HomeSugarbush Agroforestry – Other Products from Your Woods
Sugarbush Agroforestry – Other Products from Your Woods
Sugarbush Agroforestry
There is more than just maple and timber that can be harvested from the woods. Often these other agroforestry products are referred to as Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). Beneath the sugar maple overstory, additional crops can be grown that succeed in a shaded environment. This practice is usually called Forest Farming. Crops that can be grown include fruits, nuts, medicinal herbs, mushrooms, and ornamental plants.
There are several benefits to forest farming in a working sugarbush. These include additional farm income, increased value from the same acreage in different production seasons, opportunities for value-added product diversification, ecosystem benefits through active managements strategies, and opportunities for agritourism.
To learn more about Sugarbush Agroforestry, explore our resources below.
Episode 8 Description: This month, Aaron Wightman interviews three agroforestry, or “forest farming”, specialists who double as educators with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). These three guests have been instrumental in the formation of a statewide agroforestry work team that connects CCE educators and researchers with the goal of improving the availability of resources to those interested in adopting some of these practices.
Brett Chedzoy is a Regional Extension forester who works for CCE of Schuyler County, and the forest manager of the Cornell Arnot Teaching and Research Forest. In addition, Brett practices silvopasturing at his family farm in Watkins Glen.
Steve Gabriel works with the Cornell Small Farms Program where he focuses on specialty mushroom production and agroforestry research and extension projects. He also runs Wellspring Forest Farm & School with his family in Trumansburg where they harvest maple and mushrooms and raise ducks and sheep in diverse habitats.
Tracey Testo is a program coordinator at the Cooperative Extension office in Columbia and Greene counties where she focuses on agriculture and natural resource issues. She is experienced with American Ginseng and forest mushroom production.
Episode produced by Ailis Clyne. Music – Long and Low Cloud, Funk and Flash, both by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
Episode 16 Description: In this episode, Adam interviews Mike Rechlin who is the Maple Commodities Specialist at Future Generations University in West Virginia. Instead of the usual maple sweet talk, today they discuss walnut syrup, an equally sweet but newer alternative tree syrup whose production poses some unique challenges. Adam also discloses some of his most recent research findings while experimenting with making beech syrup at the Uihlein Forest. The world of alternative tree syrups is vast, with many more still to explore in future episodes.
Episode produced by Ailis Clyne. Music – Long and Low Cloud, Funk and Flash, both by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)
This page is under construction.