Profitable Farms 

and Woodlands

A Practical Guide in Agroforestry for 

Landowners, Farmers and Ranchers

Alley Cropping Forest Farming Riparian Buffer Strips Silvopasture Windbreaks

Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................... iii

Purpose.............................................................................................. v

Contributors..................................................................................... vii

AGROFORESTRY PRACTICES

Alley Cropping................................................................................. 1

Forest Farming ................................................................................. 19

Riparian Buffer Strips...................................................................... 47

Silvopasture....................................................................................... 57

Windbreaks....................................................................................... 73

iii

INTRODUCTION

This handbook is part of an interdisciplinary, interinstitutional 

and comprehensive effort to develop a practical guide to assist 

underserved and limited resource small farmers and woodland 

owners to adopt best management technologies in agroforestry. 

Funding for this effort was provided through the USDA National 

Agroforestry Center (NAC) from the US Forest Service and 

the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) under 

cooperative agreement number 68-7482-7-361 with Tennessee 

State University, Cooperative Extension Program and the 

1890/1862 Agroforestry Team.

This guide was prepared by an agroforestry team of research 

and extension specialists from the 1862 and 1890 Land Grant 

Universities in collaboration with USDA - NAC. The handbook 

depicts step-by-step methods and principles on developing 

agroforestry practices for farmers and woodland owners for the 

purpose of enhancing the economic and environmental benefits 

of their farms and woodlands.

Douglas Wallace, NRCS lead agroforester, and Richard Straight, 

Forest Service lead agroforester, both from the USDA National 

Agroforestry Center provided additional helpful review and 

edits for this guide.

Cierra Publishing Company/Minority Landowner magazine 

provided editing and publication design services.

Keywords: Agroforestry, Alley Cropping, Forest Farming, 

Riparian Forest Buffers, Silvopasture, Windbreaks. 

Idassi, J.O. 2012. Profitable Farms and Woodlands: A Practical 

Guide in Agroforestry for Landowners, Farmers and Ranchers. 

USDA National Agroforestry Center, Lincoln, NE. 85 pg.

About the Technical Coordinator

Joshua Idassi is a Natural Resources Specialist at North Carolina 

Agricultural and Technical State University, Cooperative 

Extension Program, Greensboro, NC 27411.
iv
v

PURPOSE 

Profitable Farms and Woodlands: A Practical Guide in 

Agroforestry for Landowners, Farmers and Ranchers is a practical 

handbook on agroforestry, in an easy to read format written for 

underserved and limited resource farmers and woodland owners 

living in the Southeastern U.S. The handbook is designed 

to assist farmers and woodland owners establish, manage 

and market agroforestry projects that are diverse, integrated, 

profitable, healthy and sustainable. A team of agroforestry 

experts collaborated to produce this manual. Rigorous and 

extensive reviews were made for each chapter to ensure the 

information applies to the targeted audiences and their needs. 

The 1890 Agroforestry Consortium conducted two landowner 

focus groups in Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia. 

Although not all the suggestions were used to develop this 

handbook, the reviews expressed by the underserved and 

limited resource landowners were the “guiding light” that led to 

the development of this handbook. 

The participants indicated they wanted the following subjects 

covered: 

•	 What is agroforestry? 

•	 Is agroforestry economically feasible? 

•	 Are there local, state and federal resources available for 

agroforestry? 

•	 What are some specialty crops that could be established in this 

area? 

•	 What is the availability of potential grants and contracts?

The handbook is presented in five chapters, one for each 

agroforestry practice. Chapter topics are: 

•	 Introduction 

•	 The Basics

•	 Economic Considerations
vi

•	 Further Assistance and information 

•	 Success Stories 

The authors sincerely hope that readers will find this guide to be 

a useful resource to establish and manage integrated, profitable, 

healthy and sustainable family farms and woodlands.

This handbook also provides technical guidelines with practical 

information that may be useful to field technical staffs to train 

small size farmers and woodland owners to establish, manage 

and market agroforestry projects that are diverse, integrated, 

profitable, healthy and sustainable.
vii

CONTRIBUTORS

Boyd, Gwendolyn D. L. Associate Professor, Forestry 

Director, Department of Agriculture, 

Alcorn State University, Alcorn, MS 

Christian, Colmore S. Assistant Professor, Forest 

Recreation and Outreach, 

Alabama A&M University, 

Normal, AL

Fraser, Rory F. Professor, Forest Economics and 

Policy, Center for Forestry and

 Ecosystem Assessment, Alabama 

A&M University, Normal, AL

Godsey, Larry D. Research Associate/Economist, 

University of Missouri Center for 

Agroforestry, Columbia, MO

Hamilton, Jim County Director, Watauga County 

Extension Office, Boone, NC

Hill, Deborah B. Extension Professor, Department of 

Forestry, University of Kentucky, 

Lexington, KY 

Idassi, Joshua O. Natural Resources Specialist, North 

Carolina Agricultural and 

Technical State University, 

Cooperative Extension Program, 

Greensboro, NC 

Mentreddy, Rao Professor and Program Coordinator, 

Plant Science and Molecular 

Genetics, Department of Natural 

Resources and Environmental 

Sciences, Alabama A&M University, 

Normal, AL 
viii

Mrema, Frank A. Interim Extension Forester, 

Tennessee State University, 

Nashville, TN

Onokpise, Oghenekome U. Professor and Associate Dean, 

College of Agriculture and 

Food Sciences, Florida A & M 

University, Tallahassee, FL

Walter, W. D. ‘Dusty’ Technology Transfer/Research 

Specialist, University of Missouri 

Center for Agroforestry, 

Columbia, MO

Workman, Sarah W. Public Service Associate, Office of 

Global Programs, College of

Agriculture and Environmental 

Science, University of Georgia, 

Athens, GA
Alley Cropping

1

Alley Cropping

ALLEY CROPPING

W.D. ‘Dusty’ Walter, Larry D. Godsey, Gwendolyn D.L. Boyd, 

and Joshua Idassi

Introduction

This chapter is intended to help you design and manage 

an agroforestry practice called alley cropping (Figure 1).

Properly applied on a landscape, an alley cropping practice can 

enhance and diversify farm income opportunities, improve 

the environment and create wildlife habitat. Developing an 

understanding of the interactions between trees and other plants 

will help you achieve the goals of the alley cropping practice.

Figure 1. Alley Cropping with black walnut and corn

When trees are established in rows separated by wide spacing 

that allow the growing of other crops in that between-row space, 

you have created an alley cropping practice. Depending on the 

space between rows of trees, alley cropping can be designed to 

use plants that do well in either full sun or partial shade. It is 

also possible to design alley cropping to begin growing sun-loving 

crops and then change over to shade tolerant crops as the tree 

rows begin shading the alleys (Figure 2). Understanding plant 

interactions and competition will help you design an alley 

cropping practice that meets your needs. Proper planning helps 

you achieve success.
2

Alley Cropping

When properly designed and used on a farm, an alley cropping 

practice can benefit overall farm productivity and the number 

of farm products that are produced, while at the same time 

helping to improve the environment by reducing soil loss 

and improving the use of soil nutrients, such as nitrogen and 

phosphorus. However, for proper design it is essential to have a 

good understanding of the goals for your land, both short and 

long term, and to design the alley cropping practice based on a 

good understanding of the interaction between the trees, shrubs 

and crops that have been selected.

Figure 2. Changing from a sun-loving 

crop of corn, established with a sixrow corn planter between tree rows 

on 22.5 foot centers, to a wheat crop. 

By age 9 this planting needs to be 

thinned if the owner wants to maintain row crops. The alternative is to 

change to a more shade tolerant crop, 

or to a tree product such as a nut crop. 

Crops that can be produced in full sun include (Figure 3):

•	 Horticultural plants, such as tomatoes, corn and blackberries

•	 Forages, grains and oilseeds

•	 Tree crops, such as plums and nuts

•	 Seeds, such as wildflowers or select grasses

•	 Christmas trees

•	 Shrubs and other landscaping plants

•	 Trees for lumber and wood fiber products

Crops that can be produced at some level of shade may include:

•	 Herbal medicinal plants, such as ginseng, goldenseal and black 

cohosh
3

Alley Cropping

•	 Landscape plants like ferns, mayapples, and Jack in the pulpit

•	 Mushrooms such as shiitake

Figure 3. Lettuce intercropped with peaches until mid-June followed immediately by a pumpkin intercrop until October. (Ontario, Canada.

Source: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/hort/news/

hortmatt/2005/16hrt05.pdf)

Advantages and Challenges of Alley Cropping

Advantages of Alley Cropping

Short-term cash flow from annual crops

‘Sun’ crops compete with weeds

Soil amendments for crops also benefit the trees

Trees reduce losses from runoff

Trees act as windbreaks for companion crops

Long-term income from tree products (wood, fruit, nuts)

Diversity of farm products

Challenges of Alley Cropping

Trees can be an obstacle during cultivating

Trees may compete with companion crops for light, moisture 

and/or nutrients

Companion crops may compete with trees for moisture and/

or nutrients

Integrated management is often hard to do and challenging

The Basics

Design 

Alley cropping is a multicropping practice – two or more types 

of plants growing on the same area of land at the same time – in 

which the trees, shrubs and/or other plants compete for light, 
4

Alley Cropping

water and nutrients. An understanding of how different trees 

and shrubs, forages and grasses, respond to site conditions on 

your farm will be an invaluable tool in designing a successful 

alley cropping practice. In addition to appropriate species 

selection, there are a number of ways you can influence the 

ability of plants to compete for light, water and/or nutrients.

Different plants have different spacing requirements. When 

designing your practice, space the trees, shrubs and herbaceous 

plants appropriately for their mature size, or plan to thin them 

before competition reduces productivity. If you are starting with 

existing trees it is likely that some will need to be removed by 

thinning in order to reach the number of trees (density) that you 

want. If you are using new plants, this involves planting at the 

right density. 

Between row spacing. The overall success of your alley cropping 

system often is linked directly to the spacing between the rows 

of trees. There is a direct link between the distance between tree 

rows and the years a light-demanding crop can be produced 

(Figures 2, 3 and 4). When the distance between rows of trees is 

increased, the years an alleyway may be farmed with minimal 

competition from the trees is increased. The spacing you select 

will be based on many factors, including whether the emphasis 

is on a tree related crop such as nuts or wood production, or on 

maintaining crop production in the alleys between the tree rows. 

If the emphasis is a change to nut production from your 

system, then the alleyways will need to be wide enough to 

allow for full development of the tree’s crown as well as spacing 

to accommodate nut harvesting equipment. However, if the 

emphasis is on wood production from the trees, you may choose 

to have narrower alleyways in order to have the highest number 

of tree stems per acre. The alleys will still produce income from 

an annual companion crop. However, with narrower alleys, it 

will be necessary to plan for an earlier change to a companion 

crop which can grow more easily in a shaded environment.

If maintaining an annual income from specific alley-grown 

crops is a major desire, then alleyways must be designed wide. 

Since many alley crops are not shade tolerant (e.g., row crops, 

forages, or small berry crops), alleys must be wide enough to 

meet their light requirements. In addition, the spacing will be 
5

Alley Cropping

determined by the length of the cropping system selected. If a 

shade-intolerant crop is to be grown in the alleyway for more 

than a few years (5 to 10), then the spacing between rows must 

be wide (75 feet or more).

Figure 4. Spacing and row orientation impact the longevity of the alley 

cropping practice by influencing the competition between trees and crops 

for light, water and nutrients.

Within Row Spacing. Space between trees/shrubs within a row 

will have a strong influence on their growth and development. 

For example, trees that are grown tightly spaced will have a 

tendency to grow up, towards the light. This type of growth 

is highly desirable when growing trees for quality wood 

production. Additionally, as these tightly spaced trees begin to 

produce shade on one another, each of their branches in the 

shade will begin to die and eventually fall off. This is called selfpruning, and is again desirable when trying to grow high quality 

wood in timber production. 

On the other hand, trees spaced far apart tend to grow out, as 

well as up, creating larger tree crowns. Also, the additional light 

on lower branches encourages a tree to keep and grow those 

branches. While this is not highly desired in trees grown for 

timber, it is desirable if a tree is being grown for nut production. 

Therefore, if a tree, such as pecan, is planted with the intention 

of harvesting nuts, then a wider initial establishment will help 

branch development and growth creating a better tree for nut 

production. And, since light is important to the crown of trees 

producing a nut crop, the wider spaced trees allow for full sun 

to reach that tree’s crown for extended longer number of years 

before a thinning within the row is required. For nut production, 

a beginning spacing of 30 feet between trees may be best. 

However, it is likely that some trees will need to be removed at 

some point in the future. 
6

Alley Cropping

Row Direction. Row direction should be an additional 

consideration when establishing your alley cropping practice. 

In general, by establishing tree rows on an east-west orientation, 

more sunlight can get to the alleyway. If however, erosion or wind 

control is a concern, then trees may be established on the contour 

to minimize erosion, or perpendicular to prevailing winds. In 

these cases, although available light may not be maximized, yields 

can be maintained by addressing other areas that limit production.

Multiple Tree Rows. Trees and shrubs within the rows can be 

arranged in several different ways including single rows, double 

rows or other multiple row configurations (Figure 5). Factors 

influencing how many rows to establish and the arrangement 

of the trees within the rows should be based on a number of 

potential benefits. 

Figure 5. Examples of single, double and triple row configurations for 

alley cropping

Advantages of single and multiple row plantings

Single Row

Less ground is used

Better for nut production

Maintenance is simplified

Fewer trees to plant

Farm production is enhanced

Multiple Row

Enhanced erosion control

Better growth of trees for timber

Improved wildlife value

Greater diversification of farm products
7

Alley Cropping

Equipment Needs. The alley between the tree rows should 

be wide enough to allow clear passage of the widest piece 

of equipment. This includes planning to allow space for the 

growth of the tree crowns. This is particularly important in nut 

production when early crown development is desirable. Plan 

alleys such that full, or multiple, passes of the equipment can 

be utilized. For example, if using a 13-foot wide disk, it may be 

desirable to have an alleyway 60 feet wide. This allows for four 

passes with the disk (52 feet) and a buffer of eight feet to ensure 

damage is not done to the tree trunk (Figure 6). The equipment 

you own will dictate much of the design and spacing chosen for 

the alley cropping practice.

Figure 6. Plan for the type of equipment used in harvest and management. 

Row orientation, direction of travel, and turn radius of equipment should all 

factor into the layout of an alley cropping practice 
8

Alley Cropping

Management

Below-ground Management

Root Systems. Trees, shrubs, grasses, crops and other plants 

can have root systems that are shallow, deep or both. Plants 

that have root systems in the same depths of soil are going to 

be in competition for water and nutrients, and will impact the 

yield and growth of each other. Ideally the trees selected for an 

alley cropping practice should have a deep root system in order 

to minimize competition with crops in the alley. However, if 

erosion is a concern, then trees with a more shallow root system 

may provide better soil stability. If root competition looks like 

it is happening, one method of reducing this competition is to 

prune roots so that they do not occupy the same area.

Root pruning lowers the competition between trees and crops 

grown in the alley. Starting early will help train roots to grow 

deeper. If you have existing trees that need root pruning, then 

partial pruning in steps is recommended to reduce the shock 

to a tree. Pruning too many roots from older trees will damage 

their ability to collect water and nutrients, and will be evident by 

damage in the tree’s crown. Pruning in steps involves pruning 

part of a tree’s root system over a number of years. At the very 

least, you should begin by only pruning roots on one side of the 

tree in a given year. However, once the process is started you will 

want to prune tree roots every year or two in order to keep them 

from growing into the cropped alley. 

Manual root pruning can be done by forcing the blade of a spade 

into the soil or by digging a trench. Mechanized root pruning 

is done with a tractor mounted ripper, coulter or chisel plow, 

ideally with subsurface knives attached to sever deeper roots. 

How close to the trunk to prune the roots depends on where 

the plants in the alleys are growing. Pruning tree roots inside 

a tree’s drip line (outer edge of the tree crown) should be done 

cautiously to minimize damage to the tree.

Fertilization. In most cases extra fertilizer will not be needed. 

Trees will benefit from crop fertilization. Where concern exists 

over trees taking nutrients from the crop, then competition can 

be minimized by root pruning or by adding more nutrients. 

Nutrients can be added in the form of chemical fertilizer, animal 

manure or a wide range of other materials. This may also include 
9

Alley Cropping

the use of living mulches or green manures (see http://www.

attra.org/attra-pub/covercrop.html for additional information). 

Canopy Management

If there is too much shade under an existing stand of trees, 

the canopy can be pruned to allow more light to reach the 

understory plants. You may be able to accomplish this by 

pruning for improved timber production. Start by removing 

branches low on the stem of a tree, to raise the height at which 

the canopy begins. This allows more light to reach the ground 

from side angles. Remember, removing more than 60% of the 

tree’s leaves and branches (live crown) may significantly reduce 

the growth of the tree. It is a good general rule to always leave at 

least 50% of the trees height in live crown in order to maintain 

good tree growth..

Trees with small fine leaves will also allow more light through 

the canopy. These leaves decompose rapidly and allow nutrients 

to be recycled into the soil faster, and at the same time this will 

begin to improve the overall soil health. 

Additional considerations may include the use of trees that 

leaf out late in the spring and/or drop leaves early in the fall. 

If the crop in the alleys matures in early spring like winter 

wheat, or heads out in late fall like milo, a tree species should 

be incorporated that best accommodates the light needs of that 

specific crop (i.e., a tree species with a late dormancy for winter 

wheat; or a species that drops its leaves early for milo).

Ground Management

Weed Control. Weeds are plants growing in your agroforestry 

practice that you don’t want there, and that compete for water, 

nutrients and light with the plants for which you do have a 

market. Where necessary these trees, shrubs or herbaceous 

plants should be removed or suppressed to reduce the 

competition with your crop plants. Weed removal can be done 

in a number of different ways from herbicides, to cutting, to 

cultivation. An additional consideration for use in controlling 

weeds adjacent to trees may include mulch, fabric barriers or 

living mulches (plants that don’t compete with your crops but 

help reduce unwanted weeds). The control of undesirable plants 

in your alley cropping practice will better ensure its success.
10

Alley Cropping

Irrigation. On some sites irrigation may only be required for 

the first year or two until root systems are well established. In 

other cases, as in some dry areas, your tree plantings may need 

permanent irrigation of some type. If you are unable to irrigate, 

make sure you chose trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that will 

grow in your climatic area and soils without additional water.

Economic Considerations

Economic budgeting is a very flexible process. However, effective 

use of budgets requires an understanding of the crop practice 

or system to which it is being applied. Alley cropping poses 

some unique economic budgeting problems because it involves 

multiple enterprises with varying cropping cycles, such as trees, 

row crops, forages and/or livestock. 

First, unlike most agricultural crops, alley cropping has a 

planning horizon of greater than one season due to the tree or 

shrub component. A planning horizon is simply a time period 

which covers all costs and revenues for a given practice. For 

soybeans, a planning horizon may be six months to a year. 

For alley cropping, a simple planning horizon may be as long 

as 60-80 years when the timber value of trees are taken into 

consideration. However, the planning horizon may also include 

tree incomes much sooner than 60 years. The time it takes to 

begin realizing a money return from the tree crop depends 

on the product being harvested. In the previous examples, 

the harvest of timber may take 60 years, while the harvest 

of profitable nut crops may only take 10 years that repeat on 

an annual basis. The planning horizon is for the duration of 

your alley cropping practice and may include multiple income 

opportunities.

Second, because of the longer planning horizon of alley cropping 

practices, many of the incomes and costs do not occur at regular 

or predictable intervals throughout the entire operation, but are 

irregular in occurrence. 

Finally, because alley cropping practices typically incorporate a 

fixed tree or shrub component with an alleyway crop, the crop 

may change over time. For example, an alley cropping practice 

may start out as soybeans grown between rows of black walnut 

trees, but by the time the trees are producing nuts, hay may be 
11

Alley Cropping

the crop grown between the rows of trees because a smoother 

surface is required to mechanically harvest the nuts and less 

light is available in the alleyways. These three characteristics of 

an alley cropping practice require a specific type of budgeting 

method that will be flexible enough to allow for variable crops, 

as well as detailed enough to show annual income for the entire 

planning horizon.

Alley cropping budgeting is therefore a two-step process. 

The steps are to develop enterprise budgets, and combine the 

enterprise budgets into a cash flow plan. An enterprise budget is 

a complete, detailed listing of all the costs and income expected 

for each single crop, such as corn, livestock or nut and timber 

trees. A cash flow plan combines the details from the different 

enterprise crop budgets in the agroforestry practice and adds a 

time dimension. The enterprise budget provides a framework 

for reporting and monitoring the profitability of each enterprise, 

and the cash flow plan provides the information necessary to 

assess and forecast the economic feasibility of the agroforestry 

practice over time. 

Economic analysis is not meant to be a one time activity. It is a 

roadmap to help in determining the profitability of your alley 

cropping system and to assist in understanding when costs might 

occur over the life of the planting. For more on development 

of a personal enterprise budget and cash flow plan, please feel 

free to download the Agroforestry Economic Handbook titled 

Economic Budgeting for Agroforestry Practices at: http://www.

centerforagroforestry.org/pubs/economichandbook.pdf. 

For information on profiting from trees and other agroforestry 

crops visit www.centerforagroforestry.org/profit/.

Further Assistance and Information

Technical

USDA National Agroforestry Center

http://www.unl.edu/nac/alleycropping.htm

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry DVD

Visit www.centerforagroforestry.org, or the University of 

Missouri Extension web page at http://extension.missouri.edu/

explore/agguides/agroforestry/af1008.htm to purchase.
12

Alley Cropping

ASA Book Chapter

Garrett, H.E. and R.L. McGraw. 2000. Alley Cropping. IN: North 

American Agroforestry: An Integrated Science and Practice 

(H.E. Garrett, W.J. Rietveld and R.F. Fisher, eds.). Agronomy 

Society of America, Madison, WI. pp. 149-188. 

UMCA Research Publications

http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/research/pubs.asp

From the United Kingdom

http://www.agroforestry.co.uk/silvoar.html

From the Association For Temperate Agroforestry (AFTA)

http://www.aftaweb.org/alley_cropping.php

From the University of Florida

http://cstaf.ifas.ufl.edu/research2.htm

From Australia

http://www.rirdc.gov.au/

Financial 

There are a number of cost-share and incentive programs and 

grants for landowners interested in the establishment of an 

alley cropping system. You may contact your local Extension 

office, NRCS office, or Soil and Water Conservation office for 

information regarding the following cost-share/incentive plans:

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) 

USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service

Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education 

Program (SARE)

USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture
13

Alley Cropping

Success Stories

Dan Shepherd

Shepherd Farms 

Clifton Hill, Missouri

Bluegrass hay and pecan alley cropping practice; buffalo ranch and 

agritourism business 

Dan Shepherd raises buffalo for processing into lean, high 

quality meats and jerky, in addition to his pecan and bluegrass 

hay alley cropping practice. Shepherd Farms is also a nationwide 

leader in production, wholesale and retail distribution of eastern 

gamagrass seed. “Alley cropping is ideal for achieving both our 

production and conservation benefits,” said Shepherd. “We 

earn an annual income off the ground, while the trees are being 

established. We also enjoy an abundance of wildlife in the habitat 

created by alley cropping. While the crops are growing we see 

deer, turkey and quail utilizing this ground and the trees.”
14

Alley Cropping

Alvin and Shirley Harris

Harris Farms

Millington, Tennessee

Growing hybrid eastern black walnuts using organic farming 

principles: An Interview by Dr. Frank Mrema of Tennessee State 

University Cooperative Extension

Introduction: Just beyond the northern suburbs of Memphis, 

amid fields of cotton and soybeans, forested creeks and new 

housing developments, lies the small family farm owned by 

Alvin and Shirley Harris.

Frank: Mr. Harris, when did you learn about alley cropping?

Alvin: When Dr. David Brauer, the USDA-Agricultural 

Research Service representative in this project, talked to me 

about growing eastern black walnut trees in my farm. I wanted 

them far enough so I could grow something in between while 

the trees were growing. I knew nothing about growing trees. 

While the trees were growing I wanted some space where I could 

grow watermelons, black eye peas and other short rotational 
15

Alley Cropping

crops. I was instructed to grow the trees using 25' by 25' spacing. 

My interest was to space them in this format, 25' by 30' so that I 

have more room in between the rows to grow some other crops, 

while these trees are growing.

Frank: Was the space in between the rows based on the 

machinery you were using or the crops?

Alvin: It was based on an arbitrary figure that I picked. I wanted 

enough space to grow three to four rows, and thirty feet was 

going to give me pretty good spacing.

Frank: So how many types of crops do you normally plant in 

your alley cropping?

Alvin: I‘ve grown peas, watermelon, corn, and etc. by rotating 

them every now and then. That’s the only things I have grown in 

between the trees.

Frank: Are there any other species of crops apart from the ones 

you mentioned which you grow in the alley cropping in other 

areas?

Alvin: Oh yeah. I rotate the crops on the whole farm on a 

three to five year rotation. Everything is rotated, but I haven’t 

grown tomatoes or anything like that in here. I have too much 

other space, and I don’t want to take a chance on losing a 

crop of tomatoes in here. I know what I can do with them out 

there. The peas and the corn have done really well in here. The 

watermelons did really well.

Frank: Which species did you say have done well in the alley 

cropping system?

Alvin: Field peas... all types of field peas, cream peas, purple 

hull... all types of field peas did well in here. The corn did well 

the year we planted corn in the site. Also, the watermelons did 

really well. So I have no complaints about their performance in 

the field. Very good results.

Frank: Did somebody come and tell you to practice this or was 

it your own initiative?
16

Alley Cropping

Alvin: It was mine. Nobody told me anything. But I’ve been 

rotating crops for years. A lot of what I do I learned overseas 

traveling around the world seeing how they did things.

Frank: So you traveled overseas. That’s where you learned about 

this practice?

Alvin : Well I saw more of it over in Europe and Asia than I did 

any place in the U.S.

Frank: Organic farming is a costly practice, and may be very 

expensive to other farmers. How do you manage and account for 

the cost you inject on the alley cropping?

Alvin: I don’t get the production off the whole field because the 

space where the trees are, I’m losing that space. But I don’t do 

intensive farming anyway. Everything I do is organic. These trees 

are grown organically. There are no chemicals out here on the 

farm anywhere. I have been doing this for 30 something years 

and it’s going to stay that way.

The forage and the blueberries we have up there, are all organic. 

In the last 30 years I haven’t used any chemical fertilizers or 

petroleum based fertilizers on the farm. So I did organic farming 

when they told me it couldn’t be done, and I’m going to continue 

doing it. I’ve made money so I’m not complaining. So everything 

out here on this farm is organic, everything! 

Frank: Is there any other reason you decided to grow organic 

crops instead of others?

Alvin: Yes. I was in the military. I was trained in chemical 

warfare, and I know chemicals and their affect on plants and the 

environment in general. That was the basic reason. And I know 

if you put it in the soil the plants will absorb it and then we will 

eat it in the form of foods. I also refused to feed it to my children 

and to the general public.

Frank: Will you advise other farmers to practice alley cropping 

system? 
17

Alley Cropping

Alvin: Alley cropping. .. Yes... As far as the trees, if they are not 

going to do it for nuts even if they put in trees for timber, while 

the trees are small they need to grow something between them—

make some money somewhere because if I was growing these 

for timber, what are we talking about? Forty years. Forty years 

with no income would be real trouble for a person that needs 

money. But if they space them so they can grow something 

between them, even for 10 years, you’ve got 10 years of income 

from the land. Whereas right now even with the nuts I haven’t 

lost that much on the farm yet. I am making money in this field 

every year. Not from the trees yet, but from growing produce in 

between them. I still make money. Really I haven’t lost anything, 

I don’t think, in this field, and I think this is the fifth or sixth 

year.

Forest Farming

19

Forest Farming

FOREST FARMING 

Deborah B. Hill and Rao Mentreddy 

Introduction 

Sales of medicinal plants are now worth $60 billion worldwide, 

and over $12 billion in the United States. For example, a grower 

of goldenseal in Georgia can earn $6,500 per acre each year. A 

well-managed hive of bees can gross $300 per year for all bee 

products, and remember their value in pollinating crops. In an 

800-log shiitake business, a grower can earn about $6,000 per 

year (see Success Stories). Returns from timber can take 50 to 80 

years. In the past, forests in the South have been managed badly 

or not at all. Their quality can be improved by “weeding,” which 

foresters call timber stand improvement (TSI). Economic returns 

on weeding can take many years. A guaranteed way of making 

cash flow faster is by farming the forest. Forest farming is 

managing the forest to produce things called non-timber forest 

products (NTFP) that can be sold on a yearly or short-term basis. 

Non-timber forest products are a variety of “crops” that can be 

produced in a forest. These include, but are not limited to: 

bee products fuelwood maple syrup fence posts

medicinal plants crafts fruits & nuts mushrooms

 

These forest farming options need attention in different seasons. 

Bee products, fruits and nuts, mushrooms, and medicinal plants 

are usually managed during warmer months. Maple syrup 

is collected and processed in mid to late winter. Firewood, 

fence posts and craft materials can be collected year round. 

Management of these options may compete with time, money 

and energy needed by other farm crops. However, developing 

several of these options will improve the quality of the remaining 

timber on the forested land and at the same time provide annual 

or short-term extra income for the farm or forest. 

Many of these forest farming options need equipment, skills 

and knowledge, which can be very different, depending on what 
20

Forest Farming

you choose to do. For example, maple syrup production needs 

expensive equipment to begin, but once you have the equipment, 

those costs are usually not repeated. However, maple syrup is a 

high value product with a long shelf life and can be marketed 

year round. On the other hand, firewood, fence posts and craft 

materials may only need basic tools, knowledge and time to 

create a product. They can be collected, created and marketed 

at any time of year, although firewood would probably sell more 

rapidly and in greater amounts in the winter months. 

The economics of developing non-timber forest products in a 

forest farming system can be very different. Options like maple 

syrup will probably need an investment of several hundred 

dollars to get all the necessary equipment. On the other hand, 

options like crafts materials and native fruits and nuts may not 

require any out-of-pocket costs other than containers to sell the 

products in. Products like maple syrup, some medicinal plants, 

mushrooms and honey are high-value products and will bring 

a quick return on investment, while crafts, jams and jellies may 

make money in volume rather than in per unit value. 

A variety of options and references are outlined in this chapter 

to help you look at forest farming further. Depending on what 

resources you have in your woodlots, you could choose to do 

one, several, or all of them. Many have specific times of year 

when you need to work on them. Maple syrup production is 

usually a four to six week period in late winter/early spring, and 

then you are done for the season. Crafts can be worked on all 

year. Choose things that interest you and that you know you will 

be able to market locally or on the Internet. 

Beekeeping 

Introduction 

Raising honey bees in hives can produce honey, beeswax, 

pollen, propolis (beehive glue) and royal jelly. These products 

can be harvested every year (honey possibly can be harvested 

more than once a year) and are valuable. From these basic 

products, several other value-added products can be developed 

for more income. 
21

Forest Farming

The Basics 

Buy your bees, equipment and materials and put your hives in 

a place protected from wind and near either crops or orchards. 

Get advice from neighbors or your extension office on how 

many hives to start with and what kinds of bees have been most 

successful in your area. Check your hives at least once a week 

for disease or loss of bees. Make sure they have water and if the 

weather gets dry, make sure they have sugar water. Always leave 

enough honey in the hive for the bees to feed on over the winter. 

Other beekeepers can help you with this. 

Materials and Equipment 

You will need bees, a beekeeping suit, gloves, hat and veil, 

hive boxes, supers, smoker, and hive tools. Some equipment, 
22

Forest Farming

especially metal tools, can be found second-hand which can 

lower your startup costs. Since there have been problems with 

pest insects and diseases, it is probably not wise to buy hives 

second-hand. Check your neighborhood for other beekeepers 

and talk to them or ask at your county agriculture extension 

office for information. You may also contact your state 

beekeeping association and the state apiarist or bee specialist. 

Economic Considerations 

Item Cost 

Starter kit (suit, gloves, hat, veil, one hive box 

with supers and bees)

$200-$400 

Hive boxes $250 

Supers $50 

Smoker $35 

Hive tools $4-$6 

Bees (1 pound) $75

Honey extractor (not every beekeeper needs to 

have one of these)

$200-$300 

 You will probably need to replace supers and bees every year 

(www.beekeepingstarterkit.com, www.kelleybees.com). 

Crafts 

Introduction 

From sweetgum balls and locust pods painted with gold paint 

to make Christmas tree ornaments, to sculptures made of wood, 

crafts options created from wood or other materials (seeds, 

branches, twigs, roots, burls) found in woodlots are limited only 

by your imagination. Markets are available through statewide 

juried crafts guilds, farmer’s markets, local craft stores, state 

park stores, and the Internet. If you are not feeling particularly 

creative, but have raw materials on your property (grape vines 

or kudzu for wreaths or baskets), you can also make money by 

selling the raw materials to the people who do make crafts. 
23

Forest Farming

The Basics 

It all starts with an idea, whether you want to make baskets, or 

wreaths, or sculptures, or useful objects like spoons, bowls and 

walking sticks. Walk through your woods and see what kinds of 

trees, shrubs and ground covers you have. If you have an idea 

of something to create, check with your state tourism office or 

with a statewide crafts guild and see what your options are for 

marketing your product. You will be surprised at what people 

will pay good money for! 
24

Forest Farming

Materials and Equipment 

The kinds of materials and equipment you will need to make 

crafts depends on what you want to make. Usually you need 

hand tools, paints and brushes, small saws, and so forth and a 

space to work that is big enough for your project. 

Economic Considerations

If you are creating a product out of “found” things in your 

woods (cones, seed pods, oddly shaped branches and so on), the 

start-up costs are mainly your time, which, as you continue to 

make your product, will also be the major recurring cost. 

Fruits and Nuts 

Introduction 

We are talking about fruits and nuts that occur naturally in 

our woodlots. This could include persimmons and pawpaws, 

wild grapes and berries, black and white walnuts, hickory nuts, 

hazelnuts, and beech nuts. Because native fruit species seem to 

ripen at the same time, it is hard to get a good price for them as 

fresh fruit, since there is lots of competition in the marketplace. 

So, rather than marketing them as fresh fruits, you might want 

to consider making value-added products such as jams, jellies, 

wines, fruit leathers or other products. Value-added products have 

long shelf lives, and can be marketed year-round. The nuts can be 

marketed fresh. Black walnuts are a gourmet item, and Hammons 

Products in Missouri collects them (in the hull) from different 

locations in seven surrounding states, so there is an annual market 

for them. The other nuts can be gathered in the fall and marketed 

through farmer’s markets and local grocery stores. 
25

Forest Farming

The Basics 

It is important to know your woods well. Walk through them 

and learn to identify the trees and shrubs that are there. If you 

have native fruit and nut trees, and berries, clear some of the 

trees that are right next to them so that the fruit and nut trees 

can spread out with more branches where the fruits and nuts are 

produced. Removing some of the competition not only gives the 

trees you want more sunlight, but also gives them more water 

and nutrients than they had before. 

Materials and Equipment 

There are no special materials or equipment needed for 

growing and harvesting native fruits and nuts. You may want 

to buy collecting baskets or bags to make collection easier in 

the fall, but you can also use buckets and baskets that you may 

already own. If you decide to make value-added products, 

then you would need 

whatever materials 

and equipment that 

are necessary. You 

may need large pots, 

canning jars and lids 

for jams and jellies, and 

fermenting equipment, 

bottles and caps 

for wines.

Economic Considerations 

Since there are no special material or equipment needs for 

harvesting native fruits and nuts, the costs are limited to what 

you decide to do with 

the fruits and nuts once 

they are harvested. 

Whatever containers 

(jars, bottles, lids, caps, 

labels) your valueadded products are 

sold in are examples 

of materials that will 

need replacement on an 

annual basis. 
26

Forest Farming

Maple Syrup 

Introduction 

Maple syrup has been made in North America for hundreds of 

years. Native American tribes, particularly in the northeastern 

United States, made it from the sap of maple trees. Products 

include maple syrup, maple butter, maple sugar, and maple 

candies. All of these products are marketable year round, and all 

have long shelf lives. All are also high value products. 

The Basics 

Check your woodlots and see what kinds of maple trees you 

have. Maple syrup can be made from any kind of maple tree. 

Sugar maples are the best because they have a higher sugar 

content in their sap than the other kinds of maples. You need 

a lot of trees (10 - 20 at least) that are fairly close together in 

the woods and have a minimum diameter of 10 inches. This 

may require removing some small trees, or making openings 

to let some sunlight in, to favor the trees that you want to keep. 

This is one option that you should not just try to go out and 

do on your own. A good reference manual on maple syrup 

production is the North American Maple Syrup Producers 

Manual (Bulletin 856) from The Ohio State University. 

Working with that, and talking with someone else who has 

tapped trees, will be very helpful. 
27

Forest Farming

Materials and Equipment 

Maple syrup production is probably one of the most expensive 

non-timber forest products to get into. You need stainless steel 

equipment (pans, piping, baffles or flanges in the boiling pans) 

to boil down the sap, and if you are going to do this as a serious 

business on an annual basis, you probably should have a special 

“sugar shack” that you would use only to make the syrup. The 

steam from the boiling sap can be very sticky, so you don’t want 

to try this in your kitchen. The good news is that the expensive 

equipment is probably a one-time cost, but it still means the 

money is going out before the product is bringing it back in. 

Sometimes you can find second-hand equipment that isn’t quite 

so expensive, or if you have neighbors that might be interested 

in making maple syrup, too, you could buy the boiling down 

equipment together. 

Economic Considerations 

As was noted before, the boiling equipment is the expensive part. 

There are, however, replacement costs for collecting buckets or 

tubing, spiles (the spigots that go into the trees to collect the 

sap) and containers for selling the syrup. Maple syrup and other 

maple products have long shelf lives and are marketable all year 

through many different options of outlets (local grocery stores, 

craft stores, farmer’s markets, etc.). 
28

Forest Farming

Medicinal Plants

Introduction 

Forest medicinal plants grow mostly near the ground under 

shade, and, like most plants, need special soil and environmental 

conditions. It is important for the grower to understand the 

special plant-soil relations for the target plant. Many medicinal 

plants are most valuable for their roots. Many are also 

perennials, so that once you have started them growing in an 

area, they will continue to grow year after year. Some can be 

harvested every year. Some, like ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), 

take many years to grow big enough for a valuable harvest. 

Before you decide on what crop to grow, walk through your 

woods and find out what type of trees you have, what your 

soil type and pH are (see your County Cooperative Extension 

office and USDA Service Center for help with this), and what 

kinds of plants are growing under your trees and shrubs. Most 

of the forest medicinal plants grow in mixed communities. 

For example, if you have mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), 

you may also have ginseng, black cohosh (Actaea racemosa), 

goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) and/or bloodroot (Sanguinaria 

racemosa). One very important thing is to find out what the 

market is for the plant or plants you want to grow. Most of the 

well known forest medicinal plants need 60% to 80% shade 

during their growing season (spring and summer), and deep, 

moist, well drained forest soils with pH measurements between 
29

Forest Farming

6 and 7. They also will grow best if they have special fungi 

growing on their roots called mycorrhizae. Ginseng for example, 

grows well under dense shade from tree species such as sugar 

maple, basswood, tulip poplar and black walnut. Ginseng also 

needs a lot of calcium and does well under maple trees which 

supply calcium. There are other forest medicinal plant species 

such as vanilla leaf (Carphephorus odoratissimus), roundleaf 

sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.), true unicorn (Aletris farinosa), 

and trilliums (Trillium spp.) which are common in southern 

forests. 

Medicinal plants can be grown for raw products such as the 

roots, stems, bark or leaves 

(or combinations of these 

from the same kind of plant). 

Some can be marketed fresh, 

but most are sold dried. 

They are bulky materials 

and need proper storage 

and packaging. They will 

involve shipping costs which 

may reduce the amount of 

your profit. Adding value or 

product packaging, such as 

making tinctures, lotions, 

steam distilled aromatic oils, 

and soaps could bring higher 

prices and greater profits. A 

success story is a farmer in 

Georgia who has developed a 

wide range of products using organic goldenseal. The farmer is 

able to increase his profits by offering not only bottled products 

and soaps, but also seed and roots for planting, which he can 

sell to other growers in the cooperative he has started. Organic 

production of medicinal plants results in a purer product and 

brings the highest prices. 

The Basics – ginseng 

Scouting your woodland will help you decide what grows best 

among the forest trees and will help you decide whether you 

want to grow them as wild-simulated or woods-cultivated. The 

easier and cheaper wild-simulated method can make money on 
30

Forest Farming

a large or small scale. 

For most of the forest 

medicinal species, 

planting is done in 

the fall. Using a rake 

or a garden hoe, rake 

the leaves aside, make 

furrows 1 inch deep 

and about 3 inches wide 

about 18 inches apart in beds 5 feet wide and about 50 feet long 

under trees that make about 70% shade. Plant stratified seed 

(seed that has gone through a cold period – either overwinter 

or in a refrigerator) 3 inches apart in the furrow, cover the seeds 

with 3⁄4 inch of soil and lightly press down the soil. Rake the leaf 

litter back over the seedbed. If your soil needs something to 

correct the pH, gypsum or rock phosphate may be applied over 

the surface of the 

bed. The seed will 

germinate the next 

spring. In the wildsimulated method 

for ginseng, no more 

work is required 

after planting until 

the roots are dug 

six to ten years later. 

Since many of the 

medicinal plants 

need more than one year to mature for market, new beds should 

be planted every fall, for future harvests. 

One person can reasonably plant one acre or more each year 

with hand tools, even on steep hillsides. The quality of harvest 

depends on whether or not you have chosen a site that is good for 

your target plants. Preparing cultivated beds (woods-cultivated) 

under the forest canopy requires more labor, so it is more difficult 

to develop an acre of product using this method. You need small 

machinery such as a small tractor with a backhoe, and disking 

and cultivating equipment, in addition to farm tools such as 

shovels and rakes to cultivate medicinal plants. This has a higher 

cost because it needs more materials, equipment and/or labor. 

In this method, prepare a fine seed bed under the shade of the 

10 lbs. of ginseng seeds $800 

Planting labor 

(160 hrs. at $6/hr.)

 $960

Harvest labor 

(270 hrs. at $6/hr.) 

 $1,620

Drying labor 

(16 hrs. at $6/hr.) 

 $96 

Gypsum 

(16 - 50 lb. bags at $4/bag) 

 $64
31

Forest Farming

trees, using farming equipment. Plant seeds or 1 to 2 inch long 

root pieces the same way as in wild-simulated. However, with 

woods-cultivation, you may need to apply chemicals to protect 

the plants from weeds, insects and diseases. In terms of both labor 

and chemicals, this increases the cost of production. The more 

intensive management for woods-cultivation may give you higher 

yields than you would get with the wild-simulated method. 

Wild-simulated products often can be sold at a higher price than 

cultivated products, because they are grown without chemicals. 

According to some sources, a half acre of wild-simulated ginseng 

can yield about 80 lbs of roots, which is worth about $15,300 to 

$16,500 in net profit if sold at $260/lb. For the woods-cultivated 

method, assuming sales at $200 per pound, growers could 

average a gross income of $80,000, and a net profit of about 

$65,000. The same yield of cultivated ginseng (grown on raised 

beds under shade cloth in fields) sells at less than $100/lb and 

yields a net profit of about $25,000. These figures include costs 

for labor.

Materials and Equipment 

The costs of growing wild-simulated medicinal plants are 

different for each plant type. An example of the cost of growing 

half an acre of wild-simulated ginseng is as follows: 

Root yield Gross income Net income

50 lbs. $13,000 $9,232

75 lbs. $19,500 $15,732

100 lbs. $26,000 $22,232

The amount of money you may be able to get for growing half 

an acre of wild-simulated ginseng depends upon the yield of 

ginseng roots and future prices. If a low price of $260 per pound 

of dried roots is used, net income will be about $15,000. 

Economic Considerations 

Startup costs can range from $250 for wild-simulated to about 

$2,500 for a cultivated ginseng crop and depends much on the 

type of medicinal plant or plants you decide to grow. The costs 

could be higher if basic equipment such as a small tractor and 

cultivation tools for preparing the seedbeds have to be bought. 
32

Forest Farming

Recurring costs include labor to weed the beds and apply 

chemicals if needed. For information on growing ginseng in a 

forest, refer to: Boisvert, H., Nadeau, I. and Poisson, G. 2005. 

Ginseng Grown in the Woods, version 3.0. (Agdex 262-1) 

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Quebec, Canada. 

6 pg. 

Mushrooms

Introduction

Lots of different kinds of mushrooms grow in our woodlots, 

some can be eaten and others are poisonous. Fortunately, most 

of the ones you can eat look a lot different from the ones that 

can make you sick. In addition to the kinds of mushrooms 

that grow naturally in our woodlots, there are some that can 

be grown commercially. The major mushroom that is grown 

commercially is a Japanese mushroom called shiitake (Lentinula 

edodes). Most mushrooms grow either on the forest floor or on 

wood. Shiitake mushrooms are grown on our native hardwood 

trees. Although they can be grown on pine and other conifer 

trees, the resins in those trees make the mushrooms taste funny, 

so they are not recommended. 
33

Forest Farming

The Basics 

If you are interested in native mushrooms, the first step is to 

walk through your woods and see what kinds of mushrooms 

you find. Morels (Morchella spp.), often called dry land fish, are 

very valuable in the marketplace and are highly prized by chefs 

in restaurants. They appear in the spring, grow on the forest 

floor and have a cone-shaped cap with lots of pits or “holes” 

in them – they can be black, cream-colored or yellowish. They 

often can be found where there has been a fire, or near apple 

or elm trees (there might be apple trees in the woods where an 

old homestead once was). Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) 

are bright yellow mushrooms that also grow on the forest floor, 

often in groups, and their shape is like a vase rather than a 

rounded cap like many mushrooms. These two mushrooms are 

most likely found on north or east facing hillsides where the soil 

is damp and cool. Both are worth a lot in the marketplace, but 

are very difficult to control in any way. Other native mushrooms 

that can be grown commercially are: 

• Lion’s mane (Hericeum erinaceum), is a white or creamcolored mushroom that either looks like 

large cotton balls or like a frozen waterfall of 

little teeth in summer or fall. These are single 

mushrooms that can grow quite large and 

they often are found on hardwood trees that 

have been injured. 

• Hen-of-the-woods (also called maitake, Grifola frondosa), 

often grows at the 

base of trees and 

looks like turkey 

feathers, with 

many overlapping 

shell-like brown 

and cream-colored 

rosettes in the late 

summer or fall. 

• Wine cap or burgundy cap (Stropharia rugoso-annulata), 

can be found alone or in groups on the forest floor, but in 

areas that are more open, even in grassy areas in the spring 
34

Forest Farming

and summer. These reddishcapped mushrooms (which 

give them their common 

names) can grow to be very 

large, and are best picked 

when they are small – the 

size of button mushrooms in 

the market.

• Reishi (Ganoderma tsugae) is not a mushroom that can 

be eaten, but is used as a medicinal plant. When it forms 

a mushroom, usually 

growing on logs or 

stumps of conifer trees, 

it hardens quickly. When 

picked, it can be ground 

to a powder and put in 

capsules or made into 

tinctures. The Chinese 

call it “elixir of life.” These 

can be found all year, but usually grow from spring to fall.

Lion’s mane, hen-of-the-woods, and reishi can be grown on logs 

(hardwoods for the first two, and conifers for reishi). Wine cap 

can be grown on sawdust or wood chips. These mushrooms 

are all grown using a very similar method. You need logs of a 

size that you can lift and move around (usually 3 to 8 inches 

in diameter and 3 to 4 feet in 

length). The trees from which 

you get the logs must be alive 

and healthy at the time you 

cut them. Then you inoculate 

the logs with the spawn of 

the mushroom you want to 

grow. Spawn is a mixture of 

sawdust and spores of the 

mushrooms, with a little grain 

added for extra food for the 

growing mycelium, which is 

the main part of the organism. 

Mushrooms are the fruits of 

the organism. For shiitake, 
35

Forest Farming

sometimes the spawn comes in the form of small dowels which 

have been mixed with the spores so that the mycelium starts to 

grow. Inoculation is simply drilling holes in the logs, putting the 

spawn into the holes and sealing the holes with hot wax. Then 

the logs are left to incubate for several months before it is time 

for the mushrooms to start growing. 

Materials and Equipment 

To start a mushroom production business, you will need logs; 

a high-speed drill with wood bits; spawn; an inoculating tool 

if you use sawdust spawn; cheese wax and a flameless heat 

source (a second-hand deep fat fryer works well, or a hot 

plate); something to use to put the hot wax on the logs (dauber, 

paintbrush); aluminum tags; hammer and nails. It will protect 

your back if you have a high table or bench, or an X-shaped 

sawhorse to work on when you are drilling the logs. You will also 

need containers for selling the mushrooms, and a refrigerator 

to store them. Most of the mushrooms you can grow will 

take several months to incubate in the logs. Mushrooms like 

moisture, so you need to make sure the logs stay damp during 

their incubation period, and you will need either something 

like a stock watering trough or a sprinkler system to keep them 

damp. Check with your local Cooperative Extension Office to 

see if there are any inoculation workshops scheduled and go to 

one of those to get some hands-on experience. There also are 

materials on the Internet that can walk you through the steps of 

inoculation (for example, FOR-77 Growing Shiitake Mushrooms 

on Logs: Step-by-Step in Pictures from the Department of 

Forestry at the University of Kentucky). Materials and tools are 

also available from several sources around the U.S. If you are 

collecting native mushrooms, all you need are containers to 

collect them into (bags, baskets) and the time to go mushroom 

hunting.

Economic Considerations 

If you do not already own a high-speed drill (800-1000 rpm), 

that will be the most expensive start-up cost ($100-$200). Any 

kind of equipment that you need to buy for your mushroom 

operation (for example, an inoculation tool, $30-$40), will be 

a startup cost and will not need to be repeated. The cost of wax 

and spawn will be the next highest cost (approximately $25 
36

Forest Farming

for two pounds of sawdust spawn or 1,000 dowels – enough to 

inoculate 10-15 logs). If you do not have your own woodlot, 

then the logs themselves will be a cost ($1-$2/log). You may be 

able to work with an ongoing logging operation and get logs 

from the tops of trees or from large branches – this may reduce 

the cost of the logs. Once the logs have been inoculated, they 

can probably produce mushrooms for a few years (3-5 years, 

depending on the diameter of the logs). If you want a steady 

business for several years, you would be inoculating some new 

logs every year. Start small (maybe 50 or 100 logs) and find out 

how well the logs produce and whether or not you like working 

with logs and mushrooms. The mushroom season runs from 

early spring to late fall, and if you have a building in which 

you can control heat and humidity, it is possible to produce 

mushrooms all year long. Because the logs are usually stacked 

like cordwood several logs high, 50 or 100 logs don’t take up 

much space. They do need to be in an area where they will 

receive 80% or more shade year round, so if you have a little pine 

stand, that might be the best place to put the logs. 

Marketing these unusual mushrooms is the hard part. You will 

need to contact both local grocery stores, farmers’ markets and 

restaurant chefs to sell them. It would be good to check out 

the market possibilities before you inoculate logs, but if you 

start with a small number of logs, you have about six months 

to do your homework before the mushrooms start appearing. 

Throughout the South, shiitake mushrooms have sold from $8 to 

$16 a pound fresh weight, mainly in farmers’ markets. Selling to 

restaurants is like selling wholesale, so you would get less from 

them, but they can be very reliable customers. There is no set 

market like those for corn and soybeans for these mushrooms, 

so you have to make your own markets. If you don’t like working 

with the public and with small businesses like grocery stores, 

then this is not a good option for you. 
37

Forest Farming

Further Assistance and Information

Apiculture 

State Beekeeping Associations 

Beginning Beekeeping in Kentucky 

Crafts

Local or state crafts guilds or other organizations

Wood workers organizations

Local or state floral distributors/wholesalers 

Exotic and Native Mushrooms

Field & Forest Products, Inc. (WI) 

www.fieldforest.net/ 

Mushroom Harvest (OH) 

mushrooms@eureka.net 

Mushroompeople (TN) 

www.mushroompeople.com 

Northwest Mycological Consultants, Inc. (OR) 

www.nwmycol.com

Kentucky Shiitake Production Workbook VHS/DVD/CD: Growing 

and Marketing Shiitake Mushrooms on Natural Logs (KY) 

Fruits & Nuts

Cooperative Extension county offices, State Departments of 

Agriculture, Nut growers’ associations, Orchard organizations 

Maple Syrup 

North American Maple Syrup Producers Manual

Ohio State University

North American Maple Syrup Council

www.northamericanmaple.org

Leader Evaporator Co., Inc. 

www.leaderevaporator.com
38

Forest Farming

Dominion & Grimm Inc. 

dgusa@together.net 

LaPierre USA Inc.

http://www.elapierre.com/

Medicinals/Botanicals

W. Scott Persons. Green Gold (ginseng) 

Scott Persons and Jeanine M. Davis. Growing & Marketing 

Ginseng, Goldenseal & Other Woodland Medicinals

American Botanical Council

http://www.herbalgram.org/

American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) 

http://www.ahpa.org/ 

Aveda Corporation

http://www.aveda.com/ 

Botanical Liaisons 

http://www.botanicalliaisons.com/ 

Elk Mountain Herbs 

http://www.elkmountainherbs.com/ 

Frontier Herbs 

http://www.frontiercoop.com/ 

Hardscrabble Associates 

1061 Mountainview Rd., Waterbury, Vermont 05676, 

USA Pfizer 

http://www.pfizer.com/pfizer/main.jsp 

Steven Foster Group, Inc. 

http://www.stevenfoster.com/ 
39

Forest Farming

Success Stories

Jim Day 

Nashville, Tennessee

Jim Day built a hoop house to grow mushrooms year-round.

Jim Day wanted to grow shiitake (Lentinula edodes) 

mushrooms. This gourmet mushroom, originally from Japan, 

has become a mainstream mushroom in the United States over 

the past 30 years, and gets a good price in the marketplace. 

Starting in 2000, Jim inoculated a few logs, grew really nice 

mushrooms and established a marketing relationship with 

some restaurants in the Nashville, Tennessee area over the next 

year and a half. After his early success, in 2003, Jim expanded 

his operation from a spring-to-fall mushroom production 

to a year-round production. He also established his home 

place (about 5 wooded acres with his house in a suburban 

development north of Nashville) as Timbertop Farm (www.

timbertopfarm.com). In order to grow the mushrooms yearround, Jim built a hoop house, 10' by 20' with its long axis 

oriented east-west. It’s insulated on the north side and top, 

but has a non-insulated opening on the south side so that 

the winter sun can come in and help warm the inside of the 

building by passive solar heating. 

Jim wanted to work with white oak (Quercus alba) logs but was 

having problems with competing fungi on the bark of his logs. 
40

Forest Farming

This is not a good thing in a shiitake production operation, 

since it is really important to keep the tree bark on the logs 

while the mushrooms are incubating and producing. In 2006, 

he submitted (and received) a grant proposal to SARE to test 

different management techniques to see if he could solve this 

problem. From that research work, Jim learned the importance 

of paying close attention to the logs at all stages of development, 

keeping good records and an activity log, and monitoring labor 

hours and expenses to help determine the fair market value of 

your product. Jim also advises to start small and grow as you 

gain confidence, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and diversify.

Jim’s logs are mostly four to six inches in diameter and about 

three feet long. As a result of his research experience, Jim 

thinks that less is 

more, so he makes 

very few holes in 

his logs. When 

he first started, 

working alone, he 

inoculated logs 

with a series of two 

to three diagonal 

chainsaw kerfs, 

packed them with 

sawdust spawn and 

waxed them just the way you would with dowel or sawdust 

plug spawn. Today, with the information he got from his 

research grant, and from many trial and error processes, Jim 

has expanded his operation and now has 1,000 to 2,000 logs in 

production, which have been producing about 1,300 pounds of 

mushrooms in a March to December growing season. 

Since one of his best ideas was to diversify, in 2007 he built 

another, larger hoop house where he now grows gourmet greens, 

squashes (for the flowers), peppers and some oyster mushrooms, 

and is beginning to expand to outside production of other crops. 

He has an online order and delivery service and has turned his 

little “farm” into an economic success.
41

Forest Farming

Randy and Cindi Beavers 

OrganiPharm

Dalton, Georgia 

On their 40-acre family farm, Beavers and his wife Cindi own 

OrganiPharm and grow Hydrastis canadensis or goldenseal, a 

plant valued for its antimicrobial properties. From goldenseal, 

they manufacture liquid dietary supplements. Goldenseal is on 

the endangered species list due to overharvesting in the wild. 

Beavers developed a domesticated form of the plant that small 

farmers and landowners can grow. They have 23 growers in the 

Southeast and are a 100-percent, grower-owned company.

In 1993, Randy and Cindi Beavers saw that they would one 

day be faced with the choice of either selling her grandfather’s 

farm or moving there and trying to make a living. The couple 

spent three years learning about different crops. In 1996 they 

decided to build on their long time interest in native medicinal 

plants and try to grow several plant types organically, especially 

those considered endangered or threatened such as goldenseal 

(Hydrastis canadensis).

In the beginning, they did have another source of income. 

Although they could recognize certain medicinal plants where 

they grew naturally in the forest, Randy and Cindi had no 

farming experience. Starting out was even harder because there 

was very little information available on how to grow and market 

these plants profitably. After some “trial and error” in their first 

five years, they came to two important conclusions:

1.The small, independent grower is faced with an extremely 

limited market and therefore faces a very high degree of 

risk when trying to produce medicinal plants successfully. 

Producing these plants as a group of growers instead of alone 

allows the possibility of a wider distribution as well as the 

sharing of production techniques. 

2.Producing science-based, value-added products from native 

medicinal plants as a group or cooperative offered the greatest 

economic return for all the growers.

Using these ideas, Randy applied for grants and awards from 

the US Department of Agriculture’s Small Business Innovation 

Research Program (SBIR). Randy formed OrganiPharm, LLC 
42

Forest Farming

(OP) in 2007. OrganiPharm is a botanical product company 

that specializes in forest-grown medicinal plants. The company 

grows the raw material and processes it into various skin care 

products. OP currently has 12 member farms plus 11 additional 

participating growers located in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, 

and North Carolina. Over the past four years the group has 

developed about 10 acres of forest-cultivated goldenseal along 

with other medicinal plants such as ginseng, black cohosh, purple 

coneflower (Echinacea), and both elderberry flowers and fruit.

OrganiPharm increases grower/owner profits by producing a 

line of certified organic herbal extracts (USDA National Organic 

Program). The quality and reliability of their products have been 

recognized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through a 

new SBIR award to develop a series of goldenseal products to be 

used in NIH-funded clinical studies. 

Medicinal plant production is a type of “forest farming” which 

holds much economic promise for the future. Randy believes 

that the current trends of a) increased consumer awareness of 

where the products they buy come from, b) tighter regulations 

about product purity, and c) environmental concerns, will come 

together to make medicinal plant production a practical crop 

choice for an increasing number of family farms. However, 

growers must be careful when choosing the medicinal plant 

crop to grow, and should work with other growers of the same 

crops in order to maximize their marketing ability and share 

production and marketing information.

The information from the Beavers’ project was used to develop 

potential on-farm forest sites to match natural sites as closely as 

possible. They suggest the following preparation and planting 

procedures:

• Clear six to eight foot wide alleys between the larger trees of 

scrub and undergrowth using a small backhoe.

• Till four foot wide beds within the alleys. 

• Adjust soil pH to natural conditions (pH 6.0 - 6.5) with 

dolomitic lime. 

• Use goldenseal root pieces (rhizomes) as planting stock and 

divide into small pieces, each with a bud and at least one root. 
43

Forest Farming

(Based on their research, the rhizome is expected to double 

in size every two years, resulting in a harvest size of 18 to 20 

grams after four years.) 

• Plant the goldenseal rhizomes on a 6 x 6 inch spacing pattern - 

400 plants per 100 square feet. Because of tree locations, hills 

and slopes, and the need to keep enough space to work around 

the goldenseal beds, about 25% or 10,000 square feet of bed 

space is usable per acre, providing room for roughly 40,000 

plants per acre.

A summary of the production and yield assumptions underlying 

the 5-year financial projections for the project are presented in 

the tables below.

Table 1: Production Assumptions and Estimates 

Planting stock cost: $5,000 per acre

Labor: 120 man hours per acre for clearing, tilling, planting, 

mulching (labor supplied by family)

Plants per acre: 40,000 (harvest weight = 18 grams each)

Alkaloid content: Sleepy Hollow Farms’ average = 7.159%

$10 for each 1% alkaloids/pound farm price for goldenseal 

(i.e., 3% alkaloid = $30/lb.)

1/3 of the harvest replanted

Drying recovery factor: .32

Table 2: Yield Assumptions 

Estimated Yield and Return per 1⁄4 Acre

Yield per 1⁄4 acre 400 lbs (10,000 plants per 1⁄4 acre)

Yield allocation 133 lbs replanted, 277 lbs net 

fresh harvest, 89 lbs net dry 

harvest

Return per 1⁄4 acre $6,372 

(89 lbs dry harvest x $71.59/lb)
44

Forest Farming

Table 3 indicates an annual net income potential of $5,600 per 

acre for a small farmer with 1 acre of forestland suitable for 

goldenseal production and planted according to the following 

totally sustainable production system: 

• The farmer would plant 1/4 acre of goldenseal per year for 

4 years.

• In the 5th year the farmer would harvest the goldenseal 

planted in the 1st year.

• About 1/3 of that harvest would be replanted and harvested in 

another 4 years. 

• No income is received in years 1 through 4. In year 5 (the first 

harvest year), the farmer recovers 85% of the out-of-pocket 

expenses incurred in years 1 through 4.

• The price per pound received by OrganiPharm growers is 

roughly 3 times the bulk market price.

• Costs of production are based on actual information produced 

through the SBIR awards.

• The system is sustainable, with the planting stock cost of the 

first four years becoming a capital investment which doesn’t 

have to be repeated. 

• This system gives individuals thinking about starting a forest 

farming project an opportunity to develop a reliable income 

stream on a part-time basis before going full time. 

• It also allows existing farmers to diversify their operations 

without taking away from acreage used for other crops. 
45

Forest Farming

Table 3: Net Profit or Loss from One Complete 8-year 

Goldenseal Production Cycle

Item Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8

Planting 

Stock & 

Seed

$1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $0 $0 $0 $0 

Tractor & 

Equipment 

Cost

$250 $250 $250 $250 $125 $125 $125 $125 

Soil 

Amendments $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 

Property 

Taxes $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 

Organic 

Certification $500 $500 $500 $500 

Out of Pocket 

Expense $1,650 $1,650 $1,650 $1,650 $775 $775 $775 $775 

Income

0 0 0 0 $6,372 $6,372 $6,372 $6,372 

Profit or 

(Loss) ($1,650) ($1,650) ($1,650) ($1,650) $5,597 $5,597 $5,597 $5,597

Riparian Buffer Strips

47

Riparian Buffer Strips

RIPARIAN BUFFER 

STRIPS

Colmore S. Christian, Rory Fraser and Joshua Idassi

  

Introduction 

Riparian or streamside forests can improve your farm income 

by saving money or earning income. When planted correctly, they 

can protect water quality, stop erosion of stream banks, improve 

food and cover for wildlife, improve habitat for fish and other 

water creatures, and improve opportunities to make farm income 

through products harvested from the buffer. Lon Strum in Story 

County, Iowa, for example, says he has saved $10,000 since putting 

in a riparian buffer. Before he did, his tractor would occasionally 

get stuck on the banks of the creek. Now, he no longer loses his 

crops from flooding and enjoys the benefits of a healthy stream 

and improved wildlife habitat. Buffer strips and riparian zones 

around streams improve and maintain the overall integrity of the 

waterway and improve aesthetics.
48

Riparian Buffer Strips

Many designs for a riparian buffer strip include three zones of vegetation, 

each planted parallel to the stream. 

The combination of trees, shrubs, and grasses in a riparian 

buffer helps protect the stream and creates a better system than 

just planting a single type of tree. In addition, trees and shrubs 

provide well developed root systems and nutrient storage close 

to the stream. Landowner Strum says, “I don’t think we’ve 

lost hardly any stream bank since (the big floods of) 1993, but 

before, we were moving fences almost every year.” 

One of the biggest benefits of a riparian buffer is making good 

wildlife habitat. Native grasses and forbs provide different 

heights, densities, shapes of stems and leaves, different flowering 

times, and different flowers and fruits to attract several different 

species of wildlife. Strum says his riparian buffer “is the hunting 

paradise of Story County right here, especially for pheasant 

hunting. People have come from Alaska, Michigan, and all over 

Iowa. The demand is very large.”

The Basics

A typical riparian forest buffer usually has three primary 

management zones:

Zone I. A 30-foot area closest to the stream that is mostly trees 

that can withstand periods of flooding. The main effect of Zone 

1 is to stabilize the bank and provide woody “trash” for the 

stream habitat.
49

Riparian Buffer Strips

Zone II. A narrower (12 to 15 feet) area inland from Zone I with 

fast growing native shrubs that can withstand some flooding. 

Their primary water quality purpose is to take up and store 

nutrients. Woody stems also slow floodwater. This zone can be 

managed for additional income from nuts, berries or woody 

floral products.

Zone III. A wider (15 to 25 feet) area between crop fields or 

grazing lands and the shrub zone of the buffer strip that filters 

and absorbs nutrients and chemicals from the fields, keeping 

them from polluting the stream. Native grasses, forbs, sedges, 

reeds, and wildflowers are good for their multiple benefits and 

ability to withstand changing conditions, but dense, stiffstemmed introduced grasses can also be effective.

Design

The first step in creating a buffer is developing a design that will 

work. You are strongly encouraged to make a sketch of the buffer 

on an aerial photo of the property and identify major problem 

areas, such as severe bank erosion, gullies, drainage tiles, and so 

forth. List the cash crops to be considered and make sure those 

trees, shrubs, and grasses grow in your plant zone (contact your 

local NRCS office for help with this). 

If the stream banks are badly damaged, you may need to mend 

them with either plant or rock systems, or a combination of the 

two. To get professional help with this restoration contact your 

local Cooperative Extension Office, state forestry agency, USDA 

Service Center, or Conservation District.

The design should also address special problem areas, and 

should address three different locations:

In the Stream. What is the present condition of the streambed 

and the stream banks? You may want to consider the channel 

bed material, and whether or not the stream is downcutting. 

Look at points of erosion on the stream bank, such as slipping 

or bank undercutting. These areas may need to have their bank 

regraded with equipment, and then properly stabilized to slow 

or stop future bank erosion. Fish habitats may be a consideration 

in designing changes to the streambed.
50

Riparian Buffer Strips

Next to the Stream. Plants growing on land in direct contact 

with the upper edge of the stream bank can both stop or slow 

erosion and act as a living filter. This area can also function to 

filter flood debris and slow flood waters. You should consider the 

question: What and where is the problem I need to address? This 

question will help decide the kinds of trees, shrubs and grasses 

you choose, and how close you plant them to one another. 

Trees, shrubs and grasses differ in how well they can withstand 

flooding. Planting trees/shrubs/grasses in this area should also 

take into account the kinds of soils you have and how likely the 

area is to flood. Be sure and obtain a detailed soil map of your 

area. Soils maps can be obtained from your local NRCS office 

or from the Web Soil Survey at http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.

gov. Choose the type and kinds of plants that are adapted to your 

land and soil. Choose trees and shrubs that are deep rooting 

and good shade producers. Shade lowers water temperatures, 

reduces growth of algae and improves the oxygen content of the 

water. Forest farming opportunities within the riparian forest 

buffer can be explored. For example, crop trees such as walnut 

and cherrybark oak as well as ornamental shrubs and berries, or 

vegetation suitable for wildlife habitats, may also be grown here.

Between Buffer and Crops. This area is the first defense against 

direct runoff from neighboring land uses. Native grasses and 

forbs are most often used in this area.

Warm season grasses with stiff stems are preferred; however, it is 

again a good idea to check soil types and flood frequencies and 

durations to make sure that the grass of choice will do well and 

stay for the long term. These grasses should provide good soil 

coverage that will slow the overland flow of water, allowing it to 

penetrate the soil, and induce suspended sediments to drop out. 

Warm-season grasses are often used because they have both stiff 

stems and deep roots. This area may be very good for developing 

wildlife habitat. 

Materials

A list of the different plant types, their planting location and 

spacing are a very important part of the design sketch. Include in 

your design some types of plants that can be used as cash crops 

in the short term as well as the long term. There are certain types 

of trees and vegetation that are more adapted to grow and thrive 
51

Riparian Buffer Strips

in riparian buffer areas. Care should be taken to select plants 

and trees that do well with wetter streamside soils and that 

meet potential wildlife needs on the site. The landowner should 

consult with their county forester or a cooperative extension 

agent to determine the best species to plant and to review any 

design. Local and state nurseries sell a variety of wetland and 

streamside trees that a landowner can choose from. If beavers 

are present in the area where the buffer is to be installed, care 

should be taken to protect planted trees from damage. See Table 

1 for potential streamside tree species to use in riparian forest 

buffer plantings and design. This list is intended to be used only 

as a basic guide. Each restoration site is different; therefore, 

planting plans should be developed on a case-by-case basis. Not 

all of the plants listed in the following tables are appropriate for 

all riparian buffer sites. Consult with local plant guides and/or 

plant professionals if in doubt about your buffer plan.

The following website is a good source for additional information 

on possible species: http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/

extension/wqg/sri/stream_rest_guidebook/appendix_f.pdf

Economic Considerations

Costs

Costs will depend on the problem and the possible solution. 

However, most costs such as streambed changes, planting 

trees and perennial shrubs occur only once. Grasses may need 

to be re-planted from time to time. Streambed changes can 

cost anywhere from $10 to $100 per foot; much of the cost is 

for heavy equipment and materials such as rocks and stones. 

Streamside efforts could cost from $500 to $1,000 per acre; 

much of that cost is for labor and plant materials.

Products

At the same time, many products produced in a riparian 

buffer can have cash value in addition to their conservation 

and environmental benefits. Florist or craft stores use a variety 

of plants, plant parts, and plant stems. Many local stores are 

interested in buying locally and sustainably grown materials 

such as berries and nut crops and even some timber products 

grown in riparian buffers. Some examples of specialty forest 
52

Riparian Buffer Strips

products from riparian areas include nuts (chestnut, pecan, 

black walnut), fruits (black cherry, currants, elderberry, pawpaw, 

persimmon), woody decorative florals (dogwood, willows, 

witchhazel, bittersweet), and medicinals and botanicals (black 

cohosh, ginseng, mayapple, sumac, Culver’s root). 

In addition, one of the most notable benefits of a buffer is 

the creation of effective wildlife habitats, thus providing 

opportunities for fee hunting, fee fishing, and nature/farm 

tourism related to wildlife viewing and outdoor experiences.

Further Assistance and Information

Technical 

•	NRCS/Conservation District – maps and information on soils; 

plan development; practice design

•	State Cooperative Extension Service –identifying problems/

opportunities and developing plans

•	Local university faculty – current information on design and 

evaluation of buffers

•	State Forestry Division or Commission – information on 

suitable local/native trees and shrubs

•	State Fish and Wildlife Service – information on fish and 

wildlife habitats

Financial

There are many state and federal agencies offering programs 

that can be used to help plant and maintain riparian forests 

on private land or reimburse participants for installing these 

practices. One of these agencies is the USDA Farm Service 

Agency (FSA) that offers three different programs that support 

riparian forest buffer management: the Conservation Reserve 

Program (CRP), the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program 

(CCRP), and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program 

(CREP). Each of these programs is designed to protect lands 

that can easily be damaged by wind and water by offering 

annual rental payments and cost-share to help establish 
53

Riparian Buffer Strips

various conservation practices. These programs also offer other 

financial incentives to landowners who agree to protect their 

land and keep it out of marketable production for a number of 

years. A partial listing of USDA programs that are available to 

landowners includes:

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) 

•	Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) 

•	Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP)

•	Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

•	Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

•	Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

•	Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

For more information on these programs go to www.nrcs.usda.

gov/programs/ and www.fsa.usda.gov/programs/. 
54

Riparian Buffer Strips

Table 1. Typical riparian forest buffer species 

for the Southeast

Common name (Scientific name)

Trees

ash, green (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)*

ash, white (Fraxinus americana) *

baldcypress (Taxodium distichum)

birch, river (Betula nigra)

cottonwood (Populus deltoides)

hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

hickory, shellbark (Carya laciniosa)

maple, boxelder (Acer negundo)

maple, silver (Acer saccharinum)

maple, red (Acer rubrum)

oak, bur (Quercus macrocarpa)

oak, pin (Quercus palustris)

oak, Nuttall (Quercus nuttallii)

oak, willow (Quercus phel/os)

oak, laurel (Quercuslaurifolia)

oak, overcup (Quercuslyrata)

oak, swamp white (Quercus bicolor)

oak, cherrybark (Quercus pagoda)

oak, shumard (Quercus shumardii)

native pecan (Carya iIIinoinensis)

persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)

sugarberry (Celtislaevigata)

sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

walnut, black (Juglans nigra)

Shrubs

alder, hazel (Alnus serrulata)

buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

cane, giant (Arundinaria gigantea)

dogwood, silky (Comus amomum)

dogwood, rough leaf (Comus drummondii)

hawthorn, green (Crataegus viridis)

holly, deciduous (Ilex opaca)

privet, swamp (Forestiera acuminata)

Eastern wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus)

willow, black (Salix nigra)

willow, coastal plain (Salix caroliniana)

* Use these species with caution due to potential emerald green ash borer concerns.
55

Riparian Buffer Strips

Success Story

Frances and Will Powers 

Oconee County, Georgia

For three generations, the Breedlove family in Oconee County 

raised their children on the family homestead. Ann (Breedlove) 

Powers wanted to do the same thing. Rising property taxes, 

increasing pressure to sell to developers in this highly lucrative 

market, and the cost of maintaining the farm was making 

hanging onto the land more and more difficult.

That’s when the Powers family heard about something called the 

Farm and Rangelands Protection Program (FRPP) and made 

a visit to the United States Department of Agriculture Service 

Center in Watkinsville.

The first step was to develop a conservation plan for the farm 

with the help of USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service 

(NRCS). NRCS provides the technical expertise on the land 

that helps determine the best use of all their resources in a way 

that conserves the natural resources for future generations. To 

participate in the federal conservation programs, you must have 

a conservation plan.

Cost-share programs from USDA’s Farm Services Agency, 

NRCS, the Georgia Forestry Commission and others helped 

provide the funds to implement the farm renovation. Large 

riparian buffers were established and alternate water sources for 

livestock were constructed to help keep water clean and safe. 

Trees were planted to provide habitat for wildlife. Nutrient and 

pest management assistance is provided on an ongoing basis.

Now the heart of the farm, the home place, has been preserved 

through the joint efforts of the Athens Land Trust, Oconee 

County, the Georgia Greenspace Program, NRCS, the Oconee 

County Partnership for Farmland Protection and, of course the 

Powers themselves.

The development rights for 60 acres have been purchased 

using funds from Oconee County’s GA Greenspace grant and 
56

Riparian Buffer Strips

NRCS’ Farmland Protection Program. These rights are held in 

perpetuity by the Athens Land Trust through a conservation 

easement.

The fourth generation, Frances and Will Powers, agreed to carry 

on the agricultural heritage of their ancestors and have ensured 

that agricultural benefits will be available to residents of Oconee 

County for generations to come.

Acknowledgment 

The primary source for the information contained in this section 

was obtained from The Center for Agroforestry at the University 

of Missouri.
Silvopasture

57

Silvopasture

SILVOPASTURE

O. U. Onokpise and J. Hamilton

Introduction

A silvopasture system integrates trees, forages, livestock and 

related animals and plant species. This practice can occur under 

planted pines, fruit and nut orchards, and/or other types of 

woodland, depending on the objectives and circumstances of the 

landowner. Silvopasture systems are managed to produce highvalue timber products and possibly fruit crops in the long term 

while obtaining short-term economic benefit from the livestock 

and forage components. In the southeastern United States, 

livestock may be large ruminants such as bison and cattle, small 

ruminants, such as goats and sheep, or even domestic geese 

sometimes used in fruit tree orchards.

Establishing a silvopasture system requires many economic 

and management considerations to ensure its success in the 

long run. Landowners have shown impressive revenue benefits 

from their silvopasture practices. For example, George Owens 

in Florida realized more than a 10% increase in annual revenue 

by combining beef cattle with pine trees on his land. Allen 

Edwards, highlighted in the USDA National Agroforestry 

Center publication Inside Agroforestry, showed that a traditional 

tree farm focused on sawlog production may net $150 per acre 

per year, while an integrated enterprise (of trees and sheep and/

or goats) may yield up to $500 per acre per year. In woodlands, 

other than pine plantations, which have problems with invasive 

woody shrubs, managed browsing by goats and other small 

ruminants can be effective. This will also reduce fuel loads and 

lower fire risks from wildfires. These sites can then be developed 

into permanent silvopasture systems. The end result will be a 

more sustainable land use. It should be noted that other animals, 

such as geese, when used as weeders in fruit and nut tree 

orchards assist in the management of insect pests. 
58

Silvopasture

Various options for silvopasture systems exist for landowners, 

for example:

•	 Wood and pasture for hay and silage 

•	 Wood and grazing livestock (cattle, bison, sheep, llamas) 

•	 Wood and browsing livestock (goats) 

•	 Fruits and nuts with weeder birds (geese, ducks, turkeys) 

•	 Christmas trees and sheep

Agencies such as the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation 

Service (NRCS) and the USDA-Forest Service (FS) assist with 

the establishment and management of silvopasture by providing 

specialized funding and technical assistance. Procedures and 

methods for designing and managing silvopasture systems are 

given in the next section.

Goats grazing on a thinned 

hardwood stand. Courtesy O.U. 

Onokpise and A. McKenzie-Jakes 

(Florida A&M University)

Fenced paddocks for rotational 

grazing goats. Courtesy Uma Karki 

(Tuskegee University)

Goats browsing underbrush in 

woodland. Courtesy Uma Karki 

(Tuskegee University)

Goats pulling down a vine from a tree 

in woodland. Courtesy Uma Karki 

(Tuskegee University)
59

Silvopasture

Advantages of Silvopasture

Livestock creates short-term cash flow not available with 

traditional forestry

Shade from trees protects animals and improves their health

Shade improves growth of forages

Makes property more beautiful and adds additional habitat

Improves nutrient cycling

Adds to on-going pasture operations

Nitrogen fixing forage crops also benefit trees and vice-versa

Reduces erosion on grazing land

Disadvantages of Silvopasture

Using equipment may be more difficult

Intensive grazing management is required

Fencing cost will increase as more paddocks are formed

Animals may be exposed to fruits/seeds or toxins from 

certain shrubs or trees

The three parts of the system require skilled labor for 

management

In the beginning, finding markets for additional products can 

be challenging

Livestock can harm trees and shrubs if not protected properly

Source: Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri, Missouri Training Manual 

for Applied Agroforestry Practices

Cattle grazing in a mature pine 

silvopasture system. Enough light 

reaches the ground floor to promote forage growth, yet the shade 

reduces heat stress and allows cattle 

to retain better weight. Courtesy 

Jim Hamilton (NC Cooperative 

Extension)

A beautiful silvopasture with slash 

pine and mixed forage. Courtesy 

Jim Hamilton (NC Cooperative 

Extension)
60

Silvopasture

The Basics

A planted pine silvopasture system is the most widely practiced 

and utilized form of silvopasture in the southeastern United 

States. Silvopastures can be accomplished in one of several ways: 

1.Converting an existing pine plantation into a silvopasture 

2.Converting an open pasture into a silvopasture

3.Converting a tree orchard such as walnuts or pecan into a 

silvopasture

4.Converting an existing woodland into a silvopasture

Before embarking on a silvopasture system, check with your 

local county extension agent, USDA Service Center, and other 

organizations that may be able to help you get more information 

about tree species, forages, and livestock options for your 

property. You should choose appropriate silvopasture methods 

and objectives for your property based on local markets, the lay 

of your land, access to water, personal preferences and finances. 

It is important to identify the materials, equipment costs and 

potential benefits to be derived from the particular silvopasture 

operation. In other words, you should do a cost-benefit analysis 

to determine if silvopasture is the best option for you. This will 

help you decide. Do you really want to practice silvopasture and 

what are your objectives? Site selection and determining thinning, 

land preparation, seeding and fertilization costs are important. If 

you are converting an existing plantation to silvopasture, you will 

need to thin the existing stand to single or double tree rows (the 

latter being preferred). You will have to work with a professional 

forester who understands your objectives for this sort of thinning. 

If you don’t already have livestock, you should also research breeds 

of domestic animals to use and where to obtain these breeds. For 

example, while cattle producers may be relatively common in your 

area, there may not be many goat producers.

Design

Southern pines — loblolly, longleaf, and slash (see Table 1) — 

are compatible with forage production and livestock grazing 

when properly managed. While a number of hardwood species 

have been successfully incorporated into silvopasture systems 

with grazing animals, these species typically take a longer time 
61

Silvopasture

to establish and reach maturity, thus increasing the rotation 

period between timber harvests for the landowner.

Trees planted in rows often perform poorly if they do not have at 

least one side in full sun. Therefore, for maximizing growth, single 

or double rows are generally preferred over triple or multiple rows 

of trees. There seems to be no disadvantage to planting in double 

rows compared to single rows, although single-row plantings 

seem to exhibit less tree-to-tree competition. 

The planting arrangement for the tree component of silvopasture 

may change depending upon the landowner’s objective in 

achieving timber and forage growth and wildlife habitat. It can 

also influence production costs and equipment accessibility. 

However, a healthy tree stocking range for silvopasture 

establishment is typically between 200 to 400 trees per acre.

Management

Livestock must be intensively managed in silvopasture systems. 

Timing and duration of grazing, stocking rates, and carrying 

capacity of the pasture must be carefully monitored to maintain 

site quality and tree seedling survival, thus minimizing 

damage to seedlings by trampling and rubbing, and preventing 

overgrazing and soil compaction. Depending on the density and 

growth rate of forage, livestock must be rotated between pastures 

to sustain growth and productivity of forages. A comprehensive 

grazing management plan — fencing or paddocks, periodic 

burning, rotational grazing, fertilization, placement of watering 

and/or supplemental feeding areas—must be implemented to 

maintain a silvopasture system.

Trees should be established or spaced to optimize growing 

space and light penetration for high-quality sawlogs and forage. 

Forest sites may require thinning and some tillage to provide 

a favorable seedbed for germination and growth of selected 

forages. Research shows that legumes under the pine canopy 

perform better than legume forage in open areas. On pasture 

sites, weed/forage suppression and competition control (through 

subsoiling, herbicides, tillage, and/or mulch) may be required 

for 2 to 3 years to establish tree seedlings, but must be carefully 

selected to avoid damaging desirable plants. (From Silvopasture: 

Establishment & Management Principles for Pine Forests in the 

Southeastern United States)
62

Silvopasture

Materials 

While a silvopasture system does not require out of the 

ordinary farm equipment or materials, the type of silvopasture 

system(s) will determine your material and supply needs. 

Additional or portable fencing may be needed and watering 

structures or other similar strategies are going to be necessary. 

You can use existing tractors and plows to convert plantations 

and pastures into silvopasture. Seeds, if pasture and other 

crops are to be established, are an additional supply as well 

as housing for animals. Depending on the livestock used, 

moveable housing for the silvopasture (e.g. poultry) may be 

necessary. A farmer or landowner should see his or her county 

extension agent or state forestry agency for information on 

suppliers for specific components of silvopasture. For example, 

tree seedlings can be obtained from your state’s Forestry 

Commission or Division of Forestry. 

Light disking between trees for planting forage seeds. Courtesy O.U. 

Onokpise.

Economic Considerations

Integrating trees, forage, and livestock creates a land management 

system to produce marketable products while maintaining longterm productivity. Economic risk is reduced because the system 

produces multiple products, most of which have an established 

market. Production costs are reduced and marketing flexibility 

is enhanced by distributing management costs between timber 
63

Silvopasture

and livestock components. Before a new silvopasture system 

is established, the landowner should explore thoroughly their 

economic and environmental considerations along with local 

land use, zoning, cost-share program, and tax regulations. 

Forest and agricultural land may have separate zoning and 

land-use regulations accompanied by different tax assessments. 

Environmental requirements (e.g., planting trees, streamside 

protection, and wildlife habitat maintenance) also may vary 

with land use. (From Silvopasture: Establishment & Management 

Principles for Pine Forests in the Southeastern United States) 

There are several initial establishment costs to consider:

1.Site Preparation: Clearing the site - either mechanically or 

with herbicide (cost of equipment + labor + herbicide) 

2.Tilling and plowing rows of trees for planting or between 

thinned tree rows for pasture establishment 

3.Soil sampling and fertilizer amendments (if necessary)

4.Seed and/or seedling cost

5.Labor cost associated with planting and/or introducing 

livestock into the silvopasture system

6.Fencing (permanent or temporary; electric high tensile or 

portable polywire; solar or traditional)

7.Establishing firebreaks (if fire will be a management option or 

concern)

In addition, there are recurring long-term costs that should also 

be noted:

1.Tax value classification of the system. Does your system 

qualify for tax breaks?

2.Yearly costs for annual crops/forage establishment (seed, 

herbicide, labor, equipment, etc.)

3.Fence maintenance

4.Livestock management expenses

5.Watering facilities/structures for livestock 

6.Fertilizer amendments (for forage, crops and/or trees 

including fruit trees)

7.Labor costs for pruning and/or harvesting
64

Silvopasture

Products

Many products can be integrated into a silvopasture system to 

enhance short term and long-term benefits. Some examples 

include:

Trees Timber, fence posts, fire or fuelwood, 

pulpwood, and sawtimber

Orchards Fruits, nuts, Christmas trees, straw, 

grapes, etc.

Animals Domesticated: meat, eggs, milk, wool 

and feathers, especially from quail and 

pheasants

Non-domesticated: wildlife habitat, 

personal hunting and hunting leases

Pastures Grazing areas, hay, silage and others

Further Assistance and Information

Technical

Silvopasture Online Course

http://www.silvopasture.org

USDA National Agroforestry Center 

http://www.unl.edu/nac/silvopasture.htm

Auburn University

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/agrn/silvopasture/silvopastureindex.htm

The Center for Subtropical Agroforestry 

http://sfrc.ifas.ufl.edu/cstaf/

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry 

http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/practices/sp.asp

Association for Temperate Agroforestry (AFTA) 

http://www.aftaweb.org/silvopasture.php
65

Silvopasture

TreeSearch

http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us

Appalachian Farming Systems Research Center-USDA 

Agricultural Research Service 

http://www.ars.usda.gov/pandp/people/publications.htm? 

personid=1685

Dale Bumpers Small Farm Research Center – USDA 

Agricultural Research Service

http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.

htm?accn_no=412583

Financial 

There are a number of cost-share and incentive programs 

and grants for landowners interested in the establishment of 

a silvopasture system. You may contact your local extension 

office, NRCS office, or Soil and Water Conservation office for 

information regarding the following cost-share/incentive plans:

•	 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) – USDA 

NRCS

•	 Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) – USDA NRCS

•	 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) – USDA NRCS

•	 Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education Program 

(SARE) – USDA NIFA

•	 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) – Quail 

Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, and National Wild Turkey 

Federation.
66

Silvopasture

References

Clason, T.R. 1995. Economic implications of silvopastures on 

southern pine plantations. Agroforestry Systems. 29:227-238.

 

Garrett, H.E., W.J. Rietveld, and R.F. Fisher. 2000. North 

American Agroforestry: An integrated science and practice. 

Madison, WI, American Society of Agronomy. 

Gordon-Bradley, N., O. Onokpise, J. Muchovej, B. Macoon, 

C. Louime and L. Anderson. 2008. Tifton-9 bahiagrass 

performance in widely spaced loblolly pine trees used for 

silvopasture. European Journal of Scientific Research 22:422-432.

Hamilton, J. 2008. Silvopasture: Establishment principles for 

pine trees in the Southeastern United States. USDA National 

Agroforestry Center, Lincoln, Nebraska.

 

Lewis, C.E., G.W. Tanner, and W.S. Terry. 1985. Double vs. single 

row pine plantations for wood and forage production. Southern 

Journal of Applied Forestry. 9 (1):55-61.

 

Nowak, J., A. Long, and A. Blount. 2004. Establishment of 

silvopasture in existing pastures. IFAS Extension Publ. FOR107. 

University of Florida.

 

Onokpise, O.U. 2005. Silvopasture options for small 

landowners. In: Agroforestry Options for Small landowners. 

CMISID:SAF1100A103. Society of American Foresters.

 

Onokpise, O. A.N. Strong, A. McKenzie-Jakes and L. Whilby. 

2004. Goats among Trees. A Silvopastoral possibility. CSTAF 

Factsheet 6; University of Florida Center for Subtropical 

Agroforestry.

 

USDA National Agroforestry Center: Inside Agroforestry Vol. 

16. Issue #3.
67

Silvopasture

Table 1. Suitable pine species for silvopasture. 

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda): Loblolly pine is the most 

commonly planted commercial yellow pine species in the 

Southeast and typically has the fastest growth of the pine 

species. Loblolly is suitable to plant in well drained upland 

areas or clay soils. Loblolly typically requires more frequent 

pruning as it has more branches and produces more shade 

than the other southern pine species. 

Slash pine (Pinus elliotii): A good self-pruner, grows well 

in moderate to poorly drained sandy soils. Light canopy 

cover produces less shade. Slash pine is commonly 

planted throughout the Coastal Plains of Florida, South 

Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama. However, with 

smaller branches, slash pine is susceptible to ice damage 

which should be considered in more northern latitudes.

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris): Much of the southeastern 

United States used to be naturally covered in longleaf 

pine. Due to overharvesting, replanting to loblolly pine, and 

fire suppression, there are few remaining natural stands. 

Longleaf has the highest value timber of the southern 

pines, but traditionally required the longest rotation length 

due to the “grass-stage” that seedlings may remain in 

until release from this stage. New herbicides are available 

to release longleaf from this grass stage within one 

year. Longleaf can be planted in upland or wetter sites. 

Containerized seedlings are highly recommended for 

longleaf pine.

From Silvopasture: Establishment & Management Principles 

for Pine Forests in the Southeastern United States
68

Silvopasture

Success Story

The Legacy Continues

By Angela McKenzie-Jakes

Extension Animals Science Specialist 

Research and Cooperative Extension Programs 

Florida A&M University

The land grant universities and their Cooperative Extension 

programs throughout the Southeast provide educational 

programming, events and activities to small-scale farmers/

producers on alternative land use enterprises. These include 

programs on livestock 

enterprises such as beef 

cattle, meat goat, pastured 

poultry, and small-scale 

swine production and 

marketing, as well as 

timber and non-timber 

land use alternatives such 

as forest farming and 

silvopasture. The three 

ladies featured in this 

article are from Florida. 

With assistance from their 

land grant university, they 

converted their traditional 

family farm into a meat 

goat enterprise. They 

implemented a silvopasture system that integrates meat goats 

into their managed pine woodlands. Here is their story:

“My father was born in Jasper, Florida on my grandparent’s 

farm in 1919,” explains Eunice Cornelius. “At six years old, 

his father died leaving behind his mother and four children 

to farm the land. When his brother and sisters grew older, 

they moved away and my father and my grandmother stayed 

in Jasper and continued to farm. In the early years, they grew 

peanuts, tobacco, soybeans and they raised fowl, cattle and hogs. 

Eventually, my father began buying his own property. In 1948, 

he built a grocery store and he sold watermelons, corn and peas 

Eunice Cornelius, Norma Tillman and 

Willonese Adams
69

Silvopasture

that he grew on his farm. He also sold other traditional items in 

his store. As far as I know, he was the first black man in Jasper, 

Florida to own a grocery store.”

She continues, “In the early 90s, he became a member of the 

local Cattleman’s Association in Hamilton County and he 

donated some space on his land for the association to put 

a billboard which could be seen northbound on I-75. The 

billboard read, ‘Home of Alberta and Charlie Cross’ and below 

on the billboard was written ‘sponsored by the Cattleman’s 

Association.’ Shortly after my father passed, I started attending 

classes on goat production and management at Florida A&M 

University (FAMU) to become a better manager of my goat 

herd. When my mother became ill, I couldn’t go as often so, 

I asked two of my dearest friends, sisters Norma Tillman and 

Willonese Adams, to attend some of the training activities and 

bring the information back to me.”

“When I retired,” Norma explains, “I was looking for a way 

to pay the taxes on our land. We weren’t making any money 

from the land and the taxes were very high. I thought if we 

did something on the land we could at least get an agriculture 

exemption.” Her sister Willonese adds, “Our goal was also to 

keep the land in the family because it’s tied to our heritage. We 

had a lot of wonderful memories of what our grandfather did on 

the land. He grew tobacco, peas, corn, tomatoes, okra and beans 

on his land, and he loved gardening.”

Norma continues, “When I started accompanying Eunice to the 

workshops, I slowly became interested in raising goats on our 

farm.” Willonese laughs, “I thought that was the craziest thing I 

had ever heard. However, I became involved with raising goats 

because I could see Norma needed help. It’s really a lot of work 

for one person to manage a goat herd by themselves. Some 

things I am better at than Norma such as record keeping, but 

Norma is an excellent herdsman.” 

When asked what was the key to their success, they all agreed 

that attending educational and training activities has helped 

them tremendously. “We don’t know everything because new 

things are happening with our goats that didn’t occur the year 

before,” says Norma. “I was the first child in our family to go 
70

Silvopasture

to college,” Willonese continues. “I went to Talladega College 

and majored in biology.” Norma adds, “I earned a degree 

in social science at Florida Memorial. Therefore, we know 

the value of a good education and that knowledge is power. 

Besides, as teachers we had to keep our certificates updated, 

so why not keep up with the changes in the goat industry? As 

certified Master Goat Producers, we really feel more confident 

in managing our goat herds and more confident in standing by 

the prices we ask for our animals. If we can get more producers 

on the same page, we feel we all can get a fairer price for our 

animals.”

When asked whether they were sharing the information they 

received with other producers in the community, Willonese 

responded, “Many of the farmers we know, especially minority 

farmers, are not aware of the different programs that are 

available to them. So, we are establishing a black farmer’s 

association in Hamilton County to keep minority farmers 

informed about the educational opportunities and services 

available to them.”

At the feed store in Lake City, Florida the employees often 

recommend to other goat producers, products that Norma 

buys for her goats. If someone calls the store about a question 

concerning goats they are referred to Norma. 

Willonese was recently appointed to serve on the Southern 

Region Risk Management Education Center Advisory Council 

and also serves on the SARE Advisory Board for Florida which 

means she will have more insight on other programs available 

to small and limited resource farmers. Norma is also on the 

SARE Advisory Board for Florida, the Florida Small Farm 

Expo Planning Committee with the University of Florida and 

she continues to present the poisonous plants segment of the 

Master Goat Producer’s Certification Program at FAMU to 

other producers.  

When asked about their future goals, Eunice stated that her 

goal is to open a bed and breakfast on her farm where guests 

will have an opportunity to pet and feed the goats and pick 

various fruits and vegetables from her garden. “We want to 

incorporate value-added products in our business to enhance 
71

Silvopasture

our profit margin,” Willonese continued. “My son-in-law 

is also a certified Master Goat Producer and my daughter, 

granddaughter and niece are helping with our goat business, so 

the legacy will continue.”

For more information about the Master Goat Producer’s 

Certification Program at FAMU, contact Angela McKenzieJakes (Program Coordinator) at (850) 875-8557 or angela.

mckenziejakes@famu.edu. And visit their websites at http://www.

famu.edu/goats and http://www.famu.edu/herds. Reprinted with 

permission of Cierra Publishing Company, Minority Landowner 

Magazine, Victor L. Harris, publisher and editor.

Windbreaks

73

Windbreaks

WINDBREAKS

Sarah Workman

Introduction

When designed and planted correctly on a farm, a windbreak 

can improve farm income opportunities and the environment, 

define property lines and create wildlife habitat. By looking at 

how the windbreak (trees and shrubs) relates to the neighboring 

fields or buildings, you can think how its layout can meet your 

production or protection needs. 

Wind causes erosion, transports dust, and carries spray drift and 

other pollutants. Wind also slows plant growth and can damage 

plants and buildings. Windbreaks can protect soil from erosion, 

create shelter for livestock and help reduce the loss of irrigation 

water. A good windbreak can serve as a sound barrier to 

decrease traffic noise and help reduce odors from animal barns 

and sheds. They often screen ugly views as well as help reduce 

the spread of dust. 

Production of many fruit and vegetable crops improve with 

protection from wind and from early or late season frost. For 

example, these protections can improve flower and fruit quality 

of peppers, tomatoes, melons, and strawberries or the stem 

form of cut-flowers. Protecting livestock from too much heat 

and cold lowers animal stress and increases their weight gain 

or milk production. Windbreaks can help save energy in the 

home and on-farm by keeping cold wind away from buildings 

in winter months. 

A windbreak is a continuous, but not solid, barrier of trees 

and shrubs. The height of the plants controls how far wind 

protection is effective on the downwind side, and the tree 

spacing (density or thickness) determines the level of protection. 

The general rule is a windbreak will reduce wind to a distance 

10 times the height (H) of the trees and reduce wind speed 70% 
74

Windbreaks

to 80% immediately inside the barrier. Windbreaks also reduce 

wind speed for 2 to 5 times the height of the windbreak (2H to 

5H) on the upwind side.

Though it may take awhile to establish a good windbreak, you will find the 

benefits outweigh the cost.

The Basics

A major key to a successful windbreak is recognizing what you 

want it to do on your land. The next step is to understand how 

a successful windbreak works and what makes a good design. 

The final step is planting the kinds of trees and shrubs in the 

windbreak that will make it work for you. Also, a relatively low 

value fencerow that you already have, with some imagination, 

common sense, and effort can be converted into a valuable 

windbreak investment. There is a lot of online information on 

windbreaks available through the Internet (see the Resources 

section at end of this document). 

Design

Windbreak design depends on the goals and uses you have in 

mind. In planning, think about your land, what you want to 

do, and the wind related problems: What do I want from this 

planting? What needs to be protected: crops/orchards; livestock; 

roads or fields/soil; buildings; privacy? This careful look at your 

land and your goals brings up questions such as: 

•	 Which direction(s) does wind cause the most problem(s)?

•	 When do your livestock or crops need the most wind protection?
75

Windbreaks

•	 Are there concerns about summer air movement in the livestock 

area or planting zone? 

•	 Are you interested in choosing tree and shrub types and a design 

that will add beauty, or attract songbirds or wildlife to your 

yard?

Pay attention to practical things, too, such as not blocking the 

winter sun or scenic views, or 

being able to see oncoming 

traffic near driveways. Make 

sure you have enough room to 

use your mowing equipment 

around the whole windbreak 

and between the rows inside 

the windbreak. The main 

thing to remember is that once 

you plant trees and shrubs, 

they will be there for a long time. Choose the site carefully for 

planting the windbreak, hedgerow or shelterbelt. Space trees so 

that there are no gaps big enough to funnel wind, but the trees 

and shrubs are dense enough to break the force of the wind. 

Ask for assistance when making decisions about the technical 

parts of installing the practice, like how many rows to plant, 

how to space the trees, and if the types of trees and shrubs you 

want to grow will grow well on the planting site. How bushy the 

trees/shrubs are, how closely they are planted and how they are 

arranged between rows will affect the success of the windbreak. 

By combining low shrubs with medium and tall trees, you can 

create a windbreak that is effective for its entire height. Mixing 

rows of evergreen trees with trees that drop their leaves helps 

the windbreak work better all year long. A windbreak needs a 

density ranging from 60% to 80% to be most successful. All tree 

rows, single or multiple, work best when placed at right angles 

to the problem wind direction. A field windbreak has one to 

three tree rows. A homestead windbreak should have at least 

three rows with 10 to 15 feet between rows and different spacing 

within each row. Tree spacing within a row depends on the 

kinds of plants used. Be sure to protect and weed around planted 

seedlings for the first 2 to 3 years.

Conservation tree and shrub groups have selected trees and 

shrubs that are likely to be successful on different kinds of soils 

Elements that make 

Windbreaks Work

Height Density

Length Location

Width

Cross-sectional shape
76

Windbreaks

and climates, and they also predict height growth of those plant 

species at 20 years. These guides are available from your USDA 

Service Center and found online in the state NRCS Technical 

Field Office Guides. 

Management

Remove weeds from the planting sites. Regular maintenance of 

weeds and checking regularly for any insect or disease problems 

will help your windbreak continue to do its work for many years. 

Because gaps in windbreaks will create big problems it is very 

important to keep livestock out of the windbreak. Keep new 

plantings watered at least through the first growing season and 

replant where seedlings have died or been eaten. Because the 

usefulness of a windbreak depends on complete rows of trees/

shrubs, check for and replace dead seedlings for at least three 

years. Mulch around trees at planting and continue as needed 

for at least the first five years.

Economic Considerations

Placing windbreaks around homesteads and farm buildings can 

help cut heating bills by as much as 30%. Correct placement 

of windbreaks can shade air conditioning compressors. 

Windbreaks reduce wind chill effects for less stressful and safer 

outdoor work and feeding areas. Marketable fruits or nuts 

can also be harvested from windbreaks and sold locally, either 

Advantages of Windbreaks

 Protect structures (homes, buildings, roads)

 Capture water runoff and nutrients

 Improve irrigation efficiency

 Visual screen

 Filter and reduce dust

 Help control odors

 Provide wildlife travel corridors and habitat

 Decrease noise 

 Improve attractiveness

 Improve yields

 Protect soil from wind erosion

 Shelter livestock and crops

from UMCA
77

Windbreaks

fresh or as value-added products such as jams or jellies. If the 

windbreak has multiple rows, you can harvest firewood and save 

money on indoor heating fuel costs.

Products

Depending on your windbreak design and purpose, you can 

plan for possible thinning or harvest of marketable products. A 

windbreak can have both a primary function, such as protection, 

plus options for value-added products or benefits. A grower 

in Massachusetts saw that “Hybrid poplars can provide a very 

economical windbreak at pennies per foot. Adding diversity, 

value, and longevity to a tree row with walnuts, pawpaws, and 

persimmons still keeps the total cost under a dollar per foot.” 

(see 2003 Spring, NAC Inside Agroforestry). Lumber for crates 

and pallets can come from the larger windbreak trees (such as 

poplar and oak), while redcedar and black locust are resistant 

to decay and can yield posts and poles. Redcedar may also be 

chipped for animal bedding and brings top price when packaged 

for the small animal or pet market. 

Examples of products that can come from actively managed 

windbreaks:

•	 timber, fence posts, firewood

•	 Christmas trees

•	 boughs, cones, wreaths or other craft materials

•	 nuts, fruits, berries 

•	 landscape plants

•	 shade-loving plants such as those grown in the forest farming 

practice

•	 hunting lease opportunities when managed for wildlife 

benefits

•	 bioenergy crops for on-farm or off-farm use

Materials

Shrub and tree seedlings used for windbreaks are available 

through regional or county offices of a Forestry Commission 

or State Division of Forestry and can be found at various prices 
78

Windbreaks

from many sources. Seedlings are usually available from 10 cents 

to $1.50 each, and up to $2.50 each for some hardwood species. 

Private nurseries may have similar costs and more available 

varieties. 

Further Assistance and Information

Technical

There are several agencies/groups in your county that can assist 

with windbreak practices. To learn about what tree or shrub 

seedlings can work for you, contact your local forester in state 

forestry agencies, wildlife manager in state, territorial and tribal 

fish and wildlife offices, The Association of Fish and Wildlife 

Agencies, NRCS district conservationist, or USDA Service 

Center. Additional tools and information are available through 

the USDA National Agroforestry Center, a partnership between 

the US Forest Service and NRCS. 

Financial 

There are many agencies offering programs with funds that 

can be used to start and maintain windbreaks on private land. 

One agency is the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), with 

programs that offer a soil rental payment, a cost-share for 

starting various conservation practices and other financial 

incentives to landowners who set aside their land in windbreaks 

and shelterbelts. The Natural Resources Conservation Service 

(NRCS) also offers a number of cost-share programs for 

windbreaks, such as Environmental Quality Incentives program 

(EQIP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) and the 

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Cost-share is

offered through these NRCS incentive programs for establishing

windbreaks and shelterbelts. Sign up for all USDA programs is at 

your local USDA Service Center.
79

Windbreaks

Information on the Internet

USDA National Agroforestry Center

http://www.unl.edu/nac/windbreaks.htm 

http://www.unl.edu/nac/insideagroforestry/2003spring.pdf 

http://www.unl.edu/nac 

Center for Subtropical Agroforestry

http://cstaf.ifas.ufl.edu/ 

Natural Resources Conservation Service

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/efotg/ 

Department of Energy

http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/landscaping/index.

cfm/mytopic=11950

University of Missouri

www.centerforagroforestry.org 

http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/agroforestry/

index.htm

Association for Temperate Agroforestry

http://www.aftaweb.org/windbreaks.php
80

Windbreaks

Success Stories

McCorkle Nurseries

Dearing, Georgia

A family business near 

Augusta since 1942, the 

nurseries annually produce 

over 4 million container 

plants between the facilities 

at Luckey’s Bridge and 

adjacent Neal Mill Farms. 

The growing operation 

consists of 700 acres of 

which 400 is currently in production. The majority of water used 

for irrigation is reclaimed run-off from production areas into 17 

ponds. They supply box stores from Georgia to Long Island, NY 

and work with 2,000 independent landscape contractors. 

Trees and shrubs form an important component of the landscape 

at McCorkle Nurseries. Tree screens, for example, are used along 

nursery borders and property lines as dust barriers edging dirt 

roads in the interior of the locale, and to help delineate managed 

areas. The planting along the paved road helps provide security for 

the property as well as an aesthetic border.

Tree screens are used along nursery borders and property lines as dust 

barriers.
81

Windbreaks

Windbreaks are important in the nursery areas to serve as 

barriers to the flow of cold air and to prevent drafts along ridges 

and next to open areas where container stock is placed. Above 

the creek, Japanese cedar effectively disperses wind flows and 

helps break up the chilling effects. These plantings provide 

shelter by also helping prevent blow-over. Wind speeds of 20-30 

mph are not uncommon during summer storms around the 

nursery. The McCorkles learned the value of the plantings one 

year after investing over 1000 man-hours of labor in a pick up 

detail after a storm.

Windbreaks separate stock block areas from propagation areas. 

Needlepoint holly and southern magnolia both make fine 

borders. Trees also serve as filters to prevent weed seed from 

blowing into irrigation ponds and serve as living fences for 

protection from accidents around pond sites or capture and 

recycle basins. Shawnee Brave bald cypress and Torulosa juniper 

are effectively used by pond areas. One notable example of a 

safety planting was crepe myrtle back-planted with greenleaf 

American holly. Crepe myrtle is used as a screen in front of 

natural vegetation along Fort Creek that lies adjacent to Luckey’s 

Bridge Farm. 

Windbreaks separate areas, create borders, serve as filters and serve as 

living fences.
82

Windbreaks

Trees are used as sound and visual barriers adjacent to farm 

homes as well as to separate homes from production areas. 

A line of deodar cedar, now 50 years old, that was originally 

planted as a landscaping feature is now useful as shade for the 

main house on the property. Other plantings, such as alligator 

juniper and leyland cypress, serve as privacy fences and screen 

parking areas from houses as well as production areas.

Deodar cedars provide shade for this house.
83

Windbreaks

Both Florida and Japanese anise make excellent screen hedges. 

Planted as a nursery seed source, Ternstroemia serves as an 

aesthetic border. A combination of little gem magnolia with 

tea olive is handsome as a tall hedge, and borders of various 

hollies provide evergreen variety and natural beauty. The 

nursery website, www.mccorklenurseries.com, contains a species 

database that can be used to assist with design and species 

selection for windbreaks.
84

Windbreaks

Part of the beauty of the active nursery areas are the trial 

plantings area managers use to test the visual effect of varieties. 

Area managers customize their areas with selected border trees 

and test color and growth characteristics while providing a 

pleasant environment for workers. Combinations for windbreaks 

and screens can be tested, with larger trees planted for space 

coverage and quick establishment. Interval spaces are then often 

filled in with shrubs. Plantings are drip irrigated and receive 

some overspray. They serve as dust barriers along the dirt roads 

and prevent dust from flying onto container stock. 

Family of Claire Demick

Arnoldsville, Georgia

Looking at windbreak from the corner of the property while facing the 

pasture with the home in the background.

The Demick Family lives on and farms 11 to 12 acres near 

Arnoldsville, Georgia. About half of the land is fenced pasture 

with some natural tree cover towards the lower middle of the 
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Windbreaks

pasture area. The patch of forest makes a natural break between 

the upper, larger pasture where they have cow calf pairs and 

the lower pasture that holds a few goats. More than 20 years 

ago Mrs. Demick decided that though the trees in the pasture 

gave the animals good shade in the summer, the family house 

could use a bit of protection, both from the wind and dust off 

the unpaved road adjacent to their property. The wind coming 

up the draw from below their house and along the road beside 

their pasture was noticeably stronger in the winter months. By 

planting an evergreen windbreak, the family could protect the 

house from winter winds and also provide a screen along part of 

the fence beside the forested area where the cattle tend to rest. 

The windbreak could screen sight of the water and hay station 

from the family house, reduce the cold winter winds blowing 

toward their driveway and one side of their home, and help keep 

the dust from blowing their way.
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