| Summary: | Paper presented at the 11th North American Agroforesty Conference, which was held May 31-June 3, 2009 in Columbia, Missouri. In Gold, M.A. and M.M. Hall, eds. Agroforestry Comes of Age: Putting Science into Practice. Proceedings, 11th North American Agroforestry Conference, Columbia, Mo., May 31-June 3, 2009. Intercropping has the potential to provide Alberta's farmers with many benefits from moisture trapping to increased crop production. In the Peace River Region of Alberta many farmers raise cattle and grow forage crops. Folks in our region continue to clear land and remove trees so they can farm every acre. However, with the loss of wooded areas exposed forage crops dry out quickly in the summer and cattle are exposed to nasty winter winds. This field demonstration was designed back in 2002 to show landowners the potential benefits of combining tree crops with traditional agricultural practices. The project area covers 60 acres of land and is surrounded by an eight-foot deer fence and borders a waterfowl rich wetland. A total of 17 000 Walker Poplar hybrids were planted in 2004 with half being planted with plastic mulch and the other half without. The project is setup in three different blocks with on consisting of hay only, the second with hay and trees and the other with trees only and these are repeated three times over the sixty acres. Over the years tree and hay yields were measured. The main purpose of the site is to get local landowners thinking about how they can apply a similar agroforestry system to their farm. The demonstration has attracted folks from across Alberta and British Columbia and is becoming more widely recognized every year. It has also inspired some other agroforestry projects in the region. Doug Macaulay (1), Florance Niemi (2), and Nora Paulovich (3) 1. Alberta Woodlot Extension Program, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Main Floor, Airdrie Agriculture Centre, 97 East Lake Ramp NE, Airdire, AB, Canada, T4A 0C3. 2. Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd, Postal Bag 6500, Peace River, AB, Canada, T8S 1V5. 3. North Peace Applied Research Association, Box 750, Manning, AB T0H 2M0.
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