Our Work
We plant:
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Hard-Working Trees
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At Scale
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On Farms
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By Streams
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And into Pasture
Hard-Working Trees
Honey Locust
We call this the Honey-Nut Cheerio Tree. The pods are sweet, good for you, and are similar to oats in nutrition. Your livestock will love them.
In all seriousness, few trees can top Honey Locust as better compliments to a pasture.
They fix nitrogen, have thin canopies that let lots of light through, and generously drop nutritious pods in the Fall. With these, you can have your pasture and eat pods, too!
Poplar
Poplar is an outright work-horse. Fast growing, good shade tree, and able to take abuse like a champ. Their ability to pull up moisture from their deep roots even amid droughts make this an excellent supplemental feed source.
Chestnuts
You can't go wrong with dual-purpose trees, and chestnut is a prime example. Plant them now, and in a couple years you can either harvest for human food, or let livestock eat the dropped nuts. It's like growing corn on a tree, with pasture below.
Apples
Who doesn't like an apple? Well, most livestock sure does.
Apples are a great dual-purpose tree in pastures. Take the best for your own sauce (or cider) and leave the rest for the animals. They'll love the shade and treats falling from the sky.
Black Walnut
More a timber tree than anything else, but with so many uses before it hits the sawmill. Grow it for the shade it'll provide your livestock, make use of the plentiful nuts that will drop throughout its life, and your grandchildren will be able to harvest the valuable timber. If you want, graft it for thin-shelled nuts for another high-value crop.
Black Locust
Black locusts are stout workers, fixing nitrogen to your pasture while creating unmatched fence-posts. Even better, their leaves rival alfalfa for protein content, making them a valuable feed supplement. Bees will go crazy for their flowers in the Spring.
At Scale
It's been shown again and again: The right tree in the right place can add tremendous value to a farm.
So why add just one or two? Let's work together to determine the right trees for your needs, whether that be on 10, 100 or 1,000 acres.
On Farms
On Farms
Located among Lancaster County family farms, we're dedicated to serving the needs of farms for conservation and stronger bottom lines. We'll specialize in adding the right trees to your operation, so you can do your work, better.
Along Streams
Trophy Buffer
You are a conservationist, someone who loves the natural world and interacts with it as often as possible, often with a rifle or fishing pole in hand. To you, a buffer is a chance to come face-to-face with big-game on your very own property.
From better nutrition for that big buck to planting trees that lure game in during your preferred season, a good buffer will make your year all the more exciting.
Beauty Buffer
You love a gorgeous landscape. Bright colors on a dull day. Rich green in summer, hues of orange during autumn, eye-popping red berries in winter. Your buffer will add value to your property, and joy to your day.
Pantry Buffer
The wild has stocked the pantries of humankind for all of history, and it is still where we find our most nutritious foods. Medicinal elderberry, delicious pawpaw and tasty raspberry. There are so many wild foods to choose from, it will have you harvesting and eating well throughout the year.
Money Buffer
Streamside zones are the most fertile areas in the landscape. They have bountiful access to water, nutrients, and good soils. You want to make a healthy living working with your hands, feeling the sun against your face as you steward a beautiful slice of paradise. We can help you turn dreams into reality with high-value products coming out of buffers that become more bountiful, year after year.
In Pastures
Shade
How hot does it get on your farm in mid-July?
Do your livestock like that?
Does your production suffer?
We know production suffers when livestock are over-heated. That's why farmers see large gains when heat stress is reduced in those summer months. Done right, we could even keep your cool-season forages growing longer in the Spring, and start again earlier in the Fall.
Shelter
How cold do the winter winds get?
Do your livestock like that?
If you've ever found shelter from icy winds behind a pine tree, you know what a difference it can make. Lower wind speed can improve your feed efficiency and weight gain over winter, while making for healthier stock overall.
Fodder
What if you could lose no forage production, add shade, and drop food from the sky for your cows, sheep or hogs? With the right trees, we can do just that, raising the amount of stock you can raise on every acre.
Food
If you're looking to diversify your income, consider adding fruit/nut trees fro human consumption. The extra work will be rewarded by higher prices for your product, like walnuts, chestnuts or apples. If you don't have the time/equipment to harvest these yourself, we can discuss a profit-sharing model where we handle the harvesting, processing and marketing.