The history of the United States is a history lined with apple trees. Early European settlers in America brought with them apple seeds, which they planted to begin the first orchards. Apples were a fruit of survival at the time, storing well and serving as both food and, in the form of cider, drink.

After the Revolutionary War, apples proliferated across the frontier. The legend of Johnny Appleseed is the story of a real man, John Chapman, who planted apple seedlings across what is now Appalachia and north into Ontario, Canada. Most homesteads up and down and across the expanding United States had several apple trees, if not full orchards. They were planted for food, to produce new trees to sell and for the production of hard cider, which was one of the most common drinks consumed in colonial America. 

By the 1900s, apples had fallen out of favor. The introduction of prohibition eliminated the market for hard cider, and as railroads transformed transportation across the country, the market changed. Now, a few large apple orchards, growing only one or two varieties of apples, control the apple market. Today, 22 percent of apples sold in US grocery stores are the variety Gala, and most supermarkets offer only a few varieties. The backyard apple tree was left to grow wild—until a recent surge in interest in heritage varieties and hard cider production.

As scraggly and unkempt as an old apple tree may appear, it can still be a stellar start to an orchard or a fruitful addition to a family homestead. 

“Planting new trees is going to take some years before they’re mature and fruit bearing,” says Jennifer Ries, who coordinates the tree nursery department at Fedco, a tree and seed cooperative out of Clinton, Maine. “With these old trees, we have gifts from anonymous strangers of the past who planted these trees for particular reasons.”

Old tree discovery and restoration was once the purview of dedicated pomologists such as John Bunker, author of Not Far From the Tree, and Dan Bussey, author of The Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada. Bunker would travel the backroads of Maine and knock on the doors of old farmhouses with peeling paint and sagging roofs. He would scout the property for aging apple trees and, if he found them, collect fruit and cuttings. He has worked to identify more than 500 cultivars in his ongoing career.

A restored orchard of heritage apple trees. (Photo credit: Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project)

But today, it is more than just a few of the apple-obsessed who are discovering and rehabilitating old trees. The surging popularity of hard cider has inspired farmers to revitalize old orchards and plant new ones, and even single backyard trees are benefiting from the renewal.

“We get a lot of emails from cider makers,” says Amy Dunbar-Wallis, a graduate student at the University of Boulder in Colorado and community outreach coordinator for the Boulder Apple Tree Project. “And we hear from homeowners who have apple trees on their land and want to be cider makers.”

Organizations such as the Boulder Apple Tree and nearby Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project, as well as the Maine Heritage Orchard in Maine, the Lost Apple Project in Washington and the Temperate Orchard Conservancy in Oregon, have grown in the past decade to support curious homeowners and passionate arborists alike.

If you have a homestead with an ancient apple tree in the backyard or perhaps a small orchard full of leaning, bending and twisting trees, it is possible to reclaim the productivity of those trees. According to Ries, apple trees can produce bountiful crops for 200 years, so some of those homestead trees may just be getting started.

Identify the tree

You can restore an aging apple tree and appreciate its fruits without ever discovering what variety it is, but testing a tree to discover its lineage will help you understand its unique qualities and may help apple historians in their quest for “new old” varieties. Identification can help connect you through time with the farmers who originally planted the tree by understanding if they used the fruit for cider or cold storage or ate it fresh.

“There are thousands and thousands of cultivars in the US,” says Dunbar-Wallis. Some cultivars can be identified by comparing fruit to old records and old paintings, but there are more high-tech options available now. “We are able to take just a few leaves when they first emerge, fresh in the spring. We send them off to Washington State, where they are able to do some DNA analysis of those leaves and compare them to datasets in Europe. That allows us to figure out not only what the tree is but who its parents and grandparents are and figure out where all of these different cultivars fit into the overall pedigree of apples.”

You may discover you have any number of common homestead apple varieties or you may have something truly rare on your land. Jude and Addie Schuenemeyer of the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project have discovered varieties of apples where only one single tree of that cultivar remains. Among them was the Colorado Orange, a fruit that was part of state lore for its unique color, flavor and late ripening. 

First pruning

Most trees discovered on old homesteads require an initial pruning to remove dead growth and allow the tree unencumbered sunlight. The first steps in rehabilitating a tree include removing any brush or brambles that are overcrowding it and cutting out any larger limbs that have died or show signs of disease.

“The best thing you can do for old trees is some dead wood pruning,” says Laura Seeker, who works on old apple tree restoration for Fedco and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. “Get out anything that’s dead, decaying, diseased and damaged. Do any clearing out you can in the canopy so that the tree just has live growth.”

Annual pruning

After initial canopy clearing and deadwood removal, the key to a happy apple tree is annual pruning. This encourages the tree to focus its energy on fruit production by removing some of its new growth, and it also allows it to get the maximum energy possible from the sun by keeping it from shading itself out.

“Once we’ve got the canopy cleared up, that opens up the tree’s photosynthesizing,” says Mike Biltonen of Know Your Roots LLC, which specializes in the holistic restoration of old orchards. “At that point, we want to keep it on a maintenance schedule, pruning every year or every other year and addressing any serious issues. We don’t want to do anything to shock it in those first few years, and we don’t want it to lose its wild or feral nature or its uniqueness of being an abandoned or lost tree.”

Pruning a fruit tree during the dormant season benefits the overall health of tree and can increase fruit yields. (Photo credit: Kirsten Lie-Nielsen)

Annual pruning to keep the tree in top shape usually takes place in late February or early March, when the first signs of early buds begin to appear. 

“Apples really like to be pruned,” says Dunbar-Wallis, “So, during the dormant months, you are going to want to snip the new growth. The new growth is going to grow at a 90-degree angle to the original branch, and you want to snip new growth.”

Tree cloning

When you are pruning your tree, you can begin to start a new orchard from the old variety by taking clones from the tree. Apple tree clones are created by taking a pruned “sucker” or new year’s stem of growth from the original tree and grafting it to rootstock. Rootstock is apple grown from seed, and it is available from most tree nurseries.

“It’s very endearing,” says Seeker, “because, sometimes, there’s a young, young tree of the same variety planted next to an old tree. That old tree is not going to live forever. But having a little replacement there that’s grafted from the same tree is a really nice gesture to leave for whoever inhabits this land. We have these varieties because generation after generation was here grafting, selecting for what works for this climate and what works for our palates. And so, we get to continue doing that, selecting which varieties are still working for us and planting those out and leaving them as something for future generations.”

Trees from seeds

Apple trees do grow from seed, but as a heterozygous species, their seeds do not produce the same variety of apple as the tree from which they came. When you first start rehabilitating a tree, you can look for a graft line to understand if it was selected and planted by arborists of the past or if it might have been grown from seed. Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman famously only grew apples from seed in spite of their unpredictability, but most seedling trees are the remnants of a meal consumed by a coyote or a deer.

“Even on very old trees,” says Ries, “sometimes, you can still see signs [of a graft line] by the way the bark is there—there might be a bulge or there might be a change in the bark direction.”

But if your tree is a seedling, that does not mean its fruit cannot produce something delicious. Some believe that Appleseed planted from seed because he was growing for hard cider production, and the flavors of “wild” apples can be particularly unique for cider pressing. 

“Feral or wild varieties have quite a bit of bioregional resilience,” says Biltonen. “They may have more resilience to their current location and to the climate issues we are dealing with.”

***

Learn more:

Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project. Located in Colorado, MORP is dedicated to the restoration of old apple trees. Its website includes an extensive online handbook on heritage orchard management

MyFruitTree.org. Offers DNA testing for apple trees and other identification helpers.

Fedco Trees. Fedco supplies heritage and rare trees to farmers around the country as saplings and offers rootstock for grafting your own clones. 

If you’re unsure about beginning the pruning process, contact a local arborist. You can often find ones that specialize in apple trees and will be happy to help you. Companies such as Mike Biltonen’s Know Your Roots LLC specialize in holistic restorations of orchards and apple trees. 

Read more:

Not Far From the Tree by John Bunker. Carefully illustrated and painstakingly researched, this book chronicles the history of apple trees in the Waldo County region of Maine.

The Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada by Dan Bussey. Seven volumes comprehensively document the apple tree’s history in North America. 

The post Making Old Orchards New Again appeared first on Modern Farmer.

We also asked readers what questions they had for agroforesty experts. Here’s what you wanted to know, with answers provided by Savanna Institute executive director Keefe Keeley:

Q: How can I incorporate agroforestry practices into my small home garden?

A: Agroforestry practices help us think about how woody, perennial shrub plants can be incorporated into farming systems, as well as how food production can be achieved in forested environments. This can help you with your gardening as well. If your yard or garden is heavily shaded, you may be able to grow plants or mushrooms used in forest farming, which takes place under a closed canopy. If you are limited by space, you could consider growing perennial woody shrubs such as elderberries or black currants, which can begin producing berries in 2-3 years. Agroforestry invites us to think about how systems connect. Your plants could help provide a windbreak or visual barrier, habitat for wildlife and pollinators and food for your table all at the same time.

Q: If you want to plant an orchard with a guild but are limited on resources, which plants should be prioritized?

A: While plant selection will vary based on your specific location and goals, some agroforestry species have notable intercropping potential. Black currants and pawpaws are two examples of shade-tolerant species that can grow well with other types of trees. You can see examples of groupings used by other farms on our website and YouTube channel.

Q: How do you keep deer from eating the trees and shrubs (aside from building a giant cage fence around each one)? We would like to reforest a section of our property, but can’t imagine caging that many trees.

A: We are experimenting with a few different deer-deterrent strategies at our demonstration farms. We have had success with using five-foot high tree tubes for each tree (which offers other benefits as well) and with 3D deer fence: two separate electrified fences set three to four feet apart. This creates “depth” and makes it difficult for the deer to jump over them.

Elderberries are a hardy perennial crop that has been harvested by humans for centuries. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Q: What equipment do you use to dig holes to plant trees? A spade and rocky ground is hard-going.

A: We use a variety of equipment for planting woody shrubs. Depending on what is being planted and the soil quality, this could include a trencher and tree planter pulled behind a tractor, a PTO-driven post hole digger or some of the modified precision ag equipment we are experimenting with on our demonstration farms. You can learn more and see examples on our YouTube channel.

Q: Any sources for chestnuts? Seems that most nurseries in Canada are always sold out.

A: One of the biggest challenges to expanding agroforestry is the shortage of plant material currently available for purchase and planting. That’s why we launched a nursery with our partners Canopy Farm Management, which offers tree planting and plant material in the region. As members of the Agroforestry Coalition, we also work with others across the country to improve nursery stock availability and production.

Q: I know chestnuts prefer well-drained soils. How can those of us on more poorly drained soil grow the highest-value tree crop? Is there any research about using swales or planting in fields with drainage tiles?

A: “We are working with Canopy Farm Management to develop a series of mapping tools to help people identify areas of their land that would be most suitable—or unsuitable—for different agroforestry crops. These will be available later this year. Drainage tiles (which are common in Midwest farm fields) are a concern for many growers. We do not have much research or experience growing chestnuts with drainage tiles, but we’re working to learn more.”

Q: What are three of the fastest-growing trees for an emerging Southern California food forest?

A: Since most of our work is focused on the US Midwest, I would refer you to some of our collaborators in the southwest region. This video by the Quivira Coalition featuring Roxanne Swentzell could offer some insights. 

Q: Is there a comparable program [to SI] to help new farmers enter into agroforestry, including forest farming, in [a] mountain area of Maryland?

A: We are partnering on a new Expanding Agroforestry Project with Virginia Tech, which is working in Maryland. You should also check out Appalachian Sustainable Development, which is working to support agroforestry and forest farming in your region.

American chestnut tree flowering in spring. (Photo: Shutterstock)

In addition to reader questions, Keeley offered answers to three of the questions the Savanna Institute hears most frequently:

Q: Where can I find plants?

A: Talking with your local conservation specialists is often the best way to find plant sources that are a good fit for your location. The nation-wide Agroforestry Coalition has identified nursery stock and plant availability as a key bottleneck in expanding agroforestry production, so certain crops and varieties can be hard to find. We work closely with Canopy Farm Management, which offers agroforestry crops suited for the Midwest. For more nurseries in your area, check out the National Nursery and Seed Directory.

Q: Where/how can I sell my products?

A: In any farm enterprise, it’s important to identify market opportunities in advance and design your operation with these in mind. Farms using agroforestry sell products through the market channels all farms use—they just have more trees at work benefiting the crops and livestock on their farms. On some farms, the trees provide the primary crops: fruits, nuts, timber and other tree products. These farms sell their products through U-pick businesses, direct-to-consumer sales and regional wholesale distributors. Many tree crops are best sold as value-added products, which entails additional processing costs but can open up additional marketing opportunities.

Q: How do I find land to do agroforestry?

A: If you are thinking about planting tree crops, you will need long-term access to land to reap the full benefits of your investment. This is a significant obstacle for most beginning agroforestry farmers. Developing a detailed business plan and building relationships in your local community are important steps towards achieving this goal. Our new interactive guide, Designing An Effective Long-Term Agroforestry Lease, helps you work through key considerations for acquiring long-term access to land.

Do you have more questions for the Savanna Institute? Check out its “Ask an Agroforester” page for more frequently asked questions and to submit your own.

The post Your Questions About Agroforestry, Answered appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Meet some Midwestern agrarians, some of whom come from conventional farming families, who are using their land to reestablish the connection between trees, animals, and food production.

Wendy Johnson’s ‘natural savannah’

Wendy Johnson and her husband, Johnny Rafkin, own Jóia Food & Fiber Farm, in Charles City, Iowa. They farm on 130 acres of the land on which her father and grandfather had raised hogs. Johnson felt called back to the land in 2010 after living in California for 18 years. She and Rafkin had a goal of adding diversity and value to her family’s farm through organic agriculture, but they found few organic farmers in the area at the time and none that were implementing agroforestry.

Johnson found support through Practical Farmers of Iowa, a group dedicated to building resilient farms and communities. In 2014, she and Rafkin started transitioning to organic. A small sheep herd that was on the property from when her parents farmed the land was integrated into organic crop rotation. “They were a rough crew of sheep!” Johnson laughs. “They ate grains that couldn’t be sold.”

The Joia Food & Fiber Farm farmstead pictured with sheep, sheepdogs, and cattle grazing. (Photos courtesy of Wendy Johnson)

The sheep were getting sick from eating too much grain, so Johnson worked to reestablish a natural savanna, a mixed woodland and grassland ecosystem that had once been prevalent on Iowa’s landscape but was destroyed by grazing and row crops. Her sheep are now grass-fed, healthier and need little medical intervention, she says. Johnson added trees to grazing land to create silvopastures, enhanced existing windbreaks and planted a micro-orchard with fruit and nut trees.

Extreme rain events in 2016 and 2018 stressed field tile drainage systems on her neighboring farms, causing a creek on her property to flood. This motivated Johnson to take further action to mitigate climate change-related weather events. Through assistance from a Savanna Institute agroforestry planner, Johnson added cool-season perennial grasses to the organic crops and riparian buffers along the banks of the creek. She planted native species of hardwoods and softwoods, including willow and poplar. The deep root systems help prevent soil erosion and stormwater runoff.

Wendy Johnson (left) in the newly planted silvopasture with nine different varieties of native hardwood trees, many nut-bearing. John Rafkin (right) planting cedars on the farm’s enhanced windbreak project. (Photos courtesy of Wendy Johnson)

To date, Johnson has planted 6,000 trees on 20 acres of their fields, with plans to double the number of trees. She’s optimistic about the future of agroforestry and hopes to see more Farm Bill funding directed toward conservation efforts rather than commodities programs.

She believes agroforestry will attract the next generation of farmers and produce offshoot opportunities such as nurseries to grow tree stock. “Agroforestry has a sense of meaning, a sense of community, and it helps the environment by working with nature. It allows us to be creative again, which I think we’ve lost in agriculture,” she says.

Tucker Gretebeck and Eric Weninger’s flooding fix

Farmers Tucker Gretebeck of All Seasons Farms and Eric Weninger of Embark Maple Energy are neighboring farmers in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, a unique topographical area covering parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. It was never covered by glaciers during the last ice age and thus lacks “drift” of silt, sand and rock. With carved river valleys, forests and cold-water trout streams, the region has attracted nature enthusiasts, foodies and agrotourism.

Gretebeck owns All Seasons Farms with his wife, Becky. They have a dairy herd and grow pumpkins. They offer agrotourism events such as fall wagon tours and pizza on the farm. They’re a member of the Organic Valley cooperative of organic farmers founded in La Farge, Wis. in 1988.

Weninger owns Embark Maple Energy along with his wife, Bree Breckel. They produce maple syrup, along with a line of culinary nutritional energy products called Maple Energy, on 160 acres of predominantly sugar maple trees. Like Gretebeck, Weninger offers farm events, with adventurous and educational themes.

Eric Weninger and Bree Breckel of Embark Maple. (Photo courtesy Eric Weninger)

Both Gretebeck and Weninger view agroforestry as an answer to the dramatic increase in the intensity, duration and frequency of climate change-driven extreme rain events that have caused recurring flooding and, in 2018, the failure of flood protection dams in nearby Coon Creek. Both farmers are board members of the Coon Creek Community Watershed Council (CCCWC), a group that formed in response to the flooding. The waterway is a tributary of the Mississippi River.

The CCCWC plans are still in the works, but Weninger says recommended agricultural practice changes include more tree plantings that can retain water onto the hillsides. The Savanna Institute has been identified as a potential partner due to its past work and research.

Tucker Gretebeck planting trees on All Season Farm.

“The intense flooding was a driver that influenced me to implement agroforestry,” says Gretebeck. In addition to organic practices including composting and perennial cover crops, he added a silvopasture for his grass-fed cattle. This helps sequester carbon, improves soil and water infiltration, adds comfort for the animals and improves their milk quality.

Gretebeck worked with the Savanna Institute and Bob Micheel of the Natural Resources Conservation Service to help finance the planting of 1,200 trees that included honey locust, black walnut and a poplar hybrid on his property.

[RELATED: Agroforestry Deepens Roots with New Demonstration Farm Network]

Over at Embark, Weninger says he will plant trees such as native oak species and shrubs this spring to filter more water into the ground. “The deep root systems of large trees and shrubs help hold soil in place,” he explains.

Maple syrup could be considered one of the original crops of forest farming. Weninger enjoys working with generations of sugar maple trees, some more than 250 years old. “That reinforces how the activities that you’re doing in a forest can have both generational and real-time impacts.”

He adds that the indigenous Ho-Chunk Nation was among the first to go into these forests to harvest maple sap. “We really learned from their traditions and are continuing something that’s been done for millennia. That time component adds a lot of depth working in and with the forest.”

Wil Crombie’s forested fowl

Filmmaker, photographer and farmer Wil Crombie, along with his wife, Carly, and sister-in-law, Corrissa Peterson, own and operate Organic Compound, near Northfield, Minn, where they raise Freedom Ranger broiler chickens. Their farm is located on the homestead where Crombie was raised. His mother’s family were dairy farmers, and the land had consisted of pasture and row crop fields.

“We’re lucky to have experienced generational changes. The approaches that my grandfather took to manage the land, and the way my parents turned a portion of it into a homestead, allowed me to watch it go from pasture to forest,” says Crombie. “My generation is removing invasive plants and using agroforestry to bring the pasture back as silvopasture.”

It’s a family affair: Wil and Carly Crombie (middle, right) with sister-in-law Corrissa Peterson (left). (Photo courtesy of Wil Crombie)

Starting in 2014, Crombie transitioned 40 acres of row crop land on his 60-acre parcel. His mentor, Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, owns Salvatierra Farms. Together, they formed Tree-Range Farms, a brand of meat chickens raised on silvopasture.

In 2016, Crombie, his wife and Peterson planted 20,000 hazelnut trees for their silvopastures and additional acreage. They added oak, sugar maple, basswood, lilac and elderberry and established alley crops of asparagus, along with a windbreak and a riparian buffer along a waterway.

The farming trio chose hazelnuts and elderberries upon recommendation from elders in their area, and by Crombie’s mentors, Mark Shepard and Terry Durham. “We’re fortunate to have these people helping to facilitate this large-scale regenerative agriculture transition towards agroforestry,” says Crombie.

Chicken, originally jungle fowl, thrive in forested environments. Elderberry, becoming popular as a hedgerow crop, provides both farm income and ecological benefits. (Photos courtesy of Wil Crombie)

Manure from the fowl helps fertilize the silvopastures and fields, and the chickens help with pest control by eating insects and grubs. “It’s a symbiotic relationship, and they benefit from shade and protection from the trees—they’re originally jungle fowl, so they deserve to be in a forested environment,” says Crombie.

Crombie is optimistic that agroforestry will go a long way in restoring land but also rural communities. “Agroforestry has the potential to get more people active and into nature,” he says. “Agroforestry is family farming, and agriculture is a family and community-based, hands-on activity. It’s an exciting opportunity to revive our rural communities.”

The post On the Ground with the Midwest Farmers Going All-In On Agroforestry appeared first on Modern Farmer.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Climate Change Resource Center recognizes agroforestry, the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into agricultural practices, as a promising option to weave productivity and profitability into sustainable and resilient farming systems. Over the past decade, USDA initiatives have created multiple partnerships among nonprofits and universities throughout the country, including SI in the Upper Midwest, University of Missouri in the Lower Midwest, Propagate in the Northeast and Tuskegee University in the Southeast, to meet a growing interest in agroforestry.

Transitioning from traditional agricultural methods to agroforestry often requires a shift in mindset and education. Building out an agroforestry demonstration farm network offers more hands-on educational opportunities and tours for farmers and growers to see what agroforestry looks like, how trees fit into farming landscapes, why they enhance conservation and how they can be economically viable.

An aerial view of the silvopastures at Fiddle Creek Dairy in Lancaster County, PA. (Photo courtesy Savanna Institute)

The SI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Spring Green, Wis. and Champaign, Ill. It was founded in 2013 in the Champaign-Urbana area by a group of researchers, students and farmers that were interested in exploring how perennial agriculture and agroforestry could benefit Midwestern farmlands.

The organization focuses on Illinois and Wisconsin but also does support work in Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana. Its technical service program pairs farmers one-on-one with an agroforestry expert to help plan and design plantings.

[RELATED: On the Ground with the Midwest Farmers Going All-In On Agroforestry]

The SI focuses on agroforestry practices supported by the USDA. Those include alley cropping, which involves integrating trees or shrubs within annual agricultural or horticultural crops; silvopasture, in which trees are integrated into livestock production for pasture and animal health; and forest farming, which is the cultivation of crops such as mushrooms, medicinal plants or maple syrup under a forest canopy.

In addition, USDA-supported agroforestry practices include efforts to mitigate soil erosion and protect waterways. Riparian forest techniques place trees on the edges of waterways and cropland to protect waterways and prevent erosion. Windbreaks involve planting trees along edges of fields to keep soil in place, enhance crop production and protect motorists on adjacent roadways from snowdrifts and fierce winds.

Demonstrating what works

For many farmers, seeing is believing. That’s one of the reasons why Adams is enthusiastic about SI’s new statewide agroforestry demonstration farm network that will launch in Wisconsin this spring. On the demonstration sites, farmers can see examples of successful integration of trees on farms. 

The effort is through an ongoing partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a branch of the USDA. The NRCS will invest $1.4 million toward agroforestry demonstration and educational opportunities across Wisconsin, with a goal of increasing the number of landowners planting trees and other perennials on their farmland. The new agroforestry demonstration sites in Wisconsin are the third project in which SI has partnered with the NRCS. Previous projects include technical assistance programs for farmers and training NRCS staff to offer in-house agroforestry service providers.

Wisconsin’s demonstration sites program will serve three main objectives: highlighting farmers that are adopting agroforestry, allowing individuals and other farmers to engage in educational opportunities; providing peer-to-peer thesis for education and support of farmers doing agroforestry; and offering opportunity for these farms to be part of a research network.

Kaitie Adams is director of demonstration and on-farm education for the Savanna Institute. (Photo courtesy Savanna Institute)

Adams says SI has already received several inquiries from farmers interested in participating in the program. Those include multi-generation family farms or beginning farmers that are adopting agroforestry or farmers transitioning from annual production to perennial production.

“Wisconsin producers have always been innovative and open to exploring ways to diversify their agriculture systems, provide their products to new markets and be good stewards of the land,” says Josh Odekirk, acting state conservationist for the Wisconsin NRCS. “Agroforestry is a sustainable land management approach that can be integrated into existing traditional crop and livestock systems. Savanna Institute is an ideal partner to help implement this work.”

Odekirk adds that Wisconsin NRCS has new funding through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to implement climate-smart conservation practices that benefit conservation and a producer’s bottom line. “Agroforestry conservation practices are eligible for standard Farm Bill funding as well as IRA funding in both the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program.”

For the fiscal year 2024, Odekirk says Wisconsin received more than $41 million in IRA funding over and above their standard Farm Bill funding.

Removing barriers to an original form of agriculture

Adams calls agroforestry one of the original forms of agriculture that’s been utilized around the world. The types of trees and shrubs integrated into agroforestry depend on the type of farm, its crops and its needs.

Savanna Institute and the NRCS focuses on trees and perennial crops that are native or native-adjacent to the area. Windbreaks might integrate native conifers and evergreens, along with hardwoods such as hazelnut, chestnuts, berry fruits and shrub fruit.

Due to Wisconsin’s proud history of dairy production, silvopasture is becoming a common agroforestry practice used in the state, says Adams, and Wisconsin’s rich abundance of woodlands also lends to forest farming.

Silvopasture integrates trees into livestock production for pasture and animal health. (Photo courtesy Savanna Institute)

The new agroforestry demonstration farm network in Wisconsin will help to remove barriers to implementing agroforestry practices, says Adams. Shifting from annual crops to perennial crop production—particularly with trees, which often outlive the person that plants them—requires a shift in mindset and skillset.

“The cost of planting 500 trees is very different [from] the cost of 500 annual plants. But the great thing about perennials is that you make that big investment once, and then it pays off over time, rather than having to do the same costs year after year,” says Adams.

Partnering with NRCS gives farmers access to programs that can help cost-share and provide technical assistance to get trees in the ground. Adams notes they also pay farmers for offering education, research and outreach.

Blooming ecological success

Maggie Taylor of Delight Flower Farm, a commercial cut-flower farm in Champaign, Ill., has always been ecologically minded. As her business grew from a small plot in a backyard garden to the five-acre farm she purchased in 2019, Taylor tapped into USDA cost-share contracts that reward conservation practices. 

Owning her own property opened possibilities of investing in more perennial plants and permanent infrastructure to grow the business. Through Adams, Taylor had worked with SI to create a plan for integrating trees and shrubs on her property. “I had primarily done cut flowers as annual crops or grew in a greenhouse, so I didn’t have a lot of experience or knowledge of perennials. Savanna Institute was a great resource for me.”

Maggie Taylor shows perennial agriculture methods to curious gatherers. (Photos courtesy of Maggie Taylor)

Taylor uses alley cropping, through which she mixes perennial crops such as holly with her annuals. She harvests the holly during winter to sell as holiday greenery. She also plants coralberry, red osier dogwood and elderberry. These plantings help sequester carbon, protect the soil’s ecosystem and create habitat for birds, insects and small wildlife.

Taylor also installed windbreaks, planting two rows of white pine, interplanted with red cedar, blue spruce and Colorado spruce. An interior row of the property consists of witch hazel and coralberry. These lower shrubs provide wildlife habitat, along with sellable products such as holly and berries.

“Twenty years ago, there was a buzz about people replacing standard American lawns with raised beds to reduce environmental impacts of lawn chemicals,” says Taylor. “Agroforestry is a level above that conversation with the same intentionality, planting trees for the benefit of the property owner, the environment and the ecosystem as a whole.”

Learn more about agroforestry

Want to expand your knowledge of agroforestry? Savanna Institute’s online course series includes topics such as Agroforestry Foundations, Social Justice and Agroforestry, Perennial Crops and Practices in Agroforestry, Managing Agroforestry Systems in a Changing Climate,and Land Access and Finances in Agroforestry. Some classes are free, while others are $40.

Savanna Institute’s website also includes downloadable publications, including its book Perennial Pathways: Planting Tree Crops. Its apprenticeship program pairs people in the Midwest interested in agroforestry to work with mentors to gain hands-on experience. The organization also hosts a yearly perennial farm gathering, workshops, events and the podcast Perennial AF.

Have a question about planting trees? Ask your question in the comments—we’ll have an expert agroforester from the Savanna Institute answer reader questions in a future story.

The post Agroforestry Deepens Roots with New Demonstration Farm Network appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Recently, these unassuming spaces are cultivating a new trend in home-grown businesses. Armed with little more than ingenuity and entrepreneurial drive, microgreen growers are transforming the unused corners of their dwellings into profitable farming operations.

Using minimal inputs and resources such as water, energy and land, microgreens can offer a consistent and hyperlocal source of fresh, nutrient-dense produce, especially in urban settings. And done right, they allow farmers to reap a meaningful livelihood—an important consideration in a profession known for grueling demands and razor-thin margins.

“It’s a great gateway crop,” says Don DiLillo, owner of Finest Foods in Huntington, New York, for ushering in a new breed of novice farmers. After finishing college seven years ago, the “video game-playing, beer-drinking kid” dusted off a section of his parents’ Long Island cellar to launch his micro farm. With $3,000 allocated for equipment and many hours spent watching YouTube tutorials, he built a steady farmers market following, selling tender, week-old pea, sunflower, radish and broccoli sprouts.

Now 27, DiLillo has seen his business blossom. After expanding to a vacant neighborhood deli in 2019, he’s since set up shop in his grandparents’ former home, which he shares with his girlfriend and fellow farmer, Alissa Yasinsky. The 800-square-foot basement and garage provide ample space for germination, cultivation and packaging, he says, with the vertical shelf configuration leaving plenty of room to grow. “I could triple [production] and still be able to operate it from my home,” says DiLillo.

Given the cost of Long Island real estate, the space efficiency is “one of the great benefits of [farming] microgreens,” says DiLillo. Plus, he adds, “I can do farm chores in my pajamas.”

Photography submitted by Don DiLillo, Finest Foods.

Small footprint, big potential

“Microgreens” is a term used to describe the tender, edible seedlings of various herbs, vegetables and grains typically seeded in shallow, soil-filled trays, grown under natural or artificial light, then harvested within two weeks of germination. Packed with vivid colors, a fresh crunch and intense flavors that can range from sweet to peppery, San Francisco chefs popularized them in the 1980s to liven up fancy dishes.

Although the specialty greens have maintained their trendy reputation, research has also shed light on their health benefits, finding that the nutrient density of sprouts is often higher than that of mature plants. And because they grow quickly with minimal resources—and without herbicides or pesticides—scientists point to their potential to help bolster nutritional security, hedge against disruptions in the food supply chain and even generate fresh produce on long-term space missions.

Retired army veteran Gerry Mateo started farming microgreens in the garage of his Bakersfield, California home as a way to combat anxiety and depression. It’s proven to be a calming and grounding endeavor, he says, and it has also helped improve his diet. 

When he launched FilAm Vets Hydroponics Farm in 2021, Mateo was overweight and suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes, he says. But a daily dose of his own fresh produce has made him much healthier and lowered his cholesterol. “You can only eat lettuce in a salad or sandwich,” he says. Microgreens are highly versatile, pairing well with—but not overpowering—various dishes and blending easily into smoothies.

Mateo, who also farms leafy vegetables such as basil, kale and arugula hydroponically, was surprised to find high demand for his produce—especially given his Central Valley location. Yet with California’s agricultural hub dominated by large-scale farms and commodity crops, he’s found a comfortable niche at his local farmers market.

Customers now include nearby restaurants, and with business booming, he’s put a 10-by-20-foot greenhouse in the backyard and hopes to upgrade to a larger vertical farming structure in the near future. With arable land at a premium—urban sprawl is a growing threat to the farming region—“I’m lucky to have a big yard,” says Mateo. 

Over the last decade, the appeal of consistent and efficient crop production—made increasingly so by precision technology, AI platforms and data analytics—has spurred a boom in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). By regulating temperature, humidity and light in an enclosed space, CEA structures, which can include everything from tunnel houses to warehouses, can pump out a reliable stream of fresh produce regardless of season, weather or location, often using far less water, soil and inputs than traditional farming.

Despite promises of fortifying and climate-proofing local food production, however, not everybody is convinced about the sustainability of CEA, particularly at scale. Critics equate large ventures to indoor agribusiness: Often backed by companies and private investors with little experience in commercial agriculture, some factory-like facilities can span multiple acres and consume vast amounts of energy. Opponents also question the taste, nutritional value and long-term health implications of crops grown in this artificial setting.

Photography submitted by Don DiLillo, Finest Foods.

But for micro producers, their environmental impacts match their minimal footprint, says DiLillo, of Finest Foods. His energy costs, for instance, are nominal: Although New York ranks among the most expensive states for electricity, his monthly bill, which covers both home and farm, hovers around $300 in the winter and doubles in the summer with air conditioning—in line with the national household average of $430 a month. And with weekly deliveries contained in a 20-mile radius, his transport footprint is super light, he notes.

DiLillo has also focused on eliminating the sore spot of retail microgreens: plastic packaging. He dropped single-use clamshell boxes for a biodegradable and compostable, plant-based alternative, and he even closed his health food store accounts, which require water-resistant adhesive labels. His subscription-based residential customers and chefs don’t miss the vinyl stickers, he says, because “they know exactly what they’re getting every week.”

As for the artificial environment, “I’m not here to tell you that [LED] lights are better than the sun,” says DiLillo. Yet, “the beauty of microgreens comes from the seeds,” he adds, noting that the just-germinated sprouts retain much of their seminal nutrients, thriving under artificial light in the short duration before harvest.

Microgreens at Kupu Place. Photography by author.

The local edge

Hawaii’s year-round temperate climate, however, is ideal for farming microgreens outdoors. Cousins Anthony Mau and Steven Yee established Kupu Place in 2017 as a side gig in the backyard of their family home in Honolulu. (Kupu is Hawaiian for sprout; the property is located on Kupu Place.) Given the sliver of land—about a 16th of an acre—the duo initially had doubts about the business’ profitability. But armed with advanced degrees in agricultural sciences, they started with aquaponics, growing leafy vegetables in tilapia tanks, adding hydroponically grown edible flowers before expanding to microgreens.

“Per square foot, it’s obvious which one is more profitable,” says Mau.

As Kupu’s revenues moved into the black, the space limitations became more apparent. Two years ago, after a grueling search in Oahu’s tight real estate market, the cousins landed on a residential property in Kahaluu, on the island’s windward coast. Once home to orchid farms, the neighborhood, which lies about half an hour from downtown Honolulu, still retains a rural air, complete with roaming chickens, despite an influx of residential development. Because the sellers wanted to keep the land productive, Mau thinks it made their offer attractive.

The 1.5-acre lot has ample space for the growing business. Along with the home that Mau and his wife share with Yee (luckily, “it wasn’t a tear-down,” says Mau), there’s a storage room with refrigerators, sinks and germination shelves, while the yard has two 20-by-40-foot shade houses with room for another. Naturally vented and sunlit, the wooden structures display a colorful patchwork of microgreens in local flavors such as red shiso, lemon balm and tatsoi.

Although Kupu’s competition comes from California, on-island production gives the business a tremendous edge, says Mau. Along with lead times of hours instead of weeks, they’re able to accommodate last-minute orders and high levels of customization. And with nearly 90 percent of Hawaii’s food consumption reliant on imports, any boost in homegrown crops for the local market benefits the state’s food security, says Mau.

Since the move, Kupu has become Mau’s full-time endeavor (Yee still runs his landscaping company), and, at 32, he’s in it for the long haul. Microgreen farming is particularly suited to career longevity, he says, as farming at waist height is simply more manageable.

Kaʻinapu Cavasso agrees. One of Kupu’s two employees, she started orchard farming at 16. But the constant repetition of bending down to plant, weed and set up irrigation and looking up to prune trees and harvest fruit became taxing, she says. Now 20, her new job is “a lot more mellow, ergonomic and efficient,” she says. “I love farming…so I hope to [continue] this for a long time.”

The post Cultivating Profits in a Compact Crop appeared first on Modern Farmer.

The heat dome was not typical for the region, to be sure, but high temperatures are becoming ever more normalized due to climate change. Other parts of the country see birds dealing with heat stress more often. Earlier this year, the Arizona Republic reported notable incidences of bird stress in Tucson. In California’s Central Valley, drought can endanger migratory birds who look for water sources and find scarcity instead. These heat-related catastrophes are especially frightening in context: Over the last 50 years, the number of birds in the US and Canada has dropped by a startling 29 percent.

These occurrences in urban areas are scary, but heat stress can affect birds in more rural spaces, too, and farmland is no exception. Two recent studies looked at how birds interact with agricultural lands and how changes in water, heat or aridity can throw off the balance in this delicate equation. 

Raptors and water tanks

Many ranchers are familiar with making sure their livestock have access to water sources—whether that be stock tanks, overflow areas or earthen tanks. But it turns out that birds, specifically raptors, depend on these water sources, too.

“Certainly the livestock use them, but the overflow areas, you have all kinds of small mammals come in and use them,” says Clint Boal, PhD, professor of wildlife biology at Texas Tech University. “And so they kind of function as de facto oases in this very arid landscape.”

Boal was interested in how raptors interacted with water sources, because it is a common assumption that raptors—birds of prey including hawks, falcons and barn owls—don’t need to drink water to survive because they can get their water from their prey. They may use these water sources to cool off, but they aren’t necessarily there to drink it. Using cameras that had been set up at these ranch water sources across west Texas for another study, Boal and his team began their work, which was later published in BioOne.

Livestock stand near a water tank. (Photo: Shutterstock)

They found that the raptors increased their visits to water sources when it was either exceptionally hot or exceptionally dry. (Sometimes, in the winter, the temperatures are lower but it’s still arid.)

Eggs and juveniles are particularly vulnerable, due to their dependency on their parents for temperature regulation.

“Even if we have water resources that adults can access, if heat continues [in] the direction it’s going, and aridity—probably even more importantly—continues [in] the direction it’s going, those nestlings cannot survive,” says Boal.

For every raptor you see, there are countless other species also benefitting from these water sources. A lot of migrating birds, such as songbirds, use them as well. 

Aboveground tanks have a drowning risk—animals and birds sometimes have trouble getting out. But this risk can be mitigated by installing simple escape ramps. Shallow water sources low to the ground can be particularly beneficial for birds.

“From a wildlife perspective, having these earthen tanks, or seeps that they set up, or just overflow areas where enough water is overflowing out of the tank, to be accessible to wildlife … can be really beneficial to virtually every species out there,” says Boal.

Stress in the nest

Birds nesting near agricultural lands may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of heat, says Katherine Lauck, a doctoral candidate in ecology at UC Davis and the lead author of a paper published in Science that examined the effects of heat stress on birds. Lauck used 23 years of data from NestWatch, a bird camera program from Cornell University, to retrieve information about bird fledgling success from 58 species across the country. This abundance of data allowed them to trace trends across time and space.

One of Lauck’s biggest findings was that fledgling success was lower near agricultural lands. Fledgling success is how many birds make it to adulthood. While this study didn’t investigate why this is, Lauck hypothesizes that it has something to do with lesser canopy cover—the amount of shade the birds could access—in agricultural areas.

“We were really excited to be able to key in on reproductive success as a proxy for fitness,” says Lauck. “And the lower the fitness of a population of birds is, the more likely that population is going to decline and eventually go extinct.”

Reproductive success is closely tied to whether a population of birds is going to be able to persist in agriculture, more so than simply looking at the abundance of birds in agriculture, says Lauck.

Temperature stress can affect fledgling success in the egg and chick stages. Adult birds thermoregulate their eggs by keeping them warm, but it’s harder to keep them cool. Once a chick hatches, all of their water is obtained through food, because they cannot yet fly to a water source. If it’s too hot to survive without supplementary water, the chicks may not make it to adulthood.

Baby birds depend on their parents for sustenance and thermoregulation. (Photography: Shutterstock)

“A huge important factor for thermoregulation in birds is water availability,” says Lauck. This is significant for birds in agricultural areas that are also water-stressed, such as California and along the Colorado River.

Heat can decrease the fledgling success of birds, and Lauck’s next research project will look into how this happens. 

“If we figure out what the mechanisms are, that leads us directly to concrete conservation interventions,” says Lauck.

At the farm level, Lauck recommends certain actions that can help birds deal with this heat stress. Maintain existing trees, even if they’re isolated. Allow for riparian buffers between fields—anything to foster shade. “We think that even small patches of forest are useful for providing these microclimate refuges for birds living in agricultural landscapes. It can allow birds to access a little bit of that extra water that seeps from your land,” says Lauck.

It should also be noted that climate change is the reason these warm conditions get warmer, and mitigation must be viewed from that perspective, too.

Trees adjacent to farmland can provide critical canopy to wild birds. (Photo: Shutterstock)

There are almost three billion fewer birds in the wild in the US and Canada now than there were in the 1970s. Besides this being tragic just for the sake of the birds, Lauck says this also impacts humans.

“We’re losing the value that those birds bring to our working landscapes,” says Lauck. “They inspire us, they drive this massive bird-watching industry, but they can also benefit farmers by eating pests and pollinating crops. And so I think people can see that there is value in birds. And they just need to know ‘what do I do?’”

Farmers have an important role to play, says Lauck. Across the globe, nearly half of all habitable land is used for farming. But this paper can provide some insight into how to co-manage agricultural land for bird species that are trying to live on despite climate change and habitat destruction.

“If we want to maintain a resilient, biodiverse biological community that will continue to provide us with ecosystem services … but also the sense of a connection to the natural world and the sense of belonging you feel when you see a familiar organism living around you,” says Lauck, “we need to manage agriculture for more than just production.” 

***

Learn more about the benefits of birds on farms: We’ve written about this before. Check out this story about how birds help out agricultural lands.

Want to make your farm more bird-friendly? The National Audubon Society has some ideas. Check out its Conservation Ranching program for more information.

If you live in an urban area, then we’d recommend reading this piece in the Arizona Republic, which offers some guidance on what to do if you see a young bird that’s fled the nest due to heat.

The post Birds are Vulnerable to Heat Stress, Even on Farms appeared first on Modern Farmer.

The crop itself is hardly new. It’s most prevalent today in states such as North Dakota and Montana, where it’s grown to make linseed oil and flaxseed meal. But the varieties now springing up in places that have long been dominated by corn, wheat and soybeans aren’t meant to be used for seed. Instead, these new flax farmers are targeting the plants’ fibers.

Flax fibers are used to make products ranging from twine to banknotes. In some cases, they can even serve as a substitute for materials such as carbon fiber. Crucially, however, linen fabric is made from woven flax fibers.

“Flax is linen, and linen is flax,” says Heidi Barr, a home goods designer and co-founder of the PA Flax Project. “And it is remarkable how many people don’t know that.”

The vast majority of the world’s linen is grown in Western Europe. Most of the remainder comes from China. In North America, linen production is all but nonexistent, save for one very small mill in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The PA Flax project is one of a handful of local groups trying to reestablish commercial linen on this continent.

It all starts with education, says Barr. Demand is on the rise for sustainably made clothing and other textiles. And that’s exactly what advocates for North American linen believe it can provide.

Heidi Barr and Emma De Long, the co-founders of the PA Flax Project, harvest flax at Kneehigh Farm in 2020. (Photo: Zoe Schaeffer)

Yet truly sustainable linen will be expensive, at least early on, when the supply chains are still getting up to speed. The more familiar people are with where linen comes from and how it’s made, the better it’s expected to fare in a market saturated with cheap synthetic fabrics.

“People who are working in textiles want [linen],” says Barr. “It’s so versatile, it’s so environmentally friendly, and then there are all these benefits to our small and mid-sized farmers. … I just think that making that connection of, ‘Oh, this fabric can come from this plant,’ is like magic to people.”

Over the past several years, the vision of a sustainable North American linen industry has started to crystallize. Groups like Barr’s are well aware of the many challenges that stand in their way, but they also believe each one can be overcome.

Even under the best of circumstances, though, bringing linen goods to buyers will require a lot of innovation, money and time.

The limits of traditional methods

Linen has a long history in North America. Early European settlers brought flax with them and used rudimentary tools to process it. After extracting the fiber from the plant using a flax brake—a sturdy contraption that looks sort of like a short wooden guillotine—they combed it into usable strands, spun it into thread, wove it into fabric and then sewed it into clothing. 

As textile mills began to proliferate, the cotton grown on Southern plantations, which relied on the labor of enslaved people, proved to be a cheaper option than flax. The latter tended to fare better in the North. Pockets of linen production persisted for a while, but by the middle of the 20th century, even those were gone.

These days, the flax grown for linen is an industrial crop. It spans hundreds of thousands of acres in Europe and Asia. It’s treated, in most cases, with conventional fertilizers and pesticides, and is harvested, processed and made into cloth using huge machinery.

Outside of the world’s main flax-growing regions, there are few options available to those interested in working with the plant or its fibers. They can always fall back on the traditional methods, of course. But it’s hard to overstate just how labor-intensive it is to turn flax into fabric without the help of modern equipment.

Amber Rose Ostaszewski, a fiber artist based in Kentucky, is one of the few North Americans alive today who have done every step by hand. She devoted much of 2022 to transforming four bales of Ohio-grown flax into a simple, knee-length shift dress.

Amber Rose Ostaszewski lost count of the hours it took to produce this dress from flax using traditional methods. (Photo courtesy of the artist)

“With the exception of my flax brake, which my dad built based on antique flex brake plans, all of the equipment I own is antique,” she says. “It’s something I’ve either bought off eBay or found in a thrift store. The old-school style is just a ton—a ton—of work.”

Ostaszewski, who is an experienced spinner and weaver, spent the first three months of the project breaking down the flax stems, scraping off excess plant material and running what was left through beds of nails to separate the tangled fibers. (The latter two steps are known to insiders as “scutching” and “hackling.”) It took her a month to spin the yarn, two weeks to weave the fabric, a week to sew the dress and a week to dye it. She used every bit of the fiber she processed.

She’s not sure exactly how much time she wound up spending on that singular dress. About a month in, when she’d logged 180 hours and still had piles of flax to work through, she stopped counting.

Getting the industry off the ground

Most of the people aiming to turn North American linen from a cool idea into an actual industry say that money is the biggest barrier. They’re hopeful that once they’ve managed to design and buy the mid-sized machinery that will be needed to support production at any meaningful scale, everything else will fall into place.

The PA Flax Project and several groups like it have begun partnering with nearby farmers and gardeners to grow small volumes of organic flax and experiment with different ways of planting, tending and harvesting it. They’re wary of asking farmers to commit to more than that before a market exists for the crop. Already, though, farmers are starting to pay attention.

“They’re skeptical, still, on the payout, and how that works, as it kind of feels like we’re building an airplane in the sky,” says Jess Boeke, a high school English teacher and co-creator of the Ohio-based Rust Belt Linen Project. “But they’re very curious to hear more.”

Dried flax plants—like these ones grown as part of the Rust Belt Linen Project—can be stored for years before being processed into linen. (Photo: Rust Belt Fibershed/Suzuran Photography)

Sarah Eichler, an assistant professor at Kent State University who studies agricultural sustainability, is also looking to fill in some of the gaps. It’s already known at this point that flax is “reasonably easy to grow,” she says. Her research explores where flax can be incorporated most effectively into existing crop systems.

While early signs suggest that flax would fit neatly into summer crop rotations with corn and soybeans, the precise benefits and any drawbacks remain to be determined. And although there’s also evidence that flax plants grown in moist regions could be particularly resilient to drought and unpredictable weather caused by climate change, more research will be needed to say for sure.

“By anyone’s standards, this would be the idea phase,” says Boeke. “What we’re doing this year is, by hand scale, creating proof of concept for how flax grows well here. But there’s no real proof of concept from a machinery standpoint yet.”

As linen’s proponents apply for agricultural grants and seek other sources of funding, they’re trying to make sure that when the machinery does finally reach North American shores, farmers will be ready to go.

Boeke, in particular, wants to make sure that as the industry matures, it remains committed to sustainable practices, not only for the land but for the people who tend to it.

“We have such an opportunity to do it differently,” she says, “and to do it well.”

Competition vs. collaboration

Growing and processing linen entirely in North America will require major investments in harvesting equipment that’s suitable for flax and in mills that are capable of extracting the fibers and spinning them into yarn. Some US weaving facilities are already capable of working with linen yarn, but space there is limited, too.

In total, the anticipated cost comes out to millions of dollars—an imposing number for linen enthusiasts who mostly have separate day jobs and are working out the logistics in their spare time.

Still, there’s a general consensus that the first commercial-scale mills are likely to open their doors and start turning out small batches of North American linen within the next five years.

The fibers extracted from flax plants gave rise to familiar descriptors like “flaxen-haired” and “tow-headed.” (Photo: Rust Belt Fibershed/Lily Turner)

Some aspects of building a new industry around growing flax will be dictated by geography. But many will be universal. That’s why, in September 2022, the people behind the continent’s emerging regional linen projects established the North American Linen Association.

The trade organization is now working to import and build the needed machinery. It’s also become a sounding board for more experienced members and a source of information for newer ones. Instead of confronting the same challenges one by one, its members are beginning to deal with them together.

The North American Linen Association represents a major step toward commercialization, says Shannon Welsh, another founding member. Welsh co-founded Fibrevolution, a group whose work is aimed primarily at Oregon, in 2017. Hers was one of the first linen initiatives on the continent. Looking back now, she says , it’s easy to see how much progress North American linen has already made.

“We always wanted multiple mills to come online at the same time throughout North America, so that we could share resources, share experts—for the machinery, for fixing them, for problem-solving them—but also just to really create a supply chain,” says Welsh.

One day, she says, the regions could wind up in competition with one another. For now, however, she believes that collaboration is the best approach. “I think we have a lot more power that way,” she says. “We haven’t been in the world market for linen for many decades. And so, to reenter the market, it’s much stronger if we come united.”

The post Can Linen Make a Comeback in North America? appeared first on Modern Farmer.

“Fern Capital of the World,” it reads. And below that another accolade: “Hometown of Chipper Jones,” a local boy who made it big, real big. Major League Baseball kind of big, with a near 20-year career with the Atlanta Braves and elected to the Hall of Fame. There’s a lot to be proud of in this farming community. 

But it’s the locally grown foliage crop, especially the leatherleaf fern, that has put this region, dotted with ferneries, on the map. Just up the road in the town of Seville is David Register’s operation, FernTrust. In addition to leatherleaf fern, Register and his multi-generation family grows a variety of greenery — magnolia, aspidistra and tree fern among them. The products make up the base of arrangements, bouquets and other ornamental decor commonly used for all of life’s celebrations and ceremonies. 

“I think the industry and the type of farming we do is unique,” Register told me. “It’s kind of like a mix between farming and art.” 

David Register, executive vice president of FernTrust in Seville, Fla., stands under the shade cloth-covered grounds of his fernery. FernTrust is a sponsor of the First Lady’s Luncheon. (Photo: By Jennifer Taylor)

Recently, the foliage from this agricultural community has graced the tables of some of the most influential spouses in the country. Just this past spring, the greenery grown in this area’s ideal high, sandy soil, once again complemented other American-grown cut flowers from across the country in centerpieces and other decor at the distinguished gathering of the First Lady’s Luncheon. It’s a time-honored tradition in Washington, D.C. hosted by the Congressional Club and it’s where First Lady Dr. Jill Biden recently addressed congressional families. The club, established in 1908, is made up of spouses of members of Congress and was designed to help foster friendships among the legislative leaders. Annually, it honors the first lady and, in turn, she speaks before a bi-partisan crowd of influencers.

It’s also fertile ground for showcasing an industry desperately trying to recultivate the value of American-grown products in the wake of US policies supporting imported flowers that have undercut domestic flower and foliage farmers for decades.

“Our farms are so incredibly giving and supportive. And they’re so proud to see what is on the tables and what adorns the event. Because it’s a sense of pride for them,” says Camron King, CEO and ambassador for Certified American Grown, an independent national trade association that represents American cut flower and foliage and potted plant farmers. Members of CAG sponsor their time, travel expenses and the products that make up the floral arrangements for the First Lady’s Luncheon.

The hope, too, is to get the word out to lawmakers about the plight of American cut flowers and foliage growers.

The message hasn’t always been this urgent. Up until the early 1990s, most cut flowers and foliage sold in the United States were grown here. But federal trade agreements, such as the Andean Trade Preferences and Drug Eradication Act and the US–Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, were implemented and supported by subsidies to foreign governments to plant flower fields instead of trading in drug manufacturing and trade. While well intended, critics say such decisions created a scenario where imported flowers and foliage could be sold in the US cheaper than what homegrown farms could produce and sell. Making matters worse, as the years went by, American flower and foliage farms began going out of business. Now, only about 22 percent of the flowers and foliage sold in the United States are grown here; the bulk is foreign grown and enters the country through Miami ports.

“We have the rose as the American flower. There’s only a small handful of American rose producers left because some of the decisions on the policy side that have been made have had negative effects in that roses are oftentimes imported. So it has major impacts, not just in economics, but also societally,” says King.

Fern fields grow under Live Oak tree hammocks in Seville, Fla. (Photo: Jennifer Taylor)

The US, according to CAG, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help grow the floral industries of other countries. For instance, in 2018, it was announced that the US would help Kenya double its floral exports to the United States. More recently, the United States Trade Representative office agreed to add roses to the list of products eligible from Ecuador to be shipped to the US duty free. 

“The economic impact is huge and the quality of life impact is huge,” says King. Harvesting from the field or out of greenhouses and then bringing product to wholesalers and on to floral designers, for instance, is not only hands-on work but it literally passes through many hands and, in turn, touches many livelihoods.   

“We want to ensure that we continue to move that forward, because it is a tradition and heritage that’s a fabric of American history,” says King.

To do so, CAG formed in 2021 to help educate consumers about the importance of buying American-grown cut flowers and foliage. The advocacy group is starting to make some headway.  

For instance, the month of July for the past several years has been celebrated as American Grown Flower and Foliage month, supported with resolutions in both the US House and Senate. Consumers can select domestic products identified with the “Certified American Grown” seal. Even more important, the organization is expecting the American Grown Act will be reintroduced to Congress this year. 

The act would require the White House, State Department and Department of Defense to only display American grown flowers and foliage. The intention, according to CAG, is to show support of the domestic growers, businesses, and communities by displaying products in offices, at functions and during ceremonies under the jurisdiction of the departments.

A welcome sign in Pierson, Florida, describes the community as the “Fern Capital of the World.” (Photo by Jennifer Taylor)

Erik Hagstrom is a fifth-generation fern and foliage farmer with Albin Hagstrom & Son and a CAG board member. His family farm is located not far from FernTrust and he shares similar concerns about the industry.

“If the federal government is going to spend money on product, it should be product that is grown right here in the United States,” says Hagstrom. “Our research has shown that people will certainly take something if it is grown here, versus grown in some other country that is not democratic. People enjoy seeing that. But the problem is that we’re such a small industry. Our voices just don’t get the resonance that you need to get it out there.”

That’s why, says King, the opportunity to participate in the First Lady’s Luncheon aligned with the advocacy group’s goals for its industry. “The Congressional Club is, much as we are with CAG, bipartisan,” notes King. “We use the chance to connect with spouses who obviously are relating directly with their spouses who may be seated members, or are seated members in such a way that we’re asking for further support and work to allay the prospects of what we’re doing.”

Back in central Florida, Register makes the morning rounds in his pickup truck, surveying the harvest and checking crops for disease. The fields are uniquely Floridian. Narrow unpaved roads wind under massive Live Oak tree hammocks that cast protective shade over varieties of fern and other foliage thriving on what looks like a forest floor. In other fields, the environment is manufactured. Tall wooden posts support large swaths of shade cloth where the leatherleaf fern grows, under a sometimes relentless sun, year-round.

King’s efforts in Washington haven’t gone unnoticed. Register, who also is a CAG board member representing the southeast, believes the association is providing an opportunity to help turn around the industry.  

“I just want the American consumer to understand that American agriculture represents families just like mine,” says Register, whose daughter, Victoria, traveled to Washington to help set up a recent First Lady’s Luncheon. “When we source out to offshore, yeah, it’s maybe helping those people down there. But it’s not your American farm family. And if we want to keep agriculture in the United States, whether it be flowers, ferns, tomatoes, grapes, corn, whatever, we have to make it profitable for American farmers to do that.”

The leatherleaf is a deep green fern with a thick stem and glossy, fine lace-like fronds. When it adorns the luncheon tables it’s a piece of nature’s canvas that makes blooms pop. Inside the grand ballroom for the first lady’s event, King doesn’t expect the beauty and emotion that the arrangements evoke from attendees to fully translate into “buy American.”

But he does hope consumers start connecting the dots of where the flowers in floral shops and supermarkets come from. And that there are families like the Registers and Hagstroms and the families of their employees on down that depend on the growth of cut flowers and foliage. 

The leatherleaf, Register knows, is the crop that pays the bills. But, to him, it’s so much more. As he spoke about his farm, he paused, as if a year flashed in front of him. The early fall is probably the worst time of year to look at the leatherleaf crop, he says. It’s just come off the heat of summer when the disease, fungus and weeds go crazy. It can be depressing. But, when spring arrives, he feels good taking something from almost nothing and seeing it thrive. 

“I think it’s beautiful,” he says.

This story is adapted with permission from East Wing Magazine, a publication dedicated to covering presidential first ladies present and past.

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Mireia Pujol-Busquets. Photography courtesy of Alta Alella.

After graduating, Pujol-Busquets worked for the United Nations in Thailand, focusing on environmental and agricultural issues. It was through that experience that she realized she was happiest not in an office but actively doing field work and getting her hands dirty. Her travels next took her to Switzerland in 2010, where she studied hybrid plants at an organic research center. There, she realized she had to enact real change as the wine industry was facing disease, climate change and new forms of parasites. 

“[The Swiss research center had a] small winery and, in this small winery, they work with hybrids, different kinds,” she says. “I had the opportunity to see how, thanks to these varieties, they can work organically—and [work] well,” she says. 

She returned to Spain and enrolled in a Masters program in organic agriculture, followed by a Master’s in viticulture, while working at her family’s winery on the weekends. Pujol-Busquets began thinking about the wine world long-term; of the generations prior to herself and the generations after that will continue winemaking. And that’s when she realized she would have to change the world, starting with her own two hands. 

“I needed to find grapes that could live in the [new, warmer] conditions. So, we got in contact with researchers that have experience in hybrids and two more wineries and then we started this project,” she says.

Photography courtesy of Alta Alella.

The project to which she’s referring, Resistant and Autochthonous Varieties Adapted to Climate Change, was launched 12 years ago and is ongoing, developing varieties that are resistant to plagues such as powdery mildew and downy mildew and have more drought tolerance. She was specifically looking to create plants that would be increasingly adapted to climate change without having to treat the soil or the vines. To do this, Pujol-Busquets and her team of about 10 people (who also multitask in the vineyards, she says) planted more than 5,000 seeds in greenhouses in Thailand, where the high humidity would mimic extreme conditions. The hybrids in this study incorporated a variety of grapes, including Xarel-lo, Macabeu and Parellada. From there, it was, quite literally, survival of the fittest. 

“We did about 300,000 different crossings of these varieties. The ones that were the most resistant ones we planted on the field,” she says. ”It was the resistance to disease and temperature changes that were valued.” Pujol-Busquets then started making small batches of wine from these hybrids to see how they behaved in terms of acidity and alcohol. Then, there was a final test to see if the plants organoleptically talk—meaning, they would have the same taste, color, odor and feel of the plants from which they were derived. 

“They have to look really, really alike or very similar to the mother plant. We had to find the sons and the daughters of these plants; they are stronger, but they have the characteristics of the parent plant,” she says. While the study has obtained 400 plants during this process, Pujol-Busquets notes that the goal is to end up with the 12 strongest that most resemble the origin plant. 

Now, the next challenge is legalizing these grapes and having them be accepted as a new biodiversity, she says. However, this is an uphill battle. Pujol-Busquets notes that part of the issue is local tradition in Spain, namely the Catalonia region, and keeping the same vines. 

Pujol-Busquets sees this type of study as replicating what would have naturally occurred were humans not on the planet—if vines had been left alone to grow, change and adapt on their own. Pujol-Busquets explains that as organic agriculture and trying to find ways to create the best product with minimal—if any—intervention is crucial to both the maintenance and growth of the wine industry. 

If anything, she is hoping this study will inspire others—PhD students, viticulturists, winemakers and even local administrations—to look at sustainable farming in the wine industry with new, fresh eyes and take the subsequent generations into account when making today’s decisions. “We have to evolve,” she insists. “We have to do what we can do and we have to try new things, new techniques.” 

Photography courtesy of Alta Alella.

While Pujol-Busquets works to do her part to make a difference, especially in Spain, there are other growers and researchers around the world who are also fighting the good fight across  the wine industry. In Sonoma, CA, Chalk Hill has worked with a clonal study of Chardonnay since 1996, finally registering Clone 97 in 2003. The brand worked alongside University of California, Davis to make these inroads. In Tuscany, Italy, Banfi is also making an attempt to fight climate change through viticulture, says general manager Enrico Viglierchio. “We have been able to tailor our approach to viticultural activity based on how specific varieties are impacted by the changing patterns in temperature and water,” he says in an email, noting that the team is working with the University of Milan on experimental rootstock that is able to perform under significant hydric stress conditions.

Pujol-Busquets explains that it would have been easier to pull plants from other parts of the world to Spain. There are plants that winemakers already know are more resistant and stronger than clones. However, in Catalonia, there is a heritage to uphold that is important to the wine world. And, that heritage is something that Pujol-Busquets wanted to ensure would not be lost for future generations. “There is tradition. There is culture. And it took a long time to build that culture, a long time to build that foundation. So, let’s try to be smart and not lose it.”

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With only 88 farms producing just one percent of the fresh produce consumed locally, it’s not a choice but a necessity for food to be imported from the south. Until now. North of the capital Whitehorse, in the southernmost part of the territory, Yukon Berry Farms is growing 50,000 haskap berry plants on 50 acres. 

In 2022, the farm yielded 15,000 pounds of berries, most of which will be turned into wine or cider and exported out of the territory—a rarity for the area, which is almost completely reliant on imported food. 

 It begs the question: How can haskaps be grown on such a massive scale, in such an inhospitable setting? 

Photography courtesy of Yukon Berry Farms.

Haskaps, which look like an elongated blueberry and taste similar to a tart raspberry, grow wild in circumpolar regions throughout Canada, Asia and northern Europe. But very few people have heard of them. 

“Wild haskaps are small and it takes a lot of picking to fill a bucket,” says Dr. Bob Bors, manager of the fruit program at the University of Saskatchewan. There, Bors has successfully hybridized more than 10 different varieties of haskaps, all suited for northern growing.

The idea of turning haskaps into a commercial crop first took seed in the 1950s. Canadian horticulturists hybridized a strain of haskap from wild plants and those commercially grown in Siberia. But it didn’t even make it to market. “That berry,” says Bors, “tasted like tonic water and fruit breeders saw no marketability in it.” Bors’ secret weapon was the sweet Japanese haskap, which he combined with the Canadian wild berry and Siberian cultivator to create a cold hardy plant, with a bigger,  tastier fruit than earlier versions. 

Now his berries are growing at Yukon Berry Farms. He’s not surprised at their success, especially with climate change causing warmer winters. In 2021, the lowest recorded temperature in Whitehorse was -45.5 degrees Celsuis. Further south in Abbotsford, the heart of British Columbia’s fertile berry-producing Fraser Valley, where mild winters are often the norm and spring comes early, the  temperature barely dipped below -7  degrees Celsius.     

“Haskaps love extended periods of deep, sub-zero cold,” says Bors. “In the south,they can wake up too earl, and flower before the bees and insects they rely on for pollination and ultimately fruit production have broken their hibernation.” Bors’ research also suggests that the heat typical of long southern summers could shut down the plant’s ability to grow and produce. 

They’re also susceptible to humidity. “This can cause powdery mildew, a fungal disease, that damages the plant,” says Graham Gambles, secretary for the Haskap Berry Growers Association of Ontario. This makes Whitehorse’s dry climate (it receives less than  260 millimetres of rain, or 11 inches, annually) ideal for haskaps.  

Photography courtesy of Yukon Berry Farms.

Kyle Marchuk, the co-owner of Yukon Berry Farms, knew how lucrative haskaps could be as an export crop from the moment he first encountered them. 

“A friend of mine was growing haskaps on a small test plot, here in the Yukon, and they were producing more berries than on bushes being grown in the south. So many, in fact, that a buyer from outside of the Yukon was willing to buy all the berries that could be produced and export them out of the territory.”

It spurred Marchuk to become a partner in Yukon Berry Farms in 2014 and plant 20,000 haskaps. In 2016, at a food show in Tokyo, Japan, he showcased haskap berry jam and was amazed at the Japanese interest in the product. He knew then that haskaps could be a lucrative export market for Yukon growers.   

By the end of 2018, Yukon Berry Farms had expanded operations and was growing more than 40,000 haskap bushes.    

Photography courtesy of Yukon Berry Farms.

There are weeds that pop up between the plants and  voles that eat the bark for food over the winter.  “But the biggest challenge,” says Marchuk, “has been the changes the Canadian government made in 2019 to export licensing of fresh food.”  

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CIFA)  new regulations meant growers such as Marchuk would be required to do more paperwork and be subject to more inspections. The process was more time consuming than it had been and the licensing more expensive, so instead of exporting raw berries and jam, Marchuk and his partners opened Yukon’s first winery and cidery. 

“The laws surrounding the export of alcohol are more lenient. We’re exporting haskap wine and cider to Japan and planning to get products into stores across Canada very soon,” he says. 

Taking three to four years to reach maturity, each haskap bush can yield up to 10 pounds of berries a season—enough to share with the world and the local community, says Carl Burgess, executive director  of the Yukon Agricultural Association. He sees no reason why haskap berries grown in the Yukon can’t be exported. “We have tomatoes from Mexico imported to the Yukon, so why not locally grown haskaps exported to Mexico?”

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