United States Department of Agriculture 379-CPS-1

NRCS, NHCP

July 2022

NRCS reviews and periodically updates conservation practice standards. To obtain the current 

version of this standard, contact your Natural Resources Conservation Service State office or 

visit the Field Office Technical Guide online by going to the NRCS website at 

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ and type FOTG in the search field. 

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Natural Resources Conservation Service 

CONSERVATION PRACTICE STANDARD 

FOREST FARMING 

CODE 379 

(ac)

DEFINITION 

Managing or establishing stands of trees or shrubs in coordination with the management and/or cultivation

of understory plants or nontimber forest products. 

PURPOSE 

This practice is used to accomplish one or more of the following purposes: 

• Increase plant/tree community diversity—including native species—as well as their compatibility

with each other and the site 

• Improve crop diversity by growing mixed but compatible crops having different heights on the same

area 

• Improve soil health by maintaining or increasing soil organic matter 

• Improve terrestrial habitat 

CONDITIONS WHERE PRACTICE APPLIES 

On all lands where trees, shrubs, and woody or nonwoody crops can be grown in combination. 

CRITERIA 

General Criteria Applicable to All Purposes 

Livestock will be excluded on land where this practice is implemented. 

Forest farming, also known as multi-story cropping, uses combinations of overstory and understory woody

and/or nonwoody plant species based on compatibility and complementarity. Select plants based on their

adaptation to the climatic region, light requirements, and soil characteristics. Provide supplemental water

as needed in areas where natural precipitation is insufficient for establishment of selected plants. 

Design each canopy level individually to ensure that objectives for healthy and productive plantings are

achieved within each level. Select plants and cultural practices that maintain and/or improve soil organic

matter content. Select species that enhance habitat for beneficial insects, including pollinators, and do not

provide habitat for pests of accompanying crop(s) and trees. 

Determine the desired overstory canopy density using the following tree or shrub management objectives: 

• Light requirements and growth period of the managed crops in the understory 

• Erosion control needs 

• Machinery widths and turning areas, where applicable 
Refer to criteria in NRCS Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) Tree-Shrub Site Preparation (Code 490)

and/or Tree-Shrub Establishment (Code 612) for site preparation, planting, and tending selected tree and

shrub species. Where woody residue requires treatment prior to planting, use NRCS CPS Woody Residue

Treatment (Code 384). NRCS CPS Access Control (Code 472) may be used to temporarily exclude

animals, people, vehicles, and equipment until plants are established. 

Orient ground-level vegetation on or near contours to ensure areas or sites prone to surface water runoff

and erosion are protected. Use mulch as needed to cover bare areas and place planting beds on

contours. 

Additional Criteria for Improving Soil Health by Maintaining or Increasing Soil Organic Matter 

Select overstory species based on rooting patterns to increase differentiation of tree, shrub, and crop

rooting depth. Limit soil disturbance, to the extent possible, during establishment of the forest farming

system and during cultivation of understory crops. Retain thinning and pruning material on-site. 

CONSIDERATIONS 

Select crop, tree, and/or shrub varieties based on their tolerance to agricultural chemicals that may be

applied at the site or on adjacent lands. To reduce vulnerability to species-specific pests and enhance

pollinator and wildlife needs, consider incorporating multiple crop, tree, and/or shrub species, especially

native species. To minimize agricultural chemical effects, use NRCS CPS Pest Management Conservation

System (Code 595) and to manage insects, diseases, and competing vegetation during establishment of

the trees, shrubs, and plants. 

Use high value trees, shrubs, and understory crops to maximize economic returns. Selecting plants that

are culturally or historically significant to the locality may help address client objectives. If periodic pruning

is anticipated, consider coppice ability when choosing tree and shrub species. 

Use of nitrogen fixing species in the overstory and/or understory may help meet part of a crop’s nitrogen

requirement. 

To enhance carbon storage, select plant species that are adapted to the site to assure health and vigor.

Use prescribed or appropriate tree density to maximize aboveground and belowground biomass

production. Plant residue and woody debris from management may be able to provide a resource for

energy production or used onsite to enhance soil health. 

For areas with frequent or periodic high to severe winds, consider management of edge canopy densities

to protect from damaging winds. 

For operations following USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP), manage resource concerns according

to both NRCS and NOP regulations. 

PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS 

Prepare site-specific details to implement forest farming in accordance with this standard and the selected

purposes for using this practice. At a minimum, provide— 

• Field map with location of forest-farmed area 

• Objectives and purposes for choosing forest farming 

• A design for the desired overstory, midstory, and understory canopy density and composition using

the following tree or shrub management objectives: 

• Light requirements and objectives of all crops and their compatibility 

• Site-specific planting requirements for all plants (e.g., establishment dates, methods, seeding

rates, spacing) 

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OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 

Inspect trees, shrubs, and crops periodically and protect from adverse impacts including insects,

diseases, or competing vegetation. Protect planted trees or shrubs from damage or injury from humans,

machinery, and agricultural chemicals as well as from fire, livestock, or wildlife. 

Continue all other specified maintenance measures until plant survival and establishment are assured.

This includes replacement of dead and dying trees or shrubs, pruning of dead or damaged branches for

safety reasons, periodic pruning of selected branches for control of product quality, and control of

undesirable competing vegetation. 

Adhere consistently to the intended purpose(s) of the practice during any removal of tree or shrub

products, use of agricultural chemicals, and maintenance operations. Avoid damaging the site and soil. 

REFERENCES 

Bentrup, G. 2008. Conservation Buffers: Design Guidelines for Buffers, Corridors, and Greenways.

General Technical Report SRS-109. USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/buffers/index.html. 

Bentrup, G., J. Hopwood, N.L. Adamson, and M. Vaughan. 2020. Temperate Agroforestry Systems and

Insect Pollinators: A Review. Forests 10 (11):981. https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/10/11/981/pdf. 

Chamberlain, J.L., M.R. Emery, and T. Patel-Weynand. 2018. Assessment of Nontimber Forest Products

in the United States Under Changing Conditions. General Technical Report SRS-232. USDA Forest

Service, Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC. https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/56484. 

Josiah, S. 2014. Productive Conservation: Growing Specialty Forest Products in Agroforestry Plantings.

National Arbor Day Foundation, Nebraska City, NE.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/assets/documents/morepublications/sfp2_ProductiveConservation.pdf. 

Thomas, M.G. and D.R. Schumann. 1993. Income Opportunities in Special Forest Products: Self-help

Suggestions for Rural Entrepreneurs. Agriculture Information Bulletin AIB–666, USDA Forest Service,

Washington, D.C. http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/agib666/agib666.htm.

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