agroforestry
DESCRIPTION
Description of agroforestry practices at the Kerr Center's Kerr Ranch, including mulch planting, contour planting, native species, alley haying, living barns, and silvipastureTRANSCRIPT
Agroforestry and silvipasture: no matter the weather, cattle and trees go great
together!
“Living barns” provide windbreaks
in winter storms, and shade from summer heat.
Much of the ranch's marginal and sloping land is
planted to trees...
...in 2-foot deep trenches ripped 6 feet apart on the contour.
Loblolly pine makes up the bulk of these plantings.
On its better grazing acres, the ranch plants
trees into rows of mulch formed by
haying and raking.
For the first three years, hay is cut in the wide
strips between rows...
...but cattle are fenced out.
After three years, cattle can graze without damaging the young trees.
The Between the Lakes
agroforestry project is planted in 60-foot rows: five thousand
trees, including loblolly pine,
sycamore, green ash, and black
locust, on 5 acres, and 28
acres of pasture.
The New Fescue agroforesty
project is planted in 90-foot rows: ten thousand
trees, including green ash, bald
cypress, and four species of oak, on 4 acres, and
35 acres of pasture.
Benefits include shelter for cattle...
...and enhanced wildlife habitat.
