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.Â
Download the Grower Guides to learn more about growing elderberries and black currants.
American Elderberry: A Native Perennial Crop for the Midwest
Black Currants: A Superfruit for the Midwest
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
Key Perennial Crops
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
Overcoming Bottlenecks in the Midwest Hazelnut Industry
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.
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
Inspirations for Creating a Long-Term Agricultural Lease for Agroforestry
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
Landowner Spotlights
