The Agroforestry Academy: A Crash Course to Educate Natural

23 Pages·2013·3.53 MB·English

Alley Cropping
The Agroforestry Academy:  
A Crash Course to 
Educate Natural Resource Professionals 
Forest Farming
and Develop the Knowledge Infrastructure 
Riparian Buffers
1Michael A. Gold, 2MAAWG
1University of Missouri
Silvopasture
2Mid‐American Agroforestry Working Group 
Windbreaks
The “Get Smart” Analogy
• Experience over 25 years has
taught us that multiple “doors” lie
between the promise and the reality
of widespread agroforestry
adoption and utilization
• It is essential to identify the doors
(e.g., culture, tradition, knowledge
gaps, science, risk, funding, policy)
• And do the work to open them
Where is all the Agroforestry?
 Significant advances made in the science and 
practice of agroforestry over the past 25 years.
 However, on‐the‐ground application of 
agroforestry practices has lagged. 
 Exception:  USDA government subsidized 
windbreaks and riparian buffers. 
 Creating greater awareness of agroforestry’s 
benefits (financial and ecological) will lead to:
 Increased acceptance and adoption of 
agroforestry, 
 Result in increased financial security, 
 Enhance  environmental protection for all 
classes of farmers, ranchers, forest owners, and 
communities.
Background Issues – Knowledge Infrastructure
The Knowledge Infrastructure for Agriculture
• Huge information network supporting the 
landowner
 Commodity groups (Farm Bureau, Corn and  
Soybean Growers Assns, Cattlemen, etc.)
 Agribusiness (e.g., Cargill, ADM, Monsanto, seed 
and equipment dealers), Certified Crop Advisors 
(thousands) 
 NRCS/FSA assistance widely available
 Land Grant University research, education and 
extension 
 USDA funding programs – abundant in supply
 Farm Bill safety net to offset losses
Background Issues – Knowledge Infrastructure
An Uphill Battle
The Knowledge Infrastructure  for Agroforestry
• Paper thin information network supporting the 
landowner
 No agribusiness or commodity group support
 No Land Grant support in research, education or 
extension
 No network of “advisors”
 No USDA research $$$, no policy support
 No tradition, no culture 
 High financial risk, no farmer safety nets
 No value given to non‐market environmental benefits
Chestnut Training Program “Graduates”
Chinese Chestnut – Pumpkin Intercrop
Napton, MO
Chestnut Training Program “Graduates”
Chinese Chestnut – Winter Wheat Intercrop
Napton, MO
*Key Organizations Supporting  
Development of the Knowledge 
Infrastructure for Agroforestry
 Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA), 1935
 USDA Soil Conservation Service, 1935 (Dustbowl and CCC)
 University of Guelph, 1989
(1st NAAC),
 Iowa State University, 1990
Riparian Buffers, Bear Creek,
 NAC (Center for Semi‐Arid Agroforestry), 1990 (USFS/NRCS)
 Cornell University, Center for the Environment, 1993
 AFTA, Association for Temperate Agroforestry, 1993
 University of Nebraska‐Lincoln, Windbreaks
 UMCA, University of Missouri, 1998
 1890 AF Consortium
 CINRAM, University of Minnesota, 1998 (???)
 Virginia Tech, Forest Farming, (www.extension.org/forest_farming)
 NC State University, Forest Farming (NCHerb.org)
 Mid‐American Agroforestry Working Group (MAAWG),
2009
*List not intended to be complete,
others have been involved over time
(PENN ST, U of KY, ORE ST, U of FL, U of GA, ARS in W. VA and ARK, …)
Key Publications Supporting the Development 
of the Knowledge Infrastructure 
(list not inclusive)
 Tree Crops for Energy Co‐production on Farms, 1980, S.E.R.I.
 Agroforestry Systems Journal, 1982‐present
 Proceedings of North American Agroforestry Conferences,  
1989 – 2013
 Agroforestry: An Integrated Land Use Management System for 
Production and Farmland Conservation, 1994, SCS
 Proceedings from the Specialty Forest Products/Forest Farming 
Conference, 1998, CINRAM
 Agroforestry in the United States, Research and Technology Transfer 
Needs for the Next Millennium, 2000, AFTA
 Conservation Buffers: Design Guidelines for Buffers, Corridors, 
and Greenways, 2010, NAC
 Using NRCS Technical and Financial Assistance to Establish 
Elderberry, 2011, UMCA
 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework, 2011‐2016
 Financial Decision Support Tools, 2011, UMCA
 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices, 2013, 
UMCA
 Handbook for Agroforestry Planning and Design, 2013, UMCA
 Agroforestry: USDA Reports to America, FY 2011–2012, 2013
Agroforestry Adoption – 4 P’s
• To achieve agroforestry adoption will require:
 Partnerships
 Programs
 Professionals
 Peer‐to‐Peer Learning
The Agroforestry Academy is based on:
 An established partnership – MAAWG
 Funded by a program – NCR‐SARE PDP
 Designed to train professionals who will
 Be involved in follow on Peer‐to‐Peer 
Learning