Issue 8

Silvopasture

Silvopasture involves adding trees to livestock pastures to produce wood products, while providing shade, shelter, and forage for short-term livestock income.

In 2000, the National Agroforestry Center devoted the entire time of one technology transfer specialist to soliciting support from conservation partners, identifying barriers to implementation, and developing a silvopasture technology transfer program for Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and Mississippi. The result, a targeted technology transfer program, provided training to over 500 agency personnel and 50 consultants; support for landowner workshops or field days; silvopasture demonstration plantings in 4 States; and increased emphasis at universities on silvopasture.

A New Interest in Goats

In the last few years, landowners in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina started expressing a strong interest in using goats in silvopasture systems. Raising goats for meat is a fast growing agribusiness, but goats favor different kinds of forage than cows. New research is underway to develop silvopasture management systems that create the best forage and tree mix for goats. In 2006, SRS researchers partnered with faculty at Alabama A&M University (AAMU) to secure two grants to conduct studies on goat silvopasture systems.

The first grant provided the support to convert a 7-year-old loblolly pine stand in Epes, AL, into a goat silvopasture research and demonstration site, while the second grant funds detailed research studies on the site. In addition, AAMU—in collaboration with industry partner CellFor Corporation—provided funds to install a 12-acre pine silvopasture site on the university’s experimental site.

For more information: www.unl.edu/nac/silvopasture.htm

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