Agroforestry
Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs with crops, livestock, or both. Rather than treating forestland and farmland as separate, agroforestry systems are designed so that each element supports the others — improving soil health, diversifying income, and making the land more resilient over time. For landowners across Asekia’s network, it represents one of the more flexible categories of emerging markets, with practices that can scale from a few acres to a full operation.
Silvopasture
Silvopasture combines trees with livestock grazing on the same land. Strategically placed trees provide shade and forage for animals, while the animals in turn help manage undergrowth. Well-managed silvopasture systems can reduce input costs, improve pasture quality, and open access to premium markets for grass-fed or forest-raised livestock.
Select a topic below to learn about starting and scaling a silvopasture enterprise on your land:
Economic Models
To help you make the best financial decisions for your land, we have provided select interactive Economic Models that allows you to plug in your own specific information to create a customized financial forecast.
Use the downloadable models below to ensure your enterprise is financially sustainable and the right fit for your land.
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| Market | Resource Type | Name | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silvopasture | Budget | Ag Risk + Farm Management Library Enterprise Budgets Database | A database of thousands of different example enterprise budgets for dozens of commodity crops and production types across all states. |
| Silvopasture | Budget | Fruit and Nut Compass: Perennial Farm Planning Workbench | A farm business planning tool to help both new and experienced producers project the financial costs and returns from a perennial crop enterprise. Available as a free, downloadable Excel file. Enables examination of complete costs and expected returns of up to 12 crops simultaneously as part of an integrated farm plan over a 15-year period. Designed as an "open workbench" — the user enters their own assumptions about crops, yields, costs, and selling prices. |
| Silvopasture | Budget | Silvopasture Tree Planting Planner Enterprise Budget | A planning and cost-estimation Excel spreadsheet where users input variables like land area, tree spacing, row layout, and material/labor costs to calculate total tree counts and overall expenses for planting in a silvopasture setting. Helps graziers and land managers model tree planting layouts and associated costs based on spacing, site dimensions, and input cost assumptions. |
| Silvopasture | Case Studies | Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Agroforestry Grants | A database of USDA SARE grants that have been used to support research and outreach in agroforestry. Project records function as case studies of experimental agroforestry work and can offer insights for farmers interested in exploring innovative practices on their own farms. |
| Silvopasture | Case Studies | Inside Agroforestry Article Library | A database of past USDA National Agroforestry Center "Inside Agroforestry" newsletters sharing the experiences of farmers, forest managers, researchers, and technical assistance providers. Articles highlight examples of agroforestry practices in action on farms, research sites, and elsewhere. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Arbor Day Foundation Tree Wizard Tool | A decision support tool that helps land managers select trees based on criteria including USDA Plant Hardiness Zone, desired products, soil type, sun exposure, desired height and spread, growth rate, and attributes such as pollinator habitat, wildlife support, and privacy barrier. Tailored for residential, community, and landscape planting. Advises on "right tree, right place" principles. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Propagate's Overyield Tool | A software and decision-support farm planning tool that helps landowners, farmers, and consultants plan and evaluate agroforestry transitions by combining geospatial design, economic modeling, crop suitability data, and collaboration tools. Includes geospatial design and mapping, climate and soil layers, crop suitability maps, 25+ crops for economic modeling, 30-year cash flow forecasts, and carbon sequestration projections. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Canopy Compass | A crop suitability decision-support tool to help match perennial crops to appropriate locations on a farm, given soil, topography, climate, land cover, crop history, and environmental concerns. Features tools for farm mapping and land use and cover trend analysis. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry Handbook for Agroforestry Planning & Design | Offers agroforestry principles, design strategies, planning steps, and management guidelines to help practitioners integrate agroforestry practices into a farming system. Discusses landscape design, functional zones, farm goals, market opportunities, and tailoring design to site conditions. Includes worksheets, planning prompts, and checklists. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Conservation Practice Physical Effects (CPPE) and Recommendations and Effects Planning Tool | An NRCS framework helping conservation planners evaluate the environmental and economic effects of implementing various conservation practices. The Excel matrix lists how each practice affects resource domains (soil, water, air, plants, animals, energy) and human factors (labor, capital, risk), assigning effect ratings from +5 (substantial improvement) to −5 (substantial worsening) so practices can be compared and prioritized. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | NRCS Conservation Practice Standards for Agroforestry Map | A map showing which states have NRCS conservation practice standards in place for specific agroforestry practices (alley cropping, silvopasture, windbreaks, riparian forest buffers, forest farming), helping landowners and practitioners see whether a given practice is officially supported in their state. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Silvopasture Establishment and Management Principles for Northern Hardwood Forests in Minnesota and the North Central United States | A guidebook on integrating trees, forage, and livestock in northern hardwood forests to increase productivity, diversify income, and provide ecological benefits such as erosion control, improved habitat, and nutrient cycling. Covers site preparation, tree and forage selection, planting design and spacing, livestock and grazing management, infrastructure needs, costs, and long-term maintenance. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Silvopasture in the USA: A Systematic Review of Natural Resource Professional and Producer-Reported Benefits, Challenges, and Management Activities | A peer-reviewed systematic review synthesizing U.S. research on silvopasture adoption, identifying benefits, challenges, and management practices reported by producers and natural resource professionals. Highlights income diversification and livestock shade as key benefits, lack of information as a primary barrier, and widespread use of rotational grazing and mixed pasture systems. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Livestock Impacts on Silvopasture Tree Establishment | Describes how livestock interact with young trees during silvopasture establishment, covering both benefits such as vegetation control and integrated production and risks like browsing, trampling, and competition that can reduce tree survival if unmanaged. Emphasizes protective strategies, grazing management, and findings from on-farm trials. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Food Safety in Silvopasture | A practical guide explaining how to manage food safety risks when integrating livestock, orchards, and other crop production in agroforestry or silvopasture systems, including strategies for fencing, livestock rotation timing, and exclusion periods before harvest. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Evaluating the Potential of a Site for Silvopasture Development | A site-assessment guide for silvopasture development outlining a scoring framework that evaluates soil quality, access, erosion risk, hazards, terrain and fencing feasibility, water availability, parcel size and location, alternative opportunities, and existing timber and understory vegetation. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | A Framework for Successful Planning and Implementation of Silvopasture Projects | A planning-focused publication providing guidance and decision-making questions for developing quality silvopastures in farm woodlands, including considerations for site selection, tree thinning, forage establishment, fencing, grazing management, and long-term maintenance. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | The Grazier's Guide to Trees | A practical guide for graziers explaining how integrating trees into pastures can address core challenges of grass farming, with step-by-step guidance on selecting appropriate species, planting and protecting trees in active grazing systems, designing effective layouts, phasing plantings, securing funding, and providing long-term tree aftercare. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources: Number of Trees per Acre by Spacing Distance | A guide to silvopasture design with formulas and reference tables for estimating tree density for planting, forest management, and site assessment. Shows how density calculations inform decisions about timber value, competition, shade management, and silvicultural planning across different spacing arrangements. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Report on Pilot Tree Planting Initiative on Handsome Brook Farm Layer Hen Operations in New York | A case study on pastured poultry silvopasture in New York State, with lived experience testimonials and examples on techniques used for establishment, tree species selection, pasture selection, planning, and more. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | AgroClimate Chill Hours Calculator | A decision-making tool that predicts chill hour accumulation (cold hours required by fruit trees to break dormancy) for locations in Florida and Georgia. Users select a chill model and time period, and the tool outputs interactive county-scale maps with historical and projected chill hours and comparison graphs (historic average, last season, ENSO phases). |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Florida Land Steward Silvopasture Workshop and George C. Owens Farm Tour | A University of Florida IFAS Extension workshop booklet providing an overview of silvopasture in a Florida context. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Using Soils to Guide Fertilizer Recommendations for Southern Pines (UF/IFAS FR053) | Fertilizer recommendations organized by CRIFF soil group for the lower Coastal Plain, drawn from decades of Southern forest fertilization research. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Thinning Southern Pines: A Key to Greater Returns (UF/IFAS FR159) | Explains the benefits of forest thinning, covering how it boosts diameter growth and value in residual trees, accelerates stand development, provides interim income and improved access, and supports wildlife habitat. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Quivira Coalition's Agroforestry Resources | Videos, fact sheets, and manuals about agroforestry in New Mexico and surrounding states in the Southwest. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Climate-Ready Trees: Tree Species Selection Guidelines for the Albuquerque Metro Area | Guidelines for selecting tree species in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that are resilient to climate change impacts such as increased temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. Offers a master list of evaluated tree species, scoring criteria, and recommendations tailored to various urban site conditions. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Climate-Ready Trees for Five Climate Zones of New Mexico | A curated list of tree species adapted to future climate conditions in New Mexico, organized by USDA Hardiness Zones projected for the end of the century. Serves as a starting point for selecting trees across urban and rural settings, with considerations for soil and drought tolerance. Emphasizes consulting local experts and ordinances when choosing species. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | LEAF Network Edible Tree Directory | A searchable directory with detailed information on edible trees in desert environments in the Southwest, primarily Arizona and surrounding states. |
| Silvopasture | Implementation | Conservation Seedling Program (NM) | The New Mexico Forestry Division provides low-cost seedlings for planting projects that support forest and watershed health. Seedlings must be used for conservation plantings in New Mexico; allowable uses include ecological restoration, wind protection, erosion control, wood products, tree farms, and planting or up-potting for urban or community forestry needs. |
| Silvopasture | Network | Southwest Agroforestry Action Network | An agroforestry working group that connects producers in the Southwest, shares information about agroforestry, and generates ideas and research initiatives. Hosts an annual spring conference and quarterly webinars. |
| Silvopasture | Project Developer | Working Trees | An agroforestry carbon project developer that pays farmers via carbon revenue to plant and grow trees on their land, specifically in the form of silvopasture. Helps landowners design projects and monitor carbon using smartphone-based tools. Farmers receive silvopasture design support and compensation for sequestered carbon. |
| Silvopasture | Training | Propagate Agroforestry Fast Track Training | A live, instructor-led online course (with recordings) designed to help farmers, land managers, and aspiring agroforestry practitioners build a practical plan for integrating trees into their farms. Focuses on design, species selection, layout, economic planning, and funding strategies. Key components: tree species and matching species to farm goals, landscape layout, economics, budgeting, funding, and capital sources. |
| Silvopasture | Training | Regrarians REX Online Farm Planning Program | A 14-week farm planning education and extension program covering decision-making around climate and water access, holistic context for planning (purpose, resources, and quality of life, family, community, and health goals), and farm development mapping using aerial and satellite imagery, LiDAR, photogrammetry, DEM, Google Earth Pro, and QGIS. Also covers site analysis, scales of permanence, water harvesting, access, building and fencing placement, and soils classification. |
| Silvopasture | Training | Agroforestry & USDA Webinar Series | A webinar library from the National Agroforestry Center with information on how USDA programs can be used to establish and support agroforestry. Topics include Rural Development's Value-Added Producer Grant, the SARE Producer and Research and Education Grant Programs, NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative and Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, NRCS's Conservation Innovation Grant Program and Regional Conservation Partnership Program, the Forest Service's Landscape Scale Restoration and Community Forest Programs, and the Agricultural Marketing Service's Specialty Crop Multi-State Program. |
| Silvopasture | Training | Yale Certificate in Tropical Forestry | A 10-month training program for environmental leaders that combines Yale faculty expertise with ELTI's tropical training network to teach the science, tools, and practical skills for designing, implementing, and monitoring conservation and restoration initiatives. |
Market Directory
Navigating a new forestry enterprise naturally brings up specific questions as your project grows. To support you beyond our core curriculum, we have curated a comprehensive Resource Directory featuring trusted external guides and partner organizations. Whether you need deep-dives into enterprise budgeting, step-by-step implementation manuals, current market data, or connections to broader landowner networks, explore the links below to find the specialized knowledge and community support necessary to help your operation thrive.
Stakeholder Landscape
The stakeholder maps provide a consolidated resource identifying the key programs, buyers, service providers, and organizations operating in each emerging forest market. Rather than piecing together information from dozens of sources, landowners and partners can find regional information in one place.