EMEF 2023 Agroforestry Program Grants
Appalachian Sustainable Development – $344,516
To improve agroforestry technical assistance for forest farming, alley cropping, and silvopasture to meet the growing support needs of farmers seeking adoption. Evaluative feedback will be used to improve the online courses and in-person workshops. An Ask an Agroforester series will be held with 10 annual webinars designed for farmers and natural resource professionals (NRPs). Webinars will feature an agroforestry deep dive into frequently asked questions, and recordings will be incorporated into the online courses to further build out content. The online Social Competency curriculum will be enhanced with farmer perspective videos. Mastermind Cohort discussions will take place with two cohorts, including bi-weekly presentations and small group discussions to foster enhanced learning and networking among NRPs. In addition to online learning, a total of 24 improved workshops will be expanded to reach a greater audience. This hands-on experiential learning will utilize agroforestry demonstration sites throughout the SE, NE, and MW. Workshops will include a mix of 1-day, 101 Fundamentals and 3-day, 201 Design Intensives for deeper learning. 24 farm tours will also be held with farmers who have adopted agroforestry practices, to share knowledge with other farmers and NRPs. Partners will develop the framework for an Agroforestry NRP peer network to continue support for ATFNRP participants post training. Intentional Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) work will also expand, including focused partnerships with two or more QTBIPOC farms and organizations to deepen understanding of challenges and barriers and increase diverse participation. As NRPs master their agroforestry training, they will begin to lead technical assistance with farmers independently. A trained and experienced network of NRPs will catalyze increased agroforestry adoption to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County – $350,000
To continue development of a supporting environment for the adoption of agroforestry-based chestnut and hazelnut cultivation in New York State. Outreach and education programming will be led by the Agroforestry Educator at CCE Tompkins in close collaboration with Khuba International. Approaches will include farmer fields days; farmer-to-farmer workshare meetups; webinars and class sessions on silvopasture and alley cropping; creation and curation of resources identifying local and regional sources of supplies and agroforestry contractors, and information about site establishment and management; ad hoc farm visits to interested landowners as well as more dedicated support and technical assistance to an estimated 12 beginning and aspiring agroforestry farms; and dedicated support to payment for ecosystem services (PES) pilot farmers interested in adopting or expanding agroforestry operations.The Agroforestry Educator will also organize training sessions at Cornell’s system-wide extension in-service in November.
The NYTCA cooperative will continue purchasing equipment and developing a full service (harvest to packaged product) processing facility, along with building capacity to support new chestnut and hazelnut growers with shared equipment for establishing agroforestry operations. The processing facility will be a demonstration site for other groups, showcasing equipment and food-safe practices. This space will produce the six value-added products developed in collaboration with Cornell AgriTech. Funding in 2024 will expand packaging capabilities at the facility, removing the need for a co-packer and increasing the profitability of the regional processing facility, and translating to better financial projections for agroforestry adopters. Two other nut crop processing groups – the Keystone Tree Crops Cooperative (KTCC) in Pennsylvania and Northern Forest Foods (NFF) based in Vermont and also serving farmers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts – will purchase processing equipment to build out their own capacity. A part-time position at NYTCA will be expanded to full-time to allow for better support to KTCC, NFF, and other processors and growers.
The PES pilot program will expand to include six more farmers per year in 2024, for a total of 12 pilot farmers engaged in co-creating a system of farmer compensation for ecosystem service provision. The PES program lead will work with NYTCA and the Agroforestry Educator to ensure at least four new farms are current or potential agroforestry operations. The program lead will also continue to collaborate with stakeholders to evaluate long-term program elements, clarify the payment system, and refine the field sampling process. In 2024 we will trial ecosystem service payments to the six original pilot farmers through a framework developed to include measurements of soil health, carbon in aboveground woody biomass, and modeled watershed outcomes.
Rodale Institute (Propagate Ventures Project) – $400,000
Catalyzing Agroforestry in the US by Addressing Bottlenecks in the Nursery Supply Chain will continue Propagate’s agroforestry project work by focusing on three primary objectives: 1) Improving access to superior genetic stock of key agroforestry species; 2) Increasing supply of tree seedlings through forward contracting with nursery partners across the US; and 3) Establishing catalyst farms through a network of demonstration and research sites, in partnership with the Rodale Institute. Objective 1 will focus on sourcing genetic material of key agroforestry species, including (but not limited to): improved black locust, curly poplar, Chinese chestnut, European hazelnut, and fodder mulberry. Planned activities for objective 1 include procurement of genetics in the form of seed, root, softwood and hardwood cuttings, and tissue culture from the following genetic material partners: Sylvanus Forestry (improved black locust); Purdue Research Foundation & Advanced Tree Technology (curly poplar); Ron Revord & University of Missouri (Chinese chestnut); and Rutgers University (hybrid hazelnuts). Objective 2 will leverage Propagate’s established procurement strategy of forward contracting with labs & nurseries to lay the foundation for commercial scale nursery production of tree species from Objective 1. Funding from EMEF will be matched by Propagate to contract with nursery partners to test diverse methods of propagation, including tissue culture plantlets, softwood and hardwood cuttings, seed & nut propagation, and root cuttings. Forward contracting benefits nursery operators by de-risking the learning cycle required for working with new tree species and propagation techniques, which are a known blocker to commercial, widespread availability of key genetics such as the Rutgers hazelnut varieties. Contracts for future supply are signed at the start of a relationship on the basis of future partnership, thereby providing nurseries with the up-front revenue to prove out propagation techniques that are repeatable on a commercial scale. Nursery propagation partners for Objective 2 include Native Forest Nursery, Pacific Crest Ornamentals, Mountain Shadow Nursery, Empire Chestnuts, and Missouri HARC. Objective 3 will focus on planting catalyst farms with key agroforestry species in partnership with the Rodale Institute. Propagate will leverage funding from The Nature Conservancy’s Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities (PCSC) grant to plant representative examples of alley cropping, silvopasture, and windbreak projects with the key species from Objective 1 and 2. The Rodale Institute will function as an operational partner for this objective by contributing catalyst sites and research capability. In partnering with Propagate on this project, Rodale will help to identify 3-6 catalyst sites, or at least 24 acres, suitable for transition to agroforestry at Rodale’s resource centers in the Mid-Atlantic or Southeast US, or at other partner farms and organizations.
Virginia Tech – $393,417
Catalyzing the Next Phase of Agroforestry program (CAGP) awardees in year three to grow the EMEF-supported agroforestry producer base and intensify ARK Exchange participation and potential. Wait-listed applicants total more than 100 and many are currently working with CAGP partners to refine projects for future consideration. The geographic range of wait-listed applicants extends beyond original CAGP bounds, representing a new granting and knowledge exchange and collaboration frontier with adjacent EMEF funding beneficiaries in terms of direct producer support (e.g., Thompkins County CCE in NY, New England) and producer-Technical Service Provider (TSP) matchmaking (e.g., ASD TSP training). CAGP intends to expand the suite of fundable agroforestry practices and encompass all facets of design, from alley cropping systems to windbreaks. Greater funding emphasis in year three include field plantings with forest-based practices envisioned as a lower funding priority (≤%15). Concomitant with CAGP’s formation are several large USDA producer-support climate smart grants involving Virginia Tech and project partners (example: recently selected USDA NRCS National CIG $2.5 MM). Producer funding mechanisms in these programs are in development, but the impact of CAGP is clear as early growth, administration, successes and lessons-learned serve as important touch-points for design deliberations, particularly vetting and selection as well as equity.
US Endowment for Forestry and Communities (New Leaf Climate Partners Project) – $100,000
To cover legal, administrative structuring and fundraising costs in advance of a pilot fund launch – for a Nursery Finance Facility vehicle that will itself be raising and deploying concessional, high-impact capital to the nursery sector. These upfront costs are necessary to ensure that the facility 1) is deployed to maximum effect, with credible financing instruments using a coherent, adaptive investment strategy and 2) attracts material and sustainable funding while 3) demonstrating the viability and replicability of equivalent investment in the reforestation supply chain. With growth over time, the facility will be financially self-sustaining.