Short film focusing on the forest garden at farm Rydeholm on the Scandinavian Söderslätt. The main tree crops are sweet chestnut (Castaneva sativa), walnut (Juglans regia), hazelnut (Corylus), korean pine (Pinus koraiensis), almonds (Prunus dulcis), ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and araucaria (Araucaria araucana). Biodiversity, ecosystem services equivalent to wild, forest-like environments and regeneration, have been set here as equal goals with the food production. The long-term vision is to replace the annual crops (cereals, oilseed rape and sugar beets) with tree crops; sweet chestnut and araucaria (which produces seeds) replacing cereals and hazelnut, and walnut replacing vegetable oil. The film is based on interviews with Anders Lindén, the sixth generation on the farm and one of the pioneers of the Swedish agroforestry movement. Food production has to take the increasing lack of natural resources (water, living soils and fossil energy), into account and agroforestry systems have been shown to be very beneficial in improving the resilience in agricultural systems.
Webinar introducing the UK Agroforestry Carbon Code project (which is exploring the feasability of developing a carbon code for agroforestry), featuring representatives from the Soil Association, Woodland Trust and Organic Research Centre. It includes short presentations on woodland and trees in the farmed landscape, how agroforestry can deliver for nature and climate, and landscape carbon quantification.
This webinar which explored the many benefits trees can bring to livestock systems, featuring UK Organic Research Centre’s livestock researcher Lindsay Whistance. It focuses particularly on:
– Trees for productivity and animal welfare
– Nutritional and medical properties of tree fodder
– Planting designs and choosing species
– Grants and funding opportunities
Three short technical guides produced as part of the WOOdchip for Fertile Soils (WOOFS) project outlining observations and results from trials in which uncomposted and composted woodchip from on-farm woody resources was applied as a soil improver. The guides focus on key results from the trials, logistics and economics, and put the use of ramial (fresh uncomposted) woodchip in a whole farm context, considering the wider ecosystem service benefits, barriers to adoption, support available, and regulations that farmers and growers should be aware of.
FABulous Farmers is a European project designed to support farmers in the transition to more agroecological practices on their farms. The project aims to reduce the reliance on external inputs such as chemical fertilisers and pesticides, by encouraging the use of methods and interventions that increase the farm’s Functional AgroBiodiversity (FAB). These are targeted measures of biodiversity in and around the field to improve pollination, pest management, soil and water quality on the farmland. The project assists farmers in identifying and adopting relevant FAB-methods specifically for their farm. Networking sessions are organised in which the farmers can exchange ideas and experiences. Demonstration fields show effects of particular FAB-measures. The effect of some FAB-measures taken on the farm can be improved further by similar actions in the surrounding area. There are 14 active pilot areas in 6 countries (BE, NL, LUX, FR, UK and DE) in which they co-operate with other stakeholders, e.g. landowners and municipalities, to come to an integrated FAB-landscape-integration plan. Results of the trial fields and on farms overall will be communicated to European and regional policy makers.
From the website information can be accessed on agroforestry establishment, management, benefits and legal aspects.
This website provides information on agroforestry screening, mapping, environmental benefits on a regional scale, case study projects, and information on, and links to, farm management analytics software and design software for advisors.
Regen Farmer was founded by a serial tech entrepreneur and agroforestry designer and software engineer with wide experience from environmental modelling, GIS based web development and machine learning. It is focused on accelerating the adoption of regenerative land use practices, with a goal of supporting farmers, communities, governments and organisations to transition 5 million hectares of agricultural land to regenerative agroforestry by 2025 by enabling farmers to adopt and maintain regenerative agroforestry on a global scale. The aim is to achieve this by:
– Providing agroforestry project development solutions for farmers and agricultural advisors to make agroforestry more attractive for landowners.
– Developing management and monitoring software to ensure that farmers continue to practice regenerative agroforestry through continuous regenerative management support.
A project funded by the European Union to boost agroforestry through digital tools in order to meet climate, biodiversity and farming sustainability goals (launched Nov 2022).
The Digital Tools to help Agroforestry meet Climate, Biodiversity and Farming Sustainability Goals: Linking Field and Cloud (DigitAF) project is promoting agroforestry in Europe by developing digital decision-guidance tools so that trees are appropriately integrated on farms to achieve profitable food production, reduced net greenhouse gas emissions, and enhanced biodiversity. Tools are being developed for use by i) policy makers, ii) farmers, and iii) beneficiaries of agroforestry products and services. The tools are being developed in the context of six “Living Labs” in the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Sponsor: European Union Horizon Europe with UKRI Innovate
Wakelyns Agroforestry in Suffolk practices organic farming on one of the longest established and most diverse agroforestry sites in the UK. Different agroforestry systems, based on a maximum use of biodiversity, have been the site of many years of research trials and demonstrations. This 22.5 hectare / 56 acre experimental and innovative agroforestry farm was established by the late plant pathologist and pioneer Professor Martin Wolfe, to put into action his theories of agrobiodiversity being the answer to achieving sustainable and resilient agriculture. Martin pursued his research into agroforestry, co-cropping, crop populations and new crop trials at Wakelyns where the first trees were planted in 1994 and planting continues today.
Wakelyns Agroforestry integrates trees for timber (ash, wild cherry, Italian alder, small-leaved lime, sycamore, oak and hornbeam), energy (hazel, hybrid willow and poplar) and fruit (apple, plum, pear, cherry, quince, peach and apricot) production into an organic crop rotation in four mature silvoarable systems. The next generation of the Wolfe family is evolving Wakelyns as a demonstration centre for agroforestry, while also developing other activities which add to the farming and food production. Via the Wakleyns website, you can access detailed information about what is grown, how it is managed, events, and much more.
Case study produced as part of the SAFE project developed and implemented as a CCA (Climate Change Adaptation) Measure. Several stakeholder organisations from France, The Netherlands, and Greece were involved in the SAFE project. In France, APCA (the national chamber of Agriculture in France) was responsible for the establishment of a network of agroforestry system demonstration plots that is now a very efficient tool for agroforestry extension.
The SAFE project provided models and databases for assessing the profitability of silvoarable systems, and suggested policy guidelines for implementing agroforestry. It developed biophysical and socio-economic tools to inform farmers and policy-makers of the potential for silvoarable agroforestry to contribute to the integrated and sustainable development of European rural areas.
In Montpellier, the agroforestry scheme has been implemented for 20 years. The agroforestry scheme adopted in Montpellier within the SAFE project is a combination of walnut trees and wheat cultivation. A French national scheme for planting half a million hectares of agroforestry during the next 25 years is expected to be based on results obtained by INRA (Institut Nantional de la Recherche Agronomique) at Montpellier.
The case study provides information on challenges, objectives and benefits.
Podcast produced as part of the Farming for a Better Climate (FFBC) consortium. Based in Scotland, FFBC provides practical support to benefit the farm and help reduce impacts on the climate. FFBC is run by SRUC on behalf of the Scottish Government. They combine ideas trialled by their volunteer Climate Change Focus Farms and information from up-to-the-minute scientific research, and offer practical advice to help farmers choose the most relevant measures to improve farm performance and resilience to future climate change effects.
This podcast episode explores the many benefits of agroforestry systems; from improved animal welfare with improved shelter, nutritional benefits from grazing access to different tree species, and other health benefits such as parasitic control from the naturally occurring chemicals ingested with the range of plants found within a woodland flora. The webpage also provides information on integrating livestock with trees.
