Agroforestry 

Strategic Framework

Fiscal Years 2019–2024
Cover photos: All Images © / Adobe Stock
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 1

Contents

Vision, Mission, Motto, and Guiding Principles ........................................................................... 2

Introduction............................................................................................................................................................ 3

Development of This USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework ................................... 4

Strategic Goals and Objectives...............................................................................................................4

Strategic Goal 1—Reach Out................................................................................................................4

Objective 1.1—Listen and Communicate ..............................................................................................................................5

Objective 1.2—Advance Professional Education .............................................................................................................5

Objective 1.3—Partner...........................................................................................................................................................................5

Strategic Goal 2—Investigate ..............................................................................................................6

Objective 2.1—Plan ............................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Objective 2.2—Discover .....................................................................................................................................................................7

Objective 2.3—Translate ....................................................................................................................................................................8

Strategic Goal 3—Integrate ..................................................................................................................8

Objective 3.1—Institutionalize .........................................................................................................................................................8

Objective 3.2—Assess Opportunities and Accomplishments ...............................................................................9

Objective 3.3—Communicate Results......................................................................................................................................9

APPENDIX I...........................................................................................................................................................10

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.........................................................................................10

USDA Agricultural Research Service............................................................................................11

USDA Farm Service Agency...............................................................................................................13

USDA Forest Service................................................................................................................................14

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.......................................................................16

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.................................................................16

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture ..............................................................18

USDA National Agroforestry Center............................................................................................20

USDA Rural Development.................................................................................................................. 22
2 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

Vision, Mission, Motto, and 

Guiding Principles 

Vision

Farms, ranches, and woodlands across the 

United States are healthy, productive, and 

profitable.

Mission

Advance agroforestry knowledge, tools, and 

assistance for the benefit of landowners, 

communities, and the Nation.

Motto Enriching agriculture through trees.

Definition

Agroforestry is the intentional integration of 

trees or shrubs with crop and animal production to create environmental, economic, 

and social benefits.
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 3

Introduction

America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners are integrating trees with agriculture to address a variety of 

conservation and production goals. A unique land management approach, agroforestry provides opportunities 

to integrate productivity and profitability with environmental stewardship to support healthy, sustainable 

agriculture systems, economies, and communities. 

The five most common categories 

of agroforestry practices in the 

United States are:

1. Windbreaks, also known as shelterbelts—

for fields, farmsteads, and livestock 

2. Riparian forest buffers—along waterways

3. Silvopasture systems—with trees, 

livestock, and forages

4. Forest farming—with edible, herbal 

(botanicals), medicinal, and decorative 

products grown under managed forest 

cover

5. Alley cropping—with annual crops and 

high-value trees and shrubs

Depending on the practice, the 

benefits of practicing agroforestry 

can include:

• Protection for valuable topsoil, livestock, 

crops, and wildlife

• Increased productivity of agricultural and 

horticultural crops

• Diversified local economies

• Improved water quality

• Reduced energy and chemical inputs

• Increased water-use efficiency by plants and 

animals

• Enhanced biodiversity and landscape 

diversity

Agroforestry practices can also be designed to address other needs, such as mitigating odor, improving pollinator 

habitat, trapping snow, and producing biomass feedstock.

Many U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs provide opportunities for research and outreach to 

enhance the use of agroforestry by today’s landowners and communities. With continued leadership and 

teamwork, much progress can be made in developing agroforestry science and tools, as well as delivering 

agroforestry assistance to the owners and managers of America’s farms, woodlands, and ranchers. 
4 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

Development of This USDA 

Agroforestry Strategic Framework

This updated fiscal year 2019–2024 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework is based upon input from the eight 

agency members of the USDA Agroforestry Executive Steering Committee (AESC) and the USDA Interagency 

Agroforestry Team (IAT). Agency input was, in turn, based on current agency needs and priorities, as well as 

input from partners. This included input provided by stakeholders to the National Agroforestry Center (NAC)—a 

partnership between the USDA Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service—as it renewed its 

5-year charter. 

USDA agencies members of the AESC and the IAT:

•	 Agricultural Marketing Service 

•	 Agricultural Research Service 

•	 Farm Service Agency 

•	 Forest Service 

•	 National Agricultural Statistics Service 

•	 National Institutes of Food and Agriculture 

•	 Natural Resources Conservation Service 

•	 Rural Development 

Strategic Goals and Objectives

Strategic Goal 1—Reach Out

Ensure all landowners and communities have access to the latest tools and information 

that support agroforestry adoption.

Desired Outcome: Landowners, managers, Tribes, and communities have the resources they need to adopt 

agroforestry practices tailored to their objectives, including product diversity; rural wealth; water, soil, and air 

quality; and sustainable agriculture.
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Objective 1.1—Listen and Communicate 

Listen to landowners and other stakeholders to understand their needs; provide 

agroforestry information and tools to advance their economic and ecological objectives.

Strategies

1. Develop a plan for two-way landowner communications on agroforestry, using communication 

mechanisms and approaches already established within USDA agencies. 

2. Develop communication approaches that respond to the needs and objectives of the range of 

landowner and manager demographic categories. 

3. Deploy a variety of educational technologies reflective of the range of educational needs, learning 

styles, and demographics of America’s landowners. 

Objective 1.2—Advance Professional Education 

Increase the availability of information and tools that help natural resource professionals 

to provide technical, educational, financial, and marketing assistance.

Strategies

1. Support university efforts to develop agroforestry curricula and to offer a major, certificate, or area of 

expertise in agroforestry. 

2. Provide natural resource professionals with a variety of options for receiving and providing training 

and technical assistance in agroforestry technologies and landowner outreach, including professional 

meetings and conferences, stand-alone training activities, and online courses.

3. Develop recognition mechanisms for professionals that have gained expertise in agroforestry through 

completion of a recommended set of agroforestry training requirements.

Objective 1.3—Partner

Expand learning partnerships with stakeholders, including underserved and minority 

audiences, Tribes, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, and early adopters. 

Strategies

1. Create learning networks and “communities of practice” that include practitioners and technical advisors. 

2. Strategically locate, establish, and maintain agroforestry demonstration sites.

3. Utilize “on-farm research” and “action research” approaches that connect practitioners, scientists, and 

technical advisors. 
6 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

4. Strengthen the exchange of agroforestry technologies between the United States and other countries to 

advance global and domestic food security and economic well-being by:

(a) Facilitating communication between U.S. agroforestry communities and international organizations 

engaged in agroforestry, including the World Agroforestry Center and the European Agroforestry 

Federation. 

(b) Creating linkages between USDA agencies engaged in agroforestry and USDA initiatives related to 

global food security.

Strategic Goal 2—Investigate

Conduct applied and basic research to advance the science and technology that supports 

the use of agroforestry.

Desired Outcome: Advances in the use of science-based agroforestry tools by landowners, managers, Tribes, and 

communities to improve productivity and address complex environmental, economic, and social conditions. 

Objective 2.1—Plan

Identify, assess, and prioritize interagency agroforestry science and technology needs, 

opportunities, and investments.

Strategies

1. Conduct syntheses of leading-edge science to inform the development of information, technologies, 

and tools for practitioners.

2. Create an updated catalog of USDA programs that catalyze and support agroforestry research activities 

and resources.

3. Include agroforestry, where appropriate, into requests for proposals through existing USDA science and 

technology programs.

4. Form an interagency team to identify, assess, and prioritize agroforestry science and technology needs 

and outcomes to improve the quality, relevancy, and performance of end-user products.
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 7

Objective 2.2—Discover

Conduct interagency, multidisciplinary research to advance agroforestry science and 

technologies.

Strategies

1. Establish and/or strengthen regional interagency, multidisciplinary teams to frame priority issues that 

can be addressed by agroforestry.

2. Facilitate access to relevant data across participating agencies to support interagency, multidisciplinary, 

and cross-scale analyses.

3. Conduct an agroforestry economics assessment to identify steps needed to ensure that landowners 

and communities can access the data, resources, and tools needed to understand financial costs and 

benefits of agroforestry adoption.

4. Develop agroforestry knowledge and technologies that help to:

(a) Develop profitable and economically sustainable systems for producing market goods. 

(b) Build healthy and productive farms, ranches, woodlands, and communities.

(c) Protect air, water, and soil resources. 

(d) Restore ecological services across rural and urban landscapes.

5. Develop the knowledge and technologies to improve the accounting of agroforestry benefits by:

(a) Establishing measurement, inventorying, and monitoring protocols that more accurately reflect 

agroforestry practices and their impacts. 

(b) Building the infrastructure to conduct lifecycle analyses of agroforestry practices 

and systems. 

(c) Quantifying the net economic benefits from agroforestry applications for comparison with those 

from other management systems. 

(d) Quantifying and estimating the impacts of climatic variability and environmental changes on 

agroforestry systems.

(e) Conducting inventories of trees outside of forests to support carbon accounting.
8 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

Objective 2.3—Translate

Move agroforestry innovations into products and services.

Strategies

1. Facilitate ongoing interaction with end users throughout the technology-development cycle. 

2. Evaluate the ways of learning by and about customers to improve application of agroforestry.

3. Develop customized agroforestry products and services for targeted audiences and locations. 

4. Conduct evidence-based syntheses to provide agroforestry planning and design guidelines to address 

the following priorities: 

(a) Providing multifunctional and multiscale planning and design. 

(b) Addressing mitigation and adaptation to extreme weather events and adverse climate. 

(c) Meeting the needs of landowners with small holdings and limited resources. 

(d) Protecting and creating critical habitat for wildlife, aquatic species, and pollinators. 

Strategic Goal 3—Integrate

Facilitate the integration of agroforestry information, research, tools, and technologies 

to meet the goals and objectives of USDA agencies.

Desired Outcome: All USDA agencies understand the benefits of agroforestry and opportunities for 

strengthening agency programs and missions through agroforestry research and outreach.

Objective 3.1—Institutionalize

Incorporate agroforestry into USDA policies, programs, and activities.

Strategies

1. Identify strategies within this strategic framework that respond to individual agency priorities 

and develop a plan for addressing these priorities. 

2. Support cross-agency communication and, where appropriate, coordination of agroforestry 

research and outreach opportunities through the AESC and the IAT.

3. Inform the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and USDA agencies of agroforestry support, accomplishments, 

and outcomes. 
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 9

Objective 3.2—Assess Opportunities and Accomplishments

Monitor, assess, and strengthen agroforestry contributions to meeting agency objectives.

Strategies

1. Assess and report on the environmental, economic, and social impacts of agroforestry.

2. Work within USDA to establish a comprehensive, continuous national inventory of on-the-ground 

applications of agroforestry practices/systems or include in existing inventory structures (e.g., Forest 

Inventory and Analysis or the National Resources Inventory). 

3. Work with the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to strengthen the use of the Census 

of Agriculture and NASS capabilities for monitoring the application of agroforestry practices/systems by 

agricultural producers. 

4. Utilize the National Woodland Owners Survey to monitor the application of agroforestry practices/

systems by nonindustrial private forest landowners.

5. Track agroforestry technologies applied by communities.

Objective 3.3—Communicate Results

Enhance knowledge and awareness of USDA agencies and partners of the benefits and 

services that agroforestry provides.

Strategies

1. Communicate the economic, environmental, and social benefits of agroforestry to the full spectrum 

of land users, Tribes, communities (urban to rural), minority landowners/limited-resource producers, 

natural resource professionals, and other stakeholders.

2. Advance agroforestry as a means to support sustainable agricultural systems, including increased 

resilience to extreme weather events (e.g., drought and floods) brought on by climate variability. 

3. Foster public-private partnerships that increase understanding, acceptance, and application.

4. Highlight agroforestry in USDA communications to increase awareness of the potential benefits for 

diversifying agricultural production, enhancing environmental and economic conditions, building 

vibrant communities, and conserving private working lands.

5. Create mechanisms for stakeholders to provide feedback to the AESC.
10 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

APPENDIX I

Missions and Programs of the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture Agencies Providing Input to This Framework

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service

Mission

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) administers programs that create domestic and international marketing 

opportunities for U.S. producers of food, fiber, and specialty crops. AMS also provides the agriculture industry 

with valuable services to ensure the quality and availability of wholesome food for consumers across the country.

Nearly 4,000 AMS professionals work every day to support the country’s diverse agricultural operations, which 

range from individual farmers to international businesses that employ 1 in 12 people. AMS services and its 

millions of dollars in annual grant investments also create opportunities by supporting economic development in 

small towns and rural communities that stand as the backbone of American values.

Programs and Activities

AMS programs that most directly tie to agroforestry are those that have the potential to support marketing 

opportunities for agroforestry products. These include those focused on specialty crops, local food market 

channel research, grant programs, market news, the local and regional food working group, and organic or food 

safety certification programs.

Much of the agency’s support for agriculture is provided through commodity-specific efforts, such as its 

Dairy; Specialty Crops; Livestock, Poultry and Seed; and Cotton and Tobacco Programs. For fruit and vegetable 

growers, the Specialty Crop Program offers voluntary food safety audits, including the Good Agricultural 

Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP), Harmonized GAP, and Group GAP. AMS also oversees the 

National Organic Program, Science and Technology Program, and the Transportation and Marketing Program. 

The AMS Transportation and Marketing Program houses grant programs, including the Farmers Market 

Promotion Program, Local Food Promotion Program, and the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, as well as a 

Marketing Services Division that conducts research and hosts voluntary online directories on local food market 

channels. AMS also provides regulatory oversight for over 20 research and promotion programs and enforces 

other Federal regulations such as the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and the Seed Act. AMS also 

hosts the interagency Local and Regional Food Working Group, which coordinates programs across the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) that support local and regional food systems and maintains web pages and 
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 11

a Local Food Compass Map. The searchable map shares local food system assets and infrastructure, as well as 

projects across the country funded through USDA and other Federal programs.

For More Information

Tricia Kovacs, Local and Regional Food Systems Policy Advisor; Tricia.kovacs@ams.usda.gov; (202) 572-5440.

USDA Agricultural Research Service

Mission

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the USDA. It is one of 

the four component agencies of USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics mission area. Congress first 

authorized federally supported agricultural research in the Organic Act of 1862, which established what is now 

known as the USDA. That statute directed the Commissioner of Agriculture “... To acquire and preserve in his 

Department all information he can obtain by means of books and correspondence, and by practical and scientific 

experiments ....” The scope of USDA’s agricultural research programs has been expanded and extended many 

times since it was first created. 

ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and 

provides information access and dissemination to:

• Ensure high-quality, safe food and other agricultural products.

• Assess the nutritional needs of Americans.

• Sustain a competitive agricultural economy.

• Enhance the natural resource base and the environment.

• Provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole.

Programs and Activities

The agency’s four national program areas serve to bring coordination, communication, and empowerment to the 

approximately 1,000 research projects carried out by ARS. 

The national programs focus on the relevance, impact, and quality of ARS research. The programs are:

• Animal Production and Protection

• Crop Production and Protection
12 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

• Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems

• Nutrition, Food Safety/Quality

While agroforestry is integrative across these program areas, most ARS research on agroforestry systems is in 

the Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems Program Area. This program supports researchers 

at 70 locations who are developing the technologies and strategies needed to help farmers, ranchers, and 

other managers effectively steward the diverse agricultural mosaic spread across the Nation. From livestock 

grazing on expansive natural Western rangelands, to crops grown in the rich Midwestern Heartland and 

the Southern States regions, to the high-value produce that comes from the valleys and plains along both 

coasts, these diverse landscapes generate more than $200 billion in goods and services that are the basis of 

a strong rural economy. Emphasis is given to developing technologies that are and will be economical to use 

and systems that support profitable production and enhance the Nation’s vast renewable natural resource base. 

ARS identifies research priorities through a continual dialogue with a wide range of customers and stakeholders 

to ensure that the agency’s science is relevant and provides effective solutions to their concerns. ARS addresses 

issues affecting both private and public lands because together these are the foundation of a healthy and vibrant 

agricultural industry that not only provides food, feed, fiber, and renewable energy to the Nation, but also 

abundant and high-quality supplies of fresh water and clean air, as well as healthy ecosystems. 

Program areas within the Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems are:

• Grass, Forage, and Rangeland Agroecosystems

• Soil and Air

• Sustainable Agricultural Systems

• Water Availability and Watershed Management

Agroforestry research is being conducted in most of these National Programs. Research projects focus on 

designing and evaluating the production and environmental effects from forested riparian buffers, shelterbelts, 

and field windbreaks; determination of water requirements from tree components in agricultural landscapes; 

production and environmental effects from use of gray waters for tree plantations, including use of brackish and 

saline waters; how to utilize forest byproducts for developing new economic activities; strategies to control and/

or gain benefit from brushy species in rangelands; and characterizing greenhouse gas emissions reductions and 

soil carbon sequestration in silvopasture systems. ARS also manages the National Arboretum, which contains 

species of trees and shrubs that serve as a living library for genetic potential in agroforestry systems.
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 13

Specific projects of several ARS locations include:

• Ames, IA—Studying field windbreaks' impacts on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling as well as aboveground 

biomass and woody residue as a bioenergy feedstock.

• Davis, CA—Researching opportunities to intercrop between grape vine rows.

• Fort Collins, CO—Studying and modeling field windbreak spacing and density impacts on wind dynamics, 

crop evapotranspiration, and soil erosion.

• Lubbock, TX, Beltsville, MD, and Ames, IA—Studying the benefits of vegetative environmental buffers 

around livestock production facilities.

• Raleigh, NC, and University Park, PA—Characterizing the impacts of tree species and forage management 

on production and environmental aspects of silvopastures, including on nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas 

emissions, and soil carbon sequestration systems for production and environmental benefits.

• Tifton, GA, and others—Researching riparian forest buffers as a tool to trap sediment and nutrient runoff 

from agricultural fields.

ARS also manages agroforestry research through collaborative pass-through funding for Mississippi State 

University, Oregon State University, University of Maine, and University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry. 

These projects address the role of the forest products sector in the U.S. economy and the need to create new 

and improved value-added products, renewable energy, wood-quality evaluations, and valuation improvements 

for the benefit of the Nation’s wood supply. Projects are conducted in consultation with the USDA Forest Service, 

Forest Product Laboratory.

For More Information

Marlen Eve, National Program Leader, Soil and Air, USDA ARS; Marlen.Eve@ars.usda.gov; (301) 504–4613. Alan 

Franzluebbers, Research Ecologist, Plant Science Research Unit, Raleigh, NC; alan.franzluebbers@ars.usda.gov; 

(919) 515-1973.

USDA Farm Service Agency

Mission

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is dedicated to delivering to the American people an abundant, safe, and 

affordable food and fiber supply while sustaining agricultural communities and balancing agricultural production 

with natural resource conservation. FSA administers farm commodity, crop insurance, credit, environmental, 

conservation, and emergency assistance programs for the Nation’s farmers and ranchers. With regard to 

agroforestry, FSA is heavily dependent on the Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) 

for outreach and technical assistance to landowners and agricultural producers participating in FSA programs and 

the technology transfer initiatives of the National Agroforestry Center (NAC) in Lincoln, NE.
14 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

Programs and Activities

Agroforestry practices include alley cropping, forest farming, riparian forest buffers, silvopasture, and 

windbreaks. Many of these practices are consistent with participation in the agency’s commodity programs. 

Agroforestry practices can be established with technical and financial assistance provided by FSA and NRCS. 

However, some USDA conservation programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), are designed 

to retire marginal agricultural land from production. There are prohibitions against certain commercial use of 

land under CRP contracts. CRP is one of the largest conservation programs in USDA history. The enrollment 

of CRP acres is close to the current cap of 24 million acres, providing soil, water, and wildlife benefits. CRP 

is a voluntary program available to agricultural producers to help them enhance environmentally sensitive 

lands. Producers enrolled in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers, such as approved introduced or 

native grasses or hardwood trees to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion, and enhance wildlife 

habitat. Contract terms range from 10 to 15 years. The Biomass Crop Assistance Program, authorized with 

the passage of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) and administered through FSA, 

also offers opportunity to integrate agriculture and energy production.

For More Information

David Hoge, Agricultural Program Specialist, Conservation and Environmental Programs Division, USDA 

FSA; david.hoge@wdc.usda.gov; (202) 720–7674.

USDA Forest Service

Mission

The Forest Service mission is “to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and 

grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.” 

Within the Forest Service, three mission areas support agroforestry programs/activities:

• Research and Development—Developing and communicating the scientific information and technology 

needed to manage, protect, use, and sustain the natural resources of forests 

and rangelands.

• State and Private Forestry—Connecting people to resources, ideas, and one another in order to care for 

forests and sustain their communities.

• National Forest System—Protecting and managing the 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands so 

they best demonstrate the sustainable multiple-use management concept, using an ecological approach 

to meet the diverse needs of people.
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 15

Programs and Activities

Research and Development 

The Forest Service represents the world’s largest natural resources science capacity. Nationwide, Forest Service 

scientists carry out basic and applied research that result in science-based applications and tools that support 

management of all the Nation’s forests and trees, including the agroforestry Research and Development (R&D) 

activities conducted by the NAC (described later in this section). The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program 

(FIA) surveys, analyzes, and reports on the status and trends in forest area and location. Assessment work 

accomplished under this program does not include most agroforestry plantings because they do not meet the 

standard definition of “forest.” However, FIA staff located at the Northern Research Station, in cooperation 

with the NAC and State forestry agencies, have been piloting and advancing the use of Geographic Information 

System tools for assessing agroforestry practices across the Great Plains.

State and Private Forestry 

Through Forest Service grants and cooperative agreements, State forestry agencies and other partners 

deliver assistance directly to customers through three State and Private Forestry (S&PF) “umbrella” program 

areas that receive annual Federal appropriations: Cooperative Forestry, Forest Health Protection, and 

Cooperative Fire Protection. The two Cooperative Forestry programs most important to supporting agroforestry 

activities are the Forest Stewardship Program (FSP) and the Urban and Community Forestry (U&CF) Program. 

Through FSP, landowners receive technical and financial assistance to complete a long-term, multi-resource 

Forest Stewardship Plan, which may include agroforestry practices. Through the U&CF Program, communities 

receive technical and financial assistance to establish and protect community trees and forests to improve air 

quality, water quality, human health, and wildlife habitat. This landscape-scale approach often requires planning 

and integrating agroforestry systems into the green infrastructure of larger landscapes that include a matrix 

of urban, rural, agricultural, and forest lands. Forest Health Protection programs provide national leadership in 

protecting America’s forest and tree resources through technical and financial assistance to Federal, State, Tribal, 

and private landowners to assess, prevent, suppress, and control forest insects, pathogens, and invasive plants.

National Forest System 

Although the application of agroforestry practices/systems on the 193 million acres of national forests and 

grasslands managed under National Forest System programs is limited, low-intensity silvopastoral practices/systems 

are applied on some national forests. While there are many “non-timber,” or “special” forest products gathered 

on national forests (e.g., florals, foods, and medicinal products), these tend to be “wild harvested” rather than 

intentionally produced, and therefore do not fall under the definition of forest farming. However, the practice of 

forest farming on private lands may be helpful in reducing pressures on public lands to provide such products.
16 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

Opportunities may occur in the future to expand the application of agroforestry on national forests and 

grasslands as part of larger landscape-scale efforts with adjacent cooperating landowners/land managers to 

accomplish conservation and sustainable production goals. The Forest Service supports the science, practice, and 

application of agroforestry primarily through its R&D and S&PF programs, with a current focus on non-Federal 

working lands. In addition, through its international programs, the Forest Service, in cooperation with a wide 

range of partners, also provides some assistance to support agroforestry in other countries, primarily in the tropics.

For More Information

Susan Stein, Director, USDA Forest Service NAC; sstein@fs.fed.us; (202) 360–9737.

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service

Mission

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) provides timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. 

agriculture. The agency conducts hundreds of surveys every year and prepares reports covering virtually every 

aspect of U.S. agriculture. Production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm 

labor and wages, farm finances, chemical use, and changes in the demographics of U.S. producers are only a 

few examples.

NASS worked with the Interagency Agroforestry Team to develop the agroforestry question included in the 

2012 Census of Agriculture. This question has been modified for inclusion in the 2017 census. NASS has also 

provided cross-cuts upon request, based on responses to this question as well as other questions that relate to 

agroforestry, such as woodland grazing.

For More Information

Lance Honig, Chief, Crops Branch, Statistics Division, USDA NASS; lance.honig@nass.usda.gov; (202) 720-2127.

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Mission

The NRCS improves the health of our Nation’s natural resources while sustaining and enhancing the 

productivity of American agriculture. We achieve this by providing voluntary assistance through strong 

partnerships with private landowners, managers, and communities to conserve, protect, restore, and 

enhance the lands and waters upon which people and the environment depend.
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 17

NRCS Programs and Activities Supporting Agroforestry

The 2014 Farm Bill authorizes NRCS to provide financial and technical assistance through conservation programs 

to private landowners who want to support their working lands. Through the conservation programs, NRCS 

works one-on-one with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to implement conservation practices and 

systems on their working land that help address critical natural resource issues, including soil erosion, water 

quality and quantity, air quality, wildlife habitat, and damages caused by floods and other natural disasters.

Financial Assistance

Through financial assistance, NRCS supports agroforestry as a land management approach by using properly 

designed agroforestry systems that help private landowners achieve specific natural resource goals. When 

appropriate, implemented practices are incorporated with agroforestry systems such as alley cropping, forest 

farming, riparian forest buffers, silvopasture, windbreaks, and special applications, all of which help support 

American working lands.

NRCS financial assistance programs supporting agroforestry include:

• Environmental Quality Incentives Program 

• Conservation Stewardship Program

• Regional Conservation Partnership Program

Conservation Technical Assistance and Conservation Planning 

Through conservation technical assistance, NRCS generates, manages, and shares the data, research, and 

standards that enable private landowners, partners, and policymakers to make land management decisions 

informed by objective, reliable science. 

NRCS conservation planning helps private landowners plan and execute conservation decisions to meet land use 

goals. Conservation Plans record decisions supporting the treatment and management of natural resources on 

working lands.

NRCS technical experts give advice on the best solutions to meet the unique conservation and business goals of 

the people growing the Nation’s food and fiber. 

Professional advice from NRCS experts and conservation planning assistance help the Nation’s private landowners 

make investments in their operations and local communities to keep working lands working, boost rural economies, 

increase the competitiveness of American agriculture, and improve the health of our air, water, and soil. 
18 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

Technology Transfer and Assistance

To strengthen scientific and technical support for NRCS conservation programs and activities, National 

Technology Support Centers were established in the East, Central, and West. The primary functions of these 

centers are to provide direct technical assistance and technology transfer to States, the Pacific Basin, and 

Caribbean areas and to acquire and/or develop new science and technology in order to provide cutting-edge 

technical support.

National Technology Support Center tools include agroforestry conservation standards, specifications, guides and 

references, and modeling systems. NRCS uses this technology to help facilitate sound conservation decisions by 

private landowners.

Training and certification programs include agroforestry technical training to internal and external customers and 

the administration of certification standards and procedures.

Plant materials and related technologies provide for improved plant species and better agroforestry treatment.

Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment

NRCS assesses, acquires, develops, interprets, analyzes, and delivers natural resource data and information to 

enable knowledge-based natural resource planning and decision making at all landscape scales.

Data-gathering protocols ensure that reliable natural resource data are acquired and delivered. Databases and 

delivery include the maintenance and delivery of geospatial datasets and information.

Assessments and analyses include the modeling and interpretation of natural resource data to better inform 

decision makers and to facilitate policy development.

For More Information

Eunice Padley, National Forester, USDA NRCS; Eunice.Padley@wdc.usda.gov; (202) 720–3921.

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Mission

Located in USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics mission area, the mission of the National Institute of 

Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is to lead food and agricultural sciences to create a better future for the Nation and 

the world.
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 19

Programs and Activities

The NIFA was established in the 2008 Farm Bill to serve the Nation’s needs by supporting exemplary 

research, education, and extension programs that address many challenges facing the Nation. NIFA works with 

the best and brightest scientists at universities and colleges throughout the United States and around the world 

to find innovative solutions to global problems. With a timely, integrated approach and collaboration with other 

Federal science agencies, NIFA will also serve as a vital contributor in science policy decision making. Research 

supports the discovery of new solutions needed to solve many of the issues facing the Nation and the world. 

Education strengthens schools and universities to train the next generation of scientists, educators, producers, 

and citizens. Extension brings the knowledge gained through research and education to those who need it most—

people in the United States and around the world. NIFA has two key mechanisms for accomplishing its mission.

National program leadership. NIFA helps States identify and meet research, extension, and education priorities 

in areas of public concern that affect farm, forest, and ranch producers; small business owners; youth and 

families; and communities.

Federal assistance. NIFA provides annual capacity grants to the Land-Grant University System and competitive 

grants to researchers in land-grant and other universities. NIFA also partners with other Federal agencies, 

within and beyond USDA, nonprofit organizations, professional societies, commodity groups, grower 

associations, multistate research committees, private industry, citizen groups, foundations, regional centers, the 

military, task forces, and other groups and organizations.

Research

NIFA solicits applications for competitive programs, several of which may include agroforestry. Awards are 

made to land-grant and other universities, Federal research agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. 

Applications are reviewed by panels of experts from outside NIFA, and recommendations are made for funding. 

In addition to competitive grants, NIFA awards Hatch Act formula grants to land-grant universities for research in 

the agricultural and environmental sciences. The McIntire-Stennis formula funds are awarded to more than 70 

universities and are used specifically to support forestry research.

Education

NIFA makes competitive awards to universities, faculty members, and graduate students through several 

programs directed at 1862, 1890, and 1994 land-grant universities; Hispanic-Serving Institutions; Alaska NativeServing Institutions, Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, and Tribal colleges. These awards support faculty 

development, fellowships, capacity building, resident instruction, distance learning, and curriculum development at 

eligible institutions of higher education. Agroforestry projects can be funded through higher education programs.
20 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

Extension

Through an extensive network of State, regional, and county extension offices in every State and territory, NIFA 

supports the application and extension of new and existing research-based information to a wide variety of 

audiences. These offices have educators and other staff who respond to public inquiries and conduct informal, 

noncredit workshops and other educational events. Information and programs are delivered through print 

media, videos, CDs, workshops and seminars, internet sites, and webinars. With support from more than 

600,000 volunteers, 4–H (USDA’s 105-year-old youth development program administered through NIFA) engages 

more than 6.5 million young people every year and teaches them life skills through hands-on learning and 

leadership activities. Smith-Lever and Renewable Resources Extension Act funds are used to plan, conduct, and 

evaluate extension programs, including agroforestry, delivered by the Cooperative Extension System.

For More Information

Eric R. Norland, National Program Leader, Forest Resource Management, USDA NIFA; enorland@nifa.usda.gov;

(202) 401–5971.

USDA National Agroforestry Center

Mission

The NAC is a partnership between the Forest Service R&D and S&PF and the NRCS. Authorized in the 1990 Farm 

Bill and established in 1992 in Lincoln, NE, NAC is administratively assigned to the Forest Service’s R&D Deputy 

Area in Washington, DC.

The NAC mission is “To advance the health, diversity, and productivity of working lands, waters, and 

communities through agroforestry.” The center conducts research, develops technologies and tools, establishes 

demonstrations, delivers training, and provides science-based information on agroforestry nationwide. While 

its primary audience is natural resource professionals who work with farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and 

communities, many of its materials can be used by all of these audiences.

NAC develops and delivers technology on the entire suite of agroforestry practices and conducts research on 

the design and installation of practices that address multiple landowner and manager goals related to income 

diversification and environmental services.

Critical to NAC’s success is the national network of partners and stakeholders established through a long history 

of collaboration. These include USDA agencies, other Federal agencies, universities/extension (including the 

1890 Agroforestry Consortium), State forestry agencies, conservation districts, Resource Conservation and 

Development Councils, regional councils, nongovernmental organizations, and other private land entities.
Fiscal Years 2019–2024 21

Programs and Activities

Through cooperation with a wide variety of internal and external partners, NAC draws upon an extensive body 

of expertise and resources to identify and address the most pressing needs for agroforestry science and tools. 

NAC’s current charter calls for work to concentrate on three problem areas:

• Agroforestry Ecosystem Services—To advance the understanding and quantification of agroforestry 

impacts on key ecosystem services

• Social and Economic Dimensions of Agroforestry—To better understand the factors influencing adoption 

and retention of agroforestry

• Agroforestry Education, Networks, and Support—To accelerate and support information transfer to 

landowners and land managers.

Research and Development

Research and Development (R&D) is directly tied to NAC’s Technology Transfer and Applications (TT&A) program 

as well as NAC’s national network of partners and stakeholders. Through its R&D activities, NAC provides 

scientific knowledge and tools to provide, restore, and sustain ecosystem services through the integration of 

trees and forests in mixed land-use landscapes.

NAC’s R&D activities are currently focused on agroforestry tools and technologies to restore or enhance water 

quality, pollinator habitat, and other ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. 

Technology Transfer and Application

NAC’s TT&A program, in cooperation with partners, delivers agroforestry technology nationally across the entire 

suite of agroforestry practices, including alley cropping, forest farming, riparian forest buffers, silvopasture, 

windbreaks, and special applications. Work includes the production of technical materials for natural resource 

professionals and conservation district partners, including: Inside Agroforestry newsletter, Technical Notes, 

Working Trees brochures, website, displays, and training sessions. This information is, in turn, incorporated into 

technical guidelines and training courses of NRCS and an array of partner organizations. For information about 

NAC’s TT&A products, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac.

For More Information

Susan Stein, Director, USDA Forest Service NAC; sstein@fs.fed.us; (202) 360–9737.
22 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework

USDA Rural Development

Mission

Rural Development is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. 

Programs

USDA Rural Development programs are administered by three agencies: Rural Housing Service, Rural Utilities 

Service, and Rural Business-Cooperative Service. The programs of these three agencies help rural Americans 

in many ways. They offer loans, grants, and loan guarantees to support economic development and essential 

services such as business development, housing, health care, first responder services and equipment, as well 

as water, electric, and telecommunications infrastructure. Economic development is promoted by supporting 

loans to businesses through a variety of intermediaries, banks, and other financing partners. Technical assistance 

and information are provided to help agricultural producers and cooperatives get started and improve the 

effectiveness of their operations. Rural Development programs also provide technical assistance to help 

communities undertake community empowerment programs. There are also programs to help rural residents 

buy or rent safe, affordable housing and make health and safety repairs to their homes. Rural Development has 

approximately $216 billion portfolio of loans.

Rural Development support for agroforestry is provided through various programs such as the Appropriate 

Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) project and Value Added Producer Grants (VAPG) and through loans 

and loan guarantees for higher level investments in supporting producers to have access to capital for working 

capital, equipment, and facility construction. Some crops grown in agroforestry systems have a short shelf life 

or are most commonly processed before they are sold. Value Added Producer Grants help producers develop 

systems to effectively and efficiently sell goods in a processed form, often at a higher price. Cooperatives also 

play a key role in the growth of specialty crops grown in agroforestry systems, so Rural Development’s Rural 

Cooperative Development Grant programs may also provide help for agroforestry producers in the future 

through support for cooperative development, marketing, or processing equipment.

For More Information

Rural Development Innovation Center, rdinnovation@wdc.usda.gov.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and 

policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA 

programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity 

(including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income 

derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, 

in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and 

complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, 

large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET 

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. 

Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter 

addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy 

of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, 

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

January 2019

Miscellaneous Publication 1615