Attention all forage and livestock producers. in BC. The BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food is developing a Five-Year Knowledge Transfer Plan for Silvopasture in BC. When completed, this plan will outline the priority training, demonstrations, publications and decision support tools to help BC farmers and ranchers successfully plan, implement and manage silvopastures. George Powell is under contract to coordinate the development of this plan for the Ministry.
Silvopasture, is an agroforestry practice that integrates managed grazing with forage and tree production in the same land base. It blends agriculture, forestry and conservation objectives and practices to achieve economic, social and environmental benefits. As an integrated land use, silvopasture is an option for use in many types of livestock production, particularly in multi-use scenarios and with blended production-conservation goals.
Some examples include:
- Integrating grazing and timber on Crown range tenures (aka forest grazing);
- Diversifying pasture production and market risks;
- Improving water quality and watershed values, while maintaining forage production;
- Offering options to create managed zones of lowered wildfire risk around farm and ranch properties;
- Both mitigating (adding carbon sinks) and adapting (conserving soil moisture) to a changing climate; and,
- Improving animal welfare by buffering and sheltering livestock from weather extremes.
If you have experience with silvopasture, or are interested in learning more, we want to hear from you. Please complete a short survey and participate in a focus group. This information will help to profile silvopasture production practices and interests throughout BC and understand your motivation for using silvopasture. The surveys will allow you to rate support topics and support methods: how you prefer to learn and receive information.
More information, and access to the surveys is available at: https://www.agforinsight.com/
Deadline: the survey is open until September 5, 2022
For questions about the survey, or general inquiries on this work, please contact the project coordinator: George Powell, e: info@agforinsight.com, t: 250-983-5114.