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Agro-forestry delivers both agricultural and environmental benefits, farmers were told at last week’s EFS information event at the Agri Food and Biosciences Institute’s (AFBI) Loughgall site.
Agro-forestry is defined as the integration of trees into farmland and its establishment is an option under EFS wider level.
On NI farms, agro-forestry most commonly involves planting trees in grassland and grazing with sheep.
Under EFS wider level, saplings have to be planted at a rate of 400 trees per hectare which equates to each tree spaced five metres apart. That compares to around 2,500 trees per hectare in a typical forestry plantation.
Speaking at the event, Dr Rodrigo Olave from AFBI said that planting trees can improve drainage, allow extended grazing and create shelter for livestock. He pointed out that land in agro-forestry is still eligible for basic payment and allows continued grazing.
Olave said that an agro-forestry site at AFBI Loughgall had the same level of sheep production as a control plot of standard grassland for 12 years after it was planted.
In the longer term, a timber (or biomass) crop will be available from agro-forestry, either from pruning, thinning or removing trees altogether.
Environmental benefits include increasing carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and biodiversity, as well as lowering ammonia emissions from nearby sources, such as farmyards.
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