Join us at the 2017 Missouri Tree Farm Conference

This year’s Tree Farm Conference will be held on Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20 on Jim Ball’s Tree Farm near Chillicothe, Missouri.

Jim was selected as the 2016 Missouri Outstanding Tree Farmer and is being judged for the Regional Outstanding Tree Farmer for the eleven state North Central Region! He is one of eight finalists competing for the National Outstanding Tree Farmer! These honors were given to Jim in recognition of the diverse and numerous forest and wildlife management practices he has completed on his farm, as well as his leadership in promoting active forest management and the Tree Farm program. You have a unique opportunity to meet Jim and see many of his accomplishments first hand. You will not only get to see many forest and wildlife management practices, but will also get to learn about how you can implement them on your land from Jim and various experts who will be on hand to share their expertise and guidance. The tour of the Tree Farm Conference will be held on Saturday, May 20.

Jim has been actively managing his Caldwell County property for timber and wildlife for over 25 years. He has been a Tree Farmer for the past 11 years and has planted over 150,000 trees of various hardwood species on 240 acres. The Tree Farm includes an additional 160 acres of native forest with walnut as the primary crop trees. Jim has harvested walnut, honey locust, hackberry and Osage-orange to build a wine cellar and covered bridge on the property. He has also completed timber stand improvement (TSI), pruning and crop tree management as well as quail and wildlife management, lake and pond management and multiple CRP practices. Jim is very active with the Walnut Council and has hosted a Walnut Council tour on his property to demonstrate and discuss walnut planting, pruning and management. He has also used his Tree Farm as a demonstration area for the NRCS by establishing test plots for herbicide and cover crop efficacy for tree planting and soil health. He has been devoted to following his forest management plan and has worked closely with MDC foresters and the NRCS in completing management work. Jim has completed all the management work himself, along with the help of a part-time worker. He has not only worked hard to manage his Tree Farm but has also been very active in promoting forest management through his participation on the Walnut Council and in his cooperation with the NRCS.

This year’s conference will focus on triumph over difficulties particularly with tree planting, invasive species control and Federal Agriculture programs. We hope you can join us. For more information or to register for the conference, go to: http://www.forestandwoodland.org/missouri-tree-farm-system.html or email fwam.trees@gmail.com