FOR-114: Agroforestry: Windbreaks

Deborah Hill | August 11, 2009 (New)

Windbreaks were first used extensively in the United States in the 1930s, after the Dust Bowl days made it clear that certain agricultural practices tended to facilitate the loss of topsoil by wind erosion. They are also a practical agroforestry technique in any location where there are significant prevailing winds. Windbreaks are used to manage snow, improve irrigation efficiency, screen views and reduce noise, protect farm crops and farm buildings, protect free-ranging livestock, provide wildlife habitat, and provide non-timber forest products (e.g., berries, woody florals).

FOR-117: Medicinal Plants

Deborah Hill | August 11, 2009 (New)

People have harvested and processed forest plants for medicinal purposes since the beginning of recorded history. Ginseng is perhaps the one best known in Kentucky because it is easily the most commercially valuable. However, if you read health supplement labels in all the "big box" stores or other similar locations, you will find goldenseal, blue cohosh, black cohosh, bloodroot, wild ginger, slippery elm, witch-hazel, mayapple, and many other forest plant-derived substances. There are established markets for these plants, although not as obvious as corn, soybean, or cattle markets.

FOR-112: Agroforestry: Riparian Buffer Strips

Deborah Hill | August 11, 2009 (New)

Riparian buffer strips are zones of native trees, shrubs, and grasses designed to protect the temperature and clarity of moving water and to prevent agricultural chemicals and soil from eroding directly into stream water. The Kentucky Water Quality Act of 1994 encouraged farmers to protect their streams from soil erosion and compaction from livestock. Best management practices (BMPs) for people who are harvesting timber require streamside management zones (SMZs).

FOR-115: Agroforestry: Forest Farming

Deborah Hill | August 11, 2009 (New)

Of all the techniques of agroforestry, forest farming is probably the one most useful to landowners in Kentucky. Most have some forestland, and many of those owners don't really "do" anything with that land, keeping it for wildlife habitat, recreation, or a possible timber sale if there is a sudden need for cash. However, with some professional help from a consultant forester or from the Kentucky Division of Forestry, forest landowners can implement something called timber stand improvement (TSI). Forest farming can be a part of that decision, if the landowner considers the options before starting the TSI operation.

FOR-110: Non-Timber Forest Products and Agroforestry

Deborah Hill | August 11, 2009 (New)

Agroforestry is the practice of integrating long-term tree crops with annual agronomic crops and/or livestock. This type of integrated agriculture has been successfully practiced for thousands of years in many parts of the world, especially in the tropics. Temperate regions have been a bit slower to adopt agroforestry practices, but in the past decade or so, there has been increasing interest in using agroforestry techniques in temperate countries around the world.

FOR-113: Argoforestry: Silvopasture

Deborah Hill | August 11, 2009 (New)

In the practice of silvopasture, you have three simultaneous crops: the tree crop, the forage crop, and the livestock crop. As with other agroforestry practices, if you plan to use biocides (pesticides, fungicides, insecticides) and/or chemical fertilizers, you must be sure that all of the component parts of the proposed system can tolerate the additives. Foresters have a long-standing attitude that cattle and trees do not mix (because of soil compaction and rubbing around and on the trees by the livestock), but in this case, you are intentionally putting them together, ideally for mutual benefit.

FOR-116: Agroforestry: Christmas Trees

Deborah Hill | August 11, 2009 (New)

Kentucky has always had a Christmas tree industry, although at a very small scale. The benefits of producing Christmas trees include guaranteed market every year, a short growing period relative to other tree crops, periodic intensive management (planting, shearing, marketing) but otherwise not much time required in management, and a good return on investment.

FOR-109: Timber Theft and Trespass

Jeff Stringer | February 23, 2009 (Reprinted)

FOR-108: Producing and Inspecting Railroad Crossties

Terry Conners | March 14, 2008 (New)

Several types of structural wooden members are used in railroad track and related structures, but this article focuses on crossties--which are used to hold track in place at a defined gauge, or distance between rails--and their production and grading. This article describes what a good piece of wood looks like and how to recognize crossties with problems before they are placed in track. Understanding what tie inspectors look for will help tie producers make better ties and achieve a lower rate of tie rejection.

FOR-89: Shiitake Production: Resources for Shiitake Growers

Deborah Hill, Marcella Szymanski | July 10, 2007 (Minor Revision)