A much needed practical guide in Agroforestry has been developed by a team of agroforestry specialists from the 1890 and 1862 Land Grant Universities and the USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC), led by the 1890 Agroforestry Consortium. The purpose of the guide is to assist underserved and limited resources farmers and woodland owners to adopt best management technologies in agroforestry. The guide depicts step-by-step methods and principles on developing agroforestry practices for farmers and woodland owners for the purpose of enhancing the economic and environmental benefits of their farms and woodlands. Guest post writer Deborah Hill and regular contributing editor Gwen Boyd are both co-authors on the guidebook.
“Profitable Farms and Woodlands” was suggested by limited resource farmers and woodland owners who met twice in focus groups in Birmingham, AL, and Atlanta, GA, with a team of agroforestry experts to produce the manual. The views expressed by these underserved and limited resources landowners were the “guiding light” that led to its development. Their emphasis was: “this guide needs to be an easy to read format written for us and all other beginning farmers and woodland owners.”
The guide is presented in five chapters, one for each agroforestry practice. The chapter topics are:
- Alley Cropping
- Forest Farming
- Riparian Buffer Strips
- Silvopasture
- Windbreaks