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The following projects were selected for funding this year by the Southern SARE Administrative Council because they all demonstrated particular strengths that Southern SARE looks for in Producer Grant projects. The reviewers of Producer Grants use the guidelines in the call for proposals to guide them in their evaluations of all the proposals submitted to the program. The more closely a project follows the guidelines, the better chance it has of being funded. Each of the projects funded this year received a thorough technical review. Then the final review and funding decisions were made by the Southern SARE Administrative Council. No single project is an example of the perfect project; every project has its own strengths and every project can be made a little bit better. But there were certain things that the reviewers noted that stood out in this year's crop of funded projects. Summaries of the proposals with their project numbers and titles can be found below. The reviewers always look for proposals that are well organized like projects FS05-189 and FS05-192. If they can easily read the proposal and clearly see what the producer or producer organization wants to do, and how they are going to do it, the reviewers can more easily understand the goals. Reviewers also look for good project designs and goals as in project FS05-189. Another thing reviewers always look for is strong letters from cooperators that state what the cooperator intends to do in the project. Reviewers always look to see that the project addresses a serious problem that affects a number of growers or an industry. This was the case for FS05-190 and FS05-192. Strong outreach is also something that is important to a successful producer grant project. Sometimes, just a different approach to an issue, for example using existing infrastructure to produce alternative crops--for which there is an existing market--results in a good proposal as in project FS05-186. So, the reviewers don't simply look for projects dealing with particular crops or animals. They look for projects that best meet the goals for sustainable agriculture that are in the call for proposals. We have high hopes for these newly funded projects but it will be a year or two before we know their outcomes and results. To see the results from previously funded and completed producer grant projects, please go to our national projects database. Below are the 2005 funded Producer Grant projects with summaries from the proposals.
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FS105-186 Growing Alternative Crops in Tobacco Greenhouses Due to the present uncertainty and instability of burley tobacco, many older producers are contemplating retirement from tobacco production, while others are looking to diversify into animal and/or crop production, or full time employment off the farm. Tobacco producers that have produced transplants are now contemplating how to best utilize their greenhouses that will not be used for future transplant production. It is our proposal that these greenhouses lend ample opportunity for alternative uses, such as hydroponic vegetable, herb, and floral production. At this time, there is inadequate research material available to advise producers in the production of hydroponics in tobacco greenhouse settings. This project will enable the farmers market, producers, and Extension agents to assess the feasibility of hydroponic production of vegetables and herbs and provide clients with current production and budget information. The local Extension agents will also be available to determine other potential growers to assist in the trials and data collection. Current data does not exist to determine if production of bib lettuce in tobacco greenhouses is feasible. However, local commitment to purchase bib lettuce has prompted the farmers market, Extension agents and producers to consider the economics and pursue test trials of hydroponic lettuce production for both feasibility and production practices. Our market sales manager has also identified a need for herb production during non peak production seasons and is working to cultivate marketing options for these herbs. Crop budgets will be developed to determine potential income. The proposed crops would be grown in a similar manner using similar management skills as tobacco production such as seeding styrofoam trays and floating the trays on a nutritionally balanced water source. Routine scouting for insects and disease will be a top priority. Germination rate, survival rate, harvested heads, and final marketable product will all be monitored and documented. An Extension farm management agent will work with producers and extension personnel to develop budgets for the crop to be demonstrated. Local extension agents would collect data, such as operating input costs, various fixed costs and per pound returns. At the end of the growing season, data will be summarized to show profit over variable costs with varying yields and prices. Charlie Broadwater FS105-187 Soil Building and Fertility through Cover Cropping among Limited Resource Farmers The increasing amounts of inorganic fertilizer and the resultant expense that many limited resource and minority farmers use has become a financial burden. They feel they must use these expensive inputs because they farm nutrient poor soils. Some of the producers in the Selma-Dallas Small Farmers Association believe that if they could reduce the amount of money spent on the purchase of chemical fertilizer, they would be able to earn more from their individual operations. They will try to accomplish this through the use of cover crops. They will use cover crops as the primary way to increase the fertility of the soil and to lower the cost incurred by our members in providing nutrients to the soil for the growing of our crops. Pest management and weed control are additional benefits that may be derived from the cultivation of cover crops, and contribute to the reduction in the cost of producing the crops. The project will be carried out on five separate farms with each farm devoting a half-acre of land to this on-farm research. The land will be divided into two quarter-acre treatment plots with one devoted to the conventional, chemical-dependent approach, and the other to cover cropping. The Selma-Dallas Small Farmers Association will demonstrate the result of its proposed solution by comparing the percentage of soil organic matter, the level of biodiversity in the soil, and the general fertility of the soil of the two treatment plots. Soil test analysis will be carried out on the treatment plots to show the extent to which cover cropping can build soil fertility, while remaining cost-effective. In the area of pest management, they will determine the extent to which the environmentally friendly, natural pest management approaches worked by recording the plant damage and the recording of the presence beneficial insects in the treatment plots. The evidence of success in sustainable weed management will be determined by the reduction in the number of hours spent removing weeds from the treatment plot, the extent to which the cover crops suppressed the weeds or disrupted their growing cycle, and the cost-effectiveness of doing it. John Brown FS105-188 Aquaculturally Derived Products as Fertilizers for High-value Organic Crop Production The aquaculture industry in the Southeastern United States is valued at around $600 million at farm-gate. However, the industry suffers millions of dollars in lost revenues because of fish deaths and predation. Death of fish in ponds can be due to abiotic factors such as mechanical and electrical failures and to biotic factors such as disease. While over half of the live fish production in the region is catfish, the tilapia fish industry has shown consistent expansion. Tilapia is currently the second most important aquaculture species in the world and the third most important seafood commodity imported into the US after marine shrimp and Atlantic salmon. Since 1991, Tilapia production has increased at a rate of 20 percent per year. The problem of waste due to rapid reproduction and mechanical failure (aeration failures) necessitates the development of plans to deal with fish loss. If losses are high, the profitability of aquaculture enterprises is compromised and they will be unable to remain sustainable in the long term due to increased competition from Asia and South America . Generally, dead fish are of little or no value. However, if deceased fish are handled effectively, they can be converted into a potentially high-value organic fertilizer that has significant market value at the wholesale and retail level. Such fertilizers can eliminate the economic losses due to fish kill and overproduction. It is the purpose of this project to demonstrate that fish emulsions produced from tilapia co-cultivated with Spirulina algae, are effective organic fertilizers and will support the growth of various of high value plants. Dissemination of the results of this work will serve to stimulate the demand for fish emulsion and other by-products and simultaneously create an alternative market for products from the aquaculture industry. If the fish emulsion products can be certified as "organic", then such certification will add a premium to the selling price and create increased demand for the product. There is significant potential to increase the economic sustainability of south east aquaculture enterprises by developing fish-based fertilizer. The producer intends to produce fish co-cultivated with algae to make 300 gallons of emulsion. He will characterize the product by submitting samples for laboratory analysis. And he will obtain preliminary estimates of the economic feasibility of production fish/algae emulsion fertilizer as an alternative product for aquaculture. In a series of experiments, he plans to test the fish emulsion fertilizer as a sole nutrient for support of growth of selected high value crops and compare yields with current state of the art production methods. He will set up demonstrations to show other producers how to cultivate and manage selected high value crops using the fish/algae emulsion fertilizer. He will also disseminate the results of experiments and demonstrations to others through field days, trade publications, professional meetings, and web pages. Marc Cardoso
FS105-189 Salsa Pepper Project Small family farmers in the south will no longer have tobacco as a way to earn money to pay property taxes, pay the extra cost for gasoline and make the truck payments. "In order for farmers to keep what we have and keep our kids on the farm rather than selling out to the real estate developers we need to grow different crops and have a better way to market what we grow." This producer plans to grow different crops that favor her soil and climate and water. She is choosing peppers. This past year she grew different peppers to see what they looked like, what they tasted like, how they grew and what foods they could be made into. She especially looked at salsa and which varieties could be used to make a salsa for half the cost of regular tomato salsa. She has determined how to grow the peppers to get the best production and how to space the plants to get a tractor down the rows for weed control. In this project, she will show that the varieties that can be sold fresh or made into delicious salsa can be grown with no pesticides and with the same fertilizer used on tobacco. She will also demonstrate how many plants can fit on an acre and how many pounds can be obtained per plant. She estimates that she can fit 6000 - 7,000 plants per acre and get at least three pounds of peppers per plant. She will demonstrate the best way to pick the peppers and how to pack and process them. She'll also show how to dehydrate peppers and get the seed from them for next years' crop. She will market the peppers, seeds and salsa locally and through the Internet. Sara Gardner FS105-190 Addressing Cedar Infestations - Using Animal Impact to Increase Forage Production and Improve Soil Health Throughout the U.S. ,noxious or "problem" plant species are affecting thousands of acres of productive agricultural land. In Texas , one of the key species affecting ranchers, is cedar (redberry and liveberry juniper). Ranchers then have increased expenses trying to eradicate cedar through burning, bulldozing, and/or herbicides. These treatments not only decrease profits, they lead to compromised soil health, reduced retention of soil water and decreased biodiversity. Ranchers consider cedar, like other "problem" plants, to be in competition with more desirable forage species. Thus, many focus on removing the problem plants rather than improving soil health. This project will focus on improving soil health, increasing the bulk of desirable forage species, and reducing the establishment of new cedar trees. It will not involve removing existing cedars. On the West Ranch (Ozona, Texas), the research team will select a test area on which we will demonstrate improved soil health, increased forage production, and possibly a reduction in the establishment of new cedars, when compared to an adjacent control area on the ranch. The staff will subdivide a test area of 1200 acres into one 200-acre "paddock" and ten 100-acre "paddocks" to increase the density at which they run their herd of cattle and hair sheep, and reduce the amount of time the animals spend on any square yard of land. In the adjacent control area (a 200-acre pasture where cattle and sheep will be run on continuous graze) the animals will be at a much lower density and remain there year round. Managing animal density is extremely important because 100 animals on 50 acres for 3.65 days creates an entirely different effect on the land than 1 animal on 50 acres for 365 days. In the test area, the staff plan to ensure that forage species are not overgrazed by giving them adequate recovery times between grazings. If growth is fast, then the animals won't return to a paddock earlier than about 90 days. If growth is slow then they won't return earlier than 120-180 days. The project's research team believes that the effect of the higher density, or increased "animal impact" in the test area, combined with the recovery time in between grazings, will lead to increased forage production (animal hooves break up the capped soil surface so air and water can better penetrate, creating conditions for more plants to germinate and establish), and thus more soil cover (due to greater plant density and to trampling down of old plant parts to provide litter). By keeping more of the soil surface covered, a better microenvironment for soil organisms will be created and the research team would expect to see an increase in their numbers and perhaps species, and water losses due to evaporation and runoff would be reduced leading the research team to expect to see a greater depth in water penetration, and fewer signs of erosion. Given adequate recovery times between grazings, we would expect more vigorous, soil binding, perennial grass root systems. Peggy Cole Jones
FS105-191 Silvopasture for forage, cattle and trees In order to sustain the economic viability of the farm operation over the long term, we must have more than one way to make a living from the land. I feel that silvopasture will make the most efficient use of my farm resources and add another cash crop to my farm operation. My goal is to plant pine trees in different variations of rows and clusters in order to maintain the original pasture while creating a new income enhancing crop on the land. These trees will also enhance my present operation by providing shade and shelter for my cattle. Planting trees on this pasture area will increase the water quality on my farm by reducing erosion along creek banks and ponds. Perhaps the most important goal of this project is to educate the small farming community and other limited resource farmers about the benefits of planting trees on pasture land. I plan to optimize rather than maximize the production of cattle, lumber and forage. The first few years I will cultivate the trees and cut the hay for winter forage for the cattle. After the trees are a viable size I will use the pasture for the cattle in the summer. This will maximize my opportunities to improve the economic value of my land. In this way I will show how introducing silvopasture will diversify farm enterprises. I plan to hold a Field Day to educate local cattle farmers about the opportunity of incorporating trees into their cattle farm, creating several cash crops, and maintaining their current farming operation. I will also develop flyers to be used at farm meetings. John Keeler
FS105-192 Managing Cover Crops Under-The-Trellis: A Vital Step Toward Vineyard Sustainability Wine grape production is rapidly increasing in Virginia and North Carolina . Current management of 'under-the-trellis' area in vineyards does not have a strategy to preserve and more importantly improve soil structure. Mechanisms in established vineyards are considered difficult due to the permanence and space issues of trellis wires, posts, and permanent vines. The first few years of a vineyard site have minimal implications, as pre-existing soil structure is present; yet vineyards three or more years of age could benefit from preserving and improving soil structure. A natural mechanism to manage soil structure has a wealth of benefits, including: reducing soil compaction, improving soil aeration, improving soil drainage, building of organic matter, and development of beneficial microbial biodiversity in the soil. These benefits are tangible to farmers in terms of improved vine health, such as maintaining vigor over the life span of the vineyard, increasing life span, and maintaining optimum yields while improving fruit quality. The factors accumulate to improve the economic 'bottom line' for farmers. Use of cover crop rotations under the trellis in vineyards three or more years of age is the only solution to improving soil structure in established vineyards. Currently eastern states vineyards do maintain permanent grasses in the drive-aisles for tractor access throughout the season. Cover crops are proven to bring the needed positive benefits to soils, yet their management in vineyards needs exploration and promotion. This project seeks to illustrate the guiding principals of managing cover crops under the trellis in vineyards on the premise that improved soil quality will improve vine health and thus: a) increase life span of the vineyard, b) sustain higher yields, c) improve grape and wine quality, d) reduce chemical inputs. Requirements for use of cover crops in vineyards are complex and need clear definition for grower adoption. This project will solidify the understanding that use of cover crops can meet the numerous requirements for farmer adoption. Cover crops must meet the following system requirements: h ave low cost of establishment, establish rapidly to out compete weeds; not compete with vines when vines are rapidly growing (water and nutrient competition, actively utilize excess moisture during fruit ripening phase, maintain low height growth habit, suppress weeds as a mulch when either winter killed or 'manage killed', reduce herbicide applications per season and improve soil aeration, drainage and minimize erosion. Cover crop species used will be: perennial New Zealand White Clover, perennial Dutch White Clover and a companion grass mix (75% 'Essence' Dwarf Perennial Ryegrass & 25% Creeping Red Fescue), New Zealand White Clover (perennial), subterranean clover (annual) and Rape ( Brassica napus ) (annual). Jason Murray
FS105-193 Organic Farming in the Tropics with Legume Groundcover The general problem we are addressing is the improper use of agricultural land and the consequent effects on soil conservation and water resources. The principal reservoirs of Puerto Rico are rapidly losing their water storage capacity because of high rates of sediment influx and accumulation. In our area of Utuado, for example, the Lago Dos Bocas reservoir has over one half of its storage capacity since it was first measured in 1942. Erosion mitigation is essential to preserve the existing and future reservoirs. A mayor cause of erosion is agricultural land use without conservation practices, especially on our typically steep mountain terrain where the main crop is sun-grown coffee. Our organization is involved in efforts to model appropriate agricultural land use, in particular, through the cultivation of shade coffee. We are now in the fourth year of our Shade Coffee Reforestation Project consisting of 13 acres of shade coffee under plantain trees that will provide temporary shade during the growth process of leguminous trees that we have planted in this area (every 35 feet). Last year, through the support of a SARE Producer grant, we attempted to take this project a step further by producing an acre of organic coffee. An important component of this project was establishing a groundcover with arachis pantanal , called "mani pantanal" in Puerto Rico , for weed control. This was the most difficult part of our project. The great diversity of weeds and the excellent conditions for their growth makes their control one of the greatest challenges for organic farming in the tropics. As we sought to overcome this problem with groundcover, the small plants we established in the nursery were unable to compete with the aggressive tropical weeds. We were eventually forced to use chemicals on the weeds so that the groundcover could take hold. Though the rest of our project was successful, this failed component frustrated our attempt to grow organic shade coffee. Through Professor Grisely De Jesus, who teaches Agricultural Technology at the University of Puerto Rico, we learned of a different method for the propagation of "mani pantanal." She used this method successfully in an experiment she conducted with her students. It consists of establishing "carpets" of "mani pantanal" in specially designed, temporary nurseries. The method is very low-cost and requires a minimal amount of labor. We intend to implement the "carpet" method on the same acre we used for last year's SARE project. We will take advantage of the efforts and resources that were already dedicated to establishing an acre of organic coffee, which except for the ground cover, is doing well. Before we begin, we will photograph the area and measure exactly how many square feet of ground cover we now have. The degree of success will be measured by comparing the area, in square feet, where the "mani pantanal" takes hold in comparison to how much of it took hold as a result of our previous effort. We will also measure the costs in materials and labor, against last year's costs. These and all other comparables of each project will be displayed in a table for an overall view of the advantages of one over the other. Luis Miguel Rico FS105-194 On Farm Hatchery for Fingerling Catfish One of the greatest costs associated with commercial production of catfish is the purchase of fingerlings. Commercial fish farmers normally stock ponds with catfish fingerlings that are three to four inches long. The current average price for fingerlings of this size in Virginia from the large commercial hatchery operations is 50 cents per fish. Prices charged for fingerlings vary a great deal depending on the volume purchased and the geographical location of the hatchery. Virginia landowners who want to stock farm ponds for supplemental income from catfish farming have seen that prices charged for fingerlings grown by commercial hatcheries in Virginia and North Carolina cost much more than the same size fingerlings grown in Arkansas, Alabama or Mississippi. Several fish farmers in Virginia have experienced unacceptable death losses and poor performance when they purchased the less expensive fingerlings from distant states in the deep South. Shipping small catfish long distances places too much stress on the fingerlings. The high cost of locally grown catfish fingerlings and poor performance of fingerlings shipped to Virginia from distant states is a problem that has reduced the profitability of catfish production. The low availability of healthy fingerling catfish at reasonable cost is a problem for aquaculture operations throughout the northern part of the Southern region especially in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Landowners who are trying to raise catfish for commercial sales in farm ponds may be able to save money and increase income by learning how to produce their own fingerlings for stocking. Production systems used for growing fingerling catfish from eggs are well established. Commercial hatchery operators know exactly how to harvest the eggs, maintain proper temperature and aeration for hatching, how to feed the catfish fry, prevent diseases, etc. This information is widely available for private pond owners to obtain and follow. Information is not available, however, concerning the costs of operating a small on-farm catfish hatchery. Information is also not available concerning the costs and financial returns of marketing these fingerling fish in different marketing channels. Financial analysis of an on-farm catfish hatchery will be conducted so farmers can know whether they are better off to grow their own fingerlings or continue to buy them from the large commercial hatcheries. A test marketing program will be conducted so small-scale fingerling producers can know about the marketing requirements, market demand and costs of marketing with different kinds of buyers. Members of the Virginia Aquaculture Association will be especially glad to have local availability of catfish fingerlings in Central Virginia. In order to determine economic costs and financial returns, I will operate a small on-farm hatchery for production of fingerling catfish in 2005 and in 2006. I will harvest egg masses laid by the mature female catfish in my existing 16 acre pond. Placing open barrels along the pond banks, in four feet of water, for egg collection is a proven technique. The females will lay eggs in them and the males will fertilize them, almost as soon as the eggs are laid. I will hatch the harvested eggs in a steel trough using re-circulating water kept at 80 degrees F in my existing greenhouse. I will raise the tiny young fry for the first two weeks in this same trough. When the fry are ½ inch long and have consumed their yolk sacs, I will stock half of them into three 500 gallon tanks in my existing greenhouse. These tanks are eight feet in diameter and 26 inches deep. I will stock 2000 catfish fry in each tank and begin feeding them starter feed. Each tank will be aerated and kept at a temperature of 75 to 80 degrees F. I will stock the other half of my newly hatched catfish fry into two fine mesh net pens in a small shallow pond that I also own. These 6000 catfish fry will be subjected to natural summer temperatures and also fed a high protein starter ration. An aerator will be used to maintain oxygen levels in this shallow pond through the summer and fall. At the end of the project, I will use these records to develop an enterprise budget. I will also develop a report describing the results of the marketing study. James O. Shands
FS105-195 Alternative techniques for harvesting inland saltwater shrimp Foreign competition makes shrimp farming in the USA economically tenuous. The small inland shrimp industry in Alabama can be sustainable only if production techniques are extremely efficient and niche markets are solidified. Shrimp are usually harvested by draining ponds through a net or screening device. Shrimp come out of ponds primarily during the last 10 percent of pond volume because they are not concentrated before then, and because they swim against the discharge current. Often, a high biomass of shrimp remains in little water volume and become easily stressed from low dissolved oxygen and high temperatures. If the shrimp die during this phase of the harvest, they will remain in the mud where they are very difficult to remove before they spoil. Shrimp harvest is often an inefficient use of water and especially labor, and it is not uncommon to leave several percent of the produced volume of shrimp behind to spoil in the mud. Mortality at harvest is particularly disheartening, because it is wasteful of a living product and results in a direct economic loss. Inefficiency and mortality at harvest cannot be sustained by a successful producer. Shrimp are highly perishable. To assure a very high quality product for market, harvested product must be placed on ice immediately and transported to market or to a plant for processing. The fresh shrimp market offers reasonable prices and there is potential for selling shrimp into the higher priced live markets, but these business options can not be well exercised during a total pond harvest. Neither the fresh nor live markets can absorb a large quantity of shrimp at one point in time because of short shelf lives for fresh shrimp and distribution logistics. Partial harvesting of ponds by a typical drag seine is terribly inefficient, because the nets are heavy and slow, and hence shrimp are able to escape them. Shrimp can be trawl-harvested using a medium size boat equipped with an outboard motor, but the typical trawl is cumbersome, the catch per unit effort is relatively small, escaping shrimp are killed by the dragline and otter boards, and two laborers are required to manage the vessel. Other techniques that are less labor intensive, more efficient, and less stressful to live shrimp have to be developed in order to frequently remove small quantities of shrimp for sale to the more profitable niche markets. The techniques have to minimize labor, because labor is a scarce commodity in west Alabama . We propose to test two alternative harvesting techniques that, to our knowledge, have not been applied to shrimp ponds. One technique is to use a small, 300' long purse seine for concentrating shrimp around the discharge pipe at harvest to increase harvest efficiency. Purse seines are different from the typical drag seine in that they envelope the harvested animals as they concentrate them. One end remains stationary and the other end encircles a given area and is slowly drawn together to form a large bag containing the animals. We think this method and material will allow us to significantly reduce shrimp biomass in the ponds while the ponds still remain predominately full of water. Shrimp will, therefore, not be stressed and mortality will be minimal. Ultimately, to greatly reduce water usage and minimize discharge, a larger version of this seine may allow us to totally harvest ponds without draining ponds at all. We will further utilize a modified Alabama skimmer trawl to partially/selectively harvest shrimp for both the fresh and live markets. A skimmer trawl is fitted on an aluminum frame mounted on the bow of a medium size outboard motor driven boat. Nets are attached on each side of the boat and may be drawn in by one person operating the boat. By contrast, a typical trawl is dragged behind the motor boat and is difficult to pull in and not kill or lose the shrimp, and re-deploy as a single crewman without tangling the tow lines. The skimmer trawl is a spin-off from a larger marine type apparatus currently in use in coastal waters. The skimmer trawl has been tested in crawfish harvest and was proven to catch approx. the equivalent of 500 hand-raised wire mesh traps in 1/3 the time. We think the skimmer net will allow us to make frequent harvests of relatively small quantities of shrimp required for fresh and live markets. The net will be particularly important for the live market where shrimp must be handled with minimal stress in order to survive transport and storage in live tanks. Because the nets can be handled by one person, labor will be minimized. Catch (lbs) per unit of effort (people-hours) will be used to evaluate both techniques. We weight all shrimp harvested from ponds. We produce in 16 ponds. Therefore, we will measure the biomass harvested and the time and labor required to deploy and retrieve a purse seine in at least David Teichert-Coddington FS105-196 Weed Control for Row Crops Using Corrugating Linerboard/Medium Paper The purpose of this proposal is to address a problem caused by increasingly dry, long, hot summers in East Texas. Soils in this area are generally sandy loam. The soils are well suited to the crops (watermelons, peas, sweet corn and squash) that are grown by many limited resource small farmers. Most all of these growers utilize chemical and/or mechanical weed control methods. However with the gradual loss of organic matter from the soils, the soil's drought tolerance is diminishing. This lack of drought tolerance can leave a producer critically vulnerable in a dry growing season, thereby threatening the sustainability of his (her) operation. The average small farmer in this area works with fields of about 10 to 40 acres. Some producers have had success with the use of plastic barrier applied between rows for weed control. The primary drawback to this option is the added step of raking up the plastic at the end of the harvest to prevent any detrimental effects on the environment. My proposal is to conduct trials on two separate farms to demonstrate the environmental and economic benefits of using paper, a biodegradable and abundant alternative to plastic, for barrier style weed control. These trials will consist of side by side comparisons on each farm of each of these three different alternatives (mechanical, plastic barrier and paper barrier). There are two classes of paper to test. The first is linerboard, which is relatively rigid and durable. It is available in densities ranging from 33#/MSF to 69#/MSF. The other class is corrugating medium, which is relatively absorbent and has memory, in that it will more readily hold its shape when formed. It is available in densities ranging from 26#/MSF to 36#/MSF. Trials will be conducted to determine which class and density best achieves the goals of providing a barrier to prevent the growth of competing foliage for a period of four weeks after application and then blending easily into the soil when disked in after a period of 90-100 days in the elements. Michael E. Tolbert |
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