After decades of trial and error, cultivar test orchards, and local breeding efforts, chestnuts are about to take a big leap towards becoming more regionally adapted and rooted in productive agroforestry systems across their range. The  Chestnut Improvement Network is a participatory breeding program led by  Dr. Ron Revord, tree crop geneticist at the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, with key producer partners, including Dr. Greg Miller, chestnut grower and tree geneticist at the Route 9 Cooperative.  Native Land Map: https://native-land.ca/

The Chestnut Improvement Network

Whether you’re new to agroforestry or you’re a seasoned professional expanding your knowledge base, the Center for Agroforestry's podcast series is a source for learning and inspiration.  We'll explore topics ranging from forest farming medicinal plants and mushrooms, to soil and water conservation with hedgerows and buffers, and everything in between. 
Subscribe to this podcast on your preferred podcast app, and stay tuned as we share the multitude of ways farmers and landowners, researchers and educators are working to reintegrate diverse woody perennial plants into multifunctional landscapes.

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Missouri tree syrup makers are connected to the forest in an intimate way, attending to late winter temperature fluctuations, noticing their trees’ health, and delighting in a sap flow that will result (with much time and care) in a sweet reward. Maples are not a preferred species in these forests, but where abundant, tapping them can yield a sustainable source of nutritious sugars. The Center for Agroforestry’s new project “Putting Maple on the Map in the Lower Midwest” highlights the important role these trees play in forest farming and ecological health.  Dr. Benjamin Knapp is faculty manager at the  University of Missouri’s Baskett Forest where we visit during the annual open house tapping event. Beth Morgan and her family at Hart|Beet Farm in Eolia, Missouri show us around their sugarbush and the ins-and-outs of their “sapinator” where they make a unique syrup for their CSA customers. 

Maple Sugaring in the Lower Midwest

The 13th Annual Agroforestry Symposium on Food, Fire, & Agroforestry for the Future: Ecological Knowledges for Climate Resilience will be held on January 20th, 2022 from 10am to 4pm CST online and Zoom. The theme for this year's event brings attention to the ways that intercultural perspectives in land-based sciences are essential as we collectively face current climate realities. The event is free and open to the public. Register and see more details at https://centerforagroforestry.org/annual-symposium/.

You’re Invited to the Agroforestry Symposium! January 20th

Trees and pigs may seem an unlikely combination, but in fact, hog silvopasture has been practiced for thousands of years, and is only recently making a comeback in the US. In this episode, two practitioners share their insights about raising hogs under trees. During the last in-person Perennial Farm Gathering, hosted by the Savanna Institute, we talked with Dayna Burtness of Nettle Valley Farm, and recorded a presentation from Eliza Greenman of HogTree. Dr. Ashley Conway is our guest host to offer some context within the world of silvopasture history, management, and risks.

Silvopasture with Hogs: What?! How and Why

In this episode, we inoculate a deeper understanding of how fungi can play an important role on farms with trees, both as a valuable crop and as a source of ecological revitalization. Steve Gabriel from the Cornell Small Farms Program and Wellspring Forest Farm, and Nicola MacPherson from Ozark Forest Mushrooms share their insights and experience working with shiitake mushrooms.

The Chestnut Improvement Network

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