This edition of Be a Better Grower discusses ways to build climate resilience into a farm or garden through agroforestry.
We’re excited to share advice from the Regenerative Design Group, a farming and landscape design consultancy based in Greenfield, MA, about adding tree crops to your farm.
Here, RDG describes the benefits of agroforestry in general and shares tips on crops that work well in our region.
Young chestnut trees at Big River Chestnuts in Sunderland, MA
Agroforestry for Resilience
After more than a decade of designing regenerative landscapes, one thing is clear at Regenerative Design Group: interest in land-based resiliency continues to grow. What resiliency looks like depends on the client and context, but the definition remains the same:
Resiliency is the ability of a person(s) or system to handle and quickly recover from adverse conditions.
For the farmers we work with, resiliency increasingly means diversifying their operations with agroforestry.
Agroforestry systems vary across cultures and climates, but all involve the integration of tree crops with other perennial crops, annual crops, and livestock. Diversifying in such a way contributes to economic resilience by not relying on a single crop or type of crop. It builds ecological resilience through the myriad benefits of trees – soil building, carbon sequestration and storage, flood control, cooling, and habitat.
American Persimmon in the woodland edge of an RDG's client’s food forest.
Finding Crops that Work
Farmers understand what practices benefit or degrade the ecology of their farms. Regenerative agriculture practices – like agroforestry – make sense from an ecological standpoint.
But when making a living from farming is already so challenging, staying with what works is often safer – even if those practices make a farm vulnerable over time.
For a farmer accustomed to annual cropping, the prospect of transitioning cropland into an agroforestry system can seem a risky prospect. New systems like alley cropping can also feel like a risk for farmers already managing perennial crops.
Increasingly, RDG’s farm planning work includes thorough agroforestry crop assessments for our clients. These assessments, tailored to the farm’s operations, climate, and local and regional markets, create a framework for decision-making.
They include high-potential crops – reliable growers with established or emerging markets for fresh and value-added products, and moderate potential crops – or those that are more variable in cultivation and market reliability but show good promise.
Here are some examples of high & moderate potential crops for our region, with notes on why you might consider adding these trees to your growing plan:
High Potential Agroforestry Crops:
Chestnuts (hybrid or Chinese varieties): The regional demand for this product often exceeds supply. Wholesale and value-added potential for chestnuts is high, and there’s room for generating additional public interest.
Cider apples and pears: Hard cider is an increasingly popular beverage choice; the wholesale opportunity for selling whole fruit or juice to local brewers also grows.
Pawpaw fruit: There is increasing public interest in this fruit, which is Native to North America. There’s room to develop a market, especially for the pulp of this delicious and delicate fruit.
Hybrid and Chinese Chestnuts in an alley cropping system at Jono Neiger’s agroforestry site, Big River Chestnuts.
Moderate Potential Agroforestry Crops:
Goji berry: While there isn’t currently demand for fresh goji berries in the US, this crop could be a niche product as part of a more extensive diversified operation or a value-added operation.
Mulberry tree: Fresh mulberries have a short shelf life but are well-suited to direct-to-consumer sales; dried or frozen mulberries have a larger market.
More Agroforestry Resources
Jono Neiger, the RDG principal and owner of Big River Chestnuts, has developed an Agroforestry Crops for the Northeast assessment sheet. This is an excellent place to start if you want to learn more about the potential of agroforestry crops like aronia, elderberry, chestnut, and seaberry for your farm or homestead.
Jono also recorded this short (6-minute) video about Big River Chestnut’s agroforestry and silvopasture management practices (video courtesy of Marisha Auerbach and Oregon State University).
And if you’re interested in agroforestry for your land but don’t know where to start or don’t have land but want to learn more about how farmers in our region are incorporating more perennial plants into their crops, join one of NOFA/Mass’s upcoming Go Nuts! Community calls! These calls are open community meetings to discuss topics ranging from planting & harvesting techniques to grant funding opportunities.
Find the call schedule on the NOFA/Mass events page.
