Agroforestry in the UK

Combining trees with crops or livestock is more productive, better for wildlife and healthier for the planet, but only 3% of the UK’s farmland currently practices agroforestry: soilassociation.co/3iTZjIa
Find out how we’re working with farmers to achieve our goal of over half of UK farms having agroforestry systems in place by 2030 in this documentary video, featuring our Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry, Ben Raskin.
This film was created as part of Soil Association’s involvement in the FABulous Farmers project (www.soilassociation.org/farme.... The project aims to support farmers to transition to more agroecological practices on their farms. It is funded by the European Regional Development Fund for North West Europe, Interreg.
#SoilAssociation #Agroforestry

[@urbanisationwatch]

Great to see British farmers finally catching up with smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa!

[@emilnolte4164]

I'm waiting for the next step which should have been the first i.e. no-till-farming and direct seeding. The sight of uncovered naked soil is really shocking because it means that there is still knowledge of living soil lacking but I keep feeling quite optimistic about coming changes. Thanks for the video.

[@helenhooley5649]

Many thanks for a most inspiring video , which I have forwarded to others who will find it interesting.

[@SoilAssociation]

Thanks for sharing Helen.

[@markhirstwood4190]

Dorset then Devon, South West England, beautiful. Some of that reminds me of Robert Hart's forest gardening in Shropshire way back when. One point: nice music but it doesn't need to play through the entire video, maybe change it up a bit.

[@jahidislam2139]

BRAVE

[@ennigmaa]

I come from the “Save Soil” movement. Agroforestry has revived the livelihood of hundreds and thousands of farmers in Southern India. A revival that has increased the income by 800%- 8 times. Along with horticultural trees we are into high value timber trees aswell. India imports over 4billion usd worth of timber annually. Why not grow it at home? Shame governments across the globe are only providing lip service as these are long term commitments and nothing fancy

[@BeautifulNaturalDramatic]

A very enlightening and inspiring video

[@DGPPhysics]

Ernest Gotsch developed Syntropic Agroforestry in Brazil at 70s 80s search on the internet amazing system.

[@Lorac1313]

Just brilliant. I really hopes it catches on country wide.

[@SoilAssociation]

So do we!

[@Ye_west]

It even looks healthier. We have a 37 acre farm that's managed by my Father. although its small id love to integrate some form of agroforestry project. I envision focussing on ome crop, say hazel. Do you see any issues with this?

[@SoilAssociation]

There’s no particular issue with this! Tree choices are often a compromise between a range of factors. Focussing on one species makes it easier to manage, and perhaps build scale for a particular product, but you do lose out on the benefits of a more diverse system (for instance increased biodiversity, resilience and markets). Hope this helps.

[@abisu5273]

This is a great look into the future.. but just one thing. To intercrop cereal and trees, it looks like neither crop will get the wind protection needed for gale force winds. So many lost trees this year. Thoughts?

[@SoilAssociation]

Thanks for your comment Abi. We will pass it on to our team internally.

[@SoilAssociation]

This can be an issue in some areas. Ben - our Head of Horticulture (and star of this video!) - says that in their next field lab at Eastbrook, they’re planting a nurse tree row of alder (which grows well and quickly for them) to protect the slower growing trees. Depending on how they and the other trees grow, they’ll either leave or coppice them. You may want to follow him or Eastbrook on social media to stay updated!

[@romaricvincent7616]

First, it is important to know that a windbreak will reduce the wind over about 15times its height. For a tree hedge of H=10m, the protected area is about 150m. Then, at the regional level, there will be a tree&windbreak density over which the landscape roughness will create a "boundary layer" in the air flux. In this boundary layer, the wind will be roughly reduced by a factor of 2 (order of magnitude!). About the boundary layer, the wind will be the meteorological wind. It can seem counter intuitive, but the trees will protect themselves and the cultures beneath. This has major consequences on soil humidity as well, and could even summer thunderstorms to catch more rain. All this probably a major advantage of agroforestry landscapes, it can change its own climate! But it is a huge societal challenge to implement, as you need to have some coherence of tree structures across different farms and different land uses sometimes with opposite objectives. And yes, I agree with you, the main issue it that the system works once the trees are tall enough... in the mean time they are fragile against strong winds.

[@nickyakehurst4244]

@@SoilAssociation Plus the Alder is nitrogen fixing. You can later lift the canopy, or coppice as it makes great charcoal/biochar.

[@triciacastelo]

Amazing! Can agroforestry thrive on Grade 3 land? or only 1-2?

[@SoilAssociation]

Hi! Yes, it’s great on Grade 3. You might choose different trees, and possibly a different planting system. All the upland stuff will be on Grade 4 or even 5: www.lra.co.uk/services/soil-survey-soil-mapping/agricultural-land-grades

[@khasimakram5538]

Hello sir and mam Iam comming to uk to do masters program of one year course after that can I get job in your company’s

[@nineallday000]

what spacing are those trees planted on?

[@blraskin5819]

The ones at the start (in curved lines) are mostly 5-6m between trees (with bush fruit in between) and 10m between rows. Some variation depending on the species.

[@nineallday000]

​@@blraskin5819 Any tips for measuring out the lines to be consistently 10 meters apart while travelling on a curve? I am laying out a planting right now and having trouble keeping the lines the same distance apart over a curved line. I am doing 24 meters apart for chestnuts and other nut species, 12 meters apart for other fruit trees. I am using 2 people with a string, flags, and 2 boards making a 90 degree angle so that I can be sure that they are parallel to one another, but I still find it challenging. Thanks!

[@parccarreg]

Can anybody tell me if the new UK gov subsidy scheme will cover agroforestry? It seems to me that all they want to do is turn farm land into forest.

[@dmomcilovic9185]

lol what a revelation, it is how farming was decades ago

[@briandilworth5604]

😂😊😊😊