Green Horizons

Is agroforestry important? Is agroforestry a useful option for landowners? Why should forestry professionals care about or understand agroforestry?

Agroforestry is the intentional mixing of trees with crop and/or animal production systems to create economic, environmental, and social benefits. For a land-use practice to be called agroforestry, it typically must satisfy the four "i's": intentional, intensive, integrated, and interactive. There are five widely recognized categories of agroforestry practices in the United States:

1. field, farmstead, and livestock windbreaks;
2. riparian and upland buffers that act as sponges and filters to protect water quality;
3. silvopastoral systems with trees, livestock, and forages growing together;
4. alley cropping, which integrates annual or perennial crops with high-value trees and shrubs; and
5. forest farming where food, herbal (botanicals), and decorative products are grown under the protection of a managed forest canopy.

These five practices can be designed to accommodate other purposes such as mitigating odor, improving pollinator habitat, trapping snow, or producing biomass feedstock.

The first step in implementing forest farming is to develop a forest management plan for your timber. Following that, turn your eyes from the tree tops to the forest floor to search for additional value in your woodland. That describes the added value agroforesters bring to the table.

Why does agroforestry deserve a professional certification designation and the added attention that comes with it? Steve Wilent, Editor, The Forestry Source, in his December 2011 commentary, "Seven Billion Reasons to Manage Forests" notes: "... all seven billion of us rely to some degree on forests for wood for heat and fuel; as a source of food; for lumber, paper, andother forest products; and for less tangible but no less important values such as recreation." All true! How will we sustainably produce the food, fiber, and bioenergy demanded by a global population that the United Nations estimates will exceed 9 billion by 2050 and over 10 billion by the end of the century? While enhancing environmental services and at the same time supporting agricultural production, agroforestry can be an important part of the answer.

Are America's foresters or other natural resource professionals equipped to help our farmers, ranchers, woodland owners, and communities considering agroforestry as an option? The short answer is NO.

Agroforestry illiteracy is widespread and exacerbated by the traditional separation of agriculture and forestry in policies, government organizations, in most universities, and in practice on our agricultural and forested landscapes. The science and practice of agroforestry have made significant advances in the United States since the 1980s; however, application of agroforestry practices is generally low with the exception of windbreaks and riparian buffers. Recent surveys show that less than 20 forestry schools across the country teach an agroforestry course and only about one-quarter of the states have an active agroforestry program.

The good news for Missouri is: The University of Missouri has one of the nation's strongest programs in agroforestry including very active teaching, research and outreach programs. We even offer a complete online graduate certificate and master's degree in agroforestry.

With the release of the USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework in June 2011, the USDA and two key partners (National Association of State Foresters and National Association of Conservation Districts), with input from a diverse group of stakeholders, created a roadmap for advancing the science, practice, and application of agroforestry as a means of enhancing America's agricultural landscapes, watersheds, and rural communities. A major focus of the new Framework is educating foresters and other natural resource professionals so they are able to provide technical, financial, and marketing assistance in planning and applying agroforestry systems.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that America is losing some of its hardest "working trees" in agricultural landscapes. Recent high-crop and agricultural land prices, driven by the demand for biofuels and exports, have provided incentives for farmers to remove windbreaks and riparian buffers and expand the acreage of row-crop agriculture. Tree-based buffers, well designed and strategically placed, will support agricultural production by reducing soil erosion and nutrient runoff and conserving natural resources such as water and wildlife. These buffers also can do "double duty" when they are designed to produce economically valuable products (e.g., elderberry or "woody florals").

On smaller farms, unable to compete in large commodity markets, agroforestry may provide opportunities to produce specialty crops and livestock that can help make these operations profitable, while providing jobs and increasing wealth in rural communities. The public is demanding more food from local and regional systems, as evidenced by the increase in farmers markets. Agroforestry can be part of the means for our working lands to sustainably produce the food and other products that are likely to be demanded by local and regional markets. Again, agroforestry can certainly be part of the answer.

In addition to the collegiate-level requirements for a bachelor's degree in forestry, agriculture, or a related discipline, a "Certified Agroforester" would be expected to meet specific educational requirements in both the biophysical and the socioeconomic foundations of agroforestry. Additional training in horticultural crops, business, marketing, forage and livestock management, and agroforestry farm design would also be required.

As certified agroforesters, foresters and other natural resource and agriculture professionals will be better equipped to help landowners manage their working lands to most effectively meet landowner objectives.