This free webinar will explore some of the different ways the small farms community can develop greater resilience by adopting agroforestry practices. Agroforestry describes a wide range of land-use practices that combine farming (of plants, animals, fungi) with trees, shrubs and forest ecosystems. Agroforestry can help provide new opportunities to increase farm income while also receiving other environmental and social benefits.

This workshop will give a broad overview of agroforestry with special attention focusing on forest farming and silvopasture. Forest farming is the cultivation of high-value, non-timber forest products under the protection of a forest canopy. Forest farming does not significantly interfere or modify forest ecosystems, but essentially allows agricultural producers to farm in the woods. Some of the forest products that will be highlighted include maple & walnut syrup, raspberries, blackberries, pawpaw, shitake & lions mane mushrooms, nuts trees (walnut, hickory, pecan, hazelnut) and medicinal crops like American ginseng, cohosh and goldenseal.