Agroforestry

For the past 35 years, agroforestry 

researchers at the University of Missouri 

have been touting the benefits of alley 

cropping. Alley cropping, one of the five 

temperate zone agroforestry practices, 

requires the planting of trees at wide 

spacings creating alleyways within which 

companion crops are grown. Companion 

crops can be conventional (corn or 

A relic from the past or 

a bridge to the future?

Volume 19 Issue 2

soybeans) or unconventional (biomass for 

energy or elderberry for jellies and wine). 

They can be a crop of high economic value 

(blueberries) or one of low economic but 

high aesthetic value (tall grass prairie for 

quail and other wildlife). Alley cropping 

can serve to transition fields of row crops 

into forests or, because of its desirable 

stewardship qualities, can be viewed as a 

stand-alone practice designed to provide 

a source of income, conservation and 

environmental benefits. Regardless of the 

need, alley cropping has something to offer 

every landowner. 

Inside

see Bridge, Page 11

4

3

6

The “H” factor

New energy partnerships

Simple is

the way

Inside

H.E. ‘Gene’ Garrett

W. D. ‘Dusty’ Walter

Larry D. Godsey

The Center for Agroforestry

University of Missouri

Columbia, MO

Alley Cropping
NAC Director’s Corner

A commentary on the status of agroforestry by Andy Mason, NAC Director

2 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 19, Issue 2

With alley cropping, is it the chicken or egg dilemma? 

If USDA assistance were more widely available for alley 

cropping, would producers ask for and apply for assistance 

through Farm Bill programs? Or, do producers need to express 

more demand for alley cropping first before USDA assistance 

becomes more widely available?

Of the five agroforestry practices, alley cropping is the least 

adopted nationwide based on NRCS reporting, which tells 

us that alley cropping has been applied on less than 500 acres 

over the past three years! We also know that many USDA 

Service Centers do not currently offer financial and technical 

assistance for alley cropping through federal conservation costshare programs because of limited acceptance of this practice 

in Field Office Technical Guides. 

Sound science and technology to support the practice of 

alley cropping is certainly important, but what else influences 

the adoption process? Several important non-technical factors 

influence a producer’s decision to adopt or reject a new 

practice/system. In this issue of Inside Agroforestry, we discuss 

these very important “human considerations” in the adoption 

process. I believe the “human dimension” of adoption 

applies not only to producers but also to the natural resource 

professionals who provide agroforestry assistance. They may be 

asked by their client one day, “What do you think about alley 

cropping?” How would you respond to this question? Can 

NAC help you improve your alley cropping expertise? 

The good news is that we know of several landowners who 

are establishing alley cropping systems, and with this issue we 

are telling their stories. These stories illustrate the economic and 

conservation benefits of alley cropping, and they also provide 

insights into factors that led them to adopt alley cropping. 

Are you aware of other alley cropping stories in your area? I 

encourage you to share with me your stories and perspectives 

about alley cropping. Please email me at amason@fs.fed.us.

Sincerely, 

Andy Mason

Alley cropping: getting beyond the 

“chicken or the egg”

What has NAC been up to lately?

CanVis update

Ready to create some new agroforestry visual 

simulations? CanVis has now been updated to 

run on Windows 7. The CanVis image-editing 

software is a free, entry-level program that 

allows resource professionals to create photorealistic planning simulations. CanVis can now 

be downloaded or ordered at: www.unl.edu/

nac/simulation/download.htm. 

A new road map to sustainable 

agriculture

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan 

unveiled a plan recently that will help farmers, 

ranchers and woodland owners enhance 

productivity, profitability and environmental 

stewardship by using the practice of 

agroforestry. The USDA Agroforestry 

Strategic Framework, 2011-2016 (www.

usda.gov/documents/AFStratFrame_FINALlr_6-3-11.pdf) has three strategic goals: 1) 

adoption – increase the use of agroforestry 

by landowners and communities; 2) science

– advance the understanding of and tools for 

applying agroforestry; and 3) integration – 

incorporate agroforestry into an all-lands 

approach to conservation and economic 

development. ]
 Volume 19, Issue 2 ] Inside Agroforestry 3

“Sometimes we 

make things more 

complicated than 

necessary,” says Tom Wahl 

of Red Fern Farm in Louisa 

County, Iowa. Tom says, “I like a simple 

definition of agroforestry as the intentional 

management of woody crops for agricultural 

purposes.” In 1992 Tom and his wife and 

business partner Kathy Dice began planting 

chestnuts, persimmons, pawpaw, and 

hazelnuts on about 20 acres of farmable land 

just south of Grandview, IA. To date they 

have more than 50 species of plants, mostly 

woody plants, which are grown for food 

and income production. Tom and Kathy 

are continually planting new species in new 

arrangements to evaluate their potential 

as a source of income and how they might 

fit into their “Comprehensive Integrated 

Agroforestry” operation.

Tom writes on the Red Fern website:

“In his classic book Tree Crops, J. Russel 

Smith describes what he called “two story 

agriculture” (now called “alley cropping”) in 

which crops were planted between rows of 

nut bearing trees. Comprehensive Integrated 

Agroforestry takes this idea a few steps 

further, to what I call “four story agriculture.” 

Intensive management is applied and crops 

are harvested at four levels: medicinal roots 

from underground, livestock forage and/

or medicinal plants at ground level, 

wood from the tree trunks up to about 

twelve feet, and at the fourth level the 

fruit, nuts, and leaves are produced.”

Chestnut trees are the dominant 

crop in the fourth level of agriculture. 

Black walnuts, heartnuts, persimmons, 

and pawpaws are also producing valuable 

food and income in the upper canopy. 

A large variety of fruit and nut bearing 

shrubs including hazelnuts, spicebush, 

black currant, medlar, aronia, cornelian 

cherry dogwood, and kousa dogwood are 

in production or being evaluated as a part 

of the third-level. The forage or second 

level agriculture at Red Fern Farm is largely 

brome/alfalfa or bluegrass and clover and 

helps protect the soil from erosion as 

well as providing bug habitat for foraging 

chickens. There are also underground crops 

like Echinacea grown in the sunny alleys 

between rows of chestnuts, and ginseng and 

goldenseal grown in the shade under the 

chestnuts and other trees.

The less shade tolerant shrub and smalltree species are grown in the alleyways 

between the taller chestnut, walnut, and 

heartnut trees. These species often yield a 

plentiful crop at younger ages than the nutbearing trees which helps improve the cash 

flow of the system. The primary crop on Red 

Fern Farm is chestnuts. At about 15 years of 

age the chestnut plantings are yielding about 

2,000/ac and each year the yield continues to 

increase. So far, demand exceeds production 

and is expected to continue that way well 

into the future. Much of the chestnuts sales 

are wholesale, making it easy to move larger 

quantities of product, the balance is at the 

gate sales and some internet sales each year.

Not too surprising, wildlife also finds 

Comprehensive Integrated Agroforestry 

very attractive. The squirrels begin foraging 

chestnuts in the morning while deer 

would feast all night if the family didn’t 

make chestnut harvesting an evening labor 

practice. Many if not all pest problems 

are controlled using a similar approach of 

altering management practices rather than 

relying on pesticides. The most commonly 

used “pesticide” is grown right at Red Fern 

Farm, and it is eggs. Deer browse has almost 

become a national epidemic for tree and 

shrub plantings. Tom says that a mixture 

of one dozen eggs to five gallons of water, 

stirred not shaken, and run through a screen 

and then sprayed on the foliage and stems 

makes a good deer repellent for about two 

weeks. But try and push it to 15 days and 

you are courting with disaster. 

Tom and Kathy find that a polyculture 

of perennial plants is a much more 

sustainable food production system than 

one of a monoculture of annual plants. 

Comprehensive Integrated Agroforestry may 

not be for everyone or everyplace, but if you 

are ever in southeast Iowa and want to learn 

more about it, make an appointment to visit 

Red Fern Farm (www.redfernfarm.com). ]

A new way in Iowa(y)

Richard Straight

USFS Lead Agroforester

Lincoln, NE

Native persimmons sold at local markets. Photo by Tom Wahl.

Chickens grazing in alley ways between 

chestnut trees. Photo by Tom Wahl.
4 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 19, Issue 2

In natural resource circles, SWAPAE+H 

(Soil, Water, Air, Plant, Animal, Energy and 

Human) summarize the success formula 

for “getting conservation on the ground.” 

Giving equal consideration to both human 

and physical resource factors will facilitate 

practitioners in their mission to promote the 

adoption of alley cropping. 

Information

Information is vital in acquiring new skills 

and identifying the agronomic, economic 

and environmental costs and benefits 

associated with alley cropping. Information 

is a main driver in the adoption process and 

must be: timely, accurate, easy to obtain, 

equally accessible, and inexpensive.

The sources of information will vary by the 

types of producer groups and the stages of 

adoption. 

Note that minority, beginning and/or women 

producers are oftentimes left out of the main 

information loop. These groups are known to 

rely on other producers, family, and friends. 

Attention needs to be given to ensure that 

information is current and available to these 

out of the mainstream groups. 

The adoption process “at work”

Human considerations are vital in 

The human considerations in 

the adoption of alley cropping

managing natural resources. The “human 

consideration” is critical when planning 

and implementing any agroforestry 

practice, including alley cropping. Human 

considerations strongly influence the 

adoption and adaptation of alley cropping. 

Studies have shown that factors from within 

all categories of human characteristics 

were found to be significant in decision 

making. Personal characteristics such as, 

planning horizons, tenure, experience with 

alley cropping and gender were found to 

be important. Owner operators, especially 

with absentee landowners were found to be 

important in some situations. Early adopters 

are typically highly respected, and they could 

be useful in setting up demonstrations and 

pilot projects, and providing testimonials to 

support agroforestry.

Challenges

Embedded within all categories of human 

considerations are challenges. The following 

list represents a summary of challenges and 

limitations that have been cited as relevant to 

establishing and implementing agroforestry 

systems, in general, and alley cropping in 

particular. 

•	 Familiarity and information

•	 Technical assistance throughout the

adoption process

•	 Demonstrations

•	 Training for field staff and producers

•	 Appropriate financial incentives

•	 Labor

Gail Brant

NRCS Sociologist 

Royersford, PA

•	 Land and pressure from rural urban

interface 

•	 Skills to manage equipment, competition

between trees and crops 

•	 Markets for niche crops

•	 Appropriate designs based on producer

goals

These challenges and limitations become 

opportunities for practitioners to “practice” 

the consideration of any number of human 

factors when planning and implementing 

alley cropping as an agroforestry system. 

A practical summary for practitioners

The following statements summarize 

and suggest ways that practitioners can 

practicality “apply” human consideration in 

their day to day work.

•	 Use the formula SWAPE+H: to ensure

that alley cropping “gets on the ground.” 

•	 Remember that at any time throughout

the adoption process, producers can and

do return to any one of the six stages—

Awareness, Interest, Evaluation, Trial,

Adoption, and Adaptation—to make 

decisions about the use of alley cropping. 

•	 Understand the human environment, the

personal, farm structure and community 

characteristics—as decisions are based on 

human factors

•	 “Tag” early adopters as leaders: their

opinions and experiences are highly 

respected, and they will be useful in 

setting up demonstrations, pilot projects 

and providing testimonials.

•	 Consider information and open 	 	

communication links as a main driver in 

adoption. Disseminate information that 

is timely, accurate, equally accessible, easy

to obtain, and inexpensive, and use

mediums that reflect the types of producers.

•	 Ensure that minority, women, and

beginning producers are “in the loop.”

•	 Personalize assistance by determining the

short and long term goals for the operation

in order to guide the “best mix” of direct 

technical assistance. 

•	 Develop training packages for producers,

practitioners, and private consultants 

that incorporate both human and physical 

resource considerations.

•	 Remember challenges are opportunities

that underscore the need to understand 

and utilize human considerations in all 

phases of the adoption process. ]

Producers typically follow six 

stages of adoption—Awareness, 

Interest, Evaluation, Trial, 

Adoption, and Adaptation—to 

make decisions about the use of 

alley cropping.
 Volume 19, Issue 2 ] Inside Agroforestry 5

If you follow 

the Richland 

Electric 

Cooperative 

lines through the 

rolling open hills of 

Richland County to 

Ash Ridge near Viola, 

Wisconsin, you will discover someone who 

is on the cutting edge of green farming and 

agroforestry—Mark Shepard.

From wind turbines, to daffodils, to 

chestnuts, to asparagus, Mark’s poly-culture 

systems (many diverse plants that support 

one another) are pushing the boundaries of 

agroforestry. Influenced by a book written 

by Russell Smith titled “Tree Crops,” Mark 

began to formulate his idea to transition 

from the usual traditional annual crops 

like soybeans and corn to a perennial crop 

ecosystem. This bio-diverse system is made 

up of multi-use crops designed to enhance 

and work with each other while working on 

good land as well as marginal land. Rather 

than turning to intensive agriculture systems, 

Mark designed his system to use common 

and easily grown perennial plants that 

would grow in his area. He notes, “When 

everything is in place, this will look more 

like an African savannah from National 

Geographic, rather than a corn field.” Here 

is a breakdown of what you can find on his 

poly-culture, agroforestry, developed farm:

Chestnuts: These rows of trees provide 

nuts for eating (sales) as well as for feed for 

his livestock. The wood can be used for crafts 

and the discarded wood can be used for 

wood heating or growing mushrooms—all 

of which he does.

Hazelnuts: This shrub is also grown in 

rows but primarily on a unique contour 

layout system that carefully, and deliberately, 

moves water around (and through) the 

hillside, stopping periodically to provide 

spring-time pools of water for frogs and 

salamanders which are his primary pest 

control contractors. Hazelnuts are a big 

producer on the farm that provide nuts and 

oil for sale, husks as a mulch product, and 

shells for burning (burns as hot as anthracite 

coal), a possible biomass feedstock for 

burning or gasification. Mark likes to say 

that “chestnuts are our corn and hazelnuts 

are our soybeans.”

Apples: These trees are another main-stay 

of his poly-culture system. His plantings 

include many obscure apple varieties that 

add to the diversity of his system. The fruit is 

produced and sold but recently he has taken 

this plant one more step and has begun to 

produce cider and wine for value added sales 

and profits.

Organic produce: Mark has been a 

certified organic producer since 1995. 

Strategically grown between his woody 

plantings as alley cropping systems are 

Profits, 

not problems

Doug Wallace

NRCS Lead Agroforester

Lincoln, NE

asparagus for spring harvesting, peppers 

for summer harvesting, and squash for fall 

harvesting—confirming, that he is truly a 

“man for all seasons.”

Other poly-culture plants: Adding to 

the already diverse mix of plants on his farm 

are comfrey, daffodils, iris, wormwood, 

pears, grapes currants, roses, elderberries, 

hybrid poplar.

Livestock/fauna: Not content to just raise 

plants, Mark rounds out his self-developed 

agroforestry based savannah setting, with 

cattle, hogs, squirrels, deer, and badgers. 

Each of these animals is carefully (well most 

are) integrated into his unique system. Since 

not all the fruit can be harvested from his 

trees, Mark uses his livestock as vacuum 

cleaners to remove and utilize every last 

morsel that comes off the chestnut, hazelnut, 

apple and pear trees. And while not totally 

under his control (at least not yet), the 

squirrels, deer, and badgers are some of the 

best fed animals in the neighborhood. 

With all this going on you might think 

that Mark creates more problems than he 

solves, but according to Mark “anytime 

you see the word ‘problem’, that’s the word 

‘profit’, spelled incorrectly.”

“Maybe I don’t have enough problems,” 

he jokes! ]

Adapted from “Making profits from problems” 

by Dean Young, Wisconsin Energy Cooperative 

News, February 2010. Read more about 

Mark’s operation at: www.forestag.com

Right: Aerial 

view of Shepard’s 

farm showing new 

processing and visitors 

building. Above right: 

Examples of alley 

grown crops on the 

farm. Photos by Mark 

Shepard.
6 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 19, Issue 2

A “catchy” new word on 

the street (at least on the street 

of bioenergy) is Catchlight. 

Catchlight EnergyTM is a joint 

venture between Chevron 

and Weyerhaeuser. In 

February 2008, these two companies 

came together, leveraging the strengths of 

both—Weyerhaeuser’s expertise in innovative 

forest stewardship, resource management 

and capacity to deliver sustainable cellulosebased feedstocks and Chevron’s technology 

capabilities in molecular conversion, product 

engineering, advanced fuel manufacturing, 

and fuels distribution.

Catchlight Energy reflects the parent 

companies’ shared view that cellulosic 

biofuels can fill an important role in 

diversifying the nation’s energy sources 

and addressing global climate change 

by providing a source of low-carbon 

transportation fuel. In addition, Catchlight 

Energy recognizes that agroforestry, and 

alley cropping/intercropping in particular, 

has the potential to produce biomass while 

still maintaining supply for traditional 

forest products. Biomass plants for this 

project include herbaceous perennials, 

short rotation trees, understory crops and 

residuals that can be used for emerging 

biofuels markets to supplement traditional 

markets of high-value timber. 

The 50/50 joint venture company is 

focused on developing the next generation 

of renewable 

transportation fuels 

from nonfood sources. Both 

Chevron and Weyerhaeuser will 

contribute resources including funding, 

background technology and employees to 

Catchlight Energy. Catchlight’s initial focus 

will be on developing, researching and 

demonstrating novel technologies, such as 

alley cropping, for growing and converting 

cellulose and lignin from a 

variety of sources into biofuels. 

Future work will evaluate the 

impacts of biomass feedstock 

cultivation at watershed research 

sites in Mississippi, Alabama, and 

North Carolina.

Catchlight Energy intends to use 

Weyerhaeuser’s land to grow renewable 

feedstock for biofuels to supply Chevron’s 

distribution and marketing system. Their 

concept involves using intercropping/alley 

cropping to grow alternating strips of trees 

and energy crops (Figure 1). The alleyway 

energy crops can be harvested annually 

while the trees are managed for wood 

products and fiber. ]

Doug Wallace

NRCS Lead Agroforester

Lincoln, NE

Weyerhaeuser Company, based near 

Tacoma, Washington is one of the 

world’s largest integrated forest 

products companies. Weyerhaeuser, 

incorporated in 1900, is principally 

engaged in the growing and harvesting 

of timber; the manufacture, distribution, 

and sale of forest products; and real 

estate construction, development, and 

related activities.

“Catching” the energy wave

Chevron, based in San Ramon, 

California, explores for, produces 

and transports crude oil and natural 

gas; refines, markets, and distributes 

transportation fuels and other energy 

products and services; manufactures and 

sells petrochemical products; generates 

power and produces geothermal energy; 

and develops and commercializes the 

energy resources of the future, including 

biofuels and other renewables.

Figure 1: The Catchlight multi-functional alley cropping system combines perennial switchgrass 

with traditional loblolly pine for solid wood products and biofuels production.
 Volume 19, Issue 2 ] Inside Agroforestry 7

Crossing over the border

The evolution of agriculture in eastern 

Canada over the past half-century has 

been characterized by a spectacular gain 

in productivity with, in many cases, a 

concurrent but gradual exclusion of trees 

from croplands, particularly because of large 

farm mechanization. Combined with the 

intensification of agriculture, this decrease 

in forest area has resulted in a variety of 

environmental problems, including decreases 

in soil fertility, soil erosion, an increase in 

non-point source pollution and a reduction 

in biodiversity, all of which has resulted in 

an overall loss in terms of the quality of the 

rural landscape. Experiments conducted in 

eastern Canada and other temperate regions 

of the world have shown that intercropping 

systems (ICS), also called alley cropping, 

constitute a promising avenue for strategically 

reintroducing the ecological functions of the 

tree into an agricultural environment.

In Canada, the first experimental trials 

were established almost 25 years ago at 

Guelph, Ontario, northeast of Detroit. A 

variety of hardwood trees (red oak, silver 

maple, sugar maple, American ash, black 

walnut, hybrid poplar) continue to be grown 

with a variety of row crops.

The effect of intercropping on tree 

growth

Can trees take advantage of their proximity 

to intercrops and benefit indirectly from 

the care that these crops receive? Recent 

work in Quebec seems to indicate that 

this is the case. After 3–4 years of growth, 

above-ground biomass of various hybrid 

poplar clones associated with various annual 

intercrops was, on average, 40 percent 

greater than that observed when repeated 

harrowing was undertaken between tree 

rows, a practice commonly used in intensive 

poplar monoculture. According to this 

study, improved tree growth comes notably: 

1) from stimulating the soil microbial 

biomass and mineralizing nitrogen through 

intercropping; and 2) from recovery by 

the tree roots of a significant proportion 

of fertilizer residues used in intercropping, 

which improves their mineral nutrition.

The effect of intercropping on 

intercrop yield

However, to date, the development of Inter 

Crop Systems, ICS, whereby rows of trees 

are ‘inserted’ into crop production areas 

remains a rare practice in the agriculture 

sector. Recent studies in Canada have shown 

that the yield losses in soybeans and corn 

are generally a result of tree shade. Several 

options can help control competition for 

light. These include: 1) use wide within 

and between row tree spacing, 2) selecting 

tree species and clones that minimize shade 

(high crown porosity and low canopy 

width), 3) utilizing tree thinning and 

pruning, and 4) orienting tree rows north 

and south. However, some crops, such 

as forage plants can produce greater total 

biomass and protein under partial shade. In 

Ontario, willow crops under moderate shade 

improved over the same crop in open grown.

Recently, there has been interest in using 

agroforestry systems for short rotation 

willow. The same impacts on microclimate 

found with windbreaks and alley cropping 

systems with annual crops are at work 

with shrub and tree willow species as well. 

Research at the University of Guelph in 

Ontario looked at the impact of a hardwood 

intercropping system on willow biomass 

production as compared to the typical 

monoculture short-rotation-woody-crop. 

Data was collected on changes in root 

biomass production, litterfall, and willow 

biomass yield (above ground) for the three 

clones in each system. Not too surprising, 

the different willow clones not only 

produced at different rates in the SRWC 

scenario, but also responded differently to 

the intercropping system. But for all three 

measurements, there was a positive effect in 

the intercropping system grown willows. 

The results indicate that a hardwood 

intercropping system is a viable alternative 

to typical monoculture short-rotationwoody-crop systems for people interested in 

agroforestry and biomass production. ]

Adapted from “Hardwood Intercropping 

Systems—Combining wood and agricultural 

production while delivering environmental 

services,” Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 

and Clinch, R. et. al. “Biophysical interactions 

in a short rotation willow intercropping system 

in southern Ontario, Canada.” Agriculture, 

Ecosystems and Environment 131 (2009) 

61–69.

Alley cropping research plots at Guelph. Photo 

by Naresh Tevathasan, University of Guelph.

Richard Straight

USFS Lead Agroforester

Lincoln, NE

Round bales of harvested willow biomass. Photo by Naresh Tevathasan, University of Guelph.
8 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 19, Issue 2

Entrepreneurship:

Begin it with 

research, end 

it with profit

Alley cropping tree row of Chinese chestnuts. Photo by Steve Shifley.

Mention the word research and many 

people have an image of someone confined 

in a dark, dreary, damp room with test tubes 

scattered on tables and bare wires running 

everywhere. Fortunately for Steve Shifley, a 

researcher with US Forest Service Northern 

Research Station in Columbia, Missouri this 

is not the case even though “applied research” 

(the trial and error method) is what he and 

his wife Mary are concerned with right now. 

They consider their work a labor of love, not 

research—but with a distinct profit motive as 

a long term goal. 

Steve and Mary own 

25 acres of land in Boone 

County, Missouri. Except for 

about 3 acres of trees along the 

property borders, the land had 

been used for traditional row 

crops. They bought the property 

in 1997 and continued to rent the 

open ground to a local farmer. 

In 2000, the University of Missouri (MU) 

Agroforestry class designed an agroforestry 

plan for the property as a class project. That 

process got Steve and Mary thinking about 

some long term goals for the property. They 

wanted soil and water protection, increased 

plant and wildlife diversity, enough pasture 

and hay to support a few horses, some 

warm season grass, and some crops with the 

potential to generate a little income. The 

plan that the class developed included all 

those elements. The suggested woody cash 

crop in the class plan was hazelnuts grown in 

an alley cropping system with hay produced 

in the alleys. 

They pondered those plans over the next 

five years (researchers by nature, rarely 

rush into anything) as Steve and Mary 

established some pastures and fences for 

the horses, built a house and barn, and got 

settled. During that period they continued 

to the rent 12 acres on the south half 

of property to a neighboring farmer 

who used no-till farming and rotated 

crops of corn, soybeans, wheat and 

occasionally clover or sorghum. 

During that time the MU 

Center for Agroforestry 

expanded research on 

Chinese chestnuts for nut 

production. As a forester, 

growing trees appealed to Steve. Around 

2005 he obtained about 20 surplus Chinese 

chestnut seedlings from the MU Center for 

Agroforestry and planted them on a 25-foot 

rectangular spacing in their pastureland. 

They continued to cut hay in the alleys 

between the trees. The next year he got 36 

more Chinese chestnut trees, but this time 

they were commercially grown container 

Doug Wallace

NRCS Lead Agroforester

Lincoln, NE

trees form Forrest Keeling Nursery. Steve 

established those in two rows on a 28-foot 

rectangular spacing among the wheat crop 

that his farmer tenant had in the ground 

that year. The spacing was designed to 

accommodate the farmer’s combine width in 

the alleyways. To assist Steve, he followed the 

wheat crop with red clover and the next year 

Steve added another 55 Chinese chestnut 

container grown trees. 

During those first few years of chestnut 

establishment Steve had periodic discussions 

with Kim Reitz, Resource Conservationist, 

at the Natural Resources Conservation 

Service (NRCS) Columbia office. Kim 

helped guide him through development of 

a long term plan for the 12 acres of cropped 

land. Steve got additional guidance from 

Mark McCulloch, Missouri Department 

of Conservation private lands biologist, 

others from NRCS and the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA) on programs, plant selection, 

planting, and maintenance. The plan 

they designed included 5.1 acres of warm 

season grasses and forbs as field borders 

(Conservation Reserve Program [CRP] – 

CP33 field border practice), quail habitat 

improvement in the wooded and shrubby 

areas on the property perimeter, and 7.3 

acres of Chinese chestnuts in an alley 

cropping system with mixed grasses and 
 Volume 19, Issue 2 ] Inside Agroforestry 9

legumes established for permanent ground 

cover and hay production in the alleys. 

Financial support for the additional tree 

planting and hayed alleys came through the 

Environmental Quality Incentives program 

(EQIP) program. 

With the help of a neighboring farmer 

they established the warm and cool season 

grasses and planted more than 300 Chinese 

chestnut trees in the autumn of 2007. It 

was a lot of work. Cost share on the tree 

purchase, tree planting, seed purchase (warm 

and cool season grasses, legumes, and forbs), 

chemicals, and planting greatly defrayed 

out of pocket costs and made it financially 

possible for Steve and Mary to establish the 

trees and herbaceous plantings in one year. 

According to Steve, “Without the support of 

the EQIP program I would have continued 

to add only 20 or 30 trees each year.” And 

without the support of the CRP program 

they also doubted that they would have 

established warm season grasses and forbs, 

due to the cost. 

Their soils are heavy clay and 2007 was 

a dry year but, despite periodic watering, 

they lost about 25 percent of the trees that 

first year. They replaced those in the spring 

of 2009 and continued to replace about 40 

more this spring. Most of the trees are well 

established, but the last two years have been 

exceptionally wet which is detrimental to 

chestnuts, especially in clayey soils that drain 

While one of the least applied 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service (NRCS) agroforestry 

practices (based on NRCS

reporting), alley cropping is, 

never-the-less, at least seeing 

application across all regions of 

the US. As described throughout 

this newsletter, alley cropping is 

being enthusiastically adopted, 

promoted, and effectively used 

by a growing number of land 

owners. But one of road blocks 

for higher use across the US, is 

the fact that the alley cropping 

practice standard is currently 

adopted in about half the 

NRCS Field Office Technical 

Guides (FOTG). Without this 

practice available in FOTGs, 

NRCS programs cannot offer 

financial assistance or field 

office personnel do not have 

the technical guidance when 

land owners need or ask for 

alley cropping assistance. This 

lack of adoption is reflected in 

the program dollar amounts 

for alley cropping found in 

ProTracts (NRCS Program 

Contract System). Only 

$43,219 (the lowest of all the 

agroforestry practices) has been 

spent on the establishment of 

alley cropping over the last 3 

years through various federal 

conservation programs. ]

Source: NRCS IDEA (Integrated 

Data for Enterprise Analysis. Report 

date 13 November, 2010)

Small numbers, 

big opportunities

slowly. Their oldest trees are now producing 

small crops of chestnuts and some of their 

youngest trees even had few nuts last fall. 

This spring they burned one-third of the 

warm season grass. They see much greater 

bird diversity now simply due to hundreds of 

perch sites associated with the trees. 

The Center for Agroforestry (CFA) at 

MU continues to be a highly effective 

source of support. In 2009 they hosted an 

excellent series of four day-long workshops 

focused on different aspects of Chinese 

chestnut production. Steve periodically 

consults Ken Hunt, chestnut researcher at 

CFA, who patiently answers his questions. 

Steve recently was approved for a North 

Central Sustainable Agriculture Research 

and Education (SARE) Farmer Rancher 

grant. It will provide funding to graft his 

trees with scion wood selections from the 

Center for Agroforestry. That would be set 

up as an experiment (Steve claims it’s not 

real research) to measure differences in graft 

success and nut production. He also hopes 

to get accepted into the entrepreneurship 

training program for new and beginning 

Missouri farmers (http://muagentrepreneur.

wordpress.com/). His intention—“unless I get 

smarter along the way,” he says—is to have a 

U-pick component to the chestnut business 

that provides a value added agri-tourism 

element. ]

Alley cropping with alley ways of cool season grass and legume hay. Photo by Steve Shifley.
10 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 19, Issue 2

There’s a new agroforestry 

Conservation Stewardship Program 

(CSP) enhancement activity that is now 

available to land users: Plant Enhancement 

Activity PLT14 – Alley cropping 

establishment for wildlife and beneficial 

insect habitat. The addition of this activity 

to the suite of agroforestry enhancements 

offered through CSP adds to the list of 

existing agroforestry enhancements. All 

current agroforestry practices now have 

at least one enhancement associated with 

each of the practices.

This enhancement involves the planting 

of trees and/or shrubs in multiple-rows 

with agronomic, horticultural or forage 

crops grown in the alleyways that produce 

additional woody products and provide 

wildlife and insect benefits.

In addition, the enhancement requires 

the use one or more of the following 

methods to improve habitat for the 

targeted species:

•	 Manage cropping periods or add

legumes or plant cover crops to 

enhance wildlife habitat during critical 

life cycle periods.

•	 Use native tree and shrub species that

favor targeted species.

•	 Plant multiple tree and shrub species (3

or more; use native species whenever 

possible) with varying flowering times 

to favor beneficial insect species.

•	 Establish clusters of other tree and 	

shrub species if needed as a food or 

pollinator source (e.g., oaks for mast or 

black locust for pollen).

Check out the complete list of 

CSP enhancements, including all the 

agroforestry activities, at www.nrcs.usda.

gov/programs/new_csp/csp.html. This 

program is administered through the 

USDA Natural Resources Conservation 

Service. To sign up for this enhancement 

or to find out more about the CSP 

program, contact your local USDA 

Service Center. ]

Last, but not least

Doug Wallace

NRCS Lead Agroforester

Lincoln, NE

Just beyond the northern suburbs of 

Memphis near Millington, Tennessee, 

amid fields of cotton and 

soybeans, forested creeks and 

new housing developments, 

lies a small family farm 

owned by Alvin and Shirley 

Harris. Everything they do on their farm is 

organic-based, from their forages to their 

blueberries. Their current alley cropping 

system is also organic and consists of rows 

of eastern black walnut using organic 

farming principles in the alley ways that have 

produced water melons, black-eyed peas, 

cream peas, purple hull peas, sweet corn and 

other short rotational crops. There are no 

chemicals used anywhere on the farm. As 

Alvin points out, “I have been doing this 

for thirty something years and it’s going 

to stay that way.”

The alley cropping system that Alvin set 

up is fairly new on the farm. “I basically 

started from scratch and a lot of what I do I 

learned overseas traveling around the world 

seeing how they did things,” explains Alvin 

about his farming operations. 

Alvin used some suggestions from David 

Brauer from the USDA Agriculture Research 

Service in the planting and development of 

eastern black walnut in his alley cropping 

project. He wanted the rows of walnut far 

Alley cropping: making 

money with no complaints

enough from each other so he could grow 

annual crops in between while the trees were 

growing. He admits knew nothing about 

growing trees but went ahead anyway. He 

was instructed to grow the trees using 25 feet 

by 25 feet spacing but 

his thoughts were to 

space them 25 feet by 

30 feet so that he could 

have more room in between the 

rows to grow his other crops.

What is the status of the new alley 

cropping system? According to Alvin, “I 

am making money in this field every year. 

Not from the trees yet, but from growing 

produce in between them. I still make 

money. Really I haven’t lost anything, I don’t 

think, in this field, and I think this is the 

fifth or sixth year.”

Doug Wallace

NRCS Lead Agroforester

Lincoln, NE

I am making money in this field 

every year. Not from trees yet, but 

from growing produce in between 

them.” —Alvin Harris

“

Would he recommend this system to other 

farmers? He emphatically says, “Yes, I’ve 

made money so I’m not complaining.” ]

Based on an interview by Dr. Frank Mrema, 

Tennessee State University Cooperative 

Extension, with Alvin and Shirley Harris.

Alvin Harris on his 

farm in Tennessee 

Photo by Dr. Frank 

Mrema.
 Volume 19, Issue 2 ] Inside Agroforestry 11

Bridge

Continued from page 1

The early history of alley cropping has its 

roots in Southeast Asia. During the early 

19th century, the Taungya System of forest 

management was developed by the British in 

Burma. In exchange for tending their Teak 

plantations, the wealthy allowed the poor the 

opportunity to grow food crops between and 

alongside their trees. In the beginning, and 

during the many decades that followed, even 

into the mid-1900’s, the Taungya System 

and other variations of alley cropping were 

viewed primarily as an inexpensive means 

of establishing forests. However, beginning 

in the 1960’s and 1970’s, a few visionaries 

began to speak out on the benefits of 

growing trees and food crops together to 

address hunger and ecological degradation in 

many parts of the world. It was at this time 

that the Food and Agriculture Organization 

(FAO) of the United Nations (1976) 

decided to focus its attention in forest 

management development on the beneficial 

interactions that were being reported by 

researchers when trees and food crops were 

integrated into a single land-management 

system. In combination with other highly 

significant events, such as the establishment 

of the International Council for Research in 

Agroforestry currently in Nairobi, Kenya, 

a movement began on the part of many, to 

advance the knowledge and the adoption 

of alley cropping-related practices. Its 

development and adoption were especially 

noticeable throughout the tropics where land 

was scarce and used to meet many needs. 

It was also at this time that the Center 

for Agroforestry at the University of 

Missouri and Hammon’s Products 

Company of Stockton, Missouri entered 

into a cooperative research/demonstration 

effort to evaluate the benefits (economic, 

environmental, biological and social) of 

alley cropping with black walnut. The initial 

plantings created 40-foot alleyways within 

which conventional agronomic crops such as 

corn, soybean and milo were double-cropped 

with wheat. While the alleyways proved 

too narrow to maximize the production 

opportunities, much was learned that has 

served as the basis for improving alley 

cropping designs to better meet the needs of 

temperate zone landowners. 

Alley cropping is especially well adapted 

to meet the needs of small farms throughout 

the Midwestern United States. For senior 

landowners who are interested in reducing 

the acreage being row cropped and 

transitioning to forests for the purpose of 

preparing to pass their land to their nonfarming children, it is the perfect tool. 

Likewise, for landowners who are not 

just interested in the production aspects 

of farming but also equally interested in 

environmental and conservation benefits, 

alley cropping can be designed to hold 

the soil and significantly reduce the loss 

of nutrients and pesticides. Moreover, for 

those interested in improving their wildlife 

habitat, establishing grasses, forbs and 

shrubs in direct association with the tree 

rows or in the alleyways can create enhanced 

wildlife opportunities.

While alley cropping can be designed 

with any tree species (oak, maple, etc.), it is 

at its best when the species of choice offers 

high income opportunities while providing 

a suitable microenvironment within which 

the companion crop can be grown. Specialty 

crop tree species such as those that produce 

edible crops (Chinese chestnut, walnut and 

pecan) or long-needles (loblolly, pitch and 

loblolly hybrid, etc.) for the production of 

pine straw mulch, are good examples. When 

tree species that produce an annual crop are 

matched with the appropriate companion 

crop, alley cropping can become a practice of 

great economic value. 

Research has shown that Chinese chestnut 

trees planted on a good site can yield as 

much as 3,500 lbs. of nuts per acre per year 

at maturity, with a market value ranging 

from $1–3 per pound. These trees can 

reach productivity in less than five years, be 

producing 1,000 pounds of nuts per acre by 

age 10, and have an internal rate of return 

reaching as high as 10 percent over a 40-year 

period. Likewise, a loblolly pine planting can 

generate income from pine straw production 

(needles) as early as 6 years after planting. 

The trees can produce around 150–250, 30 

lb. bales per acre every other year, with a 

market value ranging from $4–7 per bale. 

In addition to pine straw markets, pines 

are marketable as posts, poles, pulpwood, 

chip-n-saw, and sawlogs as they get larger. 

This provides market diversity and flexibility 

to the landowner who could see rates of 

return as high as 11 percent over the life of 

the trees. By planting chestnut or pine in an 

alley cropping design, with 60- to 90-foot 

alleyways, one can create additional income 

from alley crops that are selected on the basis 

of their compatibility with the tree species 

and its crop (pine straw, nuts, etc.). 

Currently, there is a shift in the thinking 

of many landowners and government 

agencies towards land practices that 

emphasize multiple conservation benefits. 

Not unlike its original application in the 

tropics, the strength of today’s temperate 

zone alley cropping practice is found in its 

ability to meet multiple objectives while 

conserving our natural resources and creating 

a lasting bridge to the future. ]

Alley cropping system with cotton and pine trees. Photo credit: University of Missouri Center for 

Agroforestry.
Upcoming Events

Mission

The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) 

is a partnership of the Forest Service (Research & 

Development and State & Private Forestry) and the 

Natural Resources Conservation Service. NAC’s 

staff are located at the University of Nebraska, 

Lincoln, NE and in Blacksburg, VA. NAC’s purpose 

is to accelerate the development and application of 

agroforestry technologies to attain more economically, 

environmentally, and socially sustainable land use 

systems by working with a national network of 

partners and cooperators to conduct research, develop 

technologies and tools, establish demonstrations, 

and provide useful information to natural resource 

professionals.

Policy

Opinions expressed in “Inside Agroforestry” are those of the author and do not 

necessarily represent the policy of the USDA Forest Service and the USDA Natural 

Resources Conservation Service. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits 

discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national 

origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental 

status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or 

because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance. 

(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and 

TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil 

Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call toll 

free 866-632-9992 (voice). TDD users can contact USDA through local relay or the 

Federal relay at 800-877-8339 (TDD) or 866-377-8642 (relay voice). USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider and employer.

“Inside Agroforestry” is published by the USDA 

 National Agroforestry Center. 

 Phone: 402-437-5178; Fax: 402-437-5712.

•		 Andy Mason, NAC Director (202-205-1694)

•		Michele Schoeneberger, FS Research Lead

 (ext. 4021)

•		Richard Straight, FS Lead Agroforester (ext 4024)

•		Doug Wallace, NRCS Lead Agroforester

 (ext. 4036)

www.unl.edu/nac

October 8, 2011

9th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast.

New Franklin, MO. 

www.centerforagroforestry.org/events/

chestnut/index.php

November 2–6, 2011

2011 Society of American Foresters 

National Convention: “Linking Global, 

Regional, and Local Solutions.”

Honolulu, HI. www.safnet.org/

natcon11/index.cfm 

November 7–8, 2011

Silvopasturing in the Northeast

Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel. Watkins 

Glen, NY. Contact: Brett Chedzoy, 

bjc226@cornell.edu

Woody biomass webinar series

The University of Minnesota Extension 

will offer 7 webinars on woody biomass 

in fall 2011. There is no charge, but 

pre-registration is required. www.

myminnesotawoods.umn.edu/2011/05/

extension-fall-2011-woody-biomasswebinar-series/

For more upcoming events, visit our

website calendar: www.unl.edu/nac/

calendar.htm.

Inside Agroforestry PRSRT STD

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Volume 19, Issue 2