USDA Finds Agroforestry as a Real Solution
USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan recently announced a plan to promote agroforestry to farmers, ranchers, and woodland owners to enhance their productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship.
Agroforestry combines agriculture and forestry to create an integrated landscape that will maximize the benefits from both trees and traditional agriculture. “Agroforestry does not sacrifice farmland for forests or forests for farmland,” Merrigan said. “Rather, agroforestry is the marriage of disciplines that, in the end, will protect our natural resources, benefit our communities and allow for the development of other sources of income for farmers, ranchers, and woodland owners.”
The result of increased agroforestry practices may appear as something of a patchwork quilt on the landscape. In other words, forest canopies will be interspersed with field crops, providing myriad benefits: additional income, erosion control, pollinator habitat and windbreaks. Similarly, existing managed forest canopies can host a variety of useful crops in their understory: food, medicines, and potential income.
Effective agroforestry practices “place the right plant in the right place for the right purpose.” The USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework is built around three goals: adoption—increase the practice of agroforestry; science—advance the understanding and tools for application; and integration—incorporate agroforestry into an all-lands approach.
Agroforestry provides benefits beyond rural communities. In the rural-urban interface, agroforestry can improve wildlife habitat, reduce dust and odors, and act as filters for clean water.
