437-5178, ext. 36

June 24-27, 1997

Plains & Prairie Forestry 

Association Meeting, Rapid City, 

SD, contact: Pete Schaefer, 605-

688-4732

Inside Agroforestry is published quarterly by the

National Agroforestry Center. Phone: 402-437-

5178; Fax: 402-437-5712.

Bill Rietveld, Program Manager, ext. 27

Michele Schoeneberger, Research Program 

Leader and Soil Scientist, ext. 21

Jerry Bratton, FS Lead Agroforester, ext. 24

Bruce Wight, NRCS Lead Agroforester, ext. 36

Kim Isaacson, IA Editor, Technology Transfer 

Specialist, ext. 13

Clover Shelton, Technology Transfer Assistant, 

ext. 14

Jim Robinson, NRCS Agroforester located at Fort 

Worth, TX; phone: 817-334-5232, ext. 3624

Gary Kuhn, NRCS Agroforester located at Seattle,

WA; phone: 206-616-7166

Mission

The National Agroforestry Center (NAC) is a partnership of the USDA Forest Service and

the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.The Center’s purpose is to accelerate the

development and application of agroforestry technologies to attain more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable land-use systems. To accomplish its mission, the Center interacts with a national network of partners and cooperators to conduct research, develop technologies and tools, establish demonstrations, and provide useful information to natural resource professionals.

USDA policy prohibits discrimination because of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or handicapping condition.

Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any USDA-related activity should immediately contact the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.

August 3-7, 1997

5th North American Agroforestry 

Conference, Cornell University, 

Ithaca, NY, contact: Jim Lassoie 

at 607-255-2004 or Louise Buck 

at 607-255-5994.

September 17-20

Working Trees for Communities 

Workshop, National Urban Forestry 

Conference, Atlanta, GA, contact 

Kim Isaacson, 402-437-5178 ext. 13.

Opinions expressed in Inside Agroforestry are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the policy of the USDA Forest Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

We hope that you enjoy Inside

Agroforestry. To help us keep our database current, we request that if you have

an address change or are receiving extra

copies of IA, to please mail or fax us a

copy of the incorrect address or addresses

and the correct one, making a note of

which is correct. Thank you for your

cooperation in helping the Center conserve paper, postage, and time, while still

delivering the latest in agroforestry information.