John Davis is promoting a design of shelterbelt, Optimal Shelterbelt (OSB), that should give a significant increase in warmth and humidity in the local microclimate. This is currently being trialled on farms in the Cotswolds by FWAG-SouthWest. Further details
A new literature review on the topic published by Natural England on 8th October 2021. More information
Defra's Future Farming Innovation Programme for England opened for applications on 20th October 2021, and will remain open for 5-6 weeks. There are three types of projects funded in this first round, Research Starter Projects, Feasibility Studies and Small R&D Partnership Projects. The eligibility criteria specifically mention 'Agroforestry' as one of the sectors to be funded.
The Landworkers' Alliance have released a report 'The Promise of Agroforestry: Lessons from the Field'. This draws on examples of 8 projects in the UK to highlight the benefits of agroforestry in practice. See document
The 5th European Agroforestry Conference, to be held in Sardinia, has been postponed to 5th - 7th October 2020.
Early bird registration has been postponed to 30th June 2020.
New agroforestry tree plantings at SRUC. For more information
WWF Scotland published a report 'Delivering Net Zero: Scottish Agriculture' in November 2019.
Following a Freedom of Information request, the UK government has announced that work has discontinued on the Agroforestry Review. A first draft has been produced (although it has not been subjected to the Defra verification procedures), but it became apparent that a greater degree of input, research and possibly consultation was required. Due
Members of the Farm Woodland Forum will be saddened to learn of the death of Professor Martin Wolfe on Sunday 10th March. Martin died peacefully at home at Wakelyns after a short illness. Our condolences go to his family.