Inside Agroforestry

Finding Markets for Agroforestry Products.............page 3

Let Us Tell Your Success Stories.............................page 4

Take Advantage of the Mass Media.........................page 5

Tips for Easy-To-Read, Eye-Catching Materials.....page 6

Summer, 1999 Forest Service

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Inside This Issue

Have You Been Effective in Getting

Landowners To Plant Working Trees?

You are a Link in

the Transfer of

Good Ideas

(See Technology Transfer on page 2)

Interpersonal communication with landowners at a “working tree” demonstration site is

the most effective way to encourage adoption of agroforestry practices.

by Kim Isaacson, Technology Transfer Specialist, NAC, Lincoln, Nebraska

It’s a good idea... working trees, that

is. The right trees, planted in the right

place, for a specific purpose. But, why is

it so hard to convince landowners or community planners that the benefits of trees

are worth their investment? 

With economic and production

research to back up their benefits, it

seems like working trees should “sell

themselves.” But, another kind of

research says that getting conservation

plantings on the ground requires not only

an understanding of the technical data, but

also of social data. A model called the

Adoption-Diffusion model is what social

scientists use to describe, explain, and

predict human behavior relative to the

adoption and diffusion of technologies.

When using this model, several terms

must be defined:

Adoption is the decision to accept new

ideas, practices, or products. 

Diffusion is the process by which the

adoption of a new idea, practice, or product spreads throughout a group, community, or society. 

Innovation is an idea, practice, or

product that is perceived as new by an

individual or group.

“Technology transfer” is a fancy term

for the process of passing on good ideas.

The work you, as a natural resource professional, do is an essential link in getting

these ideas to the people who need them.

Obviously, most of the value of good

research lies in putting the new knowledge

to use to solve a real problem.

Unfortunately, as research has become

more complicated and more specialized,

communication systems haven’t always

kept pace, resulting in an information gap.

Consequently, many valuable research

findings, as well as new technology, simply does not reach potential users. 

The gap lies between information neatly catalogued and archived, and a large

number of would-be users who are not

aware of its existence or who find it written in technical language that is difficult to

understand. Because this information gap

exists, there is a need for people who can

help bridge the gap between research findings and those who can benefit from them.

Diffusion scholars have long recognized that an individual’s decision about

an innovation is not an instantaneous act.

Rather, it is a process that occurs over

time, consisting of a series of actions and

decisions. The innovation-decision

process that an individual goes through

consists of five stages: 

Knowledge: an individual (or some

other decision-making unit, like a community board) is exposed to an innovation’s

existence and gains some understanding

of how it functions. 

Persuasion: an individual forms a

favorable or unfavorable attitude toward

the innovation. 

Decision: an individual engages in

activities that lead to a choice to adopt or

reject the innovation. 

Implementation: an individual puts an

innovation to use. 

Confirmation: an individual seeks

reinforcement of an innovation-decision

already made, or reverses a previous

decision to adopt or reject the innovation

if exposed to conflicting messages.

Throughout the various stages, information, in many forms and from many

sources, provides a producer the knowledge used in deciding whether or not to

adopt a particular practice or system.

“Obviously, most of the value 

of good research 

lies in putting 

the new knowledge 

to use to solve a real problem.”

(See Landowners on page 6)
NAC Director’s Corner

2 Inside Agroforestry

A commentary on the status of agroforestry

by Center Director, Dr. Greg Ruark

Improving Communication With

Landowners ...Say What?

Working Trees Brochures

Are Available

is on the development and distribution of informational and technical materials on agroforestry for natural resource professionals.

Printed copies of our publications are available upon request at

no cost, as is the free usage of videos and displays. In addition,

our materials are now available on the internet at www.unl.

edu/nac, where they can be printed in their original form.

This issue of Inside Agroforestry contains articles that are

intended to help you devise ways to better communicate the

potential value of agroforestry to landowners. It provides advice

on how to prepare effective publications, how to work with

media outlets, and illustrates what is involved in setting up markets for agroforestry products. 

You are not alone when it comes to communicating agroforestry to landowners... Consider NAC your partner.

When a landowner seeks assistance from a natural resource

professional their needs often revolve around addressing a problem, like animal waste management or water quality, or meeting

an objective, like diversifying production systems. Landowners’

information needs are usually technical in nature, but at times

may extend into areas like product marketing.

Although a resource professional may find it difficult to

identify time and funding to acquire training to increase their

breadth of technical expertise, a landowner is best served when

he/she is presented with a wide variety of technical solutions

from which to select. As the old saying goes, “If the only tool

you have in your toolbox is a hammer, everything begins to look

like a nail.” In this regard, agroforestry technologies are relevant

to many issues now facing farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. These technologies offer ways to improve both economic

and environmental performance.

Moving from scientific results to the development of science-based technology does not in and of itself result in the

adoption of new technology. By the time a producers adopts a

new practice he/she will have gone through a series of steps.

First among these is acquiring an awareness that a production or

conservation technology is available. To this end, NAC’s focus NAC

“You are not alone when it comes to 

communicating agroforestry to landowners... 

Consider NAC your partner.”

People involved in the technology

transfer process must be skilled communicators, able to convey technical information easily to potential users. Human

understanding is essential for good technology transfer. For most operations to be

effective, a person involved in technology

transfer must be part diplomat, part psychologist, part educator, as well as be

familiar with the materials and their applications. They must have the ability to

“sell” the technology and to identify user

groups. 

A good technology transfer process

will usually consider seven basic marketing steps. These include: 1) A message.

Identify the technology available for

transfer. 2) The audience. Zero in on target user groups to whom the information

is necessary. 3) The objective. Develop an

objective and a plan of application. 4) The

team. Package the technology for appeal

and ease of comprehension -- directly

involve scientists, specialists, and innovators. 5) The media. Select the methods for

transfer (seminars, workshops, technical

assistance). 6) Cost. Determine initial and

follow-up costs. and 7) Evaluation.

Evaluate the entire process and its 

results. 

The inital plan for a successful technology transfer program should be established at the outset, early in the development stage. It need not be complicated. 

In fact, the plan should be simple and 

flexible, allowing for change as 

needed. 

With a good technology transfer plan

as a “map,” and a sharp, optimistic eye to

the future, the road to successful technology transfer should be a smooth, fulfilling

and rewarding journey.

Take advantage of the materials that

NAC has developed for you to use when

discussing agroforestry with landowners.

The Working Trees brochures illustrate how agroforestry practices can be

designed to specifically enhance agriculture, communities, livestock, and wildlife

habitat. To obtain any of the brochures, email Nancy at: nhammond/ rmrs _lincoln

@fs.fed.us.

Working

Trees displays

are also available. Call

Clover at

402-437-5178

ext. 14 to

reserve any of

the displays.

(Technology Transfer from page 1)

NAC
Inside Agroforestry 3

Helping Landowners Find Markets for Agroforestry Products

As a resource professional, you deal

with agroforestry producers who are striving to increase their income by enhancing

production practices. But, profits can be

enhanced by looking beyond the forest or

the field to improve marketing avenues. 

Once a market(s) is found, marketing

channels can be used to reach final consumers. A marketing channel can contain

two types of partners: processors and

resellers. Resellers can be subdivided into

two more categories: 1) merchant

resellers who actually buy your products

and 2) agents, representatives, and brokers who do not buy your product, but

rather sell it for you on commission.

These representatives are known as “middlemen.”

Recognize the usefulness of middlemen. Many agroforestry producers need

middlemen because they are often the

lowest cost way to reach consumers.

Without them either the producer or the

end consumer would have to perform the

functions they carry out. Direct marketing, such as roadside stands and farmers

markets is a great alternative, but only a

very small percentage of all agroforestry

production can be sold through these

channels. 

It is important to note that not all agroforestry producers have the same market

opportunity. Producers with low-value

added commodities such as pulpwood or

pharmaceuticals are forced to use traditional channels, such as building relationships with local retailers. On-the-otherhand, if you are helping to sell valueadded products, likes nuts, jams, and

Christmas boughs and wreaths, you can

substantially increase sales by managing a

marketing channel more effectively. 

If a landowner chooses to have a middleman assist with the processing or selling of their product, there are steps to

manage these marketing channels.

Have reasonable expectations.

Generally, middlemen, such as food

stores, see themselves as purchasing

agents for their customers rather than sellers of your product. Furthermore, they

carry many different products and do not

tend to push specific items. Although they

are generally order takers, not order getby Stacy Vollmers, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, and Clyde Vollmers, Professor of Marketing, Moorhead State

University, Moorhead, Minnesota

ters, they can be still be helpful to your

marketing process. 

Write a job description for your

middleman. Before middlemen are

selected, you need to clearly identify what

they are to do. Some of the tasks performed by middlemen include: buying

products and assuming all risk thereafter;

carrying inventory (thereby reducing a

landowners inventory); assembly, like

installing bows on Christmas wreaths;

promoting and selling products; providing

credit to accounts; handling product warranty issues or recalls; and many others

specific to individual products. 

Design a channel. The best sales person is often times the owner of the business, especially during initial stages of

growth. Therefore, a landowner may want

to consider serving as his or her own representative and drive from retailer to

retailer delivering products and inspecting

in-store displays. As the business and the

number of outlets grow, they eventually

may need to start delivering products to a

warehouse and let the middleman serve

the retailers. At this point, an effective

marketing program is needed because the

wholesaler will not promote a product

without price promotions or discounts.

The producer may need to consider

adding representatives to promote the

product to retailers and wholesalers.

Finding channel members. The

absolute worst channel members are often

friends or neighbors. Even if they are

already representatives or retailers, they

most likely do not fit the job description

developed above because they do not call

on the right accounts. While they may try

to help, they generally do not give the

effort required. The second worst source

may be middlemen that come and ask to

represent you. Good representatives are

so busy that they do not need new customers, while poor ones are always looking for the pot of gold at the end of the

rainbow. 

An excellent tactic is to ask customers

about middlemen. If you are looking for a

representative to call on gift shops, ask

several gift shop owners who is the best

representative for your type of product.

Another source is other agroforestry producers. Find out which channel members

are doing a good job for them. Trade

associations or industry experts should

also be able to provide suggestions.

Another way to find middlemen is to

attend trade shows. If you see one doing a

great job, ask for a meeting after the show.

Securing your channel member.

Channel members want three things: A

profitable product, promotional support,

and a fair and honest relationship. A profitable product must have a price with

margins that are attractive to the channel.

This means starting with the final selling

price and working backwards. Begin by

asking channel members what they think

the price should be and what margin they

traditionally receive. For margins, gift

shops often keystone, which means they

double the price. Food stores work on

narrower margins, but they often ask for

30 to 40 percent of the selling price to

cover their costs. Health food stores have

lower volumes and higher margins.

Wholesalers generally need about 30 to

35 percent of their selling price, while

representatives and brokers generally

work for 7 to 10 percent of a producers

selling price (they carry no inventory,

have no building, and have lower costs).

However, each industry is different, and

you need to carefully determine what is

needed to attract a quality middleman.

In conclusion, be sure to evaluate your

own situation before jumping into a marketing channel. Some products need only

simple road-side stands to sell, while others cannot reach their full profit potential

without the help of middlemen.

A Carthage, North Carolina grower delivers

pine needles to be used for bedding and

mulch to a retail market. Finding a market is

an essential step to a successful business

plan.

NAC
est hybrid poplar research. Tim even encouraged them to set up a

coffee shop meeting where many landowners attended, 

claiming they had friends who were also interested in hearing

more. 

Tim doesn’t do it all by himself, though. In cooperation with

universities and other conservation organizations, the Upper

Columbia RC&D saves money by pooling resources while gaining knowledge from other sources. The Society of American

Foresters assisted in the promotion of agroforestry practices by

sponsoring a conference on poplars for landowners in the Pacific

Northwest.

Due to his expertise on the subject of poplars, Tim is part of

the National Agroforestry Center’s latest project: the Working

Trees for Treating Waste brochure and display. He is anxious to

use this brochure when dealing with landowners. “Often times

it’s hard for landowners to visualize what we are talking about.

That is the benefit of the display and brochures,” King said. The

Working Trees for Treating Waste brochure and display are

expected to be available in fall, 1999.

All the agroforestry research in the world will do no good if

the landowner never plants a tree. Tim King has taken on the

enormous task of making sure that research is not in vain. He is a

great example of the natural resources professional doing a great

job at getting trees planted.

Spotlight On Success Washington

4 Inside Agroforestry

Lots of Communication Makes For Trees On The Ground 

Tim King has a big job to do. He takes information discovered

in scientific research and he funnels it into usable advice. This is

technology transfer in its traditional definition.

As coordinator for the Upper Columbia RC&D in eastern

Washington, Tim is encouraging landowners to adopt agroforestry practices. In the Pacific Northwest, landowners are

planting hybrid poplars to manage wastewater, turning cropland

into forested land using alley cropping systems, and harvesting

specialty forest products. The biggest selling point has been convincing landowners that these conservation practices also produce income.

Through a variety of techniques, Tim is showing landowners

that agroforestry can work on their land. Workshops, tours,

demonstrations, displays, poster sessions, and tree-planting

brochures are some of the methods Tim uses to inform landowners. Additionally, this RC&D’s newsletter containing informative articles is sent to its eight districts within five counties. In

turn, these districts reprint articles that are sent to local landowners.

Tim is finding that the RC&D’s homepage is becoming popular. “I’m beginning to hear, ‘What’s your e-mail and do you have

a homepage?’ from landowners quite often,” Tim said. 

In his area, interpersonal communication is also very important. Groups of landowners will get together to talk about the latby Clover Shelton, Technology Transfer Assistant, NAC, Lincoln, Nebraska

NAC

We are planning to devote a future issue of Inside Agroforestry (distributed to over 7500 locations) to progressive natural

resources professionals just like you and innovative landowners that you work with. We want to know about successful

agroforestry practices you have planted, designed, coordinated, and/or maintain. Please write a short description (one page)

of your success story. Include:

• WHO: Who was involved? Whose land? Who funded it? 

• WHAT: What practice(s) were planted? What resulted? What stage is it in now?

• WHEN: When was the practice planted? When was it initiated?

• WHERE: County or city and state? Proximity to a river, livestock, etc.?

• HOW: How was the practice(s) designed? How is it maintained? How does it function?

• WHY: Why was it planted? What need does it fill?

Send your story, along with a contact name and telephone number (and photograph or slide if possible) to: EDITOR- IA,

National Agroforestry Center, UNL-East Campus, Lincoln, NE 68583-0822. Or, e-mail Kim Isaacson at:

kisaacson/rmrs_lincoln@fs.fed.us

Let us tell your 

success stories!
Inside Agroforestry 5

by Kim Isaacson, Technology Transfer Specialist, NAC, Lincoln, Nebraska

The mass media (newspaper, radio,

and television) could be one of the most

important communication tools that you

have available. It is the most significant

way, second only to one-on-one communication, to make people aware of agroforestry technologies. When it comes to

actually convincing a landowner about

the benefits of working trees, you’ll probably need to do a personal “sell” job, but

using the media effectively can help you

get them in your door.

Using the media isn’t as hard as you

might think. There are several ways you

can take advantage of the media’s ability

to reach a large audience, with a minimum amount of work on your part.

The most common, and easiest, medium to use is the newspaper. Most smalltown newspapers are looking for information. Send them timely news releases and

you might be busy answering phone calls

from landowners wanting more information. Think about putting something

together for this summer -- “think about

working trees....” And then another news

release this fall reminding them to order

trees for spring planting. If you’re

uncomfortable writing new releases,

maybe the news editor can help you put

something together. 

A newsletter would be considered a

form of news media too. Have you

thought about developing a mailing list

and putting together your own newsletter? You could do a bi-annual newsletter,

which would be easy to fit into a busy

schedule. Don’t feel comfortable writing?

Use articles from Inside Agroforestry

(just give us credit, please). Your computer probably has a simple desktop publishing program on it that would allow you to

design a two-page newsletter that could

be photocopied front/back and sent out to

landowners and community planners that

you work with. “Keeping in touch” with

your clients and providing useful information establishes credibility and keeps

agroforestry in their mind. Don’t feel

comfortable using this kind of software?

Check into classes at a nearby community

college. 

Now, radio and television are a little

more intimidating, but both could help

Take Advantage of the Mass Media

you reach lots of people. Take advantage

of your local farm radio talk show or television “noon report.” Call up the station

and explain the importance of agroforestry or the specific practice you’d like

to discuss or work with and why it’s

important for this information to be featured. Once you’re scheduled, they’ll give

you tips for appearing on the show and do

their best to make you feel comfortable. 

If you’re hosting a local tour or having

an open information night, don’t forget

about putting posters up in the cafe or

other local spots that many landowners

frequent. NAC has a slide show and script

available for loan that could be used to

help explain agroforestry. 

If you aren’t already doing so, use the

Internet. Use it to educate yourself and

develop a web site of your own to educate

your clients. The Internet is a lot more

user-friendly and a lot less expensive than

it was just a short time ago. Again, if

you’re uncomfortable, check into nearby

community college for navigating classes.

(See article on page 7 for more information about the Internet). 

For more information on writing, creative designing, and using the media,

check your local library, bookstore, or the

web. The media is there for you to use,

take advantage of it... it’s a great way to

get general information about agroforestry out to the public.

International Links

by Sarah Workman, 

NAC International Coordinator

The idea of putting trees to work on

farms and ranches for both conservation and profit has appeal for people

all over the globe. International

Centers in the Consultative Group on

International Agricultural Research

have prioritized efforts focused on

benefitting household livelihood

strategies. Numerous publications

about what is being learned in other

countries addressing policy, conservation adoption, and marketing issues are

available. Local communities, especially in areas developing or diversifying their economic livelihoods, are

increasingly turning toward remnant

woodlands, fallow lands and agroforestry farming systems to produce

usable and marketable goods. You can

read “Middleman Boosts Producer

Income,” “Add Value on the Farm,”

and “Great Product Warrants Great

Marketing” not only in a SARE/ACE

publication but also in Network

Canada-United States Association

(CUSA) of the Smartwood Network

literature on buyers groups and sustainability for small timber owners.

Workable ideas on how it can be done

translate into land manager decisions

that favor agroforestry when presented

in a way that convinces them of the

advantages. The Landcare movement

in Australia is an excellent example.

The 1994 National Association of

Conservation Districts Workbook for

Marketing Conservation Services suggests you identify the critical issues

you wish to address, develop alliances,

define customers and identify their

needs, set a strategy and goals defining

success, and adequately develop and

evaluate your marketing plan. The

principles are the same whether you

are marketing strategies for composted

agricultural waste in Wichita or

Ouagadougou. As stewardship promoters and natural resource professionals we can help create interest and

demand for sustainable land use.

NAC

NAC

“Using the media 

isn’t as hard 

as you might think.”

Web Site Address

Correction

In the last issue of Inside Agroforestry

a new website, Vegetative Practice

Design Application (VegSpec), was

highlighted. Several people had trouble accessing this site. The correct

address is http://plants.usda.gov/. Sorry

for the inconvenience.
ways, 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. 

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. Avoid colors that are

difficult to look at for long periods of

time, for example, neons.

6 Inside Agroforestry

(Landowners from page 1)

• Organize Working Tree workshops and field tours with landowners.

• Seek speaking opportunities at local civic group meetings and schools.

• Send a news release to the local newspaper or have them do a feature story.

• Sponsor a trivia contest on the radio. The winners can receive trees.

• Distribute some of NAC’s Working Trees brochures to landowners.

• Compile a bi-annual newsletter. Use articles from Inside Agroforestry.

• Develop a photo album of before and after pictures and success stories.

• Perform on-farm visits and one-on-one consultation with interested landowners.

• Develop a model demonstration to use at fairs, field days, or other activities.

• Ask your local FFA chapter to demonstrate and promote Working Trees.

NAC

Producers need timely, accurate, inexpensive and easily obtainable information. 

Mass media channels (i.e. newspaper,

radio, television) are most important at

the knowledge stage when an individual

wants to know what an innovation is and

how and why it works. But as an individual progresses to the persuasion stage,

and especially at the decision stage, interpersonal networks with near-peers

become more important, especially for

discussing advantages and disadvantages. 

Recent research conducted by NAC

found that when mass media and interpersonal communication were used together

in a communications plan, resource professionals, were highly effective in getting landowners to implement windbreak

technologies. Conducting a workshop

with a group of landowners can be more

effective and reach more people when

feature articles about the workshop

appear in the local newspaper.

Another principle of human communication is that the transfer of ideas occurs

most frequently between two individuals

who have a high degree of similar attributes: beliefs, education, social status, and

the like. When this is not the case, it is

important that the resource professional

have the ability to project him or herself

into the role of a landowner. 

Tips For Easy-To-Read, Eye-Catching

Outreach Materials 

The way a message reads, as well as

the way it looks, is critical. Anything you

as an author can do to make your work

more readable, more easily understood,

and less visually cumbersome helps complete the communication process.

The following guidelines promote

clearer writing:

Keep sentences short. Sentence

lengths should vary to avoid redundancy,

but sentence length should usually not

exceed 20 words.

Keep to one idea per sentence. That

doesn’t mean one fact or figure, but one

idea.

Avoid the use of technical words and

acronyms, but know your audience. The

use of specialized language is sensible

when you have a specialized audience. 

Use single, active verbs instead of

several weak words. Example: They

made a decision should be They decided.

Choose concrete terms over abstract.

For example, indicate should be show,

crisis situation should be simply crisis.

Avoid vague qualifiers and choose

the precise word. Here are some vague

qualifiers that fuss up our writing: very,

rather, somewhat, quite, really, and basically.

Try to communicate with, rather than

impress, your readers. Abstract language

obscures good ideas.

Ask yourself how you would say it if

you were saying it out loud and use that

graceful conversational style for your

writing, too. 

Finally, cut redundancy.

Once you’ve chosen how to get your

message out and have your text written,

the use of design, graphics, text, and

color help to easily and cost-effectively

enhance your materials to grab peoples

attention. Here are some guidelines: 

Design. When designing 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. Type fonts are

increasingly used as design elements in

addition to text. Fonts can be stretched,

wrapped, reversed, enlarged, turned sideNAC

Ideas to Help Market

Working Trees
Inside Agroforestry 7

by Josh Wimmer, Web Assistant, NAC, Lincoln, Nebraska

You might think the Internet is too difficult or expensive to do

you much good. Think again. If you’re willing to spend a minimal amount of time and effort, the ‘Net can become one of your

best sources of information, and one of your most valuable tools

to help transfer information to your clients. If you are not on-line,

call your local phone company. They can either service you or

direct you to the appropriate vendor.

It’s not difficult. Even if you are not computer-literate, you

can learn how to surf the World Wide Web within a week,

assuming you have a computer with Internet access. Your best

bet is to open up your Web browser (probably Netscape or

Internet Explorer) and just start clicking.

There are a lot of ways to search the ’Net, and you might be

confused about which search engine to use. Many times, your

best bet is to get away from the search engines and surf on the

links provided by other sites. For example, if you’re looking for

information on agroforestry, you could do a search on the

engines. Or you could just visit the “Links” section of NAC’s

site, where you can jump to dozens of other related sites, most of

which feature their own “Links” sections.

It’s cheap. Because companies - especially media like magazines and newspapers - just want to get potential customers using

their Web sites, many of those sites provide at no charge the

information they are selling in the hard copies of their publications. Many publications have sites (whose addresses are easily

found via quick searches), and those sites feature useful articles

you can print and save to disk at no cost. Federal, State and nonprofit agencies also provide materials on their sites.

It’s worth going to Adobe’s site (www.adobe.com/prodindex/

acrobat/readstep.html) to pick up the free Acrobat Reader software, if your computer doesn’t have it installed already. This will

let you read information saved in the Portable Document Format

(PDF), which more and more sites are using because it keeps a

document’s original layout intact when you print it.

The next step... Once you’ve become familiar with the basics

of Web-surfing, you’ll probably want to learn more. The best

way to do that is to keep playing around, trying new things; but

you can always sign up for some quick classes at your local university or community college. Besides the Web, the Internet also

offers mailing lists and newsgroups, to name a couple, as useful

ways to share information.

Design your own Web site. Many Internet service providers

offer cheap Web space as part of a basic connection account.

And some companies (www.geocities.com, www.tripod.com, etc.)

offer free space. Learning how to write HTML, the code used for

Web page design, is actually surprisingly easy. You probably

have the necessary software installed on your computer right

now. Your best bet is to purchase a small (100 pages or less)

beginner’s guide to HTML. These publications should present

the basics in a very simple, straightforward manner. Within a

week, you could have your own simple site up and running, sharing valuable information with colleagues and landowners all over

the world. It might seem like you can’t afford the time to do this,

but today, you really can’t afford not to.

Using the Internet

NAC

Using marketing techniques to promote the adoption of agroforestry practices is an essential step that is often overlooked

when trying to get practices on the ground. Though many natural

resources professionals would prefer to be out in the field helping

landowners design the practice and plant the trees, without some

sort of marketing, landowners may never learn about the practices

or adopt them.

A few hours of planning can not only save time in the long run

but will also be more convincing, making landowners more likely

to adopt an agroforestry practice. 

There are many ways to promote agroforestry to landowners,

including organizing demonstrations, conducting workshops, or

using traditional media such as local newspapers or radio shows.

Even a simple poster in the local coffee shop can spark interest. 

Developing a marketing plan consisting of one or more of the

following tips can keep you organized and make marketing programs run smoothly. 

1. Develop a local team of interested agencies and organizations. Select representatives from the planning area who have

similar interests in resource conservation. 

2. Establish goals and objectives. Know exactly what you

want to do. Set a goal. Keep it realistic and achievable within a

reasonable time.

3. Identify target clientele. Identify who needs to do something for you to meet your goal (for example, a certain landowner, a community, landowners in a specific watershed, etc.). 

4. Define clientele needs and characteristics. Get to know

your target audience. At minimum, you must learn: their primary

problems, needs, or concerns; where they get resource management information; who they trust; and how they make decisions.

5. Evaluate the agroforestry practice(s) you are promoting

to make sure that the target audience desires it. Does it have:

• Relative advantage – The land user must perceive the practice to be better than what they are presently doing to achieve the

same end. • Compatibility – Practices must be compatible with

the land user’s problems or needs, existing values, past experiences, and management ability. • Complexity – The value of agroforestry must be clear and the land user must perceive the practice

as easy to master. • Trialability – The agroforestry practice should

be demonstrated as a practice that can be experimented with on a

limited basis. This reduces the risk associated with trying many

new or innovative conservation practices. 

• Observability – Being able to see agroforestry and its benefits

greatly enhances the ability to persuade land users to plant and

maintain the practices. On-the-ground demonstrations have

proven effective. Success is also possible using videos with image

processed technology to show future benefits.

6. Develop a marketing plan for action. To assure the success of your marketing plan be sure to provide prompt technical

assistance. Timelines are a key to getting agroforestry practices

on the ground once the land user indicates a willingness to apply.

Partnerships and alliances with Federal agencies, agri-business,

associations of state conservation and agricultural agencies, environmental groups, and professional societies, are effective ways

to leverage resources and provide assistance.

Marketing Agroforestry

NAC
Upcoming Events From the Editor

September 9-11, 1999

Northeast Regional Agroforestry 

Conference, Portland, ME. Contact, 

Susan Lee, 207-622-7847 or e-mail: 

timetide@me.nrcs.usda.gov.

September 11-15, 1999

Society of American Foresters National

Convention, Portland, OR. For more 

information: www.safnet.org

July 8-11, 2000

Soil and Water Conservation Society 

Annual Conference. “Gateway to the 

Future - Conserving Private Land.” St 

Louis, MO. Contact, Pat Mulligan, 

515-289-2331, ext. 17 

(patm@swcs.org)

We hope 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 note of which

is correct. Thank you for your cooperation

in helping the Center conserve paper and

postage, while still delivering the latest in

agroforestry information.

Inside Agroforestry is published quarterly by the

USDA National Agroforestry Center. 

Phone: 402-437-5178; Fax: 402-437-5712.

Greg Ruark, Center Director, ext. 27

Michele Schoeneberger, 

FS Research Leader ext. 21

Jerry Bratton, FS Lead Agroforester ext. 24

Bruce Wight, NRCS Lead Agroforester ext. 36

Kim Isaacson, TT Specialist/IA Editor ext. 13

Clover Shelton, TT Assistant ext. 14

Mike Majeski, FS Agroforester

St. Paul, MN phone: 651-649-5240

Jim Robinson, NRCS Agroforester 

Fort Worth, TX phone: 817-509-3215

Gary Kuhn, NRCS Agroforester 

Spokane, WA phone: 509-358-7946

Web Site: www.unl.edu/nac

Mission

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

Research & Development (Rocky Mountain Research Station) and State & Private Forestry 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.

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.