News

LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) are looking for farmers to take part in a project from March 2024 to March 2025 to explore agroforestry.  Farmers will receive 1:1 support designing and planning the agroforestry system and visit agroforestry sites, a tree nursery and attend two practical sessions.  Applications involve completion of a simple Word document, and close on 1st March at 20:00 hrs.  Contact

A network of 130 Climate Demo Farms will be established in the UK as part of a 7-year EU Horizon project.  The project, coordinated by Innovation for Agriculture, in association with ADAS and Abacus Agriculture, will involve farmers in over 27 countries demonstrating climate smart agriculture.  If you are interested in offering your farm for the project, and receiving benefits including personalised support from a dedicated advisor for 6 years,

The final report on a Cranfield University study for Defra on 'Evaluating the Productivity, Environmental Sustainability and Wider Impact of Agroecological compared to Conventional Farming Systems' has just been published.  There is some consideration of agroforestry in the report. Find the report here.

Defra have announced details of funding for environmental  measures in England starting in 2024.  These include increased payment rates for the Sustainable Farming Initiative and Countryside Stewardship agreements, and an increased number of actions on offer in the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS).  Premium payments will be introduced for 21 high priority actions, 6 of these involving agroforestry.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced another round of funding for the large R&D Farming Innovation Programme will open on 15th January 2024.  One of the industry subsectors eligible for funding is 'bioeconomy and agroforestry'. Click here for further information.

Films of the 2023 Agroforestry Show, organised by the Soil Association and the Woodland Trust, are now available to view. View here

A team of experts across Europe have carried out a horizon scanning exercise to identify issues that are likely to have an impact on UK forests.  Catastrophic forest ecosystem collapse received the highest score. More information

Chichester District Council has announced it has received a share of the additional £2million provided by DEFRA for the Trees Outside Woodlands project.  Chichester District Council, which has been involved in planting trees as part of the project since January 2021, will be including 'Trees on Farms' in the second phase. More information

A report on the state of nature in the UK has recently been published by a group of organisations involved with nature conservation and evidence collection.  The key finding is that there has been a 19% decrease in abundance of species since 1970.