Publications

Latest Releases

Partnering for Agroforestry: Case Studies

Urban Agroforestry Training Programs: A Joint Report

Black Currants: A Superfruit for the Midwest

Multilingual Resources

Growing Small Fruit Crops

Resources for growing perennial fruit shrubs

Shrub crops are a relatively easy entry point for farmers wishing to explore agroforestry. Elderberries and black currants are two hardy perennial crops that bear fruit in the second or third year after planting. 

Download the Grower Guides to learn more about growing elderberries and black currants.

 

 

American Elderberry: A Native Perennial Crop for the Midwest

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Black Currants: A Superfruit for the Midwest

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Perennial Pathways: Planting Tree Crops

  • A comprehensive, 110-page guidebook to designing and installing farm-scale edible agroforestry
  • Indispensable for new agroforestry farmers throughout the stages of farm startup
  • Available as a free PDF download and also as a book shipped directly to you for $26

Most Requested Resources

Interest in agroforestry is growing across the Midwest. Check out Savanna Institute’s popular free infosheets about agroforestry. Our most requested resources are related to the key agroforestry practices and choosing perennial tree crops.

Understanding Agroforestry Infographics

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Key Perennial Crops

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Perennial AF Podcast

The Savanna Institute’s newly rebranded podcast and blog about perennial agroforestry (AF) features interviews, questions from listeners, inside jokes, and more. Subscribe to Perennial AF to hear real AF conversations with some of the Midwest’s top agroforesters and perennial farmers!

 

Impact Investment Plans

What will it take to catalyze agroforestry in the Midwest?

The Savanna Institute has talked with experts across the value chain about the top ten bottlenecks for the Midwest Hazelnut and Eastern Chestnut industries. Our Impact Investment Plans help Midwest farmers and businesses understand how they can access opportunities available in these promising perennial crop markets.

Download the free reports to learn more.

 

 

Overcoming Bottlenecks in the Eastern US Chestnut Industry

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Overcoming Bottlenecks in the Midwest Hazelnut Industry

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Want to learn more about agroforestry?

Take the Online Course: Agroforestry Foundations

The Agroforestry Foundations course is designed to introduce you to a diversity of agroforestry practices, financial arrangements, farm designs and business models while helping you reflect on your own personal values and goals.

three apprentices and a farmer sit on the porch of a white house

Long-term Lease Resources

Practicing agroforestry requires long-term access to land. This collection of land access and landowner scenarios from some of the Midwest’s perennial farmers offers answers to key questions for agroforestry planning.

Download the resources to think through your own unique land access approach.

 

 

Generating Value Through a Long-Term Agroforestry Lease: Tips for Landowners

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Inspirations for Creating a Long-Term Agricultural Lease for Agroforestry

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Livestock Impacts on Silvopasture Tree Establishment

Silvopasture is the integration of livestock, forage, and trees in one farming system. To answer fundamental questions faced by farmers practicing silvopasture in the Midwest region, the Savanna Institute tested three production methods at four partner farms. Learn more in this research brief.

Food Safety in Silvopasture

Livestock are often viewed as a liability when it comes to food safety on farms. However, they are also key to making farms function more as healthy ecosystems. Livestock can be used in agroforestry systems for clearing weeds, controlling insects and pests, scratching and digging to prepare ground for planting, spreading and cycling nutrients through excretion, and cleaning up fallen nuts and fruits. Learn more about managing risks in this guide.

Subscribe to Savanna Institute’s YouTube Channel for regular video releases and farmer storytelling.

Farmer interviews

Grower guides

Webinar recordings

Farmer Spotlights

Meet the farmers practicing agroforestry in the Midwest.

This collection of farmer stories profiles both landowners and farmers that access and care for land owned by others.

Download these free PDF’s to find inspiration for your own agroforestry journey.

 

Land Access Spotlights

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Landowner Spotlights

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Contact an Agroforester

Get help planning your agroforestry system. Contact a community agroforester to ask more about how you can adopt perennial agriculture on the land in your care.