The potential of agroforestry on South West farms

What is agroforestry?

Pigs were being kept in wooded areas as far back as the Middle Ages and the shelter trees offer livestock makes them natural companions, but the combination of farming and forestry has never had a title before. We’re now calling it agroforestry.

“It's kind of re-badging quite a lot of existing stuff, partly for political convenience, partly maybe because it's helpful for the way people see it,” said Harry Studholme, who has been managing productive forest for 35 years, alongside a farm. 

“It covers an awful lot of things from what essentially one might have thought of as orcharding with nuts and with fruit, to trees in pasture, and then features of farmland like hedges and trees, roadside trees.” Tom Kemp also acknowledged agroforestry has many definitions, summing it up as “using trees for farming” – and the “reintegration” of the two.

Farming with trees

Both Harry and Tom see numerous benefits to agroforestry, with the interface between forest and farm currently undervalued.

“The relationship between trees and farmland is really important,” said Harry. “Birds nest in trees but may well be looking for worms or seeds in a farmed landscape. For livestock, I think there are, particularly with climate change, issues around shade and shelter, which will improve productivity.”

And the evidence to support this rediscovery of using woodland in different ways is growing. From the protein content of mulberry leaves comparable to lucerne as a feed for livestock to a reduction in farmer injuries where cattle are grazed among trees because they are happier, Tom explained it’s about “improving the health and functioning of the whole system.”

Long-term thinking

As a forester, Harry explained how he must think far more long term and suggested this could be an increasingly important approach for farmers as our climate changes:

“Forestry operates on a much longer timescale. I'm taking 100-year or more decisions in what I'm planting, what I'm managing, what I'm looking for, and I'm taking a surplus off what is a perennial cover. Farming is a very different timescale. Currently, it's an annual one. One of the things I think is interesting about agroforestry is looking more at perennial cropping, which may become more important with climate change.”

Where to use trees

Trees are often found in the least visited or managed areas of the farm, and this may be a clue as to successful integration. For example, Harry planted trees on a steeply sloped area he deemed too dangerous for tractor work:

“The reason why we are more forested than most places in Devon is we're steep, difficult, awkward land. I planted up quite a lot in the late 1990s. I was concerned for health and safety for tractor driving on the steep land. 

“[Agroforestry] can plant up corners of fields where you're not really losing much productivity, but you could gain other aspects like shade in terms of livestock or some environmental values.”

Tom agreed with this approach: “Look at the areas of your system that are either the problem areas or the areas you want to tackle.

“Some people might think about fencing, and that area of land is like a dead zone. Suddenly you involve trees and potentially that land can be making some money or solving some problems with shade or shelter.”

They also emphasised a need for diversity in species, citing this as a mechanism for coping with the unpredictability of the changing climate, as well as potential pest infestations or diseases associated with monocultures.

The future of agroforestry

Having seen the potential which can be harnessed from the integration of trees, Tom is keen farmers see them as a useful part of the farm, “rather than something that you've got to flail once or twice a year.”

He added: “If we had 1% more trees on farms, that would be quite a big change in the landscape and quite a big change in the way of thinking. And I think farms and farmers would see the benefit of that.”
To do this, Harry suggests agroforestry starts to become “a mundane part of everyday farming.”

“I think what matters for farming is that it becomes a day-to-day issue that you plant the right [thing], you try to plant up corners that are dangerous or for instance, my walnut plantations are on places which get bad wash runoff, soil erosion. There are places where it's actually not a dramatic change, it's just a sensible use of land.”

Episode showstoppers

1. Don’t be sidetracked by the term agroforestry. It is about the inclusion of trees on a farm and what they can offer you.
2. Understand your land, thinking about your farm holistically – the soil types, slope, hydrology, weather patterns – and what you might want to achieve from planting trees.
3. Planting trees requires a long-term mindset, far longer than the usual farming production cycles – think about a much longer horizon for your farm, your soil and your business.

Listen to the full main episode and bonus below - also available via Spotify, Apple podcasts and YouTube.

About our guests

Tom Kemp is a director of Working Woodlands Cornwall, a community interest company aiming to improve the health and diversity of Cornwall’s woodland. He also runs Four Legs Good, a pig and agroforestry enterprise on eight acres of the Trefusis Estate near Falmouth.

Harry Studholme is a forester and farmer on the Perridge Estate near Exeter. He is an honorary fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters and honorary professor at the University of Exeter. He is also a past chairman of the Forestry Commission.