Agroforestry is what you get when you think about forest gardens farming scale.  By combining trees, pasture, arable crops and any other elements of the landscape appropriate to need and conservation we can disgn and build environments where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  In recent times in Britain we have tended to see 'forestry' and 'agriculture' as compartmentalised activities.  In reality they have always been inter-mixed.  Agroforestry proposes this is the natural way to do things, which offers real benefits.

There have been many different approaches to agroforestry influenced by environment, resources climate, timescale and levels of technology.  There are also many claims that 'only method X is truly agroforestry'.  Personally I would say all approaches are welcome and can be studied for benefit.

We planted a small scale experimental plot at Tweed Horizons at Newtown St Boswells in the Scottish Borders in the 1990's.  This is a steep hillside site where the intention is for the strips of woodland to provide shelter for livestock from summer heat and winter chill.  The woodland is rich in wild fruiting plants which were originally used as poultry habitats with an increasing element of self-feed.  As the trees mature they are also available for browsing as a top up feed to livestock when grass production falls in mid-summer and in winter.

Forestry Comissioner Sir Michael Strang-Steel opened the plot for us, and remarked that the original Ettrick Forest (the Wardenship of Sir Walter Scott) was itself agroforestry and that we were seeking to relearn ancient wisdom.  I'm inclined to agree.