Propagate is a leader in the agroforestry space, specialising in project development and planting agroforestry systems at scale. It's a huge pleasure to chat with Harry, co-founder and Chief Research Officer of the US-based company. Tune in as we geek out on agroforestry economics, economic modelling, design implications and financing options. We delve into questions such as: How do you business plan agroforestry systems? How do we find a balance between economic performance and ecosystem...

In this episode I discuss with Claire Lemarié her experience working with farmers in the Pays de la Loire region in France, where she is a technical adviser for the chamber of agriculture. She has precious insights into the management of mature hedges, as this region still has a significant amount of bocage: a traditional french hedge layout.  In this interview we gain an understanding of why effective information sharing between farmers is crucial to creating innovative agroforestry systems...

Coppicing is an ancient and modern tree management system. Coppicing is known for its multi-functionality: capable of producing biomass, animal forage, firewood and much more. Today we interview Mark Krawczyk, practitioner, consultant and author of 'Coppice Agroforestry'. In this interview we tackle some of the practical challenges of coppicing, to better understand the economic potential of this technique. Mark demonstrates a variety of nuances and compromises, showing us the versatility as...

Bruce Maynard and his family are livestock managers and row crop farmers in New South Wales in Austalia. Over his carreer, he has succesfully integrated shrubs and trees to their livestock and row crop operation. He has been able to double his stocking rate through increasing the ecological function of the farm. We dig deep into the design of his tree systems and how it has evloved over the years. We unpack in detail how he has been able to transform his landscape on such a large scale and...

What have we learnt from 30 years at one of the most prominent agroforestry research sites in the world? In collaboration with AGROMIX, We are excited to present an interview with Christian Dupraz, a leading agroforestry researcher from INRAE Montpellier. This is one of our rare 'in person' interviews where we discussed years of findings under the alley cropping walnut trees of the Domaine de Restinclières. We analysed many technical details such as tree - crop competition, tree pruning and...

Conventional viticulture and its intensive management has created some important challenges for wine producers and the regions where they are located. Jean-Baptiste Cordonnier has been able to intimately experience the conventional approach, seeing the fertility and biodiversity of his family's château gradually degrade. For the first time since the start of the show, we are able to delve into the story of an incredible viticulture agroforestry transition. With cover crops, hedges and alley...

I am today with Richard Perkins from Ridgedale Farm in Sweden. For those who do not know, Richard is a leading educator and author in the field of regenerative agriculture, specialising in human scale enterprises. We discuss the tree systems he has planted on his farm, and more specifically the opportunity of integrating trees to market gardening and pastured poultry, two of his key enterprises. Richard is also an educator with the mission of helping farmers to build and manage successful...

Today we continue investigating Syntropic Farming with Daniel from the Mata do Lobo farm in Brasil. In the past 4 years, they have been working solutions to scale these complex agroforestry systems, soon reaching 50ha planted. Daniel and his partner, Maria Vittoria, have accumulated some tremendous experience as they build one of the most innovative coffee plantations out there. In this episode, you will find out what is the difference between the health and quality of agroforestry coffee and...

David Brass is the CEO of the Lakes Free range egg company. Almost 30 years ago he started planting trees in the fields to encourage his laying hens to go and range. Since then, he has been busy planting trees throughout his supply chain. With about 70 farmers and 2 million birds supplying eggs to his company today, this is an example of agroforestry working at scale. The interview brings forward both practical considerations for the layout and maintenance of trees, and explains how they have...

Our team attended the Regenerative Agriculture and Food Systems Summit, organised by Kiasko Research in order to catalyse a regenerative transition in the food industry. The event was attended by large corporations such as Nestle, Unilever and Yara, as well as numerous companies and organisations that work actively with Regen Ag on the ground. We attended the conference as media partners, producing mini-interviews with a diversity of summit attendees. The objective of this episode is try and...

Mark Shepard is the founder of the Restoration Agriculture farming method and New Forest Farm, where Mark grows food in perennial polycultures, without using external fertilisers, with very limited management activities, whilst integrating animals. In this episode, Mark shares with us the results he has achieved by actively engaging with tree crop breeding on his farm - one of the foundations of his system. Mark is also the author of two books: ‘Restoration Agriculture: Real World...

Michael Weitz is a European expert in fast growing biomass trees, with a special passion for Poplar. These fast growing crops are especially interesting for agroforestry systems thanks to their early returns and their capacity to produce ecosystem services early on. Furthermore, the need to find alternatives to fossil fuels and sustainable building materials is leading to evolving economic opportunities for farmers. In this interview we are hitting the nail on the head when it comes to...

Syntropic Farming has recently gained international attention, and it is about time we interview an expert on the podcast! Whilst I call him an expert, Marc Leiber prefers to see himself as a student of Syntropic Farming. He has been trained by Ernst Gotsch, the founder of the movement, and continues to work intimately with him on his farm, Quinta das Abelhas, in Southern Portugal. We believe there are few people better positioned to talk about this subject than Marc. In this interview you...

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Patrick Worms on the show. He is a policy advisor for World Agroforestry and the ex-president of the European Agroforestry Federation. We discuss together agroforestry from a policy perspective to understand how we convince decision makers and what type of funding is needed to scale agroforestry. Although much of the conversation is focused on Europe, Patrick gives some insights that will be of great interest to anyone who wants to convince key players...

Thomas Lecomte and Guillaume Sneessens are agronomists and experts in the field of regenerative agriculture. Through Soil Capital Farming, they both manage and consult a significant amount of acreage. Thomas and Guillaume both see an important role of agroforestry for their clients, integrating more and more perennial systems in farm transitions. We wanted to understand more about what a regenerative transition means to them, and the potential they see in trees. We were extremely well served,...

I talk with Felix Riecken who is planting out silvopastoral and silvoarable systems on his 90ha family farm in the North of Germany. The farm traditionally produces cow milk and meat. He explains the journey that led him to agroforestry and integrating these techniques into the family business. His systems being still quite young, we focus the conversation on the design, the objectives and the establishment of the tree systems. This goes from choosing the right genetics, to protecting the...

As Dimitri and I travelled recently to the 2022 EURAF conference in Sardinia, we wanted to share with you the work of the European Agroforestry Federation. In this short interview with their president, Patrick Worms, he explains what the organisation does and its next steps. We also discuss how we can build additional bridges between research and practitioners.  • RESOURCES http://www.europeanagroforestry.eu/about • GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org • SUPPORT...

Campbell Mercer owns 40ha outside Melbourne, Australia where he has set up a world class olive farm - producing award winning organic olive oil. Campbell uses a variety of fascinating agroforestry practices, from windbreaks to farm forestry and silvopastural systems. We have an in-depth conversation on small scale farm forestry, from design considerations to harvest and selling. We also discussed the Keyline cultivation pattern and its implications for tree planting, finishing off with the...

My guest today is Carl Sheard who produces pigs in France. He has received EU funding for his project so we try and understand with him what kind of opportunity it offers farmers in Europe. He also shares some of the challenges he has encountered with deers and we assess together the potential for increasing the proportion of perennials in pigs’s diet.  **In Collaboration with Agromix** https://agromixproject.eu/ TABLE OF CONTENTS 1:38 Introduction 08:18 Design and technical support 10:22 EU...

Andrew and Jill Stewart are owners and managers of Yan Yan Gurt West Farm in the Otway Ranges, Southern Victoria, Australia. For the past 30 years, they have taken regenerative agriculture extremely seriously in order to solve problems of soil salinisation, soil erosion, climate change and animal welfare. In order to do so they have planted 23kms of shelterbelts and riparian buffers, connected into a complex ecological mosaic to produce both ecosystem services and a huge variety of new...

Fred Provenza is a researcher in behavioural ecology who has carried out fascinating research on the nutritional wisdom of animals, on their ability to select their diet and learn. We explore with him the practical implications of his research. He explains why a biodiverse landscape is crucial to animal health and what tools we have to favour such a foraging environment. We explore at length how to train animals either to avoid certains plants or to introduce new plants into their foraging...

Federico San Bonifacio is the owner and farm manager of a 30ha farm in the plains of Verona, Northern Italy. For 12 years he has been engaging in an agroecological transition where trees and shrubs play a fundamental role. Breaking the monotony of the surrounding corn and soy plots, he has planted hedges in long strips to provide the ecosystem services that support his grain production. At the same time, Federico planted 5ha of polycyclic forestry, a forestry practice that balances economic...

Today I talk with Kaitie Adams, she leads the Savanna Institute's Illinois Demonstration Farm program and helps build community through agroforestry education across the state and beyond. Kaitie and I explore together how they build relationships with different stakeholders to make agroforestry projects become a reality in the mid-west. We engage with themes such as cultural perceptions of agroforestry and the multiple ways the Savanna Institute is leveraging change. We also took the time to...

Scott and Sandy Williams got involved in farming after acquiring 500 acres of productive land in Illinois, USA. After meeting the Savannah Institute, they were inspired to transition their land towards conservation agriculture, with a keen interest in agroforestry systems. This interviews delves into the 17 acre perennial polyculture project they planted 5 years ago, and explores how they collaborate with their farmer tenant to implement extensive silvopasture, windbreaks and riparian...