Agroforestry VOLUME 23 ISSUE 3

In 1990, the Farm Bill authorized the establishment of the USDA 

National Agroforestry Center to accelerate the development and 

application of agroforestry technologies to attain more economically, 

environmentally, and socially sustainable land-use systems.
2 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3

NAC Director's Corner

A commentary on the status of agroforestry by Susan Stein, NAC Director

In 1990, the Farm Bill authorized the 

establishment of the USDA National 

Agroforestry Center (NAC) to accelerate the 

development and application of agroforestry 

technologies to attain more economically, 

environmentally, and socially sustainable 

land-use systems. Since then, NAC has delivered more than 1.3 

million requested publications into the hands of natural resource 

professionals who use them to promote agroforestry at workshops, 

trainings, and other events across the country. Throughout the 

last 25 years, NAC researchers have fostered practical science and 

created tools to further agroforestry adoption. But the Center’s 

work involves a lot more than its research and technology 

transfer publications. NAC has had many impacts in the field of 

agroforestry through its tool development, outreach, education, 

and partnerships across the country. The articles in this issue of 

Inside Agroforestry review many of these technology transfer and 

research efforts carried out through a partnership of U.S. Forest 

Service Research and Development, U.S. Forest Service State & 

Private Forestry, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. 

Our Nation’s agricultural and forested lands, upon which we all 

depend, will be facing numerous challenges from climate change, 

weather, markets, and other unforeseen influences. Agroforestry 

is now recognized – nationally and globally – as a management 

option to assist farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and 

communities across the landscape in addressing these concerns. 

As we go forward into the next 25 years, we at NAC, along with 

our many partners, will continue our tradition of exploring new 

agroforestry horizons and sharing agroforestry science, tools 

and assistance.

USFS S&PF Cooperative 

Forestry and the USDA National 

Agroforestry Center

Kate MacFarland

USDA National Agroforestry Center

The National Agroforestry Center began as a partnership of two 

Deputy Areas of the U.S. Forest Service, Research & Development 

and State & Private Forestry. Within State & Private Forestry, 

the Forest Stewardship Program and Urban and Community 

Forestry Program, both part of Cooperative Forestry, have been 

key partners in sharing ideas about the relevance of agroforestry 

practices to family forest owners and to communities. Like NAC, 

these programs were established in the 1990 Farm Bill and are 

celebrating their 25th anniversaries. 

Through the Forest Stewardship Program (FSP), state 

forestry agencies work one-on-one with landowners to provide 

technical advice on forest management and tree planting. 

These recommendations are provided through long-term, 

comprehensive, multi-resource, Forest Stewardship Plans. The 

Urban and Community Forestry (U&CF) Program responds 

to the needs of urban areas by maintaining, restoring, and 

improving urban forest ecosystems on more than 70 million acres. 

Through these efforts, the program encourages and promotes 

the creation of healthier, more livable urban environments 

across the nation.

Cooperative Forestry’s early partnerships with NAC centered on 

trees on private lands, including those not in forests. The FSP also 

played a key role in promoting windbreaks in the Great Plains. 

More recent collaborations have resulted in the creation of an 

agroforestry resource element in Forest Stewardship Plans. This 

encourages landowners to consider practices like silvopasture 

and forest farming when making decisions about managing 

their land. In urban forestry, NAC and the U&CF program 

have promoted the idea of “working trees” as a part of green 

infrastructure. Additionally, NAC research on trees’ abilities to 

reduce nutrient pollution, create wildlife habitat, provide food, 

and create other benefits has continued to contribute to green 

infrastructure implementation. ]

Stay Connected with 

Agroforestry Connection

Agroforestry Connection is a 

periodic email update from the 

USDA National Agroforestry Center 

that includes information on new 

publications and upcoming events.

To subscribe, go to 

http://eepurl.com/4HKB1
Developing the Technical Standards 

for Agroforestry

Kate MacFarland

USDA National Agroforestry Center

Bruce Wight

USDA NRCS (Retired)

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is an 

important part of the USDA National Agroforestry Center. 

Developing NRCS Technical Standards for agroforestry practices has 

been an important step in the implementation of agroforestry. These 

standards improve the technical assistance that NRCS provides for 

these practices and allows landowners to access financial assistance 

for these practices through Environmental Quality Incentives 

Program and Conservation Reserve Program.

NRCS National Technical Standards can be developed in multiple 

ways. Sometimes a new technology is recognized to have national 

application. National specialists for NRCS then develop the national 

standard. The draft is then sent to the states for input before being 

posted for public review in the Federal Register. In other cases, a new 

technology without an existing Technical Standard is recognized at 

the state level. In this case, the state can develop an interim standard 

and test it for three years. After three years, the interim standard is 

evaluated. It can become a new national standard, get incorporated 

into an existing national standard, or be rejected. To be accepted, 

practices must address resource concerns identified by NRCS.

While National Technical Standards exist for alley cropping 

(311), multi-story cropping (379), riparian forest buffers (391), 

silvopasture (381), windbreak/shelterbelt establishment (380), and 

windbreak/shelterbelt renovation (650), it is up to individual states 

to adopt and develop state standards for these practices. This decision 

is up to NRCS and is guided by the state specialists responsible 

for the particular practices. Some states have adopted the NRCS 

technical standards for all five agroforestry practices (see map). 

Among the agroforestry Technical Standards, the windbreak 

standards have been around the longest. These were developed 

in the 1930s and 1940s and were widely accepted, particularly in 

the regions most affected by the Dust Bowl. A separate standard 

for Windbreak Renovation was developed in the late 1970s, 

as windbreaks planted 30 to 40 years earlier were declining and 

required improvements. The development of a national standard 

for riparian forest buffers took place in the early 1990s, as 

understanding of the applications for these buffers increased. This 

standard has also been broadly accepted as many states face the 

resource concerns that riparian forest buffers can address. An alley 

cropping standard was implemented in 1997, in part as a result of 

the research carried out by the University of Missouri on walnuts 

and annual crops. This standard has been accepted by many states, 

though not all. The silvopasture standard was developed during the 

early 2000s, drawing from significant data in the southeast as well 

as research from other regions. Multi-story cropping was the last 

standard to be developed in the 2000s. This standard arose from 

agroforestry practiced in the Pacific and Caribbean Islands but has 

relevance throughout the U.S. Together, these standards help to 

support agroforestry implementation through USDA programs, 

policies, and technical and financial assistance. ]

For more details on which agroforestry technical standards your 

state has adopted, please see: http://nac.unl.edu/practices

Number of agroforestry 

standards adopted by state 

(5 max)

Two

Three

Four

Five

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3 3

States that have adopted NRCS Technical Standards
Riparian Forest Buffers

Richard Straight

USDA National Agroforestry Center 

The ecological importance of vegetation 

in riparian areas has been widely documented over 

the last 50 years. In the 1960s, riparian grazing 

lands in the arid southwest and intermountain 

regions became recognized as critical habitat and 

migration corridors for wildlife. Soon thereafter, 

riparian vegetation was identified as critical for 

maintaining and protecting cold-water fisheries 

in the Pacific Northwest and New England. 

In the 1970s, passage of the Clean Water Act 

spurred subsequent studies on relationships 

between riparian vegetation and water pollutants, 

particularly on agricultural lands.

Some of the earliest documentation of runoff 

sediment and nutrient attenuation by riparian 

forest buffers was recorded by Richard Lowrance 

at the Southeastern Watershed Research 

Laboratory in Tifton, Georgia. At about this 

same time John Gilliam at North Carolina State 

University and David Correll at the Smithsonian 

Environmental Research Center in Maryland 

were documenting similar effects at different 

locations along the U.S. east coast. Wildlife 

and fisheries biologists were also confirming the 

value of riparian habitat and corridors through 

developed and agricultural landscapes.

In 1991, David Welsch of the U.S. Forest 

Service synthesized the results of these early 

studies into one publication, “Riparian Forest 

Buffers: Function and Design for Protection 

and Enhancement of Water Resources.” This 

publication proposed the now-familiar threezone riparian forest buffer concept. However, 

most of the research supporting its conclusions 

about sediment and nutrient filtering had 

How did the five most common 

temperate agroforestry practices evolve?

Windbreaks

Bruce Wight

USDA NRCS (Retired)

Using trees and shrubs to protect fields, crops, livestock and 

people from climatic extremes has long been recognized throughout 

the world, starting in the 1600s with English hedges separating 

fields. As European settlement of North America progressed from 

the eastern forests to the western plains, people soon realized how 

harsh the climate can be without tree protection. Tree groves 

and hedgerows were successfully planted on the prairies of Ohio, 

Indiana, Illinois and Iowa during the early 1800s, but the Great 

Plains was a greater challenge. Incentives like the Timber Culture 

Act had good intentions, but essentially failed. Mennonites who 

migrated to Dakota Territory in the 1870s from the Russian Steppes 

tried to duplicate the shelterbelts (known as windbreaks today) 

from the steppes. Drought and lack of good planting stock were 

all hindrances. In 1916, the Northern Great Plains Field Station of 

the Agricultural Research Service at Mandan, North Dakota began 

experimenting with tree planting with cooperating landowners 

(ND, SD, MT, WY) resulting in about 1.5 million trees established 

in over 1,200 shelterbelts by 1920. Probably the greatest windbreak 

establishment push in the U.S. came during the Dust Bowl with 

the Prairie States Forestry Project, more commonly known as the 

Shelterbelt Project, led by the U.S. Forest Service. From 1935 to 

1942, the project planted about 18,600 miles of shelterbelts (about 

144 million trees and shrubs) on over 30,000 farms in six states 

(ND, SD, NE, KS, OK, TX). In 1942 the national leadership for 

windbreaks was transferred to 

the USDA Soil Conservation 

Service (now NRCS).

In more recent times 

the conservation value of 

windbreaks continues to be 

recognized. The Conservation 

Reser ve Program (CRP) 

through the Farm Services 

Agency (FSA) began with the 

1985 Farm Bill. Windbreaks, 

along with select other 

conservation practices, were 

given special emphasis with a 

Continuous Sign-up option. 

Land with windbreaks could 

be enrolled at any time without 

competing with other bids. 

Hundreds of miles of windbreaks were established through the 

CRP. In the last few years, windbreak application has averaged 

2,000 miles per year through USDA programs. From the early days 

of conservation to the present, NRCS has continued to provide 

technical and financial assistance and leadership to landowners to 

establish windbreaks throughout the U.S. from Maine to Hawaii.

Aerial view of riparian forest buffer. 

Photo by Richard Straight 

From 1935 to 1942, 

the project planted about

18,600 miles 

of shelterbelts

on over

30,000 farms 

4 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3
been conducted in coastal areas. So, researchers 

throughout the U.S., including at the National 

Agroforestry Center, began studies to determine 

how riparian buffers work in different landscapes 

and under different conditions.

Around 1995 the USDA Natural Resources 

Conservation Service adopted the Riparian Forest 

Buffer standard in the Field Office Technical 

Guide (FOTG). This standard was modeled 

after the three-zone concept proposed by Welsch 

and opened the door for the USDA and many 

conservation groups to promote and support the 

implementation of riparian forest buffers. 

SEE "PRACTICE EVOLUTION" PAGE 15

Silvopasture

Richard Straight

USDA National Agroforestry Center

Grazing under trees occurred in North 

America long before cattle and horses were 

brought to this continent and opportunistic 

grazing of livestock on less productive woodlands 

has been practiced for centuries. But the intensive 

silvopasture approach to integrating livestock, 

trees and forage has gained attention in research 

and application only since the late 1980s and 

early 1990s. 

Some of the early research that confirmed the 

potential of silvopasture systems began in the 

1950s with southern pine species. But it was in 

the 1990s when research in the Pacific Northwest 

and Southeastern U.S. began to quantify the 

impacts on soil, livestock, forage production and 

wood quality in silvopasture systems. Soon after 

this some innovative landowners began to take 

notice of the research and began creating their 

own silvopastures.

In 1999, the National Agroforestry Center 

dedicated one NRCS-funded employee to 

pull together a cadre of specialists to promote 

silvopasture to universities, state forestry agencies 

and NRCS staff across the southeast from Texas 

to North Carolina. Soon, organizations like the 

Long Leaf Alliance and the 1890 Agroforestry 

Consortium, along with too many others to 

mention here, were also investigating silvopasture 

Cattle walk through silvopasture 

containing loblolly and slash pine with 

bahama grass for forage. 

Photo by Andy Mason

systems. Another significant step forward in silvopasture began when the University 

of Missouri and Cornell University began to research and promote silvopasture in 

central and northern hardwoods. Though much needs to be done to better understand 

hardwood silvopasture management, the understanding and use of this land 

management approach continues to advance in many forest types and regions.

Forest Farming

Catherine Bukowski

Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Virginia Tech University

Flags mark goldenseal on forest floor. Photo by Richard Straight 

Forest-grown and cultivated crops have been produced by cultures all around 

the world. Much of this knowledge has been passed down through oral tradition, and 

in many cases, has been held closely within these cultures. Interestingly, as much of this 

traditional knowledge is being lost, there has also been an increased interest by the larger 

public in forest-grown foods, herbs and craft materials. In March of 1990, the New 

York Times ran an article about the increasing availability of seasonal foods, particularly 

specialty items of high interest. However, products such as wild mushrooms, fiddlehead 

ferns and ramps, were noted as specialty crops defying cultivation. We now know these 

products are in demand and can be cultivated through forest farming methods. In 

1994, an Inside Agroforestry article introduced alternative and specialty crops that could 

be incorporated into agroforestry practices to diversify and add income. Today, these 

crops are most often associated with forest farming. The following people deserve special 

recognition for their major contributions to developing forest farming as a practice over 

the last twenty five years. 

Deborah B. Hill (University of Kentucky) was one of the main contributors to the field 

of non-timber forest products and spent much of her career creating the first extension 

resources on forest farming. Out of Cornell University and Cooperative Extension 

have come experts in ginseng cultivation (Robert Beyfuss), extensive research on forest 

cultivated mushrooms (Kenneth Mudge), work on integrating ducks with forest farming 

(Steve Gabriel) and publicly available online forest farming training modules (Kenneth 

Mudge and Louise Buck - forest farming education and social learning networks for 

agroforestry). Kenneth Mudge and Steve Gabriel also co-authored a recent book, 

Farming the Woods, which offers a contemporary overview of forest farming practices in 

The recognition of the market value of 

nontimber forest products has escalated 

such that people are interested in some sort 

of quality certification of these products.

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3 5
Agroforestry Policy at USDA

Eric Norland

Forest Resource Management

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Agroforestry has a long history at USDA. It can be traced back 

to the Dust Bowl years when windbreaks were established 

to reduce soil erosion in the Great Plains. More widespread 

interest in agroforestry began in the mid-1980s but it was not 

institutionalized in the Department of Agriculture, despite several 

working group reports over the years. However, things have changed 

at USDA and agroforestry is an important topic for the Department.

The approach of Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, to the 

nation’s agriculture and natural resources can be summed up by 

“all-lands, all-hands.” Agroforestry can figure in prominently in the 

creation and management of diverse landscapes that are more resilient 

to the changing climate, improve the vibrancy of rural economies, and 

increase the economic security of those who work the land by growing 

additional crops and protecting existing crops in agroforestry systems 

in order to generate more income.

In 2011, Secretary Vilsack released a Strategic Framework 

for Agroforestry, FY 2011-2016, which provides direction for 

agroforestry efforts in the Department. The framework grew out of 

a roundtable meeting of more than 100 stakeholders who provided 

recommendations for expanding agroforestry interest and programs 

in USDA. The strong support, interest, and enthusiasm of these 

stakeholders led to the development of the framework by senior 

program leaders from eight USDA agencies: Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS), Agricultural Research Service ARS), Farm Services 

Agency (FSA), Forest Service (FS), National Agricultural Statistics 

Service (NASS), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), 

Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Rural 

Development (RD).

In 2013, the Secretary issued a USDA Departmental Regulation 

on the Department's agroforestry policy to ensure that agroforestry 

programs will continue to evolve and be utilized. This established 

the Agroforestry Executive Steering Committee and the Interagency 

Agroforestry Team, who have worked to implement the framework. 

The team has carried out many activities, including adding an 

agroforestry question to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, developing 

a Southeastern Silvopasture Initiative, and initiating webinars on 

agroforestry for USDA employees.

Agroforestry is definitely on the move in USDA! The Secretary has 

given it prominence, and the Departmental Regulation and the interagency committee and work team have given it “legs.” Watch for more 

USDA agroforestry news at www.usda.gov/agroforestry. ]

The Strategic 

Framework for

Agroforestry focuses 

USDA efforts on 

3 goals

Adoption

This goal is focused on developing partnerships, with a priority 

on tribes and underserved and minority audiences; educating 

agricultural and natural resource professionals to provide technical, 

educational, financial, and marketing assistance; and engaging on 

a global scale to support the exchange of agroforestry technology 

between the United States and other countries.

Science

Integration

Advancing the use of agroforestry across the landscape 

requires investments in science and technology. Multidisciplinary agroforestry science must be supported by 

USDA agencies, and the new knowledge gained through 

research must be translated into usable, practical, and 

relevant information for landowners and professionals.

This involves institutionalizing agroforestry in the Department; 

assessing performance and impacts of technical, educational, 

financial, and marketing assistance programs; and communicating 

program results within and beyond the Department.

6 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3
Kate MacFarland

USDA National Agroforestry Center

Technology transfer and outreach have long been an integral part 

of the USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC). The Technology 

Transfer team examines the results of research and products from 

researchers at NAC as well as other agroforestry researchers around 

the country and shares it with natural resource professionals through 

workshops and trainings, publications, electronic communications, 

and other forms of outreach for natural resource professionals. 

The current NAC Technology Transfer Team is comprised of 

Richard Straight (Lead Agroforester), Kate MacFarland (Assistant 

Agroforester), Nancy Hammond (Secretary and Project Manager), 

and Joe Banegas (Information Assistant and Designer). The team 

works closely with partners across the country to accomplish its goals.

Workshops and trainings remain an important part of the work of 

the Technology Transfer Team. In FY2015, the team participated 

in a range of agroforestry activities all over the country including 

trainings in Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Oregon. They also 

attended meetings and conferences in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, 

New York, and Pennsylvania. In recent years, the team has also 

facilitated and promoted webinars on important agroforestry topics. 

The Technology Transfer Team has also played an important role in 

promoting many agroforestry tools developed by NAC researchers 

and other partners. These tools help landowners make decisions 

about how to implement agroforestry practices on their land. Some 

NAC tools include AgBufferBuilder, Buffer$, the Conservation 

Buffer Guide, CanVis (visual simulation), and the Windbreak 

Economic Model, as well as training materials and presentations that 

others can use.

NAC’s Technology Transfer publication outreach has 

evolved from producing a few technical notes and 

newsletters on agroforestry each year into a suite of 

publications on a wide range of topics. All NAC publications 

and tools are available at no cost.

Inside Agroforestry newsletter: Each issue presents topics 

applicable to agroforestry and explores the latest agroforestry news 

and information on this topic.

Working Trees brochures: These 6-page color publications 

serve as a great introduction to agroforestry. They illustrate 

agroforestry practices that landowners can apply to help meet their 

production and conservation objectives.

Working Trees displays: NAC also produces stand-up displays 

that correspond to the brochures for use at conferences, trainings, 

and other events.

Working Trees information sheets: New in 2012, these 

single page publications, front and back, describe the role 

agroforestry can play in addressing a specific issue or providing 

some benefit.

Agroforestry technical notes: These technical notes provide 

agroforestry information in a useful "how to" format. Agroforestry 

Notes are numbered and sorted by agroforestry practice.

Looking forward, NAC has begun implementing many additional outreach methods to reach natural 

resource professionals, landowners, and other audiences. Some of these include:

Agroforestry Connection email update: This periodic email update includes information on new publications, 

upcoming events, and other agroforestry topics. To subscribe, go to: http://eepurl.com/4HKB1

Social media: NAC engages in social media through the U.S. Forest Service Twitter and Facebook accounts. Follow the U.S. 

Forest Service on twitter and Facebook to get additional NAC updates, along with information about other Forest Service activities. 

NAC website: The NAC website contains PDFs of all of NAC’s technology transfer publications available for download as well as other 

updates, tools, and resources. It can be accessed at: http://nac.unl.edu/ NAC plans to expand the information available on its website in 

the coming year.

Blog posts: NAC occasionally writes blog posts for the Forest Service and USDA blogs about important topics in agroforestry, 

new publications, or other exciting agroforestry news. To see these blog posts or sign up to receive USDA blogs in your email, 

visit: http://1.usa.gov/1JBvxin

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3 7
25

Years of 

Research 

at NAC

Michele Schoeneberger

USDA National Agroforestry Center

Kate MacFarland

USDA National Agroforestry Center

As part of the newly established Center for Semi-Arid 

Agroforestry in 1992, the Forest Service Research 

Work Unit (RWU) in Lincoln focused their efforts 

on the selection and production of trees that could 

withstand the extreme conditions experienced in the Great Plains, 

a long standing effort since the unit was initiated in 1953.

NAC’s research program has evolved much 

over the past 25 years — from developing 

stress and pest resistant plant materials for 

the Great Plains to providing science delivery 

on a wide range of ways agroforestry can best 

be used to address the many concerns now 

facing our agricultural lands. From working 

predominantly only on field and farmstead 

windbreaks, NAC’s RWU now provides 

input on all five categories of agroforestry, 

along with a growing sixth category of 

adaptions of agroforestry technologies to 

meet emerging needs. 

The expansion of NAC’s RWU program 

started during the mid-1990s as NAC 

researchers began to ask how one could 

better design and plan agroforestry plantings 

to improve their performance. Much of this 

early work was in response to the growing 

awareness of water quality issues in America’s 

agricultural heartland. Spurred by Richard 

Lowrance’s research on the benefits of 

riparian buffers and Dave Welch’s 1991 

booklet that synthesized this research for 

the Forest Service, NAC initiated a riparian 

buffer program in 1994. Research Riparian 

Ecologist at NAC, Mike Dosskey studied 

whether and how riparian buffers could 

improve water quality in the Great Plains 

as well as nationally. Important questions 

such as “how do riparian buffers work in the 

Great Plains landscape?” and “how should 

riparian buffers be designed to be effective?” 

were addressed. Those results have been 

translated into design models and tools.

The research focus expanded to address 

the question of where in the landscape 

these buffers should best be placed to 

get the biggest return in terms of water 

quality services. This work soon led to a 

more holistic look at how water quality 

effectiveness could be increased when 

riparian buffers are combined with other 

upland conservation practices. Quantifying 

the water quality improvements that buffers 

can provide helped to promote the idea that 

more than just riparian buffers are needed. 

About this same time, NAC began to shift 

its research strategy and operations away 

from field/lab-based efforts maintained 

internally to one that could capitalize on 

the many field efforts by others around the 

U.S. and beyond. This approach allowed 

NAC to begin providing more timely 

science delivery by synthesizing from this 

existing data, better meeting the needs of 

those having to make decisions pertaining 

to land management now. Dosskey’s paper 

“Toward Quantifying Water Pollution 

Abatement in Response to Installing 

Buffers on Crop Land” is an excellent 

example of this approach to provide timely 

science delivery that could advance our 

understanding and therefore hopefully use 

of buffers as a water quality tool. 

This planning and design focused effort 

at both practice and landscape scales was 

greatly facilitated by NRCS Landscape 

Architect Gary Wells, who was cohoused at 

the Center. As part of NRCS’ Area-Wide 

Planning and Streambank Bioengineering 

teams, he brought to NAC a broader 

perspective regarding the full range of 

functions that buffers can perform in 

agricultural landscapes, how one might 

go about attaining them, and how NAC 

could then develop tools and information 

more likely to be used by NRCS field staff 

and others. 

8 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3
Research into buffers’ multiple functions 

continues at NAC today. Gary Bentrup, 

Landscape Planner at NAC, began working 

with NAC GIS specialist Tim Leininger 

and later Todd Kellerman to develop 

tools to assist in identifying conservation 

needs. This work began with an online 

Conservation Atlas. Bentrup’s work on 

how to design and place conservation 

buffers continues. His Conservation Buffer 

Guide, first published in 2008, provides 

illustrated design guidelines that describe 

how buffers can be applied to protect soil, 

improve air and water quality, enhance fish 

and wildlife habitat, produce economic 

products, provide recreation opportunities, 

or beautify the landscape. This synthesis 

of over 1400 research articles provides 

information in a useful format for natural 

resource professionals. 

Along with demonstrating the many 

functions of buffers, the Conservation Buffer 

Guide also exemplifies NAC researchers’ 

approach to developing tools that support 

the planning, design, and establishment of 

conservation buffers. Other tools developed 

at NAC include AgBufferBuilder (a GISbased computer program for designing 

buffers around agricultural fields), Buffer$ (a 

spreadsheet tool that can be used to analyze 

cost and benefits of buffers compared with 

traditional crops), and CanVis (visual 

simulation software).

Having been with the Center as NAC’s 

Research Program Lead since the beginning, 

Michele Schoeneberger has worked for 

many years to initiate and facilitate efforts 

and partnerships needed to address key 

areas of these multipurpose ‘trees-outsideof-forests’; from a broader view of buffers 

as ‘ECOBELTS’ to address rural/urban 

interface issues to inclusion of agroforestry 

in the climate-smart ‘tool box’. Early efforts 

begun in the mid-1990s with University 

of Nebraska partners is now providing 

guidance in the estimation of biomass and 

carbon in agroforestry trees. Most recently 

she has been involved in pulling together 

scientists to develop a scientific consensus 

on temperate agroforestry’s roles in 

mitigating and adapting to climate change 

and in building more resilient ranch and 

farm operations. Branching Out, the title 

of the 2012 U.S./Canadian climate change 

paper, perhaps best sums up not only the 25 

years of NAC’s R&D efforts to date but also 

what you can expect from this program as 

we grow into the future. ]

Before 

the 

Center

Agroforestry has long had ties to 

Lincoln, Nebraska. The Prairie States 

Forestry Project, which planted 

millions of trees into windbreaks 

across the Great Plains after the Dust 

Bowl, was based in Lincoln. In 1953, 

the U.S. Forest Service established 

a Research Work Unit in Lincoln 

that focused on tree improvement, 

developing trees with the best 

characteristics for windbreaks 

growing in region that has long dealt 

with weather extremes. This work 

on tree improvement continued for 

many years.

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3 9

Dust storm closes in on farmstead during the 1930s Dust bowl. NAC photo

A forestry foreman inspecting cedars for 

red spider mites in shelterbelt in 1938. 

Photo by Carl A. Taylor

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3 9
Evolution of U.S. Agroforestry Research and 

Formalization of Agroforestry Education

Michael A. Gold 

Center for Agroforestry 

University of Missouri

U.S. Agroforestry Research: From Tropical 

to Temperate

In the 1980s-1990s agroforestry 

researchers were active at a number of U.S. 

universities including Berkeley, Cornell, 

Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan 

State, Minnesota, Purdue, Virginia Tech, 

Washington State, and Yale. Research and 

education efforts were heavily slanted toward 

tropical agroforestry and international 

development. Initial research was focused 

on the biophysical aspects of agroforestry, 

while socioeconomic research emerged as 

an important focus in the late 1990s. 

 The earliest U.S. temperate agroforestry 

efforts centered on conferences. Training 

and education programs started in the late 

1980s and increased in quantity and scope 

throughout the 1990s and 2000s. One of 

the earliest U.S. agroforestry conferences 

was the “International Hill Land Symposium” at West Virginia University, in 

1976. From 1980-2000, a number of 

notable conferences and workshops 

took place: “Tree Crops for Energy CoProduction on Farms” at the Solar Energy 

Research Institute (SERI) in Estes Park, 

Colorado in 1980; “Foothills for Food and 

Forests” at Oregon State University in 1983; 

“1st International Windbreak Symposium” 

at the University of Nebraska in 1986; 

“International Agroforestry Short Course” at 

Colorado State University in 1986; “MidSouth Conference on Agroforestry Practices 

and Policies” in West Memphis, Arkansas 

in 1990; and “Agroforestry and Sustainable 

Systems” at Colorado State University in 

1994. Later, the focus broadened to include 

specialty crop markets, as demonstrated by the 

“North American Conference on Enterprise 

Development through Agroforestry: Farming 

the Forest for Specialty Products” at the 

University of Minnesota in 1998.

The first North American Agroforestry 

Conference (NAAC), organized at Guelph 

University in Ontario, Canada in 1989, 

was the first comprehensive agroforestry 

conference to include all existing dimensions 

of temperate agroforestry, biophysical and 

socioeconomic, and subsequently turned 

into the pre-eminent biennial agroforestry 

research conference for North America. 

Fourteen biennial NAACs (1989-2015) 

have been held across the U.S. and Canada, 

and since 1993 all NAACs have been 

sponsored by the Association for Temperate 

Agroforestry (AFTA) which was organized 

in 1993.

Coinciding with the start of the biennial 

NAAC series in the early 1990s and 

accelerating since 2000, both biophysical 

and socioeconomic aspects of temperate 

agroforestry research have emerged as 

major foci at a number of U.S. universities 

including (but not limited to) Cornell, 

Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa State, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Penn 

State, Southern Illinois and Virginia Tech, 

along with a number of 1890 Land 

Grant institutions (including Alcorn, 

North Carolina A&T, Tennessee State, 

and Tuskegee). 

U.S. Agroforestry Training 

Over the past 30 years, as temperate 

agroforestry research developed the science 

underlying the five recognized practices, 

localized short-term trainings focused 

on the application of agroforestry 

practices to temperate regions 

of the U.S. For example, 

the University of 

Nebraska and 

Two men drill holes in logs to prepare 

for growing mushrooms at an 1890 

Agroforestry workshop. 

Photo by Richard Straight

10 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3
the USDA Soil Conservation Service, now 

the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 

offered windbreak short courses in the 1980s 

including the development of extensive 

training materials. The Universitry of 

Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA) 

began offering 1/1.5 day agroforestry short 

courses in the late 1990s and created an 

Agroforestry Training Manual in 1998, with 

updates in 2001, 2006, 2013, and 2015. 

The USDA released its Agroforestry 

Strategic Framework in 2011, as a road 

map for advancing the science, practice, and 

application of agroforestry. In response to 

the needs identified in the USDA Strategic 

Framework, a week-long pilot agroforestry 

academy was created by the UMCA and the 

Mid-American Agroforestry Working Group 

(MAAWG – organized in 2009) to train 

natural resource professionals, extension 

agents, and other agricultural educators who 

work with landowners. Academies in 2013 

(Missouri) and 2014 (Minnesota) were 

attended by 56 educators from 9 States and 

Washington, D.C. The academies provided 

advanced training on the five recognized 

temperate zone agroforestry practices and 

concluded with an applied planning and 

design exercise. These efforts have since been 

replicated in other parts of the Midwest, 

and other regions of the country have 

begun offering variations on the academy 

training approach. 

U.S. Agroforestry Education 

Short courses, workshops/conferences, and 

academies are essential forms of agroforestry 

outreach and education. However, some 

working professionals and landowners across 

the U.S. and overseas are seeking more indepth and comprehensive programs in the 

form of undergraduate courses along with 

graduate certificates or degrees. The first 

U.S. conference specifically focused on 

agroforestry education was held in 1988. 

Articles from the conference, “Agroforestry 

Education and Training: Present and 

Future” held at the University of Florida, 

Gainesville, were published as a Special 

Issue of Agroforestry Systems in 1990 (Vol. 

12: Number 1). Overarching themes at this 

conference included: current status and 

trends in agroforestry education and training, 

current and future needs in agroforestry 

education, current and future needs in 

training, and current and future needs in 

resource development and networking. A 

1988-89 survey revealed that 14 of 39 SAFaccredited U.S. forestry schools offered a 

course in agroforestry (Warren and Bentley 

1990), mostly focused on the tropics. 

From 1990-2010, individual agroforestry 

undergraduate and graduate courses 

continued to be offered at numerous U.S. 

universities, with some universities dropping 

agroforestry and others creating new courses. 

However, as of 2010, no U.S. university 

had created a graduate program specifically 

designed to offer an agroforestry certificate 

or M.S. degree targeted to meet the needs 

of working professionals whose options are 

limited by time and geography. In 2011, 

the Center for Agroforestry at the University 

of Missouri formally launched an online 

Graduate Certificate and Master’s degree 

program in agroforestry to help address 

current and future needs of the agroforestry 

profession. One important outcome of the 

online M.S. is that it is catalyzing additional 

interest at other U.S. colleges and universities 

(e.g., an online agroforestry M.S. graduate 

recently created two new agroforestry 

courses at Sterling College in Vermont). 

The Way Forward: Creating a Professional 

Agroforestry Credential

Since AFTA’s establishment in 1993 

there have been ongoing discussions about 

the need to create a formal agroforestry 

credential for practicing agroforesters 

similar to that offered to certified crop 

advisors, certified horticulturalists and 

professional foresters. In 2012, a number 

of co-authors published a commentary 

in the Journal of Forestry “Advancing 

Agroforestry through Certification of 

Agroforesters: Should SAF have a Role?” 

addressing this issue. In 2015, SAF’s 

Certification Review Board (CRB), which 

oversees the Certified Forester credential, 

contacted the Agronomy Society of America 

(ASA) to propose the formation of a joint 

SAF-CRB-ASA task force to explore the

costs and benefits of establishing a 

national joint agroforestry credential, 

certificate, or certified agroforester 

program. Certification can draw upon 

existing agroforestry academies and 

graduate certificate programs designed to 

meet the needs of working professionals. 

If brought to fruition, the establishment 

of a “Certified Agroforester” will not only 

create new job opportunities, but more 

importantly, will expand the growth of 

agroforestry practices “on-the-ground” with 

professional guidance. ]

Since AFTA’s establishment in 1993, there have been ongoing 

discussions about the need to create a formal agroforestry credential

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3 11
Kate MacFarland

USDA National Agroforestry Center

The mission of the National Agroforestry Center is to accelerate the 

application of agroforestry through a national network of partners. 

While NAC supplies research, tools, and technology transfer materials 

to the public, implementation of agroforestry practices occurs at the 

local level. This means that regional partners – those that work with 

landowners in a particular area – have always been important partners 

for NAC. 

To share expertise, resources, and ideas, these partners often work 

together at the regional level. Partners also come together around 

specific topics, practices, or areas of interest. These working groups 

have had a long history in the implementation of agroforestry. 

One community for agroforestry, formed in 2004, is the 1890 

Agroforestry Consortium, a team of 1890 land-grant universities 

and USDA agency partners. Its mission is to develop and advance 

agroforestry research, teaching, and extension among the 1890 landgrant universities plus Tuskegee University using multi-disciplinary 

teams of faculty and staff working in partnership with government 

agencies and other entities. Over the years, this consortium has 

conducted numerous trainings and workshops, carried out locally 

specific research, and established demonstration sites.

In 2009, the Mid-American Agroforestry Working Group 

(MAAWG) was formed. Its goals include identifying core issues for 

advancing agroforestry in the region, initiating and coordinating 

actions to address and resolve these core issues, and communicating 

effectively with key audiences about the group’s purpose, core issues, 

and findings. Members include the Agricultural Marketing Resource 

Center, the Center for Agroforestry (University of Missouri), 

the Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural 

Management (University of Minnesota), Green Lands Blue Waters, 

the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture (Iowa State), NRCS, 

Trees Forever, University of Wisconsin extension, U.S. Forest Service, 

and the USDA National Agroforestry Center. In conjunction with 

some of the MAAWG members, the University of Missouri received a 

grant from North Central SARE to develop an Agroforestry Academy 

curriculum and carry out two pilot train-the-trainer Agroforestry 

Academies in 2013 and 2014. These successful academies attracted 

participants from throughout the region and have been adapted and 

replicated in other regions of the U.S.

The Chesapeake Bay Agroforestry Working Group emerged 

from the Chesapeake Bay Agreements and the Chesapeake Forestry 

Workgroup. The 2010 Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load 

for nutrients led to state-level Watershed Implementation Plans and 

Agroforestry Working Groups, 

Communities, and Networks

Forest Farming Workshop (2014) Agroforestry Academy in Minnesota (2015) 1890 Agroforestry Consortium (2011)

This means that regional partners 

– those that work with landowners in a particular area –

have always been important partners for NAC

12 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3
the Chesapeake Executive Order Strategy. This strategy includes 

recommendations for forest restoration and agroforestry, particularly 

riparian forest buffers. The Chesapeake Bay Agroforestry Working 

Group had its first in-person meeting in May 2014. Its members 

include Frostburg State, MD Department of Forestry, NRCS, 

PA Department of Agriculture, PA Department of Conservation 

and Natural Resources, Penn State, USDA National Agroforestry 

Center, U.S. Forest Service, Virginia Tech, and the WV Division 

of Forestry. A related group, the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic 

Agroforestry Working Group, overlaps with this Chesapeake Group. 

It has successfully applied for a Northeast SARE grant for Northeast 

Advanced Agroforestry Training for Natural Resource and Agricultural 

Educators, to be held in 2016 and 2017. 

The Pacific Northwest Agroforestry Working Group was formed as 

a result of a workshop held in May 2013 to assess the current status 

of PNW agroforestry education, research, and outreach activities and 

to discuss forming a working group. Its members include the Benton 

Soil and Water Conservation District, NRCS, Oregon Department 

of Forestry, Oregon State University, and others. Since that initial 

meeting, the group has held workshops in October 2014 and July 

2015 for natural resources professionals.

In addition to geographically focused groups, other groups focus on 

particular practices. Some of these communities are virtual and rarely 

if ever gather in person. The Forest Farming eXtension Community 

of Practice is a network of forest farming experts from across the 

United States, initiated with support from a NIFA grant and NAC. 

It provides information on a variety of forest farming topics through 

articles, frequently asked questions, webinars, newsletters, and social 

media. Cornell Cooperative extension moderates a silvopasture 

forum, which is a growing network of silvopasture practitioners who 

share ideas, information and experiences. This site also publicizes 

relevant webinars, workshops, and conferences. The Temperate Forest 

Mushroom Growers Network of North America is another group 

focused on sharing information. This group of growers discusses 

questions, events, and activities that advance the practice of forest 

mushroom cultivation.

In addition to the groups mentioned here, there are many other 

working groups and networks that help implement agroforestry 

practices. Many of these groups include agroforestry along with a 

variety of other approaches to encourage conservation and sustainable 

agriculture. NAC is thankful for the important work carried out by 

all of these groups. ]

Agroforestry @ The National Institute of 

Food and Agriculture

Eric Norland

Forest Resource Management 

USDA National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture

The National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture (NIFA) is USDA’s external 

funder of research, education, and extension 

at the nation’s land-grant universities, and 

agroforestry is one of the areas of agricultural 

and natural resources science that is 

supported by NIFA.

Agroforestry research is conducted by 

several universities. Over the years, most of 

the agroforestry practices have each been the 

focus of different research projects at landgrant institutions. Studies have examined the 

benefits and applications of windbreaks and 

shelterbelts, riparian buffers, silvopasture, 

multi-story cropping (also known as forest 

farming), bioenergy products, and special 

uses such as living snow fences. The landgrant universities that were established 

in 1890 to serve the African American 

population have established an Agroforestry 

Consortium that takes advantage of the 

expertise across all 19 institutions.

NIFA funding to the Cooperative Extension 

System supports agroforestry extension 

workshops, academies, working groups, 

websites, field days, and publications. In 

addition, through the Sustainable Agriculture 

Research and Education program, SARE, 

landowners and professionals around the 

country have received grants to advance the 

understanding of agroforestry. The USDA 

National Agroforestry Center (NAC) has 

been an important partner with NIFA in 

recent years to expand agroforestry in the 

U.S. NIFA and NAC co-funded agroforestry 

projects through the Sustainable Agriculture 

Research and Education (SARE) program 

to conduct on-farm producer trials and 

professional development for Extension 

educators. In 2011, NIFA and NAC also 

co-funded an electronic Extension (known as 

eXtension) Community of Practice on Forest 

Farming (http://www.extension.org/forest_

farming). This Community of Practice is lead 

and coordinated by Virginia Tech University. 

No matter where you are in the U.S. or the 

world, current and potential producers of 

agroforestry crops grown in the shade of a 

forest canopy can find information on the 

internet about growing and marketing a wide 

variety of plants for medicinal and food use. 

Agroforestry will continue to be an 

important interest for NIFA and its many 

partners well into the future. ]

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3 13
Direct(ors') Perspective

Rich Straight 

USDA National Agroforestry Center

Over the last 25 years the USDA 

National Agroforestry Center has 

had four Directors. The fourth, 

Susan Stein, began her tenure in June 2014. 

A center director has a unique perspective 

and more insight can come with additional 

time away from the position. So, we decided 

to ask the three previous Directors questions 

about the issues they worked on as Director 

and the significant advances in agroforestry 

that occurred while they held the position. 

Unfortunately, we were unable to reach 

the Center’s first Director Bill Rietveld. 

He’s probably been out backpacking. Bill 

was leader of a Forest Service Research 

Unit in Lincoln when the discussion of 

creating a U.S. Forest Service center for 

agroforestry first came up. Bill proceeded 

to work with a fairly large group of people 

in the Forest Service and USDA, Congress 

and universities who wanted to see the 

center created. And so the Center for SemiArid Agroforestry came into being with 

authorization in the 1990 Farm Bill.

In 1998, Greg Ruark took over the Director 

position. When asked about the big issues he 

worked on, Greg said, “Agroforestry was, and 

to a large extent still is, a new set of concepts 

for most natural resource professionals 

working for the Forest Service or the Natural 

Resources Conservation Service in the United 

States. Many natural resource professionals 

have strong technical training in forestry or 

agriculture but not in both fields. Likewise, 

federal and state agency landowner assistance 

programs are often targeted at either forestry 

or agriculture.”

Ruark said the two main achievements 

that occurred trying to meet this challenge 

involved the RC&Ds and the 1890 

Universities. He explains, “One of the 

exercises we undertook around 2000 was 

to conduct a national survey of the USDA 

Rural Conservation and Development 

Councils, RC&Ds, to find out where 

agroforestry was being utilized, what 

practices were being employed, and where 

there was interest in using more agroforestry. 

The survey revealed a strong national 

interest in agroforestry.” The results of this 

survey helped the NAC plan its research and 

technology programs and better target its 

efforts for landowners. 

The other important achievement still 

bears fruit today. Ruark said, “In the late 

1990s, the USDA Commission on Small 

Farms identified agroforestry as a set of 

technologies that held promise for limited 

resource farmers and recommended that 

USDA increase its efforts. In 2000, the 

NAC initiated a partnership with the 

1890 Land Grant Universities as a way of 

equipping university faculty to incorporate 

agroforestry information into their teaching 

and extension efforts.” Each summer for six 

years NAC brought together faculty from up 

to 15 of the 17 1890 institutions for a weeklong train-the-trainer workshop on various 

aspects of agroforestry. Several years later 

when the 1890 Universities were included in 

the USDA McIntire-Stennis research funds, 

many of them used these funds to establish 

agroforestry research projects. Today, faculty 

at the 1890 Universities continue to advance 

agroforestry research and convey technology 

to minority and underserved landowners.

Andy Mason became the NAC Director 

in 2009. Visibility and recognition of 

agroforestry both within the USDA 

and throughout the many conservation 

organizations continued to be priorities. 

Andy says, “The reorganization/realignment 

of the NAC organization from the Southern 

Research Station to Washington Office 

Research & Development was the biggest 

issue I dealt with as NAC Director. Very 

simply, when you are a national center it 

needs to be more than just in your name; 

it needs to be reflected in the way you are 

organized and who you report to in the 

larger organization.”

Andy also worked tirelessly to elevate the 

recognition of agroforestry beyond the US 

Forest Service and the Natural Resources 

Conservation Service. “The completion in 

2011 of the USDA Agroforestry Strategic 

Framework, FY 2011-2016 was – and I 

believe will continue to be – a very significant 

advancement for agroforestry in the United 

States. This first ever USDA-wide strategic 

direction for agroforestry was strongly 

supported by USDA as evidenced by Deputy 

Secretary Kathleen Merrigan’s public release 

of the strategy on June 6, 2011, at the 12th 

North American Agroforestry Conference in 

Athens, GA.” And Mason continued, “The 

Strategic Framework led to USDA chartering 

the Agroforestry Executive Steering 

Committee (AESC) to guide implementation 

of the Framework. This committee was made 

up of senior executives from eight USDA 

agencies. The AESC supported a first-ofits-kind Agroforestry: USDA Reports to 

America, Fiscal Years 2011–2012.” Mason 

concluded, “As a result of these USDA-wide 

efforts, I believe USDA and its cooperators 

are much more aware of agroforestry, its 

“Agroforestry was, and to a large extent still is, a new set of 

concepts for most natural professionals"

-Greg Ruark, NAC Director (1998-2009)

14 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3
“The completion in 2011 of the USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework, FY 

2011-2016 was – and I believe will continue to be – 

a very significant advancement for agroforestry in the United States."

-Andy Mason, NAC Director (2009-2014)

relevance to today’s issues, and the vital 

work of the National Agroforestry Center.”

The former Director also says, “Another 

important accomplishment that helped 

advance agroforestry in North America 

was the completion of a Memorandum 

of Understanding (MOU) in 2012 

between USDA and Agriculture and 

Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).” The MOU 

encourages NAC and Canada’s Agroforestry 

Development Center (ADC) in Indian 

Head, Saskatchewan to collaborate in “...

areas of mutual interest, including advancing 

agroforestry science and tools for climate 

change mitigation and adaption in temperate 

North America...”

A lot has changed over 25 years, but as 

former Director Ruark says, “The challenge 

of establishing agroforestry as a core set of 

practices for both forestry and agriculture 

still remains.”

Practice Evolution, continued from pg. 5

temperate North America. James Freed (Washington State University) 

studied the contribution of non-timber forest products to local 

economies in the Northwest U.S. and implications for sustainable 

forest management. James L. Chamberlain’s (USDA Forest Service) 

research on non-timber forest products has provided an inventory of 

natural populations for conservation management and cost-effective 

forest farming methods and necessary growing conditions of forest 

farmed products such as ramps, ginseng, goldenseal and cohosh. 

Jeanine Davis (North Carolina State University) has co-authored 

a book, Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal and other 

Woodland Medicinals, in addition to cultivating learning networks for 

producers in the Southeastern U.S. The recognition of the market 

value of nontimber forest products has escalated such that people 

are interested in some sort of quality certification of these products. 

Sarah Workman (USFS Southern Research Station) has contributed 

research to understanding landowner preferences for agroforestry 

practices, participatory approaches of nontimber forest product 

inventorying and monitoring and the potential of forest farming in 

the Southeastern United States. Becky Barlow’s (Auburn University) 

research on how to incorporate forest farming practices into pine 

stand management supported the use of pine straw as a value-added 

product for farms in the Southeast. Erik Burkhart (Penn State) has 

been working with Pennsylvania Certified Organic to develop the first 

forest grown certification for ginseng produced using forest farming 

methods. Many others have contributed to the continuously growing 

practice of forest farming, making it the only agroforestry practice 

with a dedicated national eXtension Community of Practice. 

Alley Cropping

Gene Garrett

Center for Agroforestry 

University of Missouri

Alley cropping likely had its beginning in Southeast Asia in 

the early 19th century when the British developed the “Taungya 

System” of forest management in Burma. However, a research and 

demonstration emphasis has only been underway in the U.S. since 

Corn is grown in between walnuts in this alley cropping 

system. Photo by Shibu Jose

the 1960s when the Crown Zellerbach Corporation and others, 

established plantings of fast-growing poplar in the Mississippi Delta 

that were alley cropped with cotton and soybeans. These companies 

reasoned that cropping the alleyways would enhance the early growth 

of their trees while providing a cash flow until their trees could be 

harvested. Unfortunately, sustained studies on alley cropping were 

few even though advocates spoke out on the benefits of growing 

trees and food crops together, including researchers studying closely 

related practices in Florida and Nebraska. In the 1970s the Food and 

Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations advocated 

for an emphasis on alley cropping research.

In 1975, the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri 

and Hammons Products Company of Stockton, Missouri began a 

long-term cooperative research effort to evaluate the benefits of alley 

cropping black walnut, which clearly demonstrated the production 

and conservation benefits. This research continues today. Between 

the late 1980s and early 2000s other universities such as Purdue, 

Iowa State and the University of Florida began their own alley 

cropping research. ]

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3 15
Inside Agroforestry VOLUME 23, ISSUE 3

USDA National Agroforestry Center

1945 N 38th St.

Lincoln, NE 68583–0822

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use, $300

Address Service Requested

PRSRT STD

POSTAGE & FEES

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PERMIT NO G-40

Upcoming Events

September 18-20, 2015

Farming the Forest

Rowe, MA

http://rowecenter.org/events.php?event=385

September 20, 2015

Tree Crops for the Greater Good

Oregon, IL

http://www.savannainstitute.org/events

November 3-4, 2015

Green Lands Blue Waters Conference

Minneapolis, MN

http://greenlandsbluewaters.net/2015-

conference

November 6-7, 2015

Women Protecting Pollinators, 

Protecting Food

Davenport, IA

bit.ly/1MOBGeF

November 13-14, 2015

Northeast SAWG It Takes a Region

Sarasota Springs, NY

http://nesawg.org/our-work/conference

For more upcoming events, visit our

website calendar:

http://nac.unl.edu/events

National

Agroforestry

Center

“Inside Agroforestry” is published by the USDA National 

Agroforestry Center. Phone: 402-437-5178; 

Fax: 402-437-5712.

• Susan Stein, NAC Director

• Michele Schoeneberger, FS Research Lead (ext. 4021)

• Richard Straight, FS Lead Agroforester (ext. 4024)

• Vacant - NRCS Lead Agroforester

• Kate MacFarland, FS Assistant Agroforester (ext. 4012)

• Joseph Banegas, Information Assistant/ 

“Inside Agroforestry” Designer (ext. 4014)

http://nac.unl.edu

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 is 

located at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE. 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.

16 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 3