Exploring Agroforestry. Case Studies. Practical
Who are LEAF (Linking Environment And
Farming)?
We are a charity that promotes and supports more sustainable farming to create a resilient food and farming system for future generations.
We connect.
We connect farmers, innovators and industry to understand best practice sustainable farm management and how it can be applied most effectively to each farm’s unique situation.
We build trust.
We provide assurance that growers are farming more sustainably through our independently audited LEAF Marque certification; from the health of their soils to how they engage with local communities.
We educate.
Our team of qualified educational specialists work with schools, citizens and farmers across the UK to bring sustainable farming to life, both in schools and on-farm.
What is the Exploring Agroforestry Project?
Over the course of a year, the LEAF team and industry experts provide one-to-one advice and host peer-to-peer learning opportunities for eight farmers to experience different agroforestry systems whilst assessing the potential on their own farms and designing their own system. The project showcases how agroforestry can be implemented at different scales and forms across a number of farming systems, and each farmer will have the opportunity to share their learnings and experiences with others.
Kindly funded by
Alice & Max Wade.
Enhancing Livestock Welfare & Landscape Connectivity.
Colesmoor Farm, Dorset
Alice and Max, of Colesmoor Farm in Dorset, are exploring agroforestry to improve animal welfare by providing natural shade and shelter for livestock, while also boosting habitat connectivity across the farm’s landscape. The goal is to create a more diverse, regenerative environment without compromising other farm operations such as haymaking.
With tailored guidance from agroforestry specialist Edd Colbert, Alice and Max developed a silvopasture system across five fields. The planting design integrates a mix of main timber trees - such as English Oak, Sweet Chestnut, and Wild Cherry – together with nurse species like Common Alder and Silver Birch to encourage early growth and resilience. Additional species planted including Osier Willow, Black Poplar, and Small-leafed Lime, were selected for their fastgrowing browse, habitat creation, and structural diversity.
Alice and Max’s agroforestry implementation is part of their broader vision to reimagine the farm. After returning to Alice’s family farm five years ago, they identified areas that could be used for tree planting whilst not impeding hay cutting. A total of 1,792 trees have been planned for planting - some of which have already been planted. Upon planting, an estimated average of £603.8 per hectare could be paid for their implementation, which highlights the dual economic and environmental benefits of agroforestry.
Andrew Rees.
Boosting Livestock Welfare & Farm
Resilience through Agroforestry.
Moor Farm, Pembrokeshire
Andrew Rees is a dairy farmer at Moor Farm in Pembrokeshire, who is integrating agroforestry into his 180-acre farm, with a total of 10,633 trees planned for planting. Andrews key incentives for implementing agroforestry are to improve infiltration, provide shade and shelter for cows, and increase habitat connectivity across the farm. Andrew feels that his livestock lack adequate protection from wind, rain, and sun, so aims to create tree rows that would help in addressing this.
Participation in the Exploring Agroforestry project will also help achieve several additional outcomes: increasing pasture diversity and improving root structures, reducing nutrient runoff, and further advancing the farm’s efforts to reduce nitrogen application.
The farm’s agroforestry design incorporates both silvopasture and riparian buffer planting. In the silvopasture system, rows of trees such as willow and poplar are being integrated into grazing land to provide shade, windbreaks, and additional fodder for livestock. Fast growing hybrid browse mixes are also being implemented, ideal for producing larger quantities of biomass more frequently. Other tree species, including aspen, hazel, alder, and elder, have also been included. These trees will be placed along fences to allow for over-fence browsing. The increased tree cover will further improve soil infiltration, reduce wind exposure, and enhance the farm’s nutrient cycling.
Andrew is also exploring opportunities such as timber production and biomass coppicing. Shortrotation coppicing of willow and poplar will provide a sustainable source of biomass for fuel, fence posts, and wood chips. The introduction of fruit and nut trees is also being considered to further diversify farm production and create potential new income streams.
Anna Wylie.
Integrating Agroforestry for Shelter, Biodiversity & Biomass.
Longloch Farm, Fife
Anna, from Longloch Farm in Fife, is looking to plant 7,600 trees and 1,022 metres of hedges to address the lack of shade and shelter for grazing livestock, while also securing farm boundaries. This will help reintroduce of secure livestock grazing areas, and reduce public footpaths from intruding on grazing areas. Trees are also being planted to enhance habitat connectivity and provide additional tree fodder for grazing livestock, to improve both biodiversity and long-term farm productivity.
A key component of the agroforestry at Longloch is the establishment of roundels to create long-term wood pastures. Each roundel features a central specimen tree, which, in Anna’s case, could be English oak, sessile oak, beech, or hornbeam. These are then surrounded by three concentric rings of trees, which provide early benefits like firewood, pollen, and additional tree fodder. The outermost ring consists of browsable trees such as aspen or grey willow, to enhance the availability of livestock forage.
Beyond livestock benefits, agroforestry at Longloch Farm also presents an opportunity for on-farm biomass production. The potential for short rotation coppice, particularly hybrid biomass species, has been explored to supply the farm’s wood chip boiler.
A silvoarable design has been considered to integrate short rotation coppice within arable fields, with a specific design to ensure that tree planting alley widths do not interfere with the farm’s machinery use, as well as orientating tree lines in a south-east to north-west direction to maximise protection from prevailing winds.
Geraint Davies.
Integrating Agroforestry for Sustainability & Livestock Health.
Fedw Arian Farm, Bala
Geraint, from Fedwarian Farm in Bala, North Wales, is implementing agroforestry to diversify farm production, provide shade and shelter for livestock, and increase habitat connectivity across the farm. With a strong interest in silvopasture, Geraint is focusing on integrating trees and livestock to benefit both biodiversity and farm operations. His goal is to create multi-functional landscapes where livestock benefit from shade in the summer, shelter in the winter, and access to varied forage, while trees contribute to biodiversity, carbon storage, and soil regeneration.
Agroforestry is currently being developed on the parts of the farm that Geraint owns, where he has more freedom to plan long-term planting strategies. He has already planted 33 trees in a 14.1-hectare field and is establishing over 2 kilometres of hedgerows to strengthen habitat connectivity and deliver additional on-farm benefits. These hedges, along with earlier planting efforts, have already shown visible improvements in soil and water health. Geraint is particularly interested in designing a system that balances biodiversity and livestock needs - especially shelter, rotational grazing, and future diversification of outputs.
Although current planting plans cover a relatively small area, Geraint has identified 20 acres of grassland as the next major opportunity for agroforestry expansion. He is keen to explore the use of tree species like willow for self-remedial browsing, aiming to support livestock health while building a more resilient, regenerative farm system.
Geraint’s engagement with agroforestry extends beyond his own land, as he has also contributed to the Woodland Trust’s agroforestry farmer engagement strategy, to help shape initiatives that support other farmers in exploring similar systems.
Jake Freestone.
Integrating Sustainability & Diversification into Farm Operations.
Overbury Estate, Gloucestershire
At Overbury Enterprises – a LEAF Demonstration Farm in Worcestershire, agroforestry is being approached with a focus on long-term environmental and economic benefits. Farm Manager Jake Freestone has been interested in integrating silvo-arable systems and fruit tree production into their arable and livestock operations. Previously, the farm planted 250 trees as part of the Higher Tier Stewardship scheme as Wood Pasture creation and now see agroforestry as the next step in integrating woodland into their arable and livestock enterprises.
Jake has approached the project with a strong emphasis on economic sustainability. A detailed costbenefit analysis was a key part of his planning process, suggesting that the planting could be eligible over £8,000 in government funding subsidies.
This financial breakdown provided useful insights to focus on funding opportunities and has meant he could successfully plant the planned 2,701 trees across two fields, totalling 21.5 hectares. This includes the successful implementation of his silvo-arable system, along with the introduction of both apple and pear trees to support diversification, aligning to Jake’s vision of agroforestry as a a long-term investment.
Jenny Taylor.
Community Engagement & Environmental Enhancement through Agroforestry.
Lower Nil Farm, Oxfordshire
Seeking further agroforestry guidance was important for Jenny to create new agroforestry opportunities, particularly in utilising it to engage with the local community more – which was a success! In June 2024, Jenny opened her farm for the ‘Agroforestry Open Weekend’, and has plans for further hedge planting and a riparian buffer, totalling 2,976 trees and 7,226 hedges. The outer boundary of the riparian area also has tree species recommendations to maximise opportunities for over-fence browsing.
At Lower Nil Farm in Oxfordshire, Jenny is building on an already wellestablished foundation of agroforestry. The farm includes parklandstyle roundels, extensive hedgerow networks, and areas of silvopasture planted specifically to provide browsing material for livestock.
For Lower Nil, further agroforestry implementation has not only brought environmental benefits but also strengthened connections between Jenny, her farm team, and local communities.
Ruth Ashton-Shaw.
Agroforestry for Ecological Resilience & Community Engagement.
Low Auldgirth, Dumfries
At Low Auldgirth, a small organic farm in Dumfries and Galloway, Ruth is gradually transforming her landscape through agroforestry, driven by her interest in how trees can support both ecological resilience and community engagement.
Ruth was keen to use agroforestry to help strengthen her relationship with local communities and benefit biodiversity. Implementing agroforestry has successfully built upon these goals, foster stronger connections with communities such as the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere community and The Woodland Trust.
Initially inspired by the potential of agroforestry, Ruth began exploring practical ways to embed it into her farm’s systems. While she already had an area of agroforestry in place, with around 500 trees established in a pig-grazed area, her involvement in the Exploring Agroforestry programme helped expand her ambitions and refine her approach. Ruth sought support to develop underused areas of the farm, particularly on the valley side, where she was interested in approaching drought vulnerability and water management while enhancing biodiversity.
She has now developed a plan to implement contour browse lines, roundels, shelterbelt and windbreak trees within the valley side to help manage water logging and create additional shelter.
Will Evans. Building Environmental Resilience
& Demonstrating Long-Term Value.
Lower Eyton Farm, Wrexham
For Will, a mixed beef and arable farmer managing both owned and rented land at Lower Eyton Farm in Wrexham, agroforestry has become a tool for enhancing his own farm’s environmental benefits, and demonstrating the long-term value of trees to others - particularly, to his landlord. At the start of the project, Will was at the very beginning of his agroforestry journey, and faced challenges due to his land being flat and prone to flooding.
Seeking support, Will focused on tree planting that aligned with his interests - particularly walnut trees, cattle shelter and expanding his family’s hedge planting hobby. His design includes the planting of 4,094 trees across 19.23 hectares, with the aims of protecting waterways, diversifying production, and increasing habitat connectivity across the farm.
Since the project’s inception, Will has established riparian tree strips and new hedgerows on his owned land, which have already served as examples of how agroforestry can work in practice. He hopes this will help convince his landlord of the wider benefits, encouraging farm-wide adoption of agroforestry in the future.
