Show your support for catalyzing agroforestry in the farm bill

The integration of trees and shrubs into farms and ranches, a suite of practices known as agroforestry, holds immense potential to transform US agriculture and forestry.

Agroforestry systems provide an array of conservation, economic, and social benefits. These complex agroecosystems can sequester carbon, enhance resilience to severe weather, improve environmental health, provide habitat for wildlife, and boost overall soil health. Agroforestry operations can simultaneously produce high-value tree crops such as fruit, nuts, timber, and livestock feed, diversifying farm economies and increasing resilience for producer operations. Agroforestry can achieve conservation benefits in conjunction with the cultivation of high-value products such as grass-fed livestock, fruit, nuts, and other forest products. This unique combination of improving ecosystems, economies, and availability of sustainably produced food sets agroforestry apart as a distinct opportunity available to policymakers who want to increase options for farmers and ranchers in their districts. Fostered by Indigenous land managers from pre-colonization to the present and engineered for scale by farmers and scientists, modern agroforestry practices have the potential to restore biodiversity on the landscape.

Because of its myriad benefits, agroforestry rises to the top as a priority solution for climate adaptation, climate mitigation, conservation, economic resilience, and environmental justice. At the federal level, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is devoting for the first time substantial funding to new climate-focused projects that will accelerate the scaling of agroforestry. Public and private initiatives recognize the promise of agroforestry for climate mitigation and adaptation. Opportunities and momentum for agroforestry are multiplying at unprecedented rates. Yet, several key barriers remain for producers interested in adopting these practices. To remove these barriers and ensure agroforestry can deliver on its potential to mitigate climate change, build resilience, and support community health, targeted adjustments to federal policy are needed.

The farm bill presents a once-in-five-year opportunity to codify those changes into law. The following is our blueprint for how to embed strategic, coordinated support for agroforestry across federal farm bill programs, from improving cost-share opportunities to expanding regional demonstration projects, long-term research, and technical assistance. 

Together, we can build the policy foundation needed for all producers to adopt productive agroforestry practices at any scale. We urge Congress to include these provisions in the upcoming farm bill to bring this agricultural transformation to fruition.