Regenerative Agriculture at the Glynwood Incubator

Transcription

1 Regenerative Agriculture at the Glynwood Incubator Agroecological Site Assessment & Land Use Recommendations Hudson Valley Farm Business Incubator, New Paltz NY Glynwood, Inc.

2 Goals 3 Site Analysis & Assessment 4 Slopes 4 Water 5 Access & Circulation 6 Vegetation 7 Soils 8 Design Options & Recommendations 10 Regenerative Land Use Palette for Glynwood Incubator 14 Ecological Preserve 14 Productive Buffers 14 Coppice 15 Light Forestry 15 Mixed Forest Enterprises 16 Nut Production 16 Silvopasture 17 Orchards 18 Planned Grazing 19 Annual Crops 19

3 Goals AppleSeed Permaculture held a design and planning charrette with the core team of the Glynwood Incubator on June 27th The group collectively identified the following goals for the Incubator, which AppleSeed has edited for clarity and consistency: To develop new sustainable farm businesses in the Hudson Valley and beyond. Trialing and developing best practices Developing financial models and pathways for beginning farmers Building vibrant community life around the farm To restore farmland and build new topsoil. Developing the fertility and productivity of the Glynwood Incubator land, and the future land that trainees will eventually farm. To train beginning farmers in the best current agro-ecological practices and principles. To exemplify a productive partnership between a community land trust and diverse agricultural enterprises. To develop collaborative relationships with other organizations in the community and region. Building the connection between philanthropic capital and new farm businesses. To create new pathways for farmland access and financial viability. To produce and market excellent quality agricultural products. To make a significant contribution to farmer education and training in the Hudson Valley and beyond. (Earlier documents have also articulated similar sets of goals for the Incubator, and this set of freshly crafted goals was intended to add to, rather than replace, that previous work.) The group also identified three circles of influence of the project: at the smallest scale, the Glynwood Incubator property itself and the enterprises and land use taking place there; at a larger scale, the food system of the Hudson Valley bioregion; and at a larger still scale, the relocalizing agricultural movement nationwide through sharing the learning and development at Glynwood with farms and organizations doing related and complementary work around the US. At all three levels the project has a particular focus on farm access, financing, farmer training, and best agro-ecological practices.

4 Site Analysis & Assessment AppleSeed designers spent eight days in May and June 2014 researching the ecological context and setting of the Glynwood Incubator. We examined the Kleine Kill Watershed as a whole system as well as focusing on the leased Open Space Institute property (home of the Incubator) itself. Our analysis and assessment focused on Slopes, Water, Vegetation, Access & Circulation, and Soils. Summaries of our findings are reproduced here. Larger high-resolution digital versions of these maps will be provided as separate documents for Glynwood use. Slopes Overall Assessment Observations ~60% of the property is gentlysloping, SE and NW facing on either side of the Kleine Kill. ~30% of the property is relatively flat; nearly all of this area is currently open pasture and/or wetland. ~10% has moderate to steep slopes. Most of these slopes are wooded, surrounding and behind the farm core. An elevation change of ~160 ft occurs across the property from high point to low point. ~ Interpretations ~ Slopes pose relatively few limits for livestock-based agriculture. ~ Flattest areas of the property are poorly drained, providing few opportunities for annual tillage agriculture. ~ Steep slopes surrounding the farm core constrain access, circulation, and limit land use options. ~ Some opportunities exist for gravity-fed irrigation on the property. > Design Directions

5 Water > Grazing, tree crop, and forest enterprises are the most appropriate agricultural options across most of the property. > Work with slopes and contours to pattern grazing layout and build topsoil. > For annual production, focus on unirrigated / dryfarmed crops and limit tillage to the few better-drained, shallow-slope sites. Overall Assessment Observations The property is full of water, with 4 distinct stream systems crossing through and multiple multi-acre wetland complexes present. Clay soils retain water across the site, especially in lower fields. This land is a significant portion - around 5-8% - of the entire Kleine Kill watershed. Most pastures on property have significant water features adjacent to them or within them. ~ Interpretations ~ Land use decisions here will have significant impact on the whole Kleine Kill watershed. ~ Keeping water clean, both onsite and downstream is essential for any livestock operation. ~ Different strategies will be required for water quality at different parts of site. ~ Some wetter areas are more appropriate for woody crops and/or conservation than livestock. ~ Opportunity exists to research and experiment with productive stream and wetland buffers. > Design Directions > Widen existing buffers and develop them into productive agroforestry strips. > Work with streams to define grazing areas. > Limit or remove grazing in wettest areas of current pastures. > Experiment with keyline plowing and patterning for soil fertility and water management. > Build earthen ponds to provide gravity-fed irrigation (to pastures or crops). > Restore existing ponds for gravity-fed irrigation. > Assess large culvert under Lenape Lane and repair, reinforce, or replace if needed. > Consider paddy rice production in low-lying clay soil areas.

6 Access & Circulation Overall Assessment Observations Glynwood incubator is a mixed-use property - the public & the farm share access and use. Property is adjacent to a major road (& between the only two over-mountain routes connecting New Paltz & the Rondout Valley) Water barriers exist throughout property - streams, wetlands, seasonally wet soils. Several productive areas are distant and/or hard to access from farm core. Most woodland areas have limited or awkward access routes Several fields are visually shielded from core routes & areas. Extensive poison ivy limits foot traffic in certain areas. ~ Interpretations ~ Potential for out of sight out of mind neglect or inadequate maintenance issues with distant or less-visible areas. ~ Due to the public nature of the property and the publicly visible and supported nature of the project, actions & decisions here will have visibility and impact far beyond this one property. ~ The Brook Farm core is more centrally located, with better access to more of the farm property, than the Pine Farm core. > Design Directions > Pattern more intensive forms of production with more accessible and visible parts of property. > Expand and clarify access routes for intensively managed woodland areas > Avoid creating new stream crossings for water quality. > Experiment with goats for animal-based poison ivy control in heavily affected areas.

7 Vegetation Overall Assessment Observations ~⅔ of property is currently pasture, open wetland, or built infrastructure; ~⅓ is forested. Pastures vary significantly in vegetation composition, size, and quality. Forest stands vary from younger, juniperdominated stands, to older hardwood stands, to diverse riparian corridors. Several forested and open wetlands are present on the property. Most forested stands are wet, recently disturbed, containing many invasive species, or all 3. Extensive poison ivy exists in certain locations. ~ Interpretations ~ Riparian corridors provide major biodiversity on the property - wildlife travel corridors, setting for aquatic and riparian food webs and ecosystems. ~ Older forest stands on northwest and north sides of the property link the farm to the vast Shawangunk Mountains ecoregion. ~ Many forest stands contain diverse hardwoods with future timber potential. ~ Poison ivy limits safe access and use of some areas. ~ Pasture on flatter sites is wet, poorly drained, and of lower forage quality. ~ Pasture on steeper slopes shows clear signs of degradation/overgrazing. ~ Introduced plants in younger forest stands may limit or change understory development into the future. ~ Many pastures large enough (20+ acres) to support reproductive grassland bird populations of multiple species. > Design Directions > Concentrate grazing on mid-slope, gently rolling topography, minimize impacts where flat, wet, or steep. > Develop younger and less-sensitive forested sites into silvopasture woodlands. > Develop northwest-side forest complex into diversity of forest enterprises (sugaring, timber, cropping, forest farming, silvopasture, etc.) while avoiding equipment impact on wetlands.

8 > Expand buffers along Kleine Kill and major wetlands (particularly those in west and south corners of the property). > Control poison ivy with goats where present. > Avoid impacts on steepest forested slopes - place woods roads/skid trails through more gently sloping areas. > For successional, woody pastures, consider 3 options on a site-by-site basis: graze now, allow to succeed towards forest, or plant and redirect succession towards woody agriculture? > Maintain largest unbroken pastures (north of Lenape Lane, southwest of Pine Road) as open fields to allow for grassland bird nesting. Graze these only lightly before July 15th whenever possible to encourage nesting success. Soils Overall Assessment Observations Most soils on the property, and nearly all soils in current pasture cover, are glaciolacustrine silts and clays. Small areas of class 2 silt loams are found along Butterville Rd, in the central low fields enclosed by hedgerows, and in the south-southwest of the property currently in annual production. Most till-based soils on the property are forest covered and/or moderately to steeply sloped. Substantial portions of current open fields are class 4w silty clay loams, surrounding streams and the wettest pastures on the property. ~ Interpretations ~ Most soils here are too heavy, wet, and/or sloping for tillage. ~ Much of the property s current pastures are on poorly drained silts and clays. Betterdrained pastures will be vital rotation sites during spring and wet periods of summer.

9 ~ Poorly-drained pastures may provide forages during drought and in late summer/early fall when drier sites are less productive and more vulnerable to erosion. ~ Sites on the property with adequate soils for tillage are still vulnerable to erosion and/or compaction. > Design Directions > Protect vulnerable soils from erosion, compaction, and pollution through careful livestock planning and management. > Regenerate soil fertility through planned grazing, agroforestry, and water management. > Utilize best annual farming practices (see Annual Crops on page 19) to conserve and build topsoil and prevent erosion and soil loss in tillage areas.

10 Design Options & Recommendations At the June 27th design and planning charrette, the core Glynwood Incubator team collectively identified the following infrastructural design elements as priorities for placement and development on the property. They further identified a set of likely productive land use options, to be utilized in appropriate locations on the property with appropriate enterprise planning. Based on this collective work and the site analysis and assessment work presented above, AppleSeed designers have prepared a master set of recommended regenerative land use practices for the Incubator property. The first wholeproperty design map below presents a range of land use options for each distinct area, while the second presents AppleSeed s recommendation of the most appropriate and productive option for Glynwood to consider in each of those same areas. Design Elements - Infrastructure (generated by group at 6/27 charrette) Barn(s)- Hay and livestock Housing (trainees, potentially staff) Spectrum of people space common shared restricted private Hoop houses and greenhouses Cold storage (freezer) Sugar house Processing facilities Loading/unloading area for tractor-trailers Water infrastructure Collection Irrigation Lines Ponds Fences Compost area Design Options - Land Use (generated by group at 6/27 charrette) Productive Buffers Hedgerows/windbreaks

11 Demonstration/trial areas - connect to research priorities Planned Grazing Annual Production vegetables small grains Forest Farming sugaring mushrooms Light forestry - timber/firewood

12 Developed by AppleSeed designers based on site analysis & assessment and group charrette input.

13 Developed by AppleSeed designers based on site analysis & assessment and group charrette input.

14 Regenerative Land Use Palette for Glynwood Incubator Ecological Preserve Unmanaged preserves are often the most appropriate form of land use for areas that are remote, inaccessible, or ecologically sensitive and/or significant. Ecological preserves provide significant ecosystem services such as water filtration, carbon storage, habitat for biodiversity, and more. There is no financial cost to leaving land unmanaged, though some situations may benefit from improvements such as widened buffers, trash cleanup, or removal of introduced species. At the Glynwood Incubator property, areas ideal for unmanaged preserves include wetlands, maturing forests in the northwest of the property, and wet forest patches along Butterville Road. Productive Buffers Productive buffers are an emerging land use option for riverways. They combine the ecosystem services of traditional riparian buffers - onsite and downstream flood mitigation, water quality protection, wildlife corridors, carbon storage, and more - with perennial crop production. Productive buffer crops include medium-rotation woody coppice (such as black locust fenceposts or poplar for biomass), small fruit, nuts, late-cut hay, and artisan/decorative crops. At the Glynwood Incubator property, existing riparian buffers can be widened to increase their ecological value, while keeping land in production and trialing productive buffer systems and enterprises. Recommended References & Resources Grow Agriculturally Productive Buffers, Elizabeth Brownlee - uvm.edu.seagrant/files/ag_productive_buffers_-_farmer_handout fall_2013_small.pdf How To Design a Riparian Buffer For Agricultural Land, USDA/NRCS - documents/agroforestrynotes/an04rfb03.pdf

15 Coppice Coppice forestry is an ancient form of land use practiced by traditional societies around the world for thousands of years, and being rediscovered and revived in the 21st century as a response to climate change and resource depletion. Coppice utilizes the natural regrowth of broadleaf trees and shrubs to harvest and continually regrow a wide variety of wood products, such as firewood, biomass for pellet fuels, basketry materials, fenceposts, natural building materials, mulch, fodder (tree hay), and more. These materials can be produced through coppice with much lower carbon emissions and other resource costs than their fossil fuel-based equivalents. At the Glynwood Incubator property, coppice production could be an appropriate use for wetter sites (such as the lowlands along Pine Rd.) as well as a component of expanded productive buffers. It is an ideal candidate for research and development trials, as the production and management systems for various coppice enterprises in temperate North America are still being discovered and developed. Recommended References & Resources Note: Few quality North America-based resources on coppice production exist. A comprehensive North American coppice manual is currently in development by AppleSeed colleagues Dave Jacke and Mark Krawczyk. The following resources from the British Isles may be helpful background materials for developing systems at Glynwood. Short Rotation Willow Coppice best practices manual - ruralenvironment/environment/bioenergyscheme/willowbestpracticemanual pdf What Is Coppice? - Light Forestry With careful silviculture, farm woodlots can produce a steady stream of firewood and timber for on-farm use and occasional sale while sustainably managing forest resources for the future. Key components of on-farm light forestry include: a forest management plan that considers long-term forest stand health, diversity, and productivity; ability to process wood products on-farm (i.e. portable sawmill, splitting equipment) to minimize costs; proper placement of landings and entry roads to minimize water and soil impacts; and (if timber sales are planned) relationships with one or more excellent and ecologically skillful local forester(s) and logger(s). At the Glynwood Incubator property, forest parcels along Butterfield Road and in the northwest of the property have the potential for small-scale sustainable wood and timber production. Care needs to be taken to enter wetter forest stands only during snow cover and to avoid soil impacts from equipment.

16 Recommended References & Resources More Than a Woodlot: Getting the Most From Your Family Forest, Steven Long & Northern Woodlands magazine - NY State resources on private forest land management - Mixed Forest Enterprises (Timber, Firewood, Sugaring, Mushrooms, other Forest Farming) In addition to timber and firewood production, many forest stands are appropriate for a wide diversity of small forest-based enterprises. These can include maple sugaring and understory forest farming (mushrooms, woodland medicinal herbs, other specialty shade crops). In general, woodland sites with richer soils have the greatest potential to support both Sugar Maple stands and woodland medicinal herb production, while sites with poorer soils are appropriate for mushroom production along with timber and fuelwood. Access to forest enterprise sites and minimizing impact on streams and wet forest soils are important considerations. The diverse forest parcels behind Brook Farm have some of the greatest potential for mixed forest enterprise development on the property, due to proximity to infrastructure and diversity of forest conditions. Other parcels on the property also have potential to support sugar maple production and/or understory crops. Recommended References & Resources Farming the Woods, Ken Mudge & Steve Gabriel (forthcoming, Sept 2014) How, When, and Why of Forest Farming, Cornell University (free online self-study course) - hwwff.cce.cornell.edu/ Nut Production Nut trees are a long-term perennial crop with considerable untapped potential in the Northeast. Widely found in warmer climates, cold-climate nut production is a key area of research and development in the regenerative agriculture field. Currently, three nut crops appear to have the most commercial potential in our climate - Chinese and hybrid chestnuts; black walnuts (for nuts or timber); and hybrid hazels (for nuts and/or oil). Nuts can be produced in traditional orchards or as a component of productive buffer or silvopasture systems. Historically, nut production in temperate climates has typically been supported by

17 cooperatives providing centralized processing, marketing, and sales for many small production sites, and revived nut production systems in our region will likely again require these types of aggregated systems for profitable production. The Glynwood Incubator property has potential for nut crops and could trial production systems at several sites on the property, including the smaller sloping field on Butterville Rd. Recommended References & Resources Collected nut production resources by UVM Extension - nuts.html Growing Chestnuts in the Northeast, Sandra Anangostakis, CT Ag Experiment Station Nut Growing in the Northeast, L.H. McDaniels, Cornell Cooperative Extension Silvopasture (Savannah, Alley, or Woodland spacing; Forest to Silvopasture or Field to Silvopasture establishment) Silvopasture is an agroforestry practice combining trees, forages, and livestock in one integrated system. Widely used in many areas of the world, silvopasture systems have been rare in the modern Northeast but are currently being revived and developed around the region. Advantages of silvopasture include multiple layers and types of production from a single piece of land, year-round access to shade for livestock (improving animal health), greater carbon storage in pasture lands, and (in some systems) diversified diets for livestock leading to healthier animals and higher-quality meat. Silvopasture requires rotational grazing to be sustainable, as well as proper tree and animal stocking and effective forage management. There are many different possible silvopasture systems, depending on livestock, tree species, and production/management objectives. Three general spatial patterns for silvopasture include savanna spacing, woodland spacing, and alley spacing. Savanna spacing features between ft^2 of tree basal area per acre, and is generally too widely spaced to produce marketable timber (but can support nut production or other non-timber tree products). Woodland spacing features between ft^2 of tree basal area per acre, and can support timber production when site quality is sufficient for particular timber species. Alley spacing involves densely planted alleys or shelterbelts of trees, often laid out on contour or keyline, widely spaced enough to support strips of pasture between them. The alley trees can produce fruit, nuts, fodder, and/or wood products.

18 Silvopasture systems can be established either by planting trees into pasture, or thinning forest or tree plantations enough to establish forages. At the Glynwood Incubator property, several areas have potential for development into silvopasture systems. The drier forests along Butterfield Rd. and the patchy, hilly area behind Pine Farm have potential for thinning into woodland silvopasture spacing, while the southern fields near the property line have potential for trialing alley silvopasture laid out on contour or keyline. Recommended References & Resources Silvopasturing in the Northeast, Brett Chedzoy and Peter Smallidge, Cornell Cooperative Extension - Northeast Silvopasture ning (practitioner social network) - Orchards Orchards are a well-known agricultural practice with an important role to play in diversified regenerative farming systems. In addition to providing homestead-scale or commercial-scale fruit production, orchards capture and store more carbon than annual crops and provide habitat for birds and pollinators. Orchards can be developed to be more ecological through diversifying fruit species and varieties, growing part-shade crops in the understory, integrating with animals in certain silvopasture systems, integrating with intensive vegetable production similar to Biointensive gardening, and managing pest populations holistically. Several sites at the Glynwood Incubator property could be developed into single-crop or diversified orchards, including the current vegetable production area in the southwest of the property and the small fields near and abutting Butterville Road. Recommended References & Resources The Holistic Orchard, Michael Phillips - the_holistic_orchard:paperback A Future For Organic Apple Growing in the Northeast, Laura Sayre, Rodale Institute Cornell Fruit Growing Resources -

19 Planned Grazing Planned grazing is one of the most important practices in the global toolkit of regenerative agriculture. With proper landscape assessment, appropriate species and breed selection, quality stocking and rotation planning, careful observation of weather, pasture vegetation, and animal behavior, and well-timed rotations, planned grazing can rapidly regenerate pasture and rangeland. It can rebuild topsoil lost to overgrazing, compaction, and other forms of land degradation, while providing for greater animal health and nutrition than would be possible in a fixed-lot operation. Planned grazing is necessary for silvopasture systems to function and remain productive long-term, and can also be used for land clearing and invasive species control purposes. At the Glynwood Incubator property, planned grazing will be the lifeblood of both farm enterprises and land regeneration. With scores of acres currently in open pasture, a diversity of slopes and pasture vegetation compositions, and potential for multiple forms of silvopasture development, many diverse types of planned grazing operations are possible and viable here. AppleSeed s design options map recommends certain areas of the property for certain species of livestock, as well as for certain silvopasture practices (see Silvopasture above), as well as areas to return to conservation reserves or transition out of grazing into woody crops. Recommended References & Resources Holistic Management International - Extensive resources, both free and for sale, on whole farm planning, holistic decision-making, and planned grazing. Silvopasturing in the Northeast, Brett Chedzoy and Peter Smallidge, Cornell Cooperative Extension - Annual Crops Annual crops - grains, legumes, vegetables, and other specialty crops - are central to the global food system. Although mechanized annual agriculture has greatly contributed to erosion, desertification, water pollution, and climate change around the world, it is possible to grow annual crops while conserving (and even building) topsoil, water quality, and biodiversity. A large basket of sustainable, organic farming practices have been developed for annual crop systems, including organic no-till, drip irrigation, cover cropping, composting, and integration with perennial crops through agroforestry and biointensive micro-farming. At the Glynwood Incubator property, most soils are too heavy, wet and/or sloping to be appropriate for annual tillage agriculture. Those areas that are appropriate for annual crops are excellent places to utilize these best practices and trial new soil-building systems for the largeracreage annual farms that trainees may oversee in the future. The Incubator property also contains

20 several areas with potential for paddy rice production, a new addition to the regenerative agriculture toolkit of the Northeast US in recent years. Recommended References & Resources Organic No-Till Farming, Jeff Moyer, Rodale Institute - Ecological Rice Farming in the Northeastern USA, Cornell University A Comprehensive Guide to Cover Crop Species Used in the Northeast United States, USDA NRCS -