Agroforestry

Give Trees a Chance

Project Lead: Erica Frenay, Connor Youngerman

Give Trees a Chance

Agroforestry describes a wide range of practices that integrate trees, forests, and agricultural production. These systems can be adapted to almost any site and condition, and can help farmers produce new revenue while buffering their operations from the challenges of climate extremes.

In response to increasing interest in agroforestry over the years, Cornell has created an extension program work team and a number of tools and resources to help farmers turn forested and marginal lands into productive contributors to farm revenue, produce multiple crops from the same piece of land in a symbiotic way, all while increasing biodiversity and improving soil health.

Resources
Indigenous Knowledge
Climate Resilience
People and Places

History of Agroforestry at Cornell

Cornell University faculty, Extension, and other staff have been leading agroforestry research and education efforts for 100 years!

View the Interactive Timeline

Agroforestry Resources by Practice

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Events

Events

Today

  • Air Pruned Raised Beds for Tree Seedling Production

    Dilmun Hill Farm 705 Dryden Rd, Ithaca, United States

    Join the Cornell Small Farms Program for a hands-on workshop introducing Air Pruned Raised Beds (APRBs) from construction to implementation. This session will cover APRB design, build, materials, growing media, seed sourcing and storage, and how to implement tree propagation as an enterprise for your farm. This growing technique is scalable, modular, and can be […]

  • A wooden raised garden bed filled with leafy green plants, covered by a mesh screen for protection, sits on a concrete surface outdoors.

    Air Pruned Raised Beds for Tree Seedling Production: Part2

    CCE Tompkins Education Center 615 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY, United States

    Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County, in conjunction with the Cornell Small Farms Program, is offering a hands-on workshop on Air Pruned Raised Beds (APRBs). APRBs offer an innovative, scalable approach to propagating tree seedlings. By naturally pruning roots through air exposure, this system produces seedlings with stronger root architecture, higher transplant success, and the ability […]

    Free

  • Gather to Grow Forest Farming Conference

    The Inn at Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA, United States

    The 2nd Gather to Grow multi-day Forest Farming conference will be held in Blacksburg, Virginia on October 23-25, 2026 and feature learning and networking with the community at the heartwood of forest farming in Appalachia and beyond. The conference will be held at the Inn at Virginia Tech & Skelton Conference Center on campus and […]

News and Updates

  • Agroforestry in Practice: a 3-day training for Service Providers

    by

    Steve Gabriel

    |

    Agroforestry in Practice: 3-day training for Service Providers October 17, 18, and 19, 2017 Montour Falls, NY at the Schuyler County Cooperative Extension Agroforestry is the science and art of combining trees and forests with crop production. It is a topic of great interest to many landowners and farmers and offers many promising enterprises including…

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  • CCE Chenango Begins Work on Statewide Value Added Forest Products Initiative

    by

    Tara Hammonds

    |

    Farmers and woodland owners have opportunities to generate income from their woodlands. by Rich Taber CCE Chenango has received a grant from the New York Farm Viability Institute “Increased Farm Viability and Diversification through Value Added Forest Products”.  The impetus for this project was due to the fact that 66% of New York Farms (23,576)…

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  • Maintaining a Healthy Sugarbush

    by

    Tara Hammonds

    |

    by Peter Smallidge A sugarbush is a special type of woodland.  Woodlands include a complex mixture of natural processes and attributes such as soil type, elevation, tree species, types of wildlife, history of use, tree age and more.  Foresters can help maple producers gain an in-depth understanding of these factors to achieve a healthy and…

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  • Hazelnut Trees Are Easy!

    by

    Claire Cekander

    |

    Native hybrid hazelnuts provide a crop that is consistently in short supply, well known by consumers, and nearly grow themselves.  by Dawn and Jeff Zarnowski Tasty and healthy hazelnuts are used in many food products desired by consumers and are chronically in short supply.  Almost all hazelnuts consumed in North America are sourced from either Oregon…

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  • Forest Succession and Management

    by

    Tara Hammonds

    |

    by Peter Smallidge The succession of plant communities is a process that has drawn attention from woodlot owners, ecologists and foresters for decades.  Succession deals with communities or groupings of various plant species in the same vicinity.  Succession was one of the earliest ecological processes studied.  The simple definition is the predictably and orderly progression…

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See the full archive from Agroforestry

Collaborators

The Cornell Agroforestry Program Work Team (PWT) is co-chaired by:

  • Graham Savio, gs695@cornell.edu, Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County
  • Connor Youngerman, czy2@cornell.edu, Cornell Small Farms Program
  • Tracey Testo, tet35@cornell.edu, Agroforestry Resource Center, Cornell Cooperative Extension Columbia-Greene
CSFP Agroforestry Program logo

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