Growing interest in sustainable agroforestry solutions leads to private foundation grant

Beef cattle in a black walnut silvopasture at Virginia Tech’s Kentland Farm. Click photo to enlarge.

Nameko mushroom production on log-raft beds created using materials from timber stand improvement at Virginia Tech’s Catawba Sustainability Center. Click photo to enlarge.

Dr. John Munsell

Dr. John Munsell, Professor and Forest Management Extension Specialist, was awarded a $607,000 grant from the Edwards Mother Earth Foundation (EMEF; https://edwardsmotherearth.org/) to support producer adoption of agroforestry practices in the Eastern US. EMEF is a private family philanthropic foundation with a mission to enhance the sustainable and diverse quality of life by addressing global climate disruption. According to EMEF, agroforestry is a priority investment because it offers significant potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, enhance resilience, and deliver a host of other economic, social, and environmental benefits to landowners, producers, and communities.

The project is a multidisciplinary effort between Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment and the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences (SPES) in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Drs. Munsell and John Fike, Professor and Extension Forage Specialist in SPES and Co-principal, as well as Project Associates Ian Nichols and Ben Addlestone and Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD; southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee) and Rural Action (RA; southeast Ohio and West Virginia), will oversee both cost-share and technical support to landowners and managers who are interested in adopting or expanding agroforestry practices in their forests and on their farmland. Virginia Tech was one of four award recipients nationally and the submission was selected based in part on the strengths of longstanding efforts with the organization and management of the Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmers Coalition (ABFFC), regional silvopasture research and Extension, and strong links to non-profit partners ASD and RA.

The project focuses on scaling up silvopasture and forest farming practices through support payments and will assist producers in designing appropriate projects using technical assistance and science-based design strategies. Grant support is available for all producers who have suitable objectives for establishing or expanding a silvopasture or forest farm. However, EMEF placed emphasis on the importance of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in their support, and project leaders are intentionally focused on equitable support for producers from diverse and underserved communities. “This project is at the intersection of a growing interest in agroforestry applications, society’s increasing demand for environmentally smart production systems, and a much-needed reckoning with respect to how financial support has been distributed to producers in the past,” says Munsell. “Like agroforestry itself, there are multiple benefits.”

The ultimate goal of the effort is to increase ecosystem sustainability, forest and farm diversity, and the production of climate-smart commodities. To support this goal, the project will develop an Agroforestry Regional Knowledge (ARK) Exchange that will provide a peer-to-peer network that will serve as a springboard for future agroforestry adoption. The ARK Exchange will support ecocultural learning, workforce development, and networking of producer peers, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and governmental partners. Virginia Tech, ASD, and RA have a well-documented history of scaling agroforestry adoption and supporting peer learning through mentorship programs. Partners also have extensive experience coordinating and delivering agroforestry education in the classroom and at workshops and providing technical training at demonstration sites that are both university-based and located on private property.