NC State Forest Farming Demonstration Site; Mills River, NC
- Sara Jackson
- Sep 10
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
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Demonstration site name
NC State Forest Farming Demonstration Site
Contact name
Jeanine Davis, jeanine_davis@ncsu.edu
Margaret Bloomquist, mgbloomq@ncsu.edu
Location
Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, 455 Research Drive, Mills River, NC
Agroforestry Practices
Forest Farming
Agroforestry acreage
3 acres
Years in agroforestry
35 (since 1990)
Agroforestry Summary
The NC State Forest Farming Demonstration Site provides growers, forest landowners, and service providers with opportunities to learn about valuable native woodland botanical species and non-timber forest products suitable for production in our region. Visitors learn about identification, habitat requirements, and management of forest farmed species including woodland botanicals like ramps, goldenseal, bloodroot, and black cohosh, as well as paw paws and wild mushrooms. This demonstration site is a component of the NC Alternative Crops & Organics Program in NC State University’s Horticultural Science Department.
Agroforestry Goals (3-5 sentences)
The NC State Forest Farming Demonstration Site is primarily for educational and training purposes, although through maintenance of this site, we are also stewarding native woodland botanical populations and serving as a genetic reservoir for selected species.
Practices and Production (3-5 sentences)
The forest farming methods practiced at this site are a mix of wild-stewarded, wild-simulated, and woods-grown techniques for understory species. These species include goldenseal, ramps, Solomon's seal, fairy wand, stone root, mayapple, trilliums, wild yam, and bloodroot, as well as elderberry, paw paw, american spikenard, and more.
Agroforestry Demonstrations, Education, Events
The NC State Forest Farming Demonstration Site has been active since 1990 and is part of the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, established at the current location in Mills River in 1959. The station is run jointly by NC State University and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) and occupies 397 acres of research fields, forest, and built facilities, at a base elevation of 2069 feet.
Public and Visitor Access
Access to the site is limited to attendees of scheduled events or by appointment only.
Links to website, social media, etc.
The Western North Carolina (WNC) Woodland Stewards are a group within the WNC Medicinal Herb Growers who are beginning and advanced forest farmers that meet monthly for hands-on programming. NC Extension and Natural Resource Professional trainings are regularly offered as well as scheduled tours, participatory research, and more.
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