Completed Project Report

Forest and Woodland Certification Outreach for Mississippi Farms

  • Award Amount: $34,104
  • Regional Center: Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2013 Competitive Grant Program

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Project Overview

Many farms and other rural properties in Mississippi contain unmanaged woodlands which are unable to fully realize their economic and environmental potential. This project presented woodland certification  as a management tool landowners can use to increase income potential as well as mitigate production, marketing, financial, and environmental risks. While farmers have multiple mechanisms for mitigating risks, woodland management and certification may be overlooked as an option. This is unfortunate given certification’s growing importance to the wood products industry and increasing significance to emerging environmental services markets (e.g., carbon). 

Outputs and outcomes of this project included Internet webinars, interactive video, and face-to-face workshops; however, this project’s primary output was a permanent on-line webguide (http://woodlandcert.msucares.com) about integrated forest-farm management, agricultural risks, and woodland certification. The online information is important because learning about certification is an on-going process and brings together aspects of sustainable woodland management and certification in one clearinghouse of information. Additional outcomes included participants’ improved knowledge and positive attitudes about: woodland certification systems, resources for practicing sustainable forestry, forestry Best Management Practices, certification to improve forest health, marketing certified forest products, and certification to reduce risks. A final outcome was that participants initiated the woodland stewardship planning and/or certification processes.

Number of Participants: 208

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

There are no promotional materials available for this project.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

There are no educational materials available for this project.

REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

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DELIVERY AREA

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