PETERSON, Iowa — If you have Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) trees in your landscape you may have noticed seedlings growing in areas you did not plant them. Eastern red cedar is native to much of the U.S. and offers protection and food for wildlife. The main reason red cedar trees spread into pastures and other landscapes is when birds or wildlife eat the berries. If these wild seedlings are not controlled they can grow and take over open areas and pastures changing the intended use of the property.
Red cedars can be managed to protect pastures while still leaving stands for wildlife. In an effort to update farmers, landowners and natural resource professionals on management and possible markets of red cedar, a workshop and tour has been planned for June 26, 2018 near Peterson, Iowa.
The Eastern Red Cedar Story, will be held Tuesday, June 26, 2018 from 8:30 AM till 4:00 PM at the Prairie Heritage Center, 4931 Yellow Ave., Peterson, Iowa 51047. A workshop session will be held in the morning with a tour of red cedar sites with different management controls and needs in the afternoon.
Topics and speakers for this Red Cedar tree workshop include:
- Carbon Sequestration and Soil Health Potential by Tom Sauer, Ag Research Service – Iowa State University;
- The Good, Bad and Ugly – Red Cedar and Wildlife by Amy Crouch, The Nature Conservancy and IA DNR
- Laboratory Evaluation of Biofuel Production by Junyong Zhu, US Forest Service
- Screening Phytochemicals in Red Cedar for Development of Potential Entrepreneurial Opportunities by Chung-Ho Lin, University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry
- Management Considerations for Red Cedar in Agroforestry Systems by Diomy Zamora/Gary Wyatt, University of Minnesota Extension
- Eco-Cedar 1.0: A visual and Economic Decision Support Tool for Farm and Rangeland Managers by John Tyndall, Iowa State University
Registration is $25 (includes lunch) or $30 after June 21, 2018.
Register on-line at this site: www.regonline.com/RedCedar
This research project was supported by funding from the North Central Regional Sun Grant Center at South Dakota State University through a grant from USDA.
For more information, contact Diomy Zamora, zamor015@umn.edu or Gary Wyatt, wyatt@umn.edu.
To learn more about other landowner programs and how to manage your woodland or forest, look at My Minnesota Woods, www.myminnesotawoods.umn.edu and www.extension.umn.edu/agroforestry
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Source:
Gary Wyatt, UMN Extension Educator, Extension Regional Office, Mankato
Diomy Zamora, UMN Extension Educator, Extension Regional Office, St. Paul
Click the link for a flyer: EasternRedCedar June2018 (4)
— University of Minnesota Extension