All Blog Posts (62)

Webinar Connection Details: Expanding Silvopasture Wednesday April 16, 2014

Dear Silvopasture Ning Member:

 

You may be interested in the information below that provides details and the link for you to obtain your unique “registration id” for this month’s webinar.  Note that webinars are live at noon and 7PM, for an hour each, but the meeting space is reserved from noon until 8PM.   The topics for May and June address the development of silvopasture via trees into pasture (May 21) and growing forage in woodlands (June 18).…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on April 15, 2014 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Seeking silvopasture practitioners in NY and New England

In 2014 I’ll be conducting research to document and describe silvopastures and their management in NY and New England. The existence, extent, and type of silvopasture systems in the northeast is currently unknown. The series of interviews and inventories which will take place as part of this research will document and make available specific experiences of farmers with the practice of silvopasture in the region.  It will also document the structural and…

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Added by Joe Orefice on March 24, 2014 at 11:13am — 1 Comment

Second Northeast Silvopasture Conference, Latham NY January 2014

We will collect copies of presentations from speakers who presented at the 2nd NE Silvopasture Conference.  Comments and thoughts from participants are quite welcome.

Pasture Into Woodlands (Smallidge)

Added by Peter Smallidge on January 29, 2014 at 10:22pm — 1 Comment

Silvopasture farms willing to host visit from DC?

Hello all,

I work for the USDA National Agroforestry Center, and we are looking for a few farms that would be willing to host a visit from policymaker-types in DC in the future - to show what silvopasture is, and the role agroforestry can play in providing food/products as well as addressing economic, social, and environmental challenges of today. If you would be willing to host such a visit - and are located 2 hours or less from DC, please email me at…

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Added by Colleen Rossier on December 9, 2013 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Food safety modernization act, gap, & silvopasture

I would like to start a discussion regarding the proposed FSMA regulation from the FDA. I have been told by the Maryland Department of Agriculture that my tree crops will be considered unfit for human consumption if I graze my animals around my trees. The comment period ends in November, I realize most people are not planting fruit, nut, cane, & vine crops in their silvopasture systems, but if you are or think you may in the future these changes will make it impossible for you to sell them… Continue

Added by Keith Ohlinger on October 18, 2013 at 9:16am — 9 Comments

Silvopasturing at the Stone Barns Center

Peter and I recently had the opportunity to present a day-long workshop on silvopasturing at the Stone Barns Center in the lower Hudson Valley.  The Stone Barns Center (www.stonebarnscenter.org) is located on the former Rockefeller dairy farm, and today serves as a showcase of "sustainable food systems". …

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Added by Brett Chedzoy on August 16, 2013 at 12:00pm — 1 Comment

Workshop Materials from the Silvopasture Field Day - McVeytown, PA - June 7th 2013

Thank you to the 40+ who were able to attend the workshop last Friday in McVeytown.   The handouts used for the workshop are attached below as .pdf files.  -- Brett

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Added by Brett Chedzoy on June 14, 2013 at 12:11pm — No Comments

Scheduled maintenance

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that MING needs to perform some simple but necessary maintenance on this site on Wednesday, March 27. They will need to take the site down at 10 pm Pacific for about 3 hours during which they will simply show a message asking folks to check back later. Thanks in advance for your patience while they tune up the site!

Added by Peter Smallidge on March 21, 2013 at 5:34pm — No Comments

Reducing forest density for acceptable forage growth

During the "silvopasture day course" trainings last August, we expressed the need to reduce forest stand stocking levels to about 60 sq. ft./acre of basal area (approximately 50% relative density, depending on the stand type) in order to achieve "good" forage productivity of the more shade tolerant cool season grasses.  For more information on this, refer to the .pdf file attachment titled "Creating Quality Silvopastures" from the August blog post on the day courses - or read the section on…

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Added by Brett Chedzoy on March 15, 2013 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Agroforestry Field Day at the Big Flats Plant Materials Center

60 people attended "Working Trees in Agricultural Landscapes: An Introduction to Agroforestry" on November 16th at the USDA NRCS Plant Materials Center in Big Flats, NY (and 120 people attended the 3rd annual Cover Crops Field Day at the PMC on the prior day!)  This inaugural agroforestry event at the PMC featured NRCS soil health advocate Ray Archuleta.  Some of Ray's key messages throughout the two days were: "Farm in the image of Nature"; "Feed the soil"; and "Nature hates monocultures". …

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Added by Brett Chedzoy on November 20, 2012 at 10:30am — No Comments

Silvopasture Day Course Materials

Thank you to everyone who attended the two "Silvopasture Day Courses" at Black Queen Angus Farm in Berlin, NY on August 24th, and at Wellscroft Fence Company in Harrisville, NH on August 25th.  Also, thank you to the Hudson-Mohawk RC&D Council, the Granite State Graziers, NY GLCI, Albany CCE, Albany SWCD and others for helping to organize and make those events possible!

85 graziers, foresters and agency folks participated in the two workshops.  This was the first time that we have…

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Added by Brett Chedzoy on September 14, 2012 at 3:38pm — No Comments

FREE Agroforestry Training Workshops Offered in Central Pennsylvania.The PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry, Penn State and Shaver's Creek Environmental Center will host two agroforestry workshops in May. A…

FREE Agroforestry Training Workshops Offered in Central Pennsylvania.



The PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry, Penn State and Shaver's Creek Environmental Center will host two agroforestry workshops in May.



Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs in combination with crops or livestock to create a system that is managed to provide economic, environmental and social benefits to landowners. The 5 key practices of agroforestry are Silvopasture – the…

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Added by Tracey Coulter on April 13, 2012 at 8:37am — No Comments

Story in the Cornell Chronicle

Check this out...some nice publicity about silvopasture via Cornell University's "Chronicle."  The story page has useful links.

[article link]

Added by Peter Smallidge on April 13, 2012 at 7:32am — No Comments

SARE research

Hey everyone,

I thought some of you might be interested in a 2012 SARE Farmer Grant I received to experiment with silvopasture systems on my farm in Riverview, Saranac, NY.  Here's a link to the project overview:

http://mysare.sare.org/mySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=viewRept&pn=FNE12-762&y=2012&t=2 

I'd be very interested to receive input from you all…

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Added by Joe Orefice on March 27, 2012 at 4:10pm — 2 Comments

Two articles about hardwood silvopasture management in North America

Hi everyone!

Here are two interesting journal articles about silvopasture in the hardwood regions of the United States-

Hardwood silvopasture in North America by H.E. Garrett, M.S. Kerley, K.P. Ladyman, W.D. Walter, L.D. Godsey, J.W. Van Sambeek and D.K. Brauer

The University of Missouri completed research to try to minimize the gap in silvopasture management of hardwoods in the US. This article discusses the short-term positive effects of grazing trials, and how…

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Added by Gabriella DiGiovanni on March 26, 2012 at 10:39am — No Comments

Suitable Species

I was recently asked the following questions regarding animal and tree species for silvopastures: 

"... is silvopasture just suitable to beef breeds? Or would dairy and dual purpose breeds be equally suited to Silvopasture?  I was also wondering about tree species composition. Obviously allelopathic species like Black Walnut are not conducive to growing good forage, but could you use a super dense Hemlock grove for a living barn (relying on hay for feed…

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Added by Brett Chedzoy on February 6, 2012 at 1:47pm — 1 Comment

Silvopastures on marginal sites

A friend recently inquired if it would be possible to convert her low site-index oak/white pine woods into silvopatures to expand the grazeable acreage on her cattle farm.  Most any site can be managed to grow forages and browse for livestock grazing, but not every site can grow enough food to make the investment worthwhile.  Another consideration is the senstivitiy of the site, particularly in the case of steep slopes or poorly drained…

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Added by Brett Chedzoy on February 6, 2012 at 11:08am — No Comments

Adding pasture to woods and plantation

There are two ways to create silvopasture, add pasture to woods or add trees to pasture.  Adding pasture to woods involves manipulating the existing woods to allow enough sunlight to the forest floor to stimulate the growth of desired forage species.  Always seek input from a forester when manipulating woody vegetation (either planting or cutting).

In the most general sense, the process of adding pasture to forest will remove some trees while leaving other trees. The goal is to…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on January 2, 2012 at 9:42am — No Comments

Walnuts and climate change

This is from Purdue University regarding walnuts and climate change.  Walnut aren't a major forest component here in Western Mass but this may be more of a concern for those of you in NY and PA.

 

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/111128JacobsWalnut.html

Added by Jeff Jourdain on November 30, 2011 at 5:49pm — 1 Comment

Silvopasture Conference in the News

One of the NE Silvopasture Conference attendees has provided a nice description of the conference, but even more so, the concepts of silvopasture. The key points offered in that blog recognize that silvopasture is more than just releasing livestock into the woods, but rather is a deliberate and intensive process that provides benefits to trees, livestock, farmers and the…

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Added by Peter Smallidge on November 17, 2011 at 7:00pm — No Comments

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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

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