Specialist sees agroforestry gaining ground

By Nat Williams, Iowa Farmer Today

For some grain farmers, diversification can mean growing soybeans and raising cattle. For others, it involves planting crops and trees side by side.

The practice known as agroforestry can be a profitable option. Chris Evans, a forestry specialist with University of Illinois Extension, said he is seeing increased interest.

“I think it’s growing some, largely on marginal lands where traditional cropping hasn’t been as lucrative, or the farmer needs to switch because of erosion or something,” he said. “We’re starting to see some alley cropping, which is growing trees usually not used for timber in long rows. Between rows, they are doing some additional cropping.”

The term agroforestry covers several farming practices, from silvopasture (grazing livestock between rows of trees or shrubs) to alley cropping (growing fruits or berries alongside trees). Advantages straddle economics and the environment, according to MJ Oviatt of the Savanna Institute.

“Most people look at their farmland and just see how they can make the most money off of it, which is understandable,” she said. “But we also recognize that whether it’s cover cropping or no-till, keeping the soil healthy and functioning well is going to help in the long term.”

Oviatt added that making a profit — both in the long term and near term — is a reasonable expectation.

“Conservation practices can also help the bottom line,” she said. “It’s not just a do-good thing but something that can diversify your market. You can diversify your crops and protect them from wind damage and erosion.”

The Savanna Institute is a non-profit organization that promotes agroforestry. It maintains three demonstration farms in Illinois. It was named after the landscape consisting of a woodland-grassland mix like that found in many parts of Africa (sometimes spelled Savannah).

“That was the biome that was here prior to European colonization,” said Oviatt, an agroforestry educator. “We think of Africa when someone says that, but that is what was here — pockets of trees and gradients of a tree here and there among the prairie. That’s essentially the kind of vision we have for agriculture.”

Many farmers have practiced agroforestry for years, whether they realize it or not. Trees planted in a row on field edges to serve as a windbreak are common sights in the Corn Belt.

“In this part of the Midwest, windbreaks are common,” Oviatt said. “It’s an old practice. Farmers have been doing it since the Dust Bowl. There are a lot of benefits to that with commodity crops as well as specialty crops. Wind damage can severely affect yield of your plants, and in an arid climate, it is even more damaging because the crops are already stressed.”

Evans said alley cropping is gaining in popularity in the Midwest.

“We’re starting to see some of that, growing trees usually not for timber, in long rows,” he said. “Between rows there is additional cropping, such as fruit trees or nut trees.”

Growing trees used for timber in such a system is not recommended because growth may be limited.

“The problem with timber trees is the open nature of alley cropping creates ‘limby’ trees not good for timber,” Evans said.

More common are nut- or fruit-producing trees such as pecan or apple. The Savanna Institute has a research plot in northern Illinois with native hardwoods including hybrid hazelnuts, black currants and American elderberry

“We also work with hardwood native timber — oak, hickory, walnut,” Oviatt said. “In Monticello we have an alley-cropping system of a corn and bean rotation combined with rows of trees.”

Another research farm in Ogle County consists of a cow pasture ringed by a riparian buffer.

“There are a million different ways of doing agroforestry,” Oviatt said. “You have to take the different components and see what works on your farm.”

USDA defines five types of agroforestry

The USDA defines agroforestry as a farming practice that covers four “I” goals: intentional, intensive, integration and interactive. There are five types of agroforestry in the United States:

Alley cropping: This practice consists of planting crops between rows of trees to provide income while the trees mature. It can be designed to produce fruit, vegetables, grains, flowers, herbs, bioenergy feedstocks and more. It is sometimes referred to as intercropping.
Forest farming: Such operations grow food, herbal, botanical or decorative crops under a forest canopy managed to provide ideal shade levels. It is also called multi-story cropping,
Silvopasture: In this practice, farmers combine trees with livestock and forest on one piece of land. The trees may provide fruit, fodder or nuts as well as shade and shelter for livestock and their forages, reducing stress on the animals from the summer sun, cold winter winds or a downpour.
Riparian forest buffers: These are natural or re-established areas along rivers and streams consisting of trees, shrubs and grasses. The buffers can help filter farm runoff while the roots stabilize the banks of waterways to prevent erosion. The areas also support wildlife and provide another source of income.
Windbreaks: These shelter crops, animals, buildings and soil from wind, snow, dust and odors. They can also support wildlife and provide another source of income for a farmer. Other terms are shelterbelts, hedgerows, vegetated environmental buffers and living snow fences.