Many working farms in Virginia house potentially productive forests, but regularly fail to take advantage of the associated revenue opportunities. If trends persist, the productivity and health of these forests and the sustainability of working farms in Virginia will continue to deteriorate. The LEAF program’s outdoor forest management education efforts at the Shenandoah Valley Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SVAREC) will help improve the situation. Its representative mix of forests and fields provide an effective venue for researching and demonstrating sustainable whole farm management.

About 700 of the SVAREC’s 900 acres are dedicated to beef production and forage research, with almost all of the remaining 200 acres in blocks of unmanaged Appalachian hardwood forests. By combining its longstanding beef production and forage regimes with sustainable forest management in the remaining acreage, we will exhibit how working farms can enhance revenue and environmental quality using sustainable forest management. Such integration can be used as a basis for improving the well-being of working farms, rural communities, and environments in Virginia.

Additionally, a five-acre site at the SVAREC is dedicated to preserving the Cyrus McCormick Farm – a National Heritage Site where the mechanical reaper was invented. Wood harvested in the surrounding forests played a crucial role in this innovation. The experience for all will be enhanced by incorporating this story into a whole farm research and demonstration programming.

Work is underway to develop a LEAF classroom in the forested compartments at the SVAREC. Skid trails and forest roads will service areas where management prescriptions will be implemented to achieve healthy forests, mitigate invasive species, enhance wildlife habitat, maintain soil stability, improve water quality, and achieve economic productivity.

Our initial objective is to delineate compartments and identify appropriate forest management prescriptions. Long-term objectives include researching and demonstrating the importance of sustainable forest management for working farms. We would also like to develop an interpretative plan to incorporate the Cyrus McCormick Farm into the research and demonstration efforts.

One intern technician is presently working at the SVAREC to establish a permanent inventory system and collect comprehensive forest data. The technician will also work on a research project designed to enhance the educational aspects of the SVAREC's LEAF classroom.