62% of food hubs 

surveyed began 

operations within 

the last 5 years 62%

= 5 producers

FOOD HUB FACTS FOOD HUB FACTS

Eat Here

Restaurants Schools & 

Hospitals

Groce

FOOD HUB

Food hub

distributio

products 

producers 

wholesale

Percentage of food hubs 

surveyed that are either 

non-profit, for profit, or have 

another organizational framework 

Meet Steep Demand

VOLUME 22 ISSUE 2 InsideAgroforestry

Locally Sourced Locally Sourced

When we think about agroforestry, the production side of agroforestry 

– the trees, crops, and livestock that make up agroforestry systems – 

is often what we think of first, not the economics or products. 

Many publications address the ecology 

and management of agroforestry systems or 

their ecological benefits. Others focus on 

the ecological benefits of these agroforestry 

practices, such as improved water, soils, 

and wildlife habitat. Food sometimes gets 

overlooked, even though its production is 

often a primary driver for landowners. 

This newsletter seeks to highlight the 

foods that agroforestry producers grow. It 

also addresses how agroforestry producers 

fit into food systems at different scales. 

In addition to being a component of the 

physical landscape, these producers are 

important components of economic and 

social landscapes as well. Explaining what 

these landscapes look like and what happens 

to products once they get off the farm is 

important to understanding agroforestry. 

The articles in this newsletter aren’t meant 

to be comprehensive. There are many 

agroforestry systems not mentioned here 

that produce important food products, like 

meat from silvopasture systems and grain 

from fields protected by windbreaks. Instead, 

this newsletter tries to get us thinking about 

emerging agroforestry markets and systems. 

It addresses agroforestry in places where 

we don’t traditionally think of them, like 

backyards, and discusses new species that 

can be grown in more traditional agroforestry 

systems, like hazelnuts in windbreaks. 

For the general public, food products 

produced in agroforestry systems can be an 

important route to understanding 

agroforestry. Highlighting some of these 

foods can help gain more attention for the 

other benefits of agroforestry systems. ]

Inside

4 Plant a

Tree of Life

6 The Emerging Role 

of Food Hubs

9
As time marches on it is good to reexamine what has been done as 

a way of strengthening how to move forward. The most recent 

Agroforestry Notes have come about in this way. The first AF Note 

was an introduction to agroforestry in the U.S. Quite a 

bit has changed since 1995. For starters, this 

revision of AF Note 1 has photographs 

of each agroforestry practice instead 

of diagrams, because landowners 

are applying agroforestry and we 

can share their systems instead of 

drawings of concepts. People and 

organizations are also looking at 

agroforestry as a means to addressing new 

issues in new ways. This revised AF Note 

captures many of these changes.

The other new AF Note also has a dimension of looking back. 

This Note is the first one that looks at Traditional Ecological 

Knowledge, TEK, as it relates to agroforestry. TEK is indigenous 

cultural resource management information that has 

been developed over time. Although agroforestry is a 

relatively new term in land management, some 

of the production of food and goods 

done with TEK are very similar to 

agroforestry. Many Tribal communities 

are currently managing lands using TEK 

with excellent results. These systems are 

described in this Agroforestry Note. NAC 

plans on developing additional AF Notes and 

other publications on this theme of using TEK 

in agroforestry applications. ]

AGROFORESTRY NOTES AF Note – 1 

 May 2014

An Overview of Agroforestry 

USDA NRCS PHOTO

NRCS District Conservationist speaks with two landowners 

about their forest management plan.

Introduction

Agroforestry is a management system that combines 

agriculture and trees to address conservation needs 

and build more profitable and weather-resilient 

farms, ranches and communities. Agroforestry 

practices provide opportunities to integrate 

productivity and profitability with environmental 

stewardship resulting in healthy and sustainable 

agricultural systems that can be passed on to 

future generations. 

Trees and shrubs can be included into agricultural 

systems in many ways. Depending on the 

situation and application, agroforestry 

practices can: 1) provide protection for 

valuable topsoil, livestock, crops, and 

wildlife; 2) increase productivity of agricultural and horticultural crops; 3) reduce inputs of 

energy and chemicals; 4) increase water use efficiency of plants and animals; 5) improve water 

quality; 6) diversify local economies and on-farm income; 7) enhance biodiversity; 8) improve 

air quality and sequester carbon and 9) support working lands at the landscape scale. 

Agroforestry can help reduce conflict between rural and urban land uses by creating “ecobelts” that 

serve as a zone of transition and help to reconnect agriculture, people, and communities. Applying 

these practices at a landscape scale is to creates a more functional landscape that can contribute to the 

quality of life for many people. 

Economic 

Benefits

Enhance Production: In agricultural fields, orchards, vineyards and vegetable fields sheltered by 

agroforestry systems, crops have less bruising, scarring, and insect problems, and in many cases 

improved growth rates and higher yields.

Income Diversification: Agroforestry can provide additional income streams for farms and ranches 

and potentially increase crop yields per acre while conserving natural resources.

Environmental 

Benefits

Water Quality: Agroforestry systems can filter rainfall runoff laden with sediment, nutrient, chemical, 

and biological contaminants and help protect stream banks from erosion by flood waters. The result 

is cleaner water for communities and wildlife. Agroforestry can help address landscape-scale water 

quality issues such as hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay.

Soil Quality: Agroforestry systems can improve soil quality while reducing or minimizing wind and 

water soil erosion. Woody roots in agroforestry systems increase water infiltration, add organic carbon 

to the soil, recycle nutrients and improve nutrient retention. 

 General – 1

1

AGROFORESTRY NOTES AF Note — 44

General — 14

May 2014 

Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge 

in Agroforestry

Introduction Communities around the world have practiced diverse and evolving forms of agroforestry for centuries.1

 While 

both indigenous and non-indigenous practitioners have developed agroforestry practices of great value, in this 

publication, we focus on the role of indigenous, traditional ecological knowledge. Indigenous communities 

include American Indians, Alaska Natives, Caribbean and Pacific Islanders, and others. Because indigenous 

groups have lived in the same areas for long periods of time, each generation has built on the knowledge of the 

previous generation through observation and experimentation. In this manner, indigenous groups have evolved 

intricate ways to manage bioculturally diverse ecosystems.2

 These ecosystems are managed to provide food, 

fuel, building materials, agricultural and plant-tending tools, hunting and trapping equipment, baskets, and 

ceremonial spaces essential to life and maintaining cultural traditions. Many agroforestry practitioners in the 

United States are learning from these complex systems.

A Changed 

Landscape

Within the United States, many indigenous communities and practitioners continue to carry on traditional 

management practices, but others struggle to do so. While some indigenous communities have been able 

to continue managing their ancestral homelands, altered political boundaries, laws, regulations, economic 

incentives, and socio-cultural practices mean that most indigenous and tribal communities’ ancestral homelands 

have not been managed in their traditional ways for over a hundred years. This has made it difficult—if not 

impossible—to continue traditional management practices. Some ancestral homelands have become cities, 

towns, and subdivisions. Others are managed by state and federal agencies or private individuals and companies 

whose management goals are different from the indigenous peoples’. Even when tribes and indigenous 

communities have been able to retain or secure management rights to land, they may need to do a significant 

amount of management (e.g. thinning, burning, pruning, planting) in order to restore relevant functions to the 

landscape (e.g. to provide food, medicine, basketry materials, etc.).

Additionally, climate change is altering storm, fire, disease, drought, and flooding patterns as well as the suitable 

ranges for many of the species upon which indigenous people traditionally rely. On top of this, invasive species 

continue to cause dramatic ecological changes. Thus, traditional practitioners are adapting their practices to 

suit the new conditions of today and to prepare for tomorrow. Many of these practices can inform climate 

adaptation strategies.3

Learning from 

Traditional 

Ecological 

Knowledge

At the same time that indigenous practitioners are adapting to changing conditions, there is a burgeoning 

interest among landowners and land managers to manage their lands as more complex ecosystems. Whether 

they have a small woodlot, a large farm, or manage public lands, many people wish to meet several objectives 

on one piece of property. These objectives are often similar to the objectives for which indigenous communities 

traditionally managed, which including:

Y

Y

food

Y

firewood

Y

basketry and building materials

Y

culinary and medicinal herbs

Y

clean and abundant water

Y

wildlife habitat

privacy

Y reduction of hazardous fuels around 

Y

the home and valued resources

Y

beauty

Y

recreation spaces

Y

cultural values

Y

sacred and historic sites

educational opportunities

1 Parrotta and Trosper 2012; Birkes et al. 2000; and Nair 1989.

2

 Maffi 2007.

3

 Lynn, et al. 2013. 

Have YOU ever eaten 

from a windbreak? Richard Straight

National Agroforestry Center

Lincoln, NE

The people in the Lake Superior 

counties of Wisconsin face 

numerous challenges. These 

counties have few economic 

opportunities and limited abilities 

to compete in commodity crop 

production. The citizens in the 

region and in tribal communities 

in particular struggle with high 

rates of obesity and diabetes due 

to limited healthy food options. 

In addition, this area includes 

sensitive ecological areas in the 

Lake Superior watershed in need 

of conservation and restoration.

To help people learn about 

new opportunities to create 

income, protect water quality, and 

improve options for healthy food, 

a project to create an agroforestry 

demonstration site was developed 

in 2012 by Jason Fischbach with 

the University of Wisconsin 

Extension in Bayfield and Ashland 

Counties, Jason Maloney with 

the US Forest Service Northern 

Great Lakes Visitor Center, and 

the USDA National Agroforestry 

Center. The purpose of this project 

is to design, plant, and maintain an 

agroforestry system on the property 

of the Northern Great Lakes 

Visitor Center (NGLVC) near 

Ashland, WI. When completed, 

this site will provide an example 

of a functional conservation 

practice that can produce food, 

culturally important plants, 

and other income generating 

products along with the typical 

agricultural products.

Agroforestry practices are 

relatively unknown agricultural 

systems in the Lake Superior 

counties of Wisconsin. 

Agroforestry practices bring 

together the ecological advantages 

of trees and other woody plants 

and the economic benefits 

associated with their products. 

By incorporating trees into 

agricultural landscapes, farmers 

can bolster the economic 

and environmental 

sustainability of their 

farming enterprise. This 

particular demonstration 

site consists of a windbreak 

designed to keep snow 

from drifting onto the 

NGLVC parking lot. This 

kind of windbreak is sometimes 

called a living snow fence. 

The Northern Great Lakes Visitor 

Center (NGLVC), located on the 

northern edge of the ChequamegonNicolet National Forest, was selected 

because it specializes in connecting 

people of all ages with engaging 

activities related to the outdoors. 

Congressionally designated a 

National Children’s Forest, the 

Visitor Center offers opportunities 

for youth and the general public to 

become more connected with the 

natural world. The Visitor Center 

hosts over 100,000 visitors each 

year as well as many general public 

and technical training sessions 

and can provide an excellent 

opportunity to educate people 

about agroforestry and its potential 

role to address the local economic, 

environmental, and social issues in 

the Bayfield County area.

During the last three years the 

Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife 

Commission (GLIFWC) has been 

partnering with nutritionists and 

Elders of the Northern Ojibwe 

Nations on a Native Foods Project 

to promote a healthier diet based on 

traditional native food plants. This 

includes traditional recipes that use 

many of the fruit and nut species 

found in great diversity on public 

and private lands in the region. 

About four times per year the Tribal 

Elders have met at the Visitor Center 

to sample meals that were prepared 

from traditional recipes using native 

plants. Some of the plants used 

in the recipes will be included in 

the agroforestry demonstration, 

including hazelnut, juneberry, 

highbush cranberry, plums, red and 

black currants, and aronia.

The demonstration planting 

is unique in that it incorporates 

aspects of three different local initiatives into a single demonstration 

planting. The planting includes a 

hazelnut research (Upper Midwest 

Hazelnut Development Initiative), 

woody biomass crop species (Lake 

Superior Woody Biomass Trials), 

and will likely include a viburnum 

trial planting in 2014 (Lake Superior 

Viburnum Project).

Less than a mile from the Visitor 

Center is the Agriculture and Energy 

Resource Center, AERC. Along 

with the Bayfield and Ashland 

Counties and UW-Extension, the 

AERC established the ten acre Lake 

Superior Woody Biomass Trials in 

2010 to research and demonstrate 

woody biomass cropping in 

support of wood-to-energy 

projects in the region. This 

project site is another great 

opportunity to demonstrate 

the use of income-generating 

plant species in agroforestry 

plantings. Together with 

the demonstration site 

at NGLVC, this location will 

demonstrate to farmers that money 

can be made with windbreak. This 

may lead to more windbreaks 

being planted.

The last of the trees and shrubs 

will be planted at the Visitor Center 

demonstration site in the spring 

of 2014. But there is a new twist 

on the horizon. Jason Fischbach is 

talking with ethnobotanists at the 

University of Wisconsin – Superior 

about additional native plant food 

species that may be incorporated 

between the tree and shrub rows to 

help control the competing grass and 

weed vegetation. Some educational 

materials have been created and 

were distributed to visitors this last 

winter. The next step will be to create 

educational signs for the site. 

The demonstration site is 

positioned well for future training 

sessions. In addition, it is an example 

of blending traditional knowledge 

with agroforestry to address 

conservation challenges. ]

Before

After

Picture taken from the top of NGLVC overlooking the proposed windbreak 

site. The same site with a CanVis edited image depicting what the 

windbreak may look like in 10 years. The edited image was created by a 

summer Tribal Intern in 2012.

Northern 

Great Lakes 

Visitor Center

2 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2 3

When completed, this site will provide 

an example of a functional conservation 

practice that can produce food, culturally 

important plants, and other income 

generating products.
Food Forests

Creating 

opportunities 

for agroforestry 

practices in 

communities

Kate MacFarland

National Agroforestry Center

Lincoln, NE

In cities across the country, people 

are planning and planting food forests. 

Often food forests are community efforts 

to grow not just vegetable gardens but a 

broader mix of annual, perennial, and tree 

crops. They frequently combine fruit trees 

with edible shrubs and vegetables. These 

food forests have many different designs. 

Some add trees to community gardens, 

others resemble orchards, and still others 

use multi-story cropping techniques. 

The organizational structures of food 

forests vary as well, with many having 

communal ownership and governance. 

Some are located on municipally-owned 

vacant land or in parks, while others are at 

property owned by non-profits. The food 

produced by food forests is often distributed 

to participants, nearby residents, or the 

general public. In towns and cities across 

the US, this community-based model is 

being tested and often faces challenges such 

as uncertain land tenure, questions about 

how food will be shared, and how to 

communally manage land.

It is exciting to see new forms of green 

space develop in American cities, often 

with the concurrent goals of educating 

the public, enhancing food security, and 

increasing local food production. Some of 

these food forests leverage agroforestry 

practices while others are using other 

ecological and horticultural principles. 

Many practices used in food forests come 

out of principles used in home gardens 

over hundreds of years. In food forests 

that seek to use agroforestry principles, 

there are opportunities for agroforestry 

research to be used and shared. People 

developing food forests can borrow 

methods from forest farming, alley 

cropping, and other agroforestry practices 

and apply them in these new spaces. 

As with more typical rural use of 

agroforestry practices, growers can realize 

greater diversity of products, productivity, 

and crop quality all on the same sized 

parcel of land. These enhancements are 

possible when producers take advantage of 

the interactions between the annual, 

perennial, and tree crops. When crops are 

incorporated into food forests they will 

grow in a modified microclimate with 

reduced wind and direct sunlight and 

greater humidity. Obviously some plants 

will not benefit from the partial shade of 

the trees. These crops may need to be 

grown at the edges of the food forest or 

adjacent to it. Even in those situations 

there can be some favorable plant 

interactions and agroforestry principles 

can be applied. ]

Some examples of food forests: 

Kalihiwai Permaculture Food Forest, Kalihiwai, HI

Baltimore Orchard Project, Baltimore, MD

Southern Heights Food Forest, Lincoln, NE

Hazelwood Food Forest, Pittsburgh, PA

6th Ward Park, Helena, MT 

Beacon Food Forest, Seattle, WA

Ponderosa Park, Basalt, CO

Forest Farming Foods on YouTube 

Forest farming is an important 

agroforestry practice that can be used to 

produce food. In 2013 NAC, Virginia 

Tech University and the Forest Service 

Southern Research Station developed a 

series of YouTube videos on forest 

farming. These videos have been 

promoted on the eXtension Forest 

Farming Community of Practice 

Website, www.extension.org/forest_farming.

These videos examine a variety of edibles 

including ramps and shiitake mushrooms. 

To learn more about edibles grown through 

forest farming, visit the Forest Farming 

Community of Practice YouTube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/exforestfarming 

Diane Ragone, PhD 

Breadfruit Institute 

Kalaheo, HI

Breadfruit(artocarpus altilis), known 

as ‘Ulu in Hawaii, is one of 

the food plants brought from 

eastern Polynesia centuries 

ago and was widely grown 

throughout the archipelago.

‘Ulu made significant contributions 

to food security by providing an easy to 

grow, productive, nutritious, starchy 

staple crop. Over the past century, 

however, breadfruit use declined and 

many trees were cut down, especially in 

urban areas. 

Today, Hawaii is one of the most food insecure states in the nation, 

importing about 85% of its food. Breadfruit is a key component of 

traditional agroforestry systems in the Pacific Islands which provide 

a realistic model for revitalizing food production in Hawaii. By 

anchoring food forests in urban and community landscapes, this 

attractive, long-lived perennial tree can once again play an important 

role in food sustainability. 

Breadfruit can easily be grown as a backyard tree and in public 

spaces, alone or inter-planted with a wide range of plants such as 

bananas, taro, citrus and other fruit trees, vegetables, ornamentals, lei 

plants, etc. Its versatile gluten-free fruit can be roasted, baked, boiled, 

pounded into poi, or fried, and is used in a wide array of recipes from 

appetizers to main dishes to desserts and beverages. Why import 

potatoes or white rice when you can use locally grown ‘ulu instead?

The National Tropical Botanical Garden, a private, not-for-profit 

organization, established the Breadfruit Institute (BFI) in 2003 

to promote the conservation and use of breadfruit for food and 

reforestation. The BFI manages the largest collection of breadfruit in 

the world. It conserves more than 120 varieties from throughout the 

Pacific region, including some varieties that no longer exist on their 

native islands. This unique germplasm repository is an important 

resource for efforts to develop more sustainable agriculture, promote 

traditional agroforestry, and enhance food security in the tropics.

The Breadfruit Institute launched the Plant a Tree of Life – 

Grow ‘Ulu project in Hawaii in October 2012 to distribute trees 

of an exceptional breadfruit variety, Ma’afala, for residents and 

organizations to plant in 

their yards and communities. 

Funding for this project was 

provided by The Ceres Trust. 

The Hawaii Department 

of Land and Natural 

Resources Kaulunani Urban 

and Community Forestry 

Grant Program provided 

additional support. 

Ma’afala was selected for 

distribution as this popular 

variety, which originated in 

Samoa and Tonga, has been 

grown in Hawaii for decades. 

It has a compact shape that 

is especially suited to urban and community landscapes. The tree 

can be easily pruned and shaped to fit its location and make it 

easier to reach and harvest the fruit. Trees can begin bearing fruit 

in 2 1/2 to 3 years. 

The institute partnered with numerous communities, 

organizations, and individuals to distribute 4,800 trees. Recipients 

received a Ma’afala variety fact sheet, and an illustrated planting 

guide that was available in English, Hawaiian, Samoan, Chuukese, 

Tongan, and Tagalog versions. There was great interest in providing 

trees to Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders such as Micronesians, 

Samoans, and Tongans, and to low-income residents. These 

groups are especially vulnerable to food insecurity and health 

issues, such as obesity and 

diabetes, associated with 

a Western diet. Helping 

them plant breadfruit trees 

at their homes and in their 

communities is a sustainable 

and achievable step to 

addressing these problems. 

Breadfruit trees have been 

planted at homes, schools, 

churches, community 

gardens, social service 

organizations, parks, and 

other sites on Kauai, Oahu, 

Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and 

Hawaii Island. These iconic, 

culturally significant trees will provide beauty and shade, but most 

importantly, healthy food for home consumption, and to share 

with family and friends. 

It was possible to distribute breadfruit trees in such quantity 

because of a major propagation breakthrough. Many breadfruit 

varieties, including the Hawaiian ‘Ulu, are seedless and must be 

propagated vegetatively using root shoots or root cuttings. While 

this method is successful – after all, it is how islanders propagated 

and spread breadfruit trees throughout the vast Pacific region 

over the millennia – it is slow and time consuming, with a low 

success rate. 

The Breadfruit Institute and research collaborators have 

developed pioneering micropropagation methods to produce 

healthy and vigorous breadfruit plants. A partnership with 

an innovative horticultural company, Cultivaris LLC, 

(www.globalbreadfruit.com) now makes it possible to propagate 

and distribute millions of breadfruit trees. Since 2009, more than 

35,000 Ma’afala trees have been provided to 26 countries in Africa, 

the Caribbean, Central America, Asia, and Oceania. It is exciting 

to see this heritage Pacific crop being used in tree planting projects 

around the globe. ]

To learn more about our work visit: 

www.breadfruit.org and www.facebook.com/BreadfruitInstitute.

Diane Ragone, PhD, is director of the Breadfruit Institute at the 

National Tropical Botanical Garden.

Ma'afala breadfruit trees in 

nursery, ready for distribution. 

Photo by Diane Ragone.

4 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2 5
62% of food hubs 

surveyed began 

operations within 

the last 5 years 62%

= 5 producers

Median number of producers 

or suppliers per food hub

FOOD HUB FACTS FOOD HUB FACTS

Eat Here

Restaurants

Schools & 

Hospitals

Grocery

FOOD HUB

Food hubs manage the aggregation, 

distribution and marketing of source-identified 

products primarily from local and regional 

producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy 

wholesale, retail, and institutional demand.

Percentage of food hubs 

surveyed that are either 

non-profit, for profit, or have 

another organizational framework 

Source: Fischer, M., Hamm, M., Pirog, R., Fisk, J., Farbman, J., & Kiraly, S. (September 2013). Findings of the 2013 National Food Hub Survey.

Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems & The Wallace Center at Winrock International. 

Retrieved from http://foodsystems.msu.edu/activities/food-hub-survey

Customers are usually within 

400 miles of the food hub

the emerging role of food hubs

Lily Brislen 

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY

Kate MacFarland

National Agroforestry Center

Lincoln, NE

How do we get the food that is produced in 

agroforestry systems to consumers? In 

addition to smaller market outlets like 

farmers markets and large scale commodity 

markets, food hubs are an emerging market outlet for 

many types of producers. The National Food Hub 

Coalition defines a food hub as: “A business or 

organization that actively manages the aggregation, 

distribution, and marketing of source-identified food 

products primarily from local and regional producers to 

strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and 

institutional demand.” The emphasis on promoting the 

strength and viability of small and mid-sized producers, 

and the frequent inclusion of additional environmental 

and social goals, is what sets food hubs apart from 

regular food wholesalers.

Straddling the realms of direct marketing and 

conventional wholesale markets, food hubs provide a 

key service to mid-sized family farmers who are too 

small to survive within highly competitive and 

vertically consolidated supply chains, yet too big to get 

by on smaller direct marketing channels like farmers 

markets. Food hubs aggregate products from multiple 

farms and sell it into wholesale and retail markets, 

expanding access to locally produced food for 

consumers in their region. Other models of food hubs 

include direct to consumer subscription programs akin 

to community supported agriculture and drawing 

product from multiple farms, and online models that 

provide platforms for interested customers to search 

for and connect with producers directly. Food hubs 

also expand the number of market outlets that are 

accessible to small or mid-sized farms, since they often 

supply schools, hospitals, restaurants and grocery stores.

One of the key components of food hub market strategy 

is to provide ‘source identified’ local or regional food 

products to their customers. A source identified product 

is one that is connected to its farm of origin, most 

frequently through labeling the product with the farm’s 

name. Some food hubs provide additional information 

about the particular farm and/or farmers by including 

pictures or stories of the farm in signage at the point of 

sale, in newsletters to customers, or on their website. 

Through telling the story of producers and production, 

food hubs provide a key opportunity for consumer 

education and promotion of regional food systems. 

Producers with agroforestry systems often also have 

economic, social, and environmental goals, many of 

which are met directly through their agroforestry systems. 

Agroforestry systems can help diversify producers’ income 

streams, create environmental benefits such as reduced 

soil erosion or increased habitat, and provide recreational 

and educational benefits to nearby communities. Food 

hubs may offer an opportunity for producers with 

agroforestry systems to connect with new markets and 

scale up their businesses. ]

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2 7
By Colleen Rossier, National Agroforestry Center, Lincoln, NE

John and Todd Hopkins of Forks Farm are not new to agroforestry or local foods. In fact, they 

started farming over 20 years ago on their 86-acre farm at the confluence of two rivers in Columbia 

County, Pennsylvania. Now, they find that they have built quite a community around their family 

farm, from their long-standing loyal customers to the many people whose farms they have helped 

to start, including neighbors, customers, and former employees. Their story is an inspiration.

J

ohn and Todd raise and sell entirely grassfed and 

grass-finished animals without tillage or chemicals, 

and use trees around their farm in many creative ways. 

These farming choices make them ideal farmers for 

the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which has been challenged

over the past decade with high sediment and nutrient 

loads that result in eutrophication and algae blooms. 

When they bought their land in the late 1980s, however, 

it was not in great shape. Thus, John and Todd have 

embraced an adaptive management approach. As John is 

not solely a farmer, but also a consulting forester and 

Certified Arborist, he quickly noticed that the stand of 

Virginia pines growing on steep ground were overly dense. 

This left the forest floor barren and trees kept blowing 

over. In the early 1990s, he thinned out the stand, keeping 

a diverse mix of seed-producing hardwoods but removing 

most of the pines. He also chipped the downed logs to 

hasten the return of nutrients to the soil that would soon 

support a silvopasture. 

After this thinning, John and Todd started intensively 

grazing animals to improve and rehabilitate the land. For 

this first forest patch, they moved pigs into the stand to 

create a “flash disturbance” since they churn up the soil 

and root out old stumps. Then, they seeded cool season 

grasses in the understory of this new hardwood silvopasture 

plot. Once the grasses were growing well, they rotated 

beef cattle into the pasture, and followed them with laying 

hens that live in beautifully painted “egg-mobiles.” John 

is quick to note that he and Todd did not come up with 

all the ideas on their own, but follow and modify the 

traditions of the The Stockman Grass Farmer, Joel Salatin, 

Wendell Barry, Bill Murphy, and others. 

After the first silvopasture was established, John and 

Todd created several more. They have learned a great deal 

about what works and what does not. For instance, John 

now gravitates toward Tamworth pigs. The Tamworths are 

smarter, more aggressive, and do not sunburn easily which 

enables them to thrive outside without shelter. They also 

have large litters and are thus quite productive. 

Although hardwood silvopasture can sometimes be 

controversial, John would argue that it is all about how well 

you time your rotations, manage your animals, and read 

the landscape. John and Todd tend to use pigs in areas that 

have recently been thinned, or which have invasive plants. 

They keep the pigs in these stands 

for about two weeks to a month, 

but do not allow them to re-graze 

the same stand within the year. On 

the other hand when cattle rotate 

into the stand, John and Todd 

leave them in for one to three days, 

providing a high intensity graze 

that requires a long term rest. 

Poultry follow the cattle, and stay on patches for about a 

day at a time. While John and Todd have learned a great 

deal about their silvopasture system over the last twenty-five 

years, they continue to experiment by 

trying new species, rotations, and timing.

USDA has been helpful to John and 

Todd in several ways. In particular, the 

USDA Natural Resources Conservation 

Service (NRCS) provided technical and 

financial assistance to help them fence 

their animals out of the streams that run 

through their property and to provide 

alternative water sources for those animals. 

To provide alternative water, NRCS was 

able to help them in two ways. First, they 

helped them design and install a solar 

water pump. Then, NRCS helped them 

provide winter water to their animals that 

would not freeze over. Adequate water 

supplies enable the Hopkins to fully 

utilize their property.

Two key challenges that John and 

Todd continue to face are: 1) invasive 

plants; and 2) access to slaughter. They 

are continuously experimenting with 

how to use their animals and other 

techniques to control the multiflora rose, 

Japanese stilt grass, mile-a-minute, 

Japanese knotweed, and barberry. The 

challenge with slaughter is that nearly all 

of the meat producers in the area tend to 

want to slaughter at the same time of the 

year, so the slaughterhouse gets booked 

up and farmers have to wait for weeks. 

John says that while there are five 

butchers within 90 miles, there are few 

slaughterhouses, and he hopes to 

encourage the next generation of 

entrepreneurs to go into the independent 

slaughter business.

Although John and Todd started small, 

their high quality products have attracted 

loyal customers and demand has steadily 

grown. This year, they grew 60 beef 

cattle, 75 hogs, 30 lambs, 3,500 chickens, 

170 turkeys, and countless eggs. As 

demand has grown, rather than expanding 

their own operation, John and Todd are 

sharing the soaring market demand by 

partnering with other farmers in the area 

through the Pennsylvania Association for 

Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). Now 

they sell products from 25-30 other 

farmers through their farm stand, buyers’ 

clubs, and wholesale marketing to 

brewpubs and restaurants. ]

Owners of Forks Farm John and Todd Hopkinss standing 

in front their delivery van. Photo by Colleen Rossier. 

Cattle graze in hardwood 

silvopasture plot on Forks Farm. 

Photo by Colleen Rossier. 

8 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2

It is all about how well 

you time your rotations, 

manage your animals, and 

read the landscape.

MEET DEMAND STEEP

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2 9
Forest Gardening:

By Erin Schneider, Hilltop Community Farm, La Valle, WI

Growing a Community for Your Orchard

It's been a long slow awakening this year 

as plum trees reluctantly break bud, our 

bodies sluggish from consecutive polar 

vortices. It's always with great anticipation 

and exuberance that we welcome the 

planting season at our farm By now we've 

compared notes with growers, ordered new 

fruit trees to test, and grafted new scionwood; 

now we're ready to dig in for a 4th season 

establishing our orchard. For us, that means 

planting and testing the next forest garden 

guild design. 

In 2010 we began to plant our dream of 

growing more fruit and building community, 

while also seeking to improve soil and water 

quality and increase biodiversity and habitat 

for pollinators on our farm. What's more, 

while we wanted to expand our markets and 

farm income we wanted to better leverage 

our labor, so we sought perennials that 

would do naturally well on our farm. We 

already had raspberries, gooseberries and 

apples in the local neighbor-wood so we 

decided to add-in quince, currants, 

saskatoons, aronia, seaberry, honeyberry, and 

American elderberry, all of which would be 

equally well-adapted to our southern 

Wisconsin biome. These fruits are highyielding, environmentally and grower 

friendly, and are an exceptionally nutritional 

food source. 

Ok. So you're into unusual fruit? What 

does that have to do with agroforestry and 

building community? 

The shift is in not just thinking about 

fruit, but thinking about function and how 

to grow food/fruits in relation to each other. 

A key innovation in our orchard is the use of 

forest garden guilds as an orchard design tool.

You're probably familiar with guilds – 

groups of people in a profession who enhance 

each others’ skills and possibilities by sharing 

information and resources with each other. 

Forest garden guilds are the arboreal 

equivalent, a clutch of species that - when 

planted together - complement one another 

by partitioning resources and/or creating 

networks of mutual support. With an 

overstory (or two) of fruit or nut bearing 

trees and an understory of shrubs, vines and 

ground-covers, their design requires an eye 

both to complementarity and maximizing 

the capture of sunlight in three dimensions 

(see Edible Forest Gardens, by Dave Jacke 

and Eric Tohenmeister, 2009 or 

http://www.edibleforestgardens.com). A 

forest garden guild is not a new idea, but one 

whose time has certainly come. We can 

consciously apply the principles of plant 

community function to the design of 

landscapes and our farms that mimic forest 

structure and function, and also grow food, 

fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, "farmaceuticals," 

and fun.

On our farm, the result is so far looking 

to be greater than the sum of its parts. In the 

past year, our orchard has really started to 

take shape and we've begun to harvest a 

substantial amount of currants. We've also 

had a lot of fun along the way. Each year in 

early July, we throw open the farm for 

Currant Events, a celebration of the joys of 

the tart berry along with the odd topical 

discussion on agricultural matters. We host 

planting days with local high school youth 

in search of an annual Earth Day project. 

And of course we enjoy just relaxing in the 

orchard while the sun sets.

Since much of our work is done by hand, 

a little up front work in design/site 

assessment has gone a long way. For our one 

acre orchard we replicated 23 forest gardens 

in 4 different planting strips. Since then we 

prepare for future plantings by sheet 

mulching and we continue to tweak and try 

to find the optimal mix of understory and 

groundcover plantings.

How this work has broken down on 

the land.

Canopy layer: We did not plant large 

canopy nut trees in our orchard due to space; 

instead, our fruit trees serve the function of 

a canopy layer. We have an iconic 'big mama 

bur oak' at the bottom of our orchard slope 

who 'keeps an eye on things'. Adjacent to the 

orchard is another 3 acre slope where we 

have planted black walnuts, and red oak 

trees. Along our forest edges we're 

considering meat goats to support 

brush management.

Overstory: fruit trees – Quince – 17; 

Apples – 4; Cherry – 4; Persimmons – 2, 

Apricots – 2

Shrub layer: 20 seaberry; 23 elderberry; 

32 saskatoon; 60 currants – planted along 

the drip line of overstory layer; 20 

honeyberry; 60 aronia berry; 25 hazelnuts. 

In each forest garden we have 1 nitrogen 

fixing shrub (seaberry) and medicinal plant 

(elderberry). Gooseberries did not take (we 

think due to sequencing, gooseberries really 

prefer more shade), so we substituted 20 

honeyberries for gooseberry plants in 2012.

Understory: Mix examples include: 

dynamic accumulator plants – comfrey, 

lovage, horseradish root in swale; mt. mint 

where apples are planted; purple prairie 

clover/blue false indigo; leadplant; direct 

seeded/transplanted chives, dill, yellow 

coneflower, NE aster, black-eyed susan, 

penstemmon, prairie phlox, butterfly weed, 

silphium (the latter we are finding makes a 

great hedgerow plant).

Groundcover: Primarily white clover, 

chewings fescue, and red fescue mix (can sub 

meadow fescues) and perennial rye at 

30lbs/acre.

Roots/bulbs: daffodils

Vines: none in orchard, though we do 

have hops and grapevines trellised adjacent 

to our Community Supported Agriculture 

(CSA) gardens.

Mushroom: Winecaps – inoculated 

woodchips in a 3 experimental apple/peach 

food forests.

Mulch treatments; wood chips, compost, 

leaf litter, cardboard/newspaper, and forest 

duff incorporated in plant root zones at 

initial planting. We started using straw, 

though have had much better success with 

partially decomposed woodchips. 2012 

started with seasonal applications 

of compost tea.

Swale: Red osier dogwood, viburnum, 

horseradish root, (yellow cone flower, golden 

rod, asters 'just showing up'), mixed grasses.

Other: We have other food forests planted 

on our farm though not integrated into our 

orchard area, these include plums, peaches, 

apricots, pear, and cherry guilds and have a 

more intensive planting of culinary herbs/

native cut flowers that we harvest for our 

CSA, and some medicinal herbs that we 

harvest for our own use.

In all cases we have begun to learn to plant 

what feeds us, weed out the extras, and stack 

functions! 

Forest gardens have much to offer on a 

practical level, and they continue to teach us 

about how to live in community as free and 

interdependent beings in a functional way. 

At the start of another farm season I am once 

again reminded of how much we rely on one 

another and the land to make a living. And 

ultimately, I want to be happy, make an 

honest living with dignity, and do what I 

love. And I love fruit, I love people, I love to 

farm. I hope you find success experimenting 

with finding the right mix of plants and 

people for your farm and communities 

to thrive. ]

Contact: Erin Schneider 

hilltopfarm@gmail.com; 

www.hilltopcommunityfarm.org

Elderberries ready to be harvested from 

Forest Garden. Photo by Erin Schneider.

Tips for your food forest: 

Forest garden guilds can also serve as a metaphor for how you relate to people and to your community. A few transferrable tips to 

consider while you establish your food forest:

Observe! Pay attention to what’s going on. Light, water, 

slope, past land use, organization history, etc. 

Connect to place, connect to the people and 

plants there. This will help inform decisions.

Buildyour soil – if possible take 1 – 3 years transitioning with a mix 

of cover crops. Start adding fertility in the 

form of plants. Choose your nitrogen fixer 

– in our guilds it’s seaberry, purple prairie 

clover, baptista, but it could be any of the 

legumes or Elaganceae family. In your 

community look for ways to build mutually 

beneficial relationships. A good example of 

building community is the Value Chain 

Partnership in Iowa; they’ve created nested 

networks across food sectors to grow their 

local food economy. The Midwest 

Agroforestry Working Group is also a new 

network wherein practitioners can pose 

questions and share expertise.

Adda dynamic accumulator – go deep and deepen your relationships 

and commitment to your life purpose. 

Examples in the plant world include 

horseradish root, compass plant, and 

comfrey. Community organizations can 

accelerate growth too. Through their 

delegations and connections with their 

growers and coffee drinkers, Just Coffee 

Cooperative has built deep, transparent 

relationships in understanding and 

practicing Fair Trade (and coffee thrives in 

an agroforestry system!).

Insectory – build beneficial habitat – this helps 

manage for risk, repel disease, attract 

beneficial insects. Elderberry, dill, and 

calendula can all help provide beneficial 

habitats for insects. At the community scale, 

create space for inclusiveness that allow for 

diverse habitats of people and ideas to 

be expressed.

Food– plant what feeds you! Add flavor and spice to your idea. At 

the end of the day what will keep you going? 

For example, quince live over 100 years and 

we can expect yields of 400 - 600 lbs fruit/

tree. That’s a serious amount of fruit for a 

seriously long time!

Project Highlights

388 Shrubs 

Planted

320 Trees 

Planted

641 Herbs & 

Grasses 

Integrated

23

Pollinater 

Plants 

Sown

612 Volunteers 

Participated

486 Project 

Hours

6,000 Total

Cost

10 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2
Upcoming Events

June 18, 2014

Growing Forage in Woodlands Webinar

Online

http://silvopasture.ning.com/

June 18, 2014 

Commercial Mushroom Production 

Field Day 

Schuyler County, NY

http://blogs.cornell.edu/mushrooms/

events/

July 1, 2014

Trees Forever Agroforestry Workshop

Villisca, IA

http://treesforever.org/

For more upcoming events, visit our

website calendar: http://nac.unl.edu/events/index.htm

12 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 22, Issue 2

Inside Agroforestry VOLUME 22, ISSUE 1

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

PAID

USDA — FS

PERMIT NO G-40

National

Agroforestry

Center

“Inside Agroforestry” is published by the USDA National 

Agroforestry Center. Phone: 402-437-5178; 

Fax: 402-437-5712.

•		 Vacant, NAC Director

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

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

•		 NRCS Lead Agroforester - vacant

•		 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.