| On Topic landowners do not have a clear goal.
He said:“ Farmers and smallholders are coming to us with a desire to plant trees but they don’ t always know what they want out of it. We want them to think carefully about what they want to plant and why, the longevity of having trees and how soon they want to see the benefit.
“ Do they want to use their trees as browsing for their livestock, for shelter, as an edible crop they can sell on, either to a producer or directly to the public, or a source of timber or woodfuel?
“ There are so many ways to incorporate agroforestry, it’ s vital to make sure landowners have a clear focus on how it can work best for them.”
Other issues to consider include making sure there’ s good access to the field and the trees themselves for both harvesting and maintenance, and whether the site is in the right condition for planting. A field that’ s too wet or too dry at certain times of the year will influence what can be planted.
The presence of pollinators will also be a factor as someone planting fruit trees won’ t get as good a crop as they could if, for example, there’ s a lack of bees.
Someone who has made agroforestry work for his business is Stephen Briggs, who farms 254 acres at Whitehall Farm, Cambridgeshire.
By integrating trees into his farm, Stephen Briggs aimed to mitigate the impact of wind erosion on his fine grade one peat soils, enhance biodiversity and create a diverse mix of crops better able to meet the challenges of climate change. Apple trees were planted as agroforestry edible windbreaks, leaving alleys( 24m wide) between the rows for cereal and vegetable production.
8 % of the land is planted with trees and the remaining 92 % is cropped under the existing cereal and vegetable rotation.
Six years on, the yield and economic output of the trees is equal or greater than that of the cereal crop in the alley and will to continue to grow. The new scheme has simultaneously provided another incomeearning crop, protected and nourished the soil, attracted pollinators and encouraged local wildlife.
“ Since integrating apple trees in rows within my arable rotation of wheat, barley, clover and vegetables, my farm has established the largest agroforestry system in the UK. Eight per cent of the land area has a tree crop on it with 92 % of land remaining in arable production. The three-dimensional agroforestry combination provides an annual and longer term economic return from both components by utilising more space above and below ground, better captures resources such as sunlight, nutrients and water, protects soil and enhances biodiversity. What’ s not to like?”
But you don’ t have to have a large farm to embrace agroforestry.
“ Agroforestry is bespoke”, said Syuart Holm. What works for one person won’ t necessarily work for another which is why the Woodland Trust will visit anybody who is interested to advise how to make the most of their land. For example, if an arable farmer wanted to plant a fruit crop with the intention of selling it for juicing, we’ d perhaps recommend late yielding varieties that could be harvested after the arable crops. It’ s all about finding the best fit.“ There’ s a lot of work involved. It’ s not a quick fix but it’ s a strong fix and those we plant with say it’ s well worth the effort because of the positive impact it has had on their business and the environment.”
Together with the Soil Association and Royal Forestry Society, the Woodland Trust is staging an agroforestry conference at Cranfield University on June 22 where farmers can discover the many benefits of planting trees on farms. The conference will showcase some of
the UK’ s leading agroforestry systems and look at the main steps and questions faced in getting them off the ground.
National and international speakers are included in the line-up, along with those currently practicing agroforestry techniques, and Charlotte Smith of BBC Radio 4’ s Farming Today will chair the sessions.
For more information and to book tickets, search“ Agroforestry 2017” at woodlandtrust. org. uk
Stephen Briggs, Whitehall Farm
Find out more about how the Woodland Trust can help you plant trees, visit woodlandtrust. org. uk / plant
www. farmingmonthly. co. uk April 2017 | Farming Monthly | 13