The Virginia Experiment... "Establishing Silvopasture: A Mid-way Progress Assessment"

Our paper:  "Establishing Silvopasture: A Mid-way Progress Assessment"
Available here: www.arec.vaes.vt.edu/shenandoah-valley/research/field-day/documenta...

It's the first paper in the proceedings.

Views: 344

Attachments:

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Adam,

Do you and John have a sense for the difference in cost/acre between the two understory treatments? (pushing with the skidder blade, and "mulching")  You may have posted pictures on this in the past, but was the mulching done with a Fecon?  Based on what you learned from this experiment, which of the methods would you recommend in most cases for others?

Is the 3-4" of mulch compacted or still fluffy? Do you think it would be possible to establish orchardgrass on top of that mulch if it were trampled in (or bale grazed, perhaps)? It'd be great to test the fertility of the two understory treatments in a couple years (ie does increased soil organic matter in the mulched plot make up for the increased establishment cost?). Thanks for the detailed write-up!

It's not that thick in most places.  To reduce the thickness, the operator piled (and we burned) some of the material.  I'm not a grass guy but I can't imagine anything establishing ontop of mulch doing well.  Too much moisture variation I'd guess in the mulch layer.

We do plan to test the fertility and compare it with pre-treatment.

Thanks for reading our paper and for your interest!

What I've observed on our farm where we've left behind a significant mulch layer from mowing is that the grass eventually comes in (along with a lot of other green stuff - not all of it good), but the wood chips definitely seem to hold back the grass for at least a season or two.  We haven't really been able to test mob grazing the recently mowed spots to see if it would punch the chips into the soil better and accelerate the process, but I think it would help. 

Decay fungi working on breaking down the high-lignin chips probably also ties up a lot of the N in the soil, which probably also detrimentally affects grasses and forbs getting established.

Picture below of mowing with a Loftness head that we did in early October to remove some unhealthy Doug Fir (Rhabdocline needle cast) and Scots Pine (Scleroderris canker).  We'll see what happens with the grass by next summer.

Reply to Discussion

RSS

About

Forum

willow fodder block

Started by Emily Macdonald Mar 20. 0 Replies

Can anyone share experiences with willow fodder for sheep?  What cultivars did you use? Good sources for obtaining cuttings? What density did you plant?  How did it work out? Did the sheep like…Continue

Forages, Grasses, Legumes

Started by Travis Hermance Mar 18. 0 Replies

I am clearing my woodlots for silvopasture in the Mid-Hudson River Valley in New York State. Can anyone recommend a good mixture of grasses and legumes that are more shade tolerate for my new…Continue

Pasture in forest practitioners tend to have higher uptake of climate-smart forestry practices?

Started by Robbie Coville Mar 15. 0 Replies

Months ago I had read that woodland graziers tend to have higher acceptance of forest management activities: logging, thinning, mechanical interventions, prescribed burning, chemical treatments,…Continue

Busy fall in the silvopasture world

Started by Brett Chedzoy. Last reply by Joshua Greene Jan 2. 1 Reply

Hopefully some of you have found the time to attend either the "SilvoPro" training this week in PA or maybe even the International Agroforestry Conference in Ireland.  Look forward to some updates…Continue

Members

© 2024   Created by Peter Smallidge.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service