Farming among trees.
Agroforestry, forest farming, silvopasture and the like. Integrating trees into farming systems and vice verse. Celebrating the myriad benefits of tree crops for land, people, climate and culture: our shared future.
In a nutshell, incorporating trees within agriculture can mean greater carbon sequestration, greater biodiversity and the creation of microclimates, greater control of invasive pests and disease. It means an added revenue source for producers, shade and nutritious foraging for animals, and better conditions for our soils – including keeping them in place.
Agroforestry also welcomes a more inclusive pool of potential small-scale producers, creating opportunities for those with access to fewer acres. It shakes up the notion that farming means endless acres of uninterrupted monocultures, and encourages collaboration with our natural environment.
All the right reasons.
While transitioning any agricultural operation involves plenty of resources, time and labor, there are endless examples of the long-term benefits of incorporating trees and why they are a worthy investment. There are also branches of agroforestry such as forest gardening that are much more accessible to those with little- or shared space to grow and harvest food crops.
Listen in on conversations and testimonials of individuals coming from a range of personal, professional, economic and geographic backgrounds who have explored agroecology in some form or other to great effect.
Branching out.
Organizational support, current initiatives and funding to help farmers and other producers incorporate trees and agroecological practices into their operations. The following are just a handful of U.S.-based groups paving the way.
In the news.
Wild Nuts Are Making a Comeback in Southern Appalachia
Civil Eats – Dec, 2023
“It’s a different feeling to inhabit the landscape in a way where you’re paying attention to what gifts are available right around any corner. It turns your life into an Easter egg hunt—it brings the landscape to life in a way that is pretty thrilling.”
New funding program for commercial farmers to start agroforestry
Hawai’i Public Radio – Dec, 2023
‘Tis the season for giving. Commercial farmers have a chance at the gift of a federal grant aimed at building food security with agroforestry practices. The Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative and The Nature Conservancy are shepherding the program. […]
Missouri Farmers Invited to Apply for Agroforestry Incentive Funds
Morning Ag Clips – Dec, 2023
Eligible producers are invited to apply to the Expanding Agroforestry Incentive Payment Program. Over five years, the program will pay producers $36 million to transform 30,000 acres spanning 30 states into agroforestry systems. […]
How Much Can Trees Fight Climate Change? Massively, but Not Alone, Study Finds.
The New York Times – Nov, 2023
The research, with input from more than 200 authors, leveraged vast troves of data collected by satellites and on the ground and was partly an effort to address the controversy surrounding an earlier paper. That study, in 2019, helped to spur the Trillion Trees movement but also caused a scientific uproar. […]
Agroforestry Coalition Releases Recommendations for the Farm Bill, Highlights Why Agroforestry Is a Priority Solution for Resilient Agriculture
Yahoo Finance – Nov, 2023
Today, organizations and experts committed to growing agroforestry as a sustainable farming practice in the US came together to release a set of recommendations for policymakers in a new paper, Catalyzing Agroforestry in the Farm Bill: Recommendations for Resilient Agriculture. […]
Farming with Trees: New Study Highlights the Potential of Agroforestry to Fight Climate Change
The Nature Conservancy – Sept, 2023
[…] global estimates suggest that agroforestry—defined as the deliberate incorporation of trees in agricultural landscapes—is potentially the largest single contribution the agricultural sector can make towards climate change […]
Can Agroforestry Breathe New Life Into Carbon Markets?
Civil Eats – Aug, 2023
Most carbon offset programs aimed at farmers have focused on large monocrop corn and soy operations. But in Southern Appalachia, Carbon Harvest is developing an alternative market for small farms that integrates trees. […]
Tiny Forests With Big Benefits
The New York Times – Aug, 2023
Native plants crowded onto postage-stamp-size plots have been delivering environmental benefits around the world — and, increasingly, in the U.S.
Farms branching out: Expanding opportunities for agroforestry markets, connections, and conservation
Michigan State University – Aug, 2023
A team of Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin researchers and Extension professionals has recently been awarded funding from USDA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to help support use of agroforestry practices […]
Farming by Committee: How We Organize Our Agroforestry Co-op
Modern Farmer – Jun, 2023
[…] we work to discuss issues fully, unclouded by our individual wants. If one member (an investor of material, financial or labor resources) decides a proposal is not taking into consideration a shared value, such as economic access or ecological rigor, we will discuss it until it is resolved.
Can Farming with Trees Save the Food System?
Civil Eats – May, 2023
Unprecedented funding is flowing into a broad range of agroforestry practices, which can pull carbon out of the atmosphere and build farm resilience as the climate changes. […]
America’s agroforestry renaissance
Axios – Mar, 2023
As climate change drives risk of declines in U.S. food production, in the form of intensifying droughts, shifting rain patterns, more frequent wildfires and spreading pests and diseases, policymakers and private investors alike are turning to natural climate solutions. […]
Bothered Earth 