Why Agroforestry?

The integration of trees as multi-functional contributors to farm systems offers a unique and timely strategy to address many intertwined challenges facing the foodsheds of NYS: biodiversity loss, soil erosion, weather extremes, rural economic decline, and loss of small and medium-sized farms. 

Agroforestry is a subset of agroecology and has enormous potential to address these issues through:

• growth of new agricultural industries 
• diversification of existing agricultural lands 
• incorporation of underutilized land in production systems
• provision of ecological benefits like carbon sequestration, pollinator and wildlife habitat, and water filtration

By their very nature of being multi-story, diverse, and perennial, agroforestry systems generate an abundance of farm products while also providing a host of ecosystem services. Farmers do not need to compromise food production for environmental protection: agroforestry systems accomplish both goals simultaneously. The challenge is that these systems overlap two worlds that do not currently speak each other’s language: foresters don’t want to farm the woods and farmers don’t want to forest the fields. Existing machinery, markets, and policies are optimized for monocultures, so these integrated perennial cropping systems lag for social, institutional, and economic reasons rather than ecological ones. Paradigms are shifting slowly, a change that can be facilitated by more real world examples, education, research, and cross-pollination. The reasons to invest in accelerating the paradigm shift and removing obstacles are compelling:

Planted agroforestry systems and producing crops in well-managed forests can generate meaningful economic benefit. Agroforestry implementation has been referenced across state agencies–including in NY’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act–as an underutilized yet promising tool for carbon sequestration and sustainable agriculture intensification. It also holds tremendous potential as a broad economic driver, both reducing losses to extreme weather events and expanding markets for products grown in agroforestry systems, if we invest to overcome barriers.

Agroforestry can reduce economic losses on livestock farms. For grazing dairy and livestock operations, increasing summer temperatures and humidity depress livestock productivity via reduced weight gain, increased mortality, and decreased reproduction. A 2022 study from Cornell University researchers predicted that global losses of cattle herds due to heat stress will total $15 to $40 billion a year by the end of the century. To avoid these losses, the authors note that “tree–livestock systems can be highly effective in reducing heat stress.” At the farm level in NY, some dairies have experienced 20% reduction in milk production during extreme heat waves, an untenable figure for the growing demands on NY dairy producers. Innovations in tree planting and protection make it possible to plant large numbers of trees in loafing yards and pastures to grow natural, permanent shade to protect livestock from heat stress.  

Agroforestry systems make more efficient use of land. Skillful combination of perennial and annual crops on the same land can create “overyields”, where the total yield per acre of these crops combined is higher than when just one crop is grown. Growing wheat in the alleys between chestnut trees is an example of a system where 140% yield can be achieved, meaning 1 acre of intercropped chestnuts and wheat yields the same total pounds of harvest as monocultures of these two crops grown separately on a total of 1.4 acres of land. Similar systems with different crops are possible, but research is needed to understand the benefits and challenges and how to optimize spacing.

“Agroforestry systems that create functional forests as well as many economic yields are the way forward towards a no-input system of production that can revive rural economies without external dependencies.”

Erik Schellenberg, farmer, nursery producer, and Cornell Cooperative Extension educator

Tree crops can create new revenue streams for existing farms. One of the most common crops grown in agroforestry systems is chestnuts. The US produces only 1% of the global output of chestnuts, while China dominates the industry with around 70% of total chestnut production. Chestnuts are a $4.26 Billion crop globally, predicted to rise to $5.17B by 2031. The US is a net importer and domestic chestnuts are considered a “specialty crop” with growing demand but limited supply. Other popular agroforestry crops, such as hazelnuts, hickories and walnuts, currants, elderberries, and paw paws, are poised for growth.

Bringing “marginal” land back into production using multi-functional agroforestry systems can lead to new farm enterprises that maintain or enhance ecosystem services. Nut trees, fruiting shrubs and herbaceous perennial crops can be good candidates for hilly, wooded, or even poorly drained land, creating new production potential on land previously considered “marginal.” Recent statewide modeling by researchers at Cornell’s Dyson school indicates that each $1 of agricultural output supports about $1.52 in total state economic activity and each on‑farm job supports about 0.74 additional jobs elsewhere in the economy. Returning even a portion of these idled acres to production would expand the number of viable farm businesses and on‑farm employment—with additional spillover jobs off the farm because of agriculture’s multiplier effects.

Trajectory for growth

The Northeast leads the US in agroforestry implementation. In NYS, 4.4% of farms reported implementing one or more agroforestry practices, up from 3.7% in 2017 (NASS 2022). A 2021 survey by Cornell’s Agroforestry Work Team demonstrated strong desire for training and support to remove the barriers to further agroforestry adoption (n=237). The Mycena Agroforestry Initiative conducted listening sessions in 2025 with 136 farmers and nursery operators and heard similarly strong interest, if obstacles can be overcome. A network of 150 educators and technical service providers from around the state have joined the Agroforestry and Silvopasture Work Teams hosted by the Cornell Small Farms Program, seeking to learn more about these practices to better serve the farmers in their regions. 

“Agroforestry presents an incredible opportunity to simultaneously increase ecosystem service provision and create rural livelihoods.”

Harry Greene, founder, Propagate

Mike Gold, faculty emeritus from the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, predicts that the acreage in perennial specialty crops will grow ten-fold by 2050, with genetically improved cultivars widely available. The Center for Agroforestry in Missouri and the Savanna Institute in the upper Midwest are national leaders in the effort to breed new cultivars of nuts and fruits for agroforestry systems.

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2026 New York Agroforestry Summit – Key Findings & Priority Actions

The 2026 New York Agroforestry Summit brought together 120 producers, researchers, educators, service providers, agency staff, and nonprofit partners from across the state to assess the current landscape of agroforestry and identify what is needed to advance its adoption. The discussions clearly revealed the extraordinary potential of agroforestry systems in New York State, the enthusiasm of practitioners, and the systemic barriers that must be addressed to unlock that potential. The Summit’s raw data and facilitator summaries converged on five themes and three statewide priority areas.

“Silvopasturing is key to keeping our farm viable for the next generation. It allows us to use both the “forest” and the “field” portions of our farm in a way that is good for the land, the livestock and those of us living both on the farm and around it.”

Brett Chedzoy, Angus Glen Farms, LLC

Cross‑Cutting Themes

Facilitators identified recurring themes that cut across all priority areas:

• Coordinated Leadership is Needed
  • Multiple discussion groups at the Summit emphasized the absence of a statewide coordinating entity comparable to the University of Missouri’s Center for Agroforestry. Many expressed a desire for a central point person or institution to unify efforts and reduce siloing among agencies, researchers, and NGOs.
• Peer Learning and Social Networks are Critical
  • Farmers trust peers; therefore, relationship‑driven outreach is critical. Nonprofits and other service providers can help by creating spaces for this networking and peer learning to happen. Demonstration sites, farm tours, and community‑building events are key venues, but intentional creation of farmer cohorts or mentoring programs would be useful too. 
• Economic Viability Drives Adoption
  • While some producers approach agroforestry more from a conservation than a profitability mindset, broader adoption of these practices will be constrained until we can make a clear economic case for them. Summit participants stressed that agroforestry must “pencil out” and that market incentives, cooperative models, and supportive policy frameworks are essential.
• Applied, Locally Relevant Research is Needed
  • Much existing research is not specific to New York’s climate, soils, and farm systems. Participants want practical, applied research connected directly to real farms and integrated into outreach and technical assistance.
• Social, Cultural, and Policy Factors Matter
  • Adoption requires more than technical data; it demands cultural acceptance, land access solutions, consumer education, and enabling policy environments.

A Call to Action to Support Agroforesters: Top Priorities for Immediate Investment

Conclusion

The 2026 Agroforestry Summit revealed a community that is energized, aligned, and ready to act—yet constrained by processing infrastructure, limiting paradigms about forestry and farming, and insufficient technical and educational resources. Advancing agroforestry in New York will require coordinated leadership, investment in human and economic infrastructure, and a commitment to building shared knowledge systems that serve farmers, service providers, and policymakers alike.

By addressing the three statewide priorities—training and demonstration networks, value chain development, and foundational agronomic and economic data—New York can unlock the vast unrealized potential of agroforestry to strengthen rural communities, enhance climate resilience, and build a more diverse and sustainable agricultural economy.

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Acknowledgements

The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ people of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy are the original cultivators of the forested landscape now known as New York State, producing an abundance of perennial foods long before colonists’ arrival, and thousands of years before the word “agroforestry” was coined in the 1970’s. A thriving agroforestry future will incorporate the traditional ecological knowledge of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ with the innovations of modern times to feed burgeoning populations while preserving ecosystem integrity. 

This report, and the Summit that preceded it, would not have been possible without the financial support of the NYS Legislature, and the logistical and emotional support of the Cornell Small Farms Program staff. 

We are grateful to the speakers who shared their time at the Summit: 

Julie Suarez, Associate Dean for Land Grant Affairs
Louise Buck, Senior Extension Associate Emerita, Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment, Cornell University
Mike Gold, Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry
Garrett Miller, Owner/operator Finger Lakes Cider House
Sara Tyler, Owner/operator Black Squirrel Farms
Kathie Arnold, Co-owner Twin Oaks Dairy Farm

This report was authored by Erica Frenay, Resilience Program Manager, Cornell Small Farms Program. 

The following people provided invaluable input and editing assistance:
Anu Rangarajan, Director, Cornell Small Farms Program
Connor Youngerman, Agroforestry Specialist, Cornell Small Farms Program
Brett Chedzoy, Senior Resource Educator in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Cornell Cooperative Extension Schuyler County, and Forest Manager for Cornell’s Arnot Teaching and Research Forest
Kacey Deamer, Communications Manager, Cornell Small Farms Program