Below are case studies of several agroforestry sites that we have had the pleasure to work with. You will notice that no two sites are the same, from the goals of their sites to the type of land utilized! Please feel free to use these sites as inspiration when considering your own site planning.
We are only including a couple here to maintain relative anonymity of farms, but hope to add to this collection to represent the diverse farms and projects folx are developing!
Diversified Livestock Farm: Riparian buffer with fruit and nut trees
This farm has been owned by the same family for 150 years. Recognizing the challenges faced by commercial dairy operations, they shifted focus, reducing their herd size and transitioning away from commercial dairy. Embracing direct marketing and the buy local movement, they diversified their offerings to include beef, poultry, eggs, and pork, catering to local protein needs. Now boasting a variety of offerings including dairy, beef, veal, poultry, and pork, their farm store has become a staple in the local community.
Goals:
- Enhance riparian buffer to prevent erosion, and hold the bank
- Plant diverse native, fruit and nut trees
- Such diverse native trees must work within the design of the WHOLE farm.
Diversified Dairy: Windbreak for erosion control, diversity, and food forest
This particular farm is well known for their delicious and well loved ice cream made with milk produced from a small herd of grass-fed dairy cows, a CSA that brings together products from diverse producers for customers in the area, and an incredible farm store in a bucolic setting in central VT. Despite being a relatively remote location, this farm has attracted customers near and far to engage with their operation, their products, and other producers.
Multi story, diverse windbreak next to the market garden plot will:
- Control wind pressure for vegetable crops.
- Mitigate runoff in early spring or other high precipitation events to market garden plots.
- Increase pollinator habitat
- Create interactive food forest for customers who visit farm stands
Here’s a link to some additional case studies from other regions of the US, namely the midwest, by the Savannah Institute: https://www.savannainstitute.org/partnering-for-agroforestry-downloads/
Further, here are some case studies from Pasa Agriculture: https://pasafarming.org/topic_area/agroforestry/