Unlocking the Potential of Agroforestry on Your Land

Why not look at Agroforestry.

The cry from the current government is plant trees. In Wales the government says you must plant 10% of your land in trees. Government scientists, with evidence, impress on us that trees will take up carbon. It all sounds reasonable and logical except for the bit when you’re told what to do!

Then there are those who say we should plant more trees as a response to climate change and those who say we do not have enough space to plant 30 million trees. Others say we need to plant the right trees in the right places. As our climate changes, there are those that say that South and East of England will become dry and that planting drought resistant trees will become a necessity.

The description often used for agroforestry is tree planting deliberately combined with agriculture, crops or livestock. The trees planted could be in hedgerows, as an orchard, in parklands or as a forest farming activity (cattle, pigs or poultry). Uses could be as shelter, limber, fuelwood, fruit or nuts as well as habitat for birds and small mammals. . Whilst agroforestry has been practiced for 1000 years, there is some resistance amongst farmers today. The Woodland Trust say only 3.3% of land is in Agroforestry. Maximizing land use, a lack of knowledge or desire not to have trees as obstacles in fields and other reasons may be why farmers are reluctant to consider agroforestry.

Walnut Groves

Despite this trend, a friend and I planted walnut groves just under 20 years ago as we thought, at the time, that the climate of the Dordogne would arrive in East Sussex within 20 years.  I can hear you laughing. Looking back at the weather history for the last few months that prediction seems well off the mark. 

I had a small farm of about forty acres and planted a one-acre walnut grove which was not only a pleasure to look at, but productive. We began to see nuts after five years and after fifteen years we harvested enough for us to produce 45 Litres of walnut oil in 2020.  We had produced an edible crop and knew that after the cropping had finished the timber would have an afterlife and be of value as  furniture, building and other uses.

 I am not going to understate the difficulties of a nut producing operation and the hard work needed to get  a harvest. There is a market for dried nuts, oil, green nuts and pickled walnuts. On a small farm, buying expensive machines is not economic and there is a lot of handwork, albeit for about two months of the year. The product however is fantastic.

We planted two varieties Fernor and Franquette which my friend bought from France. I planted 60 trees on about an acre, but later considered I should have planted the same number on a bigger acreage. In the right conditions, Common Walnut trees with space will grow quite fast in a very characteristic dome shape. It is good to graze underneath them at certain times of the year. Sheep are preferable, as they keep the grass short and produce manure into the soil. In order to avoid damage, we did not allow grazing until the trees were at least five years old and even then limited the time in a year to make sure the ground is ready for harvest. My view on other livestock is that cattle can break branches, pigs rough up the land too much and free-range poultry in the late autumn may foul the land at a time when you want to harvest.

 Our planting distance was 10 to 15 m apart, but after 20 years that looked a bit crowded. The French often grow trees on arable boundaries, in hedges, amongst cattle when the trees are older with high crowns and even as a crop with vines.

 One can’t write about walnuts without mentioning certain pests. At a young age, when the sapling 2 to 5 years old and whippy, a deer likes nothing more than to use it to fray off its velvet causing extensive damage. The other pest is the squirrel that regards a crop of walnuts like going to a Michelin Star restaurant. They can strip a tree of nuts in a day, not just for daily consumption but future feeding during the winter.

We moved away from East Sussex in 2021 and a big regret was to leave behind the Walnut Grove, but still passionate about this Roman introduced tree, I have planted a small number in Cornwall which seem to be doing well.

Walnut growers don’t have to go into the business of harvesting nuts. There are certain varieties which produce few nuts and/or have been developed to provide a timber crop. The single walnut or small group of walnuts not only looks attractive in the landscape with its distinctive shape but provides shade on hot summer days for livestock.

Cricket Bat Willows

Since moving to Cornwall, I have planted Cricket bat willows, another tree perfect for an agroforestry project. A Tree for wet land, near riverbanks or on rough grazing. Right tree right place is the watch word. My choice of a wet area was close to a river where the ph was not too acid, the ground is boggy and there were goat and pussy willow close. Having researched planting willow when we lived the Weald of East Sussex, iron was found in the soil, I was told that the trunk would have a blue colour which would not sell well amongst the cricket fraternity. Again, fraying deer and squirrels are the pest that need to be controlled. I have taken care to keep cutting under the trees and hopefully,  after five years, sheep can graze. Harvest is after about fifteen years, but in order to get a clean trunk, there has to be work to remove side shoots.

Orchards

 A well-spaced orchard with apples for consumption, creating juice, cider or other uses with grazing beneath the trees might be a typical British scene. A grazed orchard has a tidy look, hopefully inhabited by pollinating insects  in the spring colourful and hopefully productive. 

Processing walnuts or fruit from orchards can give a value add to the farm income. Bat willows and other timber enterprises can produce carbon advantages and over a long period, income. Agroforestry is included in DEFRAs Environmental Land management scheme payments to plant trees and manage woodland sustainable farming incentive. The Government website explains how the scheme works. Small farms like I had with suitable soil and aspect are sites where agroforestry might be considered.