"Change is necessary to remain in production agriculture today," George Owens, proprietor of George C. Owens Farms near Chipley, Florida, told the first World Congress of Agroforestry in Orlando, FL.
George is a pioneer in the development of silvopastoral management, starting in 1981 when he "took a chance on something new" by planting trees into livestock pasture. He continues to operate the oldest known silvopasture enterprise in the Southeast which extends over 150 acres of his farm in north Florida.
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Cattle graze within a loblolly pine silvopasture at the George C. Owens Farms near Chipley, Florida. (Photo courtesy George Owens) |
In his experience over many years, Owens has observed that when cattle prices are low, timber prices are generally high, and vice versa. Combined management allows him the flexibility to sell cattle, calves and/or timber in any given year, George said, and helps insulate him from low prices in any one market.
Establishment and Management
Owens described how he establishes a silvopasture by planting loblolly pine trees into shade-tolerant bahia grass pasture. Trees are initially planted in twin rows with 40 ft. alleys in between (about 450 stems per acre). Livestock are introduced at age 3 when the trees can resist grazing. He said that chemical lice control helps preclude the damage cattle can do by rubbing trees.
Rotational grazing methods are used, Owens said, to harvest not more than 50% of available forage at any one time. This helps maintain optimal pasture growth. Pine straw is harvested between 5-10 years after planting and provides a lucrative cash crop prior to timber revenue, he said, returning from $50 to $200 per acre per year.
At age 11, George thins the stand to 150-200 stems per acre; harvested trees are sold to the nearby pulp mill. The remaining trees are pruned to a 4 inch diameter top, he said, for a final target product of veneer logs to be felled at 20 years of age.
Although the opportunities are attractive, George Owens said that more landowners have not adopted silvopasture because of the inherent "resistance to change in production agriculture." In addition to managing his own lands, he advises others throughout the Southeast on how to improve their farm management with practices such as silvopasture, pine straw production, "bio-brush control" with meat goats, and wildlife habitat enhancement. For more information, visit his website, www.silvopasture.com.
By Miles Merwin, Editor