Business Is Booming At Organic Tree Farm
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Tree farmers can make more money by going organic, says Ron Heard, the first certified organic tree farmer in the U.S. He was already a certified organic hay producer, selling to horse owners at a premium. He also sold certified organic beef direct to consumers, so he knew the market for all things organic was growing fast.
"The market was strong for landscape trees so we decided to expand our operation and go organic," recalls Heard. "The University of Kentucky was the certifying agency, and they had to develop standards for us because we were the first tree farm to go organic."
The effort paid off. Today, he annually clears as much as $3,000 per acre from the several intensive tree farms he operates in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Two decisions have helped earn him that kind of return. First, he doesn't compete with big box stores like Wal-Mart and large nursery operations selling small, low cost seedlings. Instead he has large field grown trees available up to 20 ft. tall in more than 100 native species, as well as above ground trees and shrubs. Second, by going organic he has a specialized market largely to himself.
"The typical tree we sell for landscaping is 6 to 7 ft. tall," says Heard. "However, we recently shipped ginkgos that were 35 ft. tall with a trunk caliper of 10 inches to Atlanta. We charged about $5,000 per tree."
For example, the government is a potentially large market. When a new tank operating school opened at Ft. Knox recently, the U.S. Army wanted to use organic trees on the training courses. Other government entities might also become organic buyers once they know the possibility exists.
Going organic while growing such large trees was not easy. Heard says tree farms like his traditionally use lots of fertilizer and pesticide to grow trees fast and keep them healthy. Insect and fungal pests can destroy profits practically overnight, while weeds and grasses compete for water and nutrients.
"We started to set the farm up in 2001 and spent three years studying our practices and finding approved inputs," recalls Heard. "We are still learning, like when we got hit by the drought this year."
Heard concentrates largely on native plants that can handle pests. He also works with University researchers on organic alternatives such as spraying his plum trees with a mix of cayenne and garlic.
To fertilize trees, Heard worked with a large hog operation in Virginia that makes compost out of liquid hog manure. Together, they developed a compost mix from hog manure, peanut hulls and waste from bakeries and other food processors.
"We add 5 percent sand for flow through and use this compost for a growing medium in our above ground nurseries," says Heard. "We also use the material to fill holes left when we dig trees to sell. Instead of plowing the clay back in, the ground keeps getting richer and easier to work and the newly planted trees are healthier."
He has also developed a method of growing trees in netting used in fish farming instead of pots. The net grown trees can be transplanted throughout the year, yet don't develop the root circling that is seen with pots.
Heard has adapted strip till practices for starting young trees. He plants them in a narrow band and mulches with wood chips. The chips eliminate approximately 90 percent of competitive weeds, leaving a few for hand weeding. Where possible, Heard is trying to reduce his fuel needs. "We do a lot of grass mowing and are working with a company in Ohio on developing an electric powered zero-turn lawn mower," he says.
To reduce water needs after the recent drought, he has installed drip irrigation. He is also developing 1,500,000-gal. reservoirs he can fill using windmills during the off-season. He plans to use solar-powered pumps when supplemental watering is needed. To reduce water and nutrient runoff in his propagation nurseries, which require nearly 100 percent humidity, Heard developed special misters.
"We mount tips like they use to mist the vegetables in supermarkets on the ends of sections of square pvc pipe inside the nurseries," he explains. "Each one covers about 5 to 6 sq. ft. and uses less than 3 percent of the water our old spray heads delivered over the same period of time."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Lake Tree Farm, LLC, 125 Chestnut Rd., Burkesville, Ky. 42717 (ph 540 397-1367; laketreefarm@yahoo.com; www.laketreefarm.com).
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Business Is Booming At Organic Tree Farm CROPS New Crops Tree farmers can make more money by going organic says Ron Heard the first certified organic tree farmer in the U S He was already a certified organic hay producer selling to horse owners at a premium He also sold certified organic beef direct to consumers so he knew the market for all things organic was growing fast
The market was strong for landscape trees so we decided to expand our operation and go organic recalls Heard The University of Kentucky was the certifying agency and they had to develop standards for us because we were the first tree farm to go organic
The effort paid off Today he annually clears as much as $3 000 per acre from the several intensive tree farms he operates in Kentucky Tennessee and Virginia Two decisions have helped earn him that kind of return First he doesn t compete with big box stores like Wal-Mart and large nursery operations selling small low cost seedlings Instead he has large field grown trees available up to 20 ft tall in more than 100 native species as well as above ground trees and shrubs Second by going organic he has a specialized market largely to himself
The typical tree we sell for landscaping is 6 to 7 ft tall says Heard However we recently shipped ginkgos that were 35 ft tall with a trunk caliper of 10 inches to Atlanta We charged about $5 000 per tree
For example the government is a potentially large market When a new tank operating school opened at Ft Knox recently the U S Army wanted to use organic trees on the training courses Other government entities might also become organic buyers once they know the possibility exists
Going organic while growing such large trees was not easy Heard says tree farms like his traditionally use lots of fertilizer and pesticide to grow trees fast and keep them healthy Insect and fungal pests can destroy profits practically overnight while weeds and grasses compete for water and nutrients
We started to set the farm up in 2001 and spent three years studying our practices and finding approved inputs recalls Heard We are still learning like when we got hit by the drought this year
Heard concentrates largely on native plants that can handle pests He also works with University researchers on organic alternatives such as spraying his plum trees with a mix of cayenne and garlic
To fertilize trees Heard worked with a large hog operation in Virginia that makes compost out of liquid hog manure Together they developed a compost mix from hog manure peanut hulls and waste from bakeries and other food processors
We add 5 percent sand for flow through and use this compost for a growing medium in our above ground nurseries says Heard We also use the material to fill holes left when we dig trees to sell Instead of plowing the clay back in the ground keeps getting richer and easier to work and the newly planted trees are healthier
He has also developed a method of growing trees in netting used in fish farming instead of pots The net grown trees can be transplanted throughout the year yet don t develop the root circling that is seen with pots
Heard has adapted strip till practices for starting young trees He plants them in a narrow band and mulches with wood chips The chips eliminate approximately 90 percent of competitive weeds leaving a few for hand weeding Where possible Heard is trying to reduce his fuel needs We do a lot of grass mowing and are working with a company in Ohio on developing an electric powered zero-turn lawn mower he says
To reduce water needs after the recent drought he has installed drip irrigation He is also developing 1 500 000-gal reservoirs he can fill using windmills during the off-season He plans to use solar-powered pumps when supplemental watering is needed To reduce water and nutrient runoff in his propagation nurseries which require nearly 100 percent humidity Heard developed special misters
We mount tips like they use to mist the vegetables in supermarkets on the ends of sections of square pvc pipe inside the nurseries he explains Each one covers about 5 to 6 sq ft and uses less than 3 percent of the water our old spray heads delivered over the same period of time
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Lake Tree Farm LLC 125 Chestnut Rd Burkesville Ky 42717 ph 540 397-1367; laketreefarm@yahoo com; www laketreefarm com
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