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The Institute for Agroecology’s (IfA) Agroforestry Initiative is part of the IfA’s regional program.  The initiative seeks to bring a transdisciplinary agroecological approach to research and education in agroforestry, within the New England region. We are research partner in an ambitious agroforestry project that includes silvopasture (trees in pastures for livestock) and food alley crops (rows of fruit or nut trees with annual crops in the middle). Bread and Butter is expected to establish at least 65 acres of agroforestry, and the IfA has joined them to do long-term agroecological research and monitoring on the system. In 2025, we will be collecting data to establish a baseline on soil health and other factors, which will be monitored in the long-term. The objective is to assess the impact of an agroforestry systems on soil health factors, such as organic matter, soil porosity, water retention, etc. Once the system is established, we will also monitor the health and performance of both woody and herbaceous plant components.

For the upcoming fellowship season, AX fellows on our team will:

• Travel weekly to Bread and Butter Farm to collect soil health and other data.
• Process and organize soil health data
• Join the instructors and participants of the course “Agroforestry: An Agroecological Approach” for:
  • Learning about agroforestry systems from an agroecological perspective
  • Field trips to agroforestry sites
• Participate in in the IfA’s agroforestry group meetings (2-3)

It is important to note that the field work may require some physical stamina and may be conducted in a variety of weather conditions.