Tom Hunter gives a tour of his organic farm where he has started grazing his cattle in a former oak savanna. Learn how he has approached the process of restoring this endangered habitat, including timber harvesting, buckthorn removal, seeding forage, and regenerating an understory with the existing native seed bank.
Please note: The audio on this field recording is fairly rough. We recommend turning on the closed captions for the best experience.
Skip to topic:
0:00 Plans for Restoring Oak Savanna
2:32 Proper Tree Spacing in Oak Savanna
3:55 Seeding Forage in an Oak Savanna Silvopasture
6:30 Sustainable Agriculture and Ecosystem Restoration
8:55 Finding Value in Cleared Timber
Oak savanna is a unique plant community characterized by a prairie-like mix of grasses and wildflowers, dotted with large, widely-spaced oak trees. Once common across the Midwest, oak savannas are now highly endangered.
Farmers in Minnesota and throughout the historic range of oak savanna habitat have started exploring the use of silvopasture (the intentional integration of trees, forage, and livestock) as a method for restoring degraded oak savanna. Targeted grazing on a site helps to suppress the overgrown shrub layer, allowing grasses, forbs, and flowers to reclaim their spot in the savanna understory.
This event was organized and supported by the Silvopasture Learning Network, a joint effort led by University of Minnesota Extension with the Sustainable Farming Association and Great River Greening, with funding provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
Skid steer video clips courtesy of Skid Steer Solutions. Used with permission.
Grapple full video – https://youtu.be/IiUL77d_riY
Mulcher full video – https://youtu.be/p_XexPJzJqs
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