New agricultural policy has the potential to meet multiple objectives for food production and environmental protection. We need to think very differently about how we ‘farm’ our land in order to integrate multiple objectives better - whilst mixed cropping systems are more complex to manage, they can produce a wider range of food and fuel, greater resilience to climate and market challenges, and rural employment. Agroforestry can be a way in which farmers can sustainably grow food, transition into the new ELM Scheme and contribute to ‘public goods'. We explore difficulties, successes and lessons learned from integrating trees into farming systems to enhance farm health and overall sustainability.
May 2021
