What is Agroforestry?
Agroforestry is new market opportunities. Sustainable agriculture. Land stewardship. Habitat for wildlife. Improved water quality. Diversified farm income.
In simple terms, agroforestry is intensive land-use management combining trees and/or shrubs with crops and/or livestock.
Agroforestry practices are designed to fit specific niches within the farm to meet specific landowner objectives.
Agroforestry practices help landowners to diversify products, markets, and farm income; improve soil and water quality; and reduce erosion, non-point source pollution and damage due to flooding. The integrated practices of agroforestry enhance land and aquatic habitats for fish and wildlife and improve biodiversity while sustaining land resources for generations to come.
The University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA), established in 1998, is one of the world's leading centers contributing to the science underlying agroforestry. Interdisciplinary collaboration is one of the outstanding hallmarks of the Center. Research on the benefits of agroforestry is supported from a broad spectrum of disciplines: forestry, fisheries and wildlife, entomology, plant pathology, agronomy, animal science, horticulture, soils, atmospheric science, agricultural economics and rural sociology. Linked with the Center's solid science and research programs are several key collaborations and partnerships with landowners, natural resource professionals, federal and state agencies and non-profit organizations. Through these critical relationships, UMCA and its partners are producing an expanding list of positive outcomes for landowners, the natural environment and society as a whole.
The five key practices of agroforestry:
2018 UMCA Annual Report (PDF, 3.71 MB)
For more information, see the Publications page or
the Agroforestry 5-Practices DVD