Forest farming is an agroforestry practice that intentionally cultivates edible, floral, medicinal, and craft products that grow underneath a forest canopy. It is an alternative to wild harvesting of non-timber forest products and can be used by landowners to manage forest crops and tap into existing markets while also enhancing product consistency and resource sustainability.

Forest Farming on eXtension

University personnel, forest farmers, and agency employees from across the country recently formed a group to develop an interactive, web-based forest farming information system. The project is sponsored by the USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture and Forest Service and uses Cooperative Extension’s eXtension program (extension.org) to create online content and applications. eXtension is a USDA and Land Grant Extension System initiative designed to support and house online, topic-specific education and outreach programs.

At the same time, some involved in the eXtension project are also part of a corresponding joint venture with the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station to develop a non-timber product output system. The system will provide market information to the public via reports and maps housed on the forest farming eXtension site. Together, the people working on these projects are part of a national community committed to developing online forest farming resources.

The Crops and Community

Some examples of high-value forest farming products include edibles like shitake mushrooms, plants such as goldenseal, pine straw and salal as decoratives, and craft product like cypress knees. Forest farming is the sustainable cultivation of non-timber forest products and community members broadly aim to share information about farming these crops. Members will draw upon their farming and research experience, along with synthesizing broad bases of information about managing edible, medicinal, decorative, and craft-based products in woodlands across a variety of ecosystems. These findings will be channeled into topic areas that cover key aspects of forest farming such as startup, best management practices, and markets and policies.

The forest farming eXtension initiative places emphasis on developing and providing meaningful information to people that are currently farming, those that would like to farm, and other stakeholders. The project uses interactive processes such as sense-making where community members and target audiences interact to build and refine information with growth and relevance in mind. In the first few months, membership has grown by about 20% and the community hails from across the nation and represents multiple institutions and businesses.

The Site

The forest farming eXtension site includes research-based and peer-reviewed answers to
frequently asked questions. The site also includes articles and news items about key issues,
upcoming opportunities, and scheduled events. It also offers an “ask-an-expert” function that
visitors can use if the information they seek is not found on the site. In addition, the community
is also developing a host of complimentary social media platforms, such as a facebook page and
twitter site, that will provide information and link directly to the Forest Farming eXtension site
for additional details. In covering multiple bases through eXtension and other highly popular
online applications, the Forest Farming community is building capacity in terms of group
cooperation, information availability, and stakeholder engagement. The overarching objective is
to leverage these strides to advance the national practice and prominence of forest farming.