Setting Our Sights On Silvopasture

MoSo Farm has become a tree farm! Over the last few weeks, we have dug holes for, planted, staked, tubed, and protected 510 trees across 9 acres. Why? To implement silvopasture, which is the managed integration of trees, livestock, and grazing land. I first learned about silvopasture at a farming conference in Wisconsin in 2019. Ecologist, author, and educator Steve Gabriel’s presentation introduced me to the not-so-radical idea that animals should graze amongst trees. In fact, that’s what they were doing before modern agriculture removed the trees from the pasture and created open, shade-less grazing land. As Steve Gabriel says, “The foundational concepts of silvopasture challenge our notions of modern agriculture and land use as we know it. For centuries European colonizers of North America have engaged in practices that separate the field from the forest, and even the food from the animal. In silvopasture, trees, animals, and forages for those animals are integrated as a whole system that is greater than just the sum of these parts.”

For many foresters and farmers, the idea of putting trees back into pasture is crazy! Many foresters have seen mismanaged cattle destroy too many woods. And most farmers have long fought volunteer trees that come up in pasture either because of ingrained ideas about clearing the land for agriculture or because the random trees cause obstacles for mowing or haying. This is why the foundation of silvopasture is good management. The animals must always be on rotation. Here are some reasons why we’re implementing silvopasture on our farm. Check out Molly’s presentation at the OEFFA conference to see photos and more info.

• Shade: Silvopasture decreases heat stress for the animals. One study found that cows with shade access were observed at the water trough up to 6.42 times less and lying down up to 1.75 times more. They also grazed up to 1.5 times more during the hottest time of the day, compared to those without shade.
• Increased feed: Silvopasture systems introduce new, free, long-term options for feed. Our planting includes wild apples, northern pecans, and Chinese chestnuts, which will drop nutritious fruits and nuts for cattle and pigs.
• Increased revenue: Silvopasture has been shown to increase the “average daily gain” of beef cattle, meaning they gain more weight each day due to less heat stress and a more diverse diet. More weight means more product at the end of the year. Other forms of revenue can come in the form of selling carbon credits, selling fruits and nuts, and decreasing reliance on hay.
• Improved animal health: In addition to decreasing heat stress, animal health improves through a diverse diet, including trees like black walnuts that act as a natural parasite which the cattle will learn to eat when needed.
• Climate solution: Silvopasture was ranked #11 of 94 solutions to climate change in the book Drawdown because of its incredible ability to sequester carbon in the soil through tree and grass roots.
• Wildlife habitat: Before settler colonialism, Ohio had a diverse landscape of varying habitats and forest conditions. These included savannas and woodlands. Savannas are grasslands with a few interspersed trees. Woodlands are forests that allow enough light for grasses and forbs to thrive in the understory. After savannas were plowed for agriculture and woodlands clearcut for industry, the trees grew back into overly dense forests and savannas and woodlands became almost non-existent. The restoration of savannas and woodlands is now “a primary goal for public agencies and conservation organizations.” Silvopasture mimics these conditions, which many birds, bats, and other species need to survive.

So! After 5 years of reading about silvopasture, attending webinars and multiple-day trainings, and visiting silvopasture farms in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, we finally had the opportunity to implement silvopasture on our land with the support of the Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant from Virginia Tech, funded by the Edwards Mother Earth Foundation. We are immensely grateful for their investment in our farm and community. We thank Rural Action for supporting us in deepening our knowledge about silvopasture. Most importantly, we appreciate the 11 individuals who helped us plant 510 black locusts, black walnuts, pitch loblolly pines, Chinese chestnuts, northern pecan, wild apples, and hybrid poplars.

In other news, we recently found out that we were funded by EQIP to install a water system! We’ve been crossing our fingers for 3 years for this conservation program through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which will allow us to have accessible water in all of our pastures year-round. Additionally, we got a new (to us) tractor! We are excited to have this 80s International tractor that will enable us to grow our operation. Molly continues to advocate for an equitable farm bill, most recently by writing this letter to the editor that was published in Farm and Dairy and speaking on local public radio. CJ continues to improve this farm’s infrastructure, fence post by fence post.

What I’m reading…

Uncultivated: Wild Apples, Real Cider, and the Complicated Art of Making a Living | Book by Andy Brennan | "Author Andy Brennan describes uncultivation as a process: It involves exploring the wild; recognizing that much of nature is omitted from our conventional ways of seeing and doing things (our cultivations); and realizing the advantages to embracing what we’ve somehow forgotten or ignored.”