and The Economic Agronomic Case for Silvopasture in Georgia

By John Foye, Kevin Silverman, and John Fike

The idea of integrating livestock and trees has faced a perception challenge. For much of our history, we fenced the woods, turned in the cows, and let them make the management decisions because it was easy. It didn’t result in good environmental or timber outcomes. Farmers whose families cut trees to claim the land for agriculture often view planting trees back as against their personal or family history. However, trees and livestock can beneficially mix when the human being takes an active role in management.

Beating the heat is probably the foremost motivation for producers establishing and managing silvopasture. Data from Virginia research shows that compared with sheep in silvopasture settings, those animals grazing open pastures in summer have elevated body temperatures through much of the day, and this translates to chronically higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Per UGA Extension Forage Specialist Dennis Hancock’s article in the June 2018 Georgia Cattleman (“Silvopasture,” page 50), natural shade provides 5-10°F cooler temperature than that of constructed shade in the Deep South. Animals in silvopasture also alter their grazing patterns, spending more time in resting behavior and following the shade through the day as they graze.

In addition, silvopasture systems can help managers to diversify income streams (with timber and nontimber forest products); they can also provide numerous ecosystem services. Trees reduce erosion by slowing raindrops during intense rainfall; their deeper root systems can capture nutrients lower in the soil profile and thus more efficiently utilize nutrients in the system. Trees can also be sources of fodder – whether routinely or during weather extremes – and silvopasture provides habitat for wildlife (which may increase value of hunting leases). There is also the aesthetic appeal of silvopasture, which some producers maintain has increased the value of their farms. As we will discuss later on, emerging carbon markets will allow practitioners to monetize the carbon drawdown for both financing the planting of trees and producing longterm revenue.

Practitioners should understand that although a silvopasture system can take time to implement, it can yield tangible benefits fairly quickly. Many producers have no interest in planting trees for silvopasture because they think that they’ll never harvest the trees. In states such as Georgia with a strong pine market, planting and harvesting pines constitute an appealing option. Establishing a pine silvopasture stand of roughly 150 trees/acre with 2-3 solid rows of trees with 40 feet of open space between each set of rows, per Michael Goodchild of UF/IFAS Extension, allows for grazing when combined with certain species of grass such as Pensacola bahiagrass combined with overseeded ryegrass. Stocking rates depend on the forage available per stand and the maturity of the system. A successful silvopasture demonstration site in Goldsboro, for instance, mixes longleaf pine, loblolly pine, and cherrybark oak across different soil types in 3-row settings across 17 acres.

However, there is flexibility, depending on your landmanagement goals: Systems “built” with hardwood trees might be for the next generation. As they grow, the trees and the system are like a CD, accruing value even if not yet ready to be cashed out. Other producers may be more keen on establishing nut tree silvopasture systems with pecans or walnuts.

So how do you get started? Silvopasture implementation requires alignment with operational goals and should be incorporated in a way that works with and meets farm operational needs. Working with technical assistance providers – whether it be from your state’s Extension agency or NRCS, or working with a consulting forester (particularly if thinning a timber stand) – is a good first step to long-term success. These professionals can help you think about and design systems that work for your management goals. As a part of our process, Working Trees connects interested producers to technical assistance providers, whether they be public servants or private servants, to access the information and know-how needed for successful silvopasture installation.

The first “what about?” asked regarding silvopasture involves reduced forage production due to shade. That can happen, but it doesn’t have to. Tree species, spacing, and management all affect the amount of shade in the system. In Virginia, maintaining the trees so that 50 to 60 percent of full sun reaches the understory forages has kept forage production comparable to open pasture; and slightly lower levels of shade can actually increase production of cool-season forages. That’s not just a research finding; you’ve likely observed greener grass around shady areas when pastures crisp up during a summer dry spell. In areas such as South Georgia, Bahiagrass is a productive species in pastures receiving less than 30-percent shade. Tall fescue also remains productive in higher silvopasture shade percentages. Tree planting densities can be designed around the grass species that a land manager wants in place. However, it is important to remember that forage yield (and intake) is not the only driver of animal performance and system output. Energy expenditure is important too, and animals that spend less energy because they are cooler and resting more will need fewer groceries to remain productive.

Then there’s the “what about?” on the cost of silvopasture. Some may be inclined to buy shade structures or build loafing barns, and that certainly can provide shade very quickly. But while the investment in a commercial shade structure can give your livestock an immediate benefit, that same investment might gain you several acres of silvopasture. And, as one prominent Virginia silvopastoralist has noted, planting trees that provide shade and have future market potential may be a better economic strategy than building a barn for shade and watching it depreciate.

In addition, silvopasture systems will require some variation of rotational grazing management to be successful. For newly planted systems, some level of tree protection will also be needed; and there are a number of approaches for doing this. Fixed or electric fencing, cages, tubes – with or without barbed wire or electric wire – can all be used as part of the tree protection system. One also needs to consider the type of livestock and wildlife pressure on site. In some cases, a producer might plant trees in a hay field, with the goal of grazing the site once the trees are of adequate size.

So how does that work? Historically, carbon markets associated with tree planting required large acreage for entry. Working Trees is helping to democratize the carbon market through new technologies that make tree measurement rapid and simple. By enabling rapid measurement and verification, producers will have the opportunity to invest in carbon drawdown in a way that was previously possible only for very large landholders. Our objective is to help farmers get compensated for the carbon stored in trees incorporated into their systems. Combining these beneficial environmental features with the right financing streams – such as NRCS EQIP, SWCD programs, and carbon credits – can help you get trees established with little to no money out of pocket to start generating long-term returns.

Although silvopasture can be implemented both by thinning or by planting trees, we have considered only the tree-planting context here for a couple of reasons. First, along with providing a number of benefits and services to farm operations, silvopasture as a management practice is considered one of the best agricultural practices available to help reduce atmospheric carbon. And that is central to our second point, which is this: As carbon markets grow, silvopasture will offer sources of additional farm revenue through the value of the carbon stored in trees.

Whatever your interest is in silvopasture, Working Trees is looking to help you plant trees on pastureland –and we have carbon credits buyers ready to pre-pay early adopters of our program. Companies will want these high-quality credits for many years. Please visit www. workingtrees.com for more information and a free land analysis to determine if the program is a fit for you.

Georgia Sources To Learn More About Silvopasture

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Mile Of Pasture Management Fencing

SUPPLIES AWARDED EACH QUARTER TO THE TOP GCA MEMBERSHIP RECRUITER

Regular Memberships Only

Each Quarterly Prize Includes:

4 Rolls of Pasture Management Fixed Knot 9-49-6-330ft

60 5-6 in x 7ft Pasture Management CCA .40 Treated Wood Posts

14 6-7 in x 8ft Pasture Management CCA .40 Treated Wood Posts

1 Pasture Management 12ft Tube Gate - Available in Galvanized, Red, or Black

9 10 ft H-Brace Brace Pipes

3 10 lb Buckets of Pasture Mangement Double Barbed Class 3 Staples

10 Speed Brace Kits

1 Speed Brace Kit Tensioning Tools

2 52 inch Stetcher Bars

2 Stretcher Bar Pullers

1 Knipex Wire Cutters

1 100ct Jars of Long 2-3 Crimp Sleeves

1 Crimping Tool

1 Roll of 4,000 ft 12.5 ga High Tensile Electric Fence Wire: Class 3 Galvanized, 170 K psi

1 Bag of 25 Speedrite HD End Strainer Insulators

3 Bags of 25 Pasture Management Wood Post Pinlock Insulators

75 10 inch Steel Offset Insulator

1 Patriot PMX600 Energizer: 6 Joule Output

1 Pasture Management 66ft Underground Cable

1 Jar of 25 Joint Clamps

YOUR FACE COULD BE HERE