Alternative Forest Crops

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Alternative Forest Crops By Deborah B. Hill,
Ph.D. Professor, UK Cooperative Extension
Service, Department of Forestry
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Alternative Forest ProductsSpecial Forest
ProductsNon-Timber Forest Products

• Why would you do this?
• Kentucky is one-half forested. About 90 of the
  commercially valuable forested land is owned
  privately by people like you and me.
• The average private forest land holding is
  approximately 25 acres. This is a little small
  to do any kind of timber harvesting, unless it is
  clearcut once in a lifetime.
• How can you get economic benefit (as well as
  aesthetic and other benefits) from such small
  ownerships?
• Developing one or more of the options for
  non-timber forest products might make it possible
  for you to have some supplemental income on an
  annual basis.

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Options for non-timber forest products

• Apiculture/bee products
• Christmas trees
• Crafts materials
• Exotic and native mushrooms
• Fenceposts
• Fruits and nuts
• Fuelwood
• Maple syrup
• Medicinal plants/botanicals

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Apiculture/bee products

• Year-round markets (bees DO sleep a lot in the
  winter)
• 100-300 initial investment
• Multiple products each year
• honey - 4-5 per pound
• bee pollen - 5.50-6.50 per ounce
• royal jelly - 10.00 per ounce
• propolis - 5.50 per ounce
• beeswax - 3-4.00 per sheet, 15-20 per candle
• Value of pollination for your garden and orchard

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Christmas Trees

• Annual market
• Small initial money investment in plant material
  and management equipment
• Labor investment for management over time
• 5-7 year production cycle may have greens to
  sell before trees get full height
• Can develop for specialty markets small trees
  for shut-ins, children, extra large trees for
  churches, other large area clients
• Interplant with other, annual crops to get income
  from land
• Intensive time to plant in spring (March), to
  shear in midsummer, and to harvest around
  Thanksgiving. Otherwise, monitoring and weed
  control annually.
• Good return on investment

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Crafts Materials

• Year-round markets
• No money investment, just time, creativity and
  ingenuity
• Sweetgum balls, pine cones, interesting shrub or
  tree branches, locust pods, grapevines, kudzu
  vines, bittersweet, red osier dogwood and
  corkscrew willow branches, tree burls,
  interesting grain patterns in wood sections
• Ground pine
• Hollies
• Value-add by making wreaths, painting, etc., but
  also can sell raw materials to other crafts people

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Native Mushrooms

• Natives chanterelles and morels
• Know their seasons and likely habitats, gather
• No money investment
• High value product (sell fresh to restaurants or
  in farmers markets)

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Exotic Mushrooms

• Edibles Shiitake, maitake, oyster, lions mane,
  Stropharia
• Medicinal reishi
• Most grow on hardwood logs, some on sawdust from
  hardwood logs.
• Small investment (200 for starting with 100 or
  more logs, more if buying logs)
• Select species of logs based on what needs
  removing for timber stand improvement
• Time investment early spring to late fall a
  day or two to inoculate in spring, monitor logs
  for moisture weekly or as needed, harvesting time
  once or twice a week if you have logs on a
  production schedule, less if they are fruiting on
  their own
• Six months to one year delay for production while
  logs incubate, then production regularly for 2-4
  years from same logs
• High value fresh (8-12/lb for shiitake)
• Value-added dried or in mixes

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Fenceposts

• Any time activity
• Time investment, but not money investment
• No special equipment needed chain saw
• Select species that are rot-resistant black
  locust, redcedar, osage-orange
• Easy marketability, or for use on own property

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Fruits and Nuts

• Select native species
• Pawpaws, persimmons, berries for fruits
• Black and white walnuts (butternuts), some
  hickory nuts, hazelnuts for nuts
• Develop production potential where trees/shrubs
  are found
• Harvest when ripe
• Sell to restaurants or in farmers markets black
  walnuts to hullers
• Pawpaws can be made into value-added products
  ice cream, baked goods
• Annual production

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Fuelwood

• Any time activity
• No money investment if you have chainsaw and ax
• Select species good for high btu value black
  and honey locusts, oaks, hickories, hard maple
• Remove trees that need removal from damage,
  disease or death, timber stand improvement
• Split and bundled gives high value product, or by
  truckload

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Maple Syrup

• Made from any species of maple boxelder, sugar
  maple, red maple, etc.
• Need good stainless steel equipment ideally,
  need special structure (sugarhouse)
• Some initial investment needed (500)
• Short season (Valentines Day to St. Patricks
  Day)
• Trees MUST be a minimum of 10 inches in diameter
  to tap
• Very high value product with good shelf life
  (5.00/ half-pint)

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Medicinal Plants/Botanicals

• Most are annual plants. Goldenseal has a 2-3
  year production cycle, ginseng much longer
• Market value VERY variable (10-yr-old wild grown
  ginseng 300 per pound, annual medicinals
  (e.g. black cohosh) maybe 10 per pound)
• Relatively small money investment (lt 100 even
  for ginseng seed)
• Know characteristics of good sites to grow chosen
  plants develop areas where already located
• Identify brokers for marketing usually no local
  markets
• Harvest and prepare (e.g., dry) according to
  broker directions
• Increasing markets

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Summary

• Many opportunities with good market potential
• Several require short term intensive management
  (Christmas trees, shiitake mushrooms) but not
  necessarily at times when other crops need
  attention.
• Several already have well-established and often
  high-end markets
• Several will upgrade the quality of the timber
  you DO have at the same time they are providing
  annual or more frequent supplemental income for
  you.

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Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

• Federal Funds (Farm Bill 2002 NRCS)
• Practices fescue conversion, shrub planting,
  tree planting, bottomland hardwood planting,
  Timber Stand Improvement,
• Cost-share 75
• Contact your local NRCS District Conservationist

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Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

• Federal Funds (Farm Bill 2002 FSA)
• Practices riparian buffer (tree planting 50-180
  from stream), fence, pipeline and tank,
• Cost-share 50 (plus 40 incentive bonus)
• Contact your local FSA Office

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Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP)

• Federal funds (Farm Bill 2002 U.S.F.S.)
• (next funding cycle? never?)
• Administered by KDF
• Practices invasive species removal, tree
  planting, Timber Stand Improvement,
• Cost-share 75
• Contact your local KDF Forester

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Other Farm Bill Programs

• Federal funds (Farm Bill 2002 - NRCS)
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
• Conservation Security Program (CSP)
• Wetland Reserve Program (WRP)
• Contact your local NRCS District Conservationist

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Landowner Incentive Program (LIP)

• Federal funds (U.S. Fish Wildlife Service not
  consistent)
• Partnership program KSNPC, KDFWR, TNC
• Available in targeted focus areas Kentucky River
  Palisades (Fayette, Jessamine, Woodford, Garrard,
  Madison) benefit T E species
• Practices tree and shrub planting, fescue
  conversion, cave gates, owl and bat boxes,
• Cost-share 75-100 (very competitive)
• Contact your local KDFWR Private Lands Biologist

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Habitat Incentive Program (HIP)

• State funds
• Practices fescue conversion is priority, but
  tree planting is an option
• Cost-share max 500
• Contact your local KDFWR Private Lands Biologist

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Timber Production, Utilization, Marketing
Program

• Local funding (Tobacco Settlement Phase I Model
  Program)
• May require Forest Stewardship or Forest
  Management Plan (KDF)
• Practices transplanting seedlings, weed control,
  Timber Stand Improvement (thinning, pruning,),
  portable sawmills,
• Cost-share 50 (5,000 maximum)
• Contact local Conservation District, or Ag.
  Extension Agent
• (not available in all counties Clay,
  Harrison, Henry, Lewis, Scott)

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• Bottom line
• There is an abundance of financial assistance
  available, as well as technical assistance.