Episode 97: Integrating Trees Into Working Pastures with Austin Unruh

Austin Unruh founded Trees for Graziers to help farmers establish trees in pastures on a large scale. Austin has worked on over 400 acres for 25 different working farms. Getting trees planted at a large scale and an affordable price led to lots of experimentation to ensure protection and integration into pasture that was minimally intrusive. It’s his goal to make silvopasture as easy and cost-effective as possible for farmers. Trees for Graziers offers everything from planning, planting, and aftercare to growing silvo-specific nursery stock.
In this episode, Austin and John discuss:
The importance of integrating trees into pasture How to protect young trees from rodent damage
The many benefits that trees provide
Tree species that have the greatest opportunities in silvopasture
How to best match tree characteristics to farm goals
Additional Resources To learn more about Austin Unruh and Trees for Graziers, please visit: treesforgraziers.com/
About John KempfJohn Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.
​Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition - a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.
Support For This Show & Helping You Grow Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture.
AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA’s science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.
AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.
Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.
Learn more about AEA’s regenerative programs and products: www.advancingecoag.com/
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VIDEO: To learn more from John Kempf about regenerative agriculture, watch this conversation between John and three AEA grower partners about how regenerative agriculture is changing lives and conventional farming: • How regenerative agric...

[@ScouseJack]

Salute to J. Russel smith - Tree Crops, a permanent agriculture.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Nice interview. I had a first look at how valuable addition trees are for animals with my sheep in our apple orchard 30 years ago. My butcher kept scolding me every year that I over fed the sheep since he had to cut off 3-4 inches of fat. High sugar apples combined with high protein fall grass equals FAT without any grain.

[@suburbanbiology]

Incredible discussion as always. I love the conversation about how the genetic diversity inherent to trees is an untapped power. Thanks as always to John et al!!

[@rochrich1223]

When Austin says the view of silvopasture is drastically different between foresters and grazers is true. Change what consumes the forage from ruminants to bees what trees are valued most also changes drastically! Pussy willow suddenly becomes near top because it is the earliest to produce pollen in spring. Bass wood, tulip poplar, sumac all become more valuable than the stingy hard maple for instance. Trying to think it through, I noticed the trees suited to wet ground are often quite good for bee forage. A useful concept to keep in the back of your mind.

[@SolarSolaceFarms]

Doing this in flood irrigated pasture in central Utah. In this part of the world, you have to want it bad enough you put in the work. Cool to listen to this, have the same goals. Planting mulberry, burr oak, honey locust, some fast growers too.

[@trenomas1]

So much work went into preventing vole and mole damage. Isn't there a species or genepool of trees that can resist a little mammal? If you're growing for pasture, you can gather wild acorns/hazelnuts/chinquapins or other tree seeds. Initially sourcing the seed stock might be costly, but the novel genetics provide improved resilience and canopy cover concerns can be handled with pollarding and leaf hay. You trade the cost of all that effort of preventing voles with the effort of sourcing from wild gatherers. One seems more ecologically sound.

[@DavidBelliveau]

If I've learned anything from the Permaculture Designer course, it's to combine the installation of swales, even tiny swales, on contour with trees planted with a multi-layer system from fungi and roots to ground cover to bushes, vines, understory and overstory. Slow/Spread/Sink your water, then design your access, and then add structures where they make the most sense (if structures are required). More trees will survive, they'll grow faster, they'll produce earlier. Secondary crops from the other layers. Simply planting trees in straight rows will be hit-or-miss with tree survival, the trees will mature more slowly, and their crops will be smaller. Eventually, the 7 layer companions to your swale/tree combo will most likely produce more value than the pastures currently provide.

[@robertcunninghammusic6712]

Here in the UK our Fields tend to be small and Field boundaries have old hedges with trees in them which provide shade, but shade for livestock is not such an issue here as it rains alot and it's not to hot anyway when it's sunny. Listing to this sounds a bit bizarre planting trees on pasture! I would suggest making grazing Fields smaller and planting trees and hedges as Field boundaries. The livestock then can move into shade via the boundary trees/ hedges when they want to. Trees take a long time to get big enough so not to be destroyed by livestock, here we have mature woodlands we can graze, but the trees do use alot of water and the grazing quality is poor under trees. My thoughts are planting a whole woodlands on pasture is not a good idea, have small fields with trees hedging making the boundaries instead. Grazing Fields then can be rotated with crops or used for fodder harvesting rather than just grazing ( hay, silage ect) I would not like to cut and process silage or hay in a wood

[@seanrichardson881]

Hey John hope you read this something to think about. I've been playing with wild fruit plants in Western New York and am finding a drastic change in epigenetic expression from years of maintaining wild fruit species

[@trenomas1]

That sounds so cool. Details?

[@seanrichardson881]

@@trenomas1 mostly wild black raspberries and I got much bigger larger fruit than they started. Also shape of plant has changed and additional harvesting seasons. Maintenance is pruning and mulching. I let weeds grow with them. Occasionally they get sprayed with forge foliar custom blend. Just started experimenting with other plants.

[@seanrichardson881]

Hard to explain more than after 3 years the plants just start to change.

[@trenomas1]

@@seanrichardson881 That's very interesting. Adapting to nutrient surplus/sufficiency possibly. Like a lost child learning not to hoard food and relax into laughing again.

[@pennynealeigh6557]

I was wondering about mixing types of trees. I have good rainfall ,but minimal summer rain. Hot summers. Good mix of grasses. Any ideas on drought tolerant trees, zone 7ish. Thanks for sharing this very interesting program.

[@paulamayers7130]

I was wondering about Moringa olifera - would this be a good equivalent to Honey Locust for graziers further south? Thanks

[@davidscopaz4177]

Getting g tired of the advertisements every 16 seconds. Keep it up and ill.unsucribe