Agroforestry

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Agroforestry refers to the association of trees and crops or animals on the same agricultural plot, either on the edge or in the field. Faced with climate change, trees very often provide answers to technical and economic challenges on farms.

There are many agroforestry models with different uses and management. The Workshop organised on 22 November 2021 in Walbourg (France) illustrated the many possible links between trees/hedges and livestock farming: use of wood chips for cattle bedding, use of trees as fodder, interest of trees and hedges for animal welfare during grazing, etc.

On 4 November 2022, a second workshop in Sissach (Switzerland) was devoted to technical conferences and visits to agroforestry plots. After the technical presentations in the morning, a workshop on the “legal basis and financing possibilities in Switzerland, Germany and France for the development of agroforestry plots” was offered to the participants. In the afternoon, two visits to farms and their agroforestry plots were organised. The first visit concerned a 10-year-old poplar plantation. The intervention of the farmers highlighted the challenges related to the maintenance and conservation of the trees, but also the first positive effects observed. On the second farm, the participants visited a young walnut tree plantation.

The Agroforestry group worked more specifically on agroforestry as a solution for managing thermal stress during grazing. A protocol for collecting temperature and humidity data in agroforestry plots was set up to measure the impact of trees on the microclimate.