| On Topic
Consider environmental & business
benefits of embracing agroforestry
All farmers have at some stage thought about the trees on their farms and
in a good many cases it may be about how they can reduce the number.
But for many of us trees are an important part of farming and the
landscape we live in.
major review for the Land Use
Policy found that agroforestry
was one of the systems with
the greatest potential for the
‘sustainable intensification’ of
farming and at the Woodland
Trust we’re getting more landowners asking
how to best incorporate them into their
business.
That’s why we’ve teamed with the Soil
Association and Royal Horticultural Society to
host a practical and inspiring Agroforestry
conference for farmers, foresters, landowners,
researchers and policy makers. We will hear
from people with hands-on experience of
making agroforestry work for them. They’ll
talk about the benefits, risks and how to make
it happen.
We’re delighted that the GWCT will be part
of the day, sharing news of our tree planting
density trial with the Allerton Trust at their farm
in Loddington, Leicestershire.
Many farmers fear losing their Basic Farm
Payment if they plant more than 100 trees per
hectare. However, a couple of years ago, the
wording in the payment booklet changed and
suggested that as long as agricultural activity
took place beneath the canopy of a newly
planted woodland then this still meant the
land was grassland and therefore,
A
The Woodland Trust is a registered Charity
Nos 294344 and SC038885
12 | Farming Monthly | April 2017
agricultural. Hence, farmers could still claim
BFP.
This led to a conversation with the Allerton
Trust - Can you plant trees in fields at higher
densities than 100 per hectare and not only
retain your BFP but also graze and utilise the
land to be productive for grazing, shelter,
wood fuel, wildlife and pheasant shooting?
We decided to plant 14 different sites
across a five hectare field just behind the farm
buildings and in a good situation for both
pheasants to roost but also with good access
for sheep (and researchers). The densities
have been spread across the field but consist
of two blocks each of 100, 200, 400, 600, 800,
1100 and 1600 trees per hectare to give a
good range.
Leaving the EU provides the opportunity to
shape a new integrated land use policy, with
trees at its core, embracing environmental as
well as food security. Evidence of the benefits
delivered by trees is compelling – from shelter
and shade and flood alleviation, to
biodiversity and wood fuel, to carbon
sequestration and soil protection.
Woodland Creation Adviser Stuart Holm
stressed that while agroforestry - a land use
management system in which trees or shrubs
are grown around or among crops or
pastureland - is growing in popularity, many
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