To mark International Day of Forests 2025, John Pawsey reflects on how he introduced agroforestry at Shimpling Park Farm, a mixed organic farm in Suffolk and one of the UK’s leading examples of agroforestry within an arable system.
The theme for International Day of Forests 2025 is ‘Forests and Food’. So I thought I’d share how we introduced agroforestry systems at Shimpling Park Farm in 2020.
I was inspired by watching my neighbour Martin Wolfe pioneer agroforestry for 25 years at Wakelyns. I knew I wanted to do something similar but I kept thinking of all the reasons not to. When Martin sadly died, I realised I just needed to get on with it.
Taking the plunge after a century of farming
I introduced agroforestry practices to our family farm in 2020 with a 20-hectare plot.
The decision to integrate trees into our farming system wasn't taken lightly. Our farm has been in the family for over 100 years – four generations - and any major change needs careful consideration.
I farm 700 hectares on my land, and 950 hectares of other local farms, growing crops such as milling oats, spelt, heritage wheat and clover seed.
I wanted to boost biodiversity by creating wildlife corridors between the farm and our neighbouring Site of Special Scientific Interest – all while maintaining profitable food production.
Here’s what I’ve learnt on our agroforestry journey.
Tip 1: seek expert advice
When we started, there wasn't a huge amount of advice about agroforestry.
While giving a talk about the farm, I happened to meet a university researcher called Sam Morgan. He was studying agri-ecology and was looking for a research project – so we took him up on the offer.
He produced a report which:
- assessed climate change impacts on different tree species
- planned optimal alley widths and spacing
- recommended long-term management strategies for felling and coppicing
His research informed our decision to plant trees with 36m spacing. This allows room for modern machinery and includes a 9m controlled traffic system. The agroforestry alley system means that the project hasn’t negatively impacted farm productivity, which was really important to me.
There are a lot of things you just don’t think of, and his expert advice helped us future-proof the project.
Tip 2: take advantage of funding and advice
I’m a farmer, not a tree expert. So working with another organisation took a bit of the risk away from me.
At the time there were fewer organisations offering support for agroforestry. We secured a 10 to 12 year agreement with Woodland Trust, who supplied us with the trees, stakes and protection tubes. We did the planting and maintenance, and had to replant anything over 10% loss.
We planted 15 different tree species:
- hornbeam, black poplar, wild cherry and alder to support biodiversity and soil health
- hazel, willow, fruit trees and nuts for timber and wood chips (I use the wood chips in my boiler)
The Trust have also been really helpful when things haven’t gone to plan.
Tip 3: get your hands dirty
When COVID-19 came along we couldn’t use the professional tree planters we had planned to – we were in lockdown. So me and the two kids decided to plant ourselves.
Often tree planting is a joy, but sometimes it’s very hard work. We were planting in the middle of a frosty winter, and our 45% clay ground made it really difficult. But when everyone comes together it’s a wonderful feeling.
We planted 3,500 trees in just over two weeks. Actually, I think we’re much more invested in the project because we did it ourselves.
Tip 4: protect your trees
In hindsight, I sort of wish we’d put electrical fencing around the perimeter of the plot from the beginning. At least for the first few years.
We have a big deer population, which damage young trees with their browsing and can ultimately prevent the tree from establishing. The deer have actually stopped us expanding the project. We’re now completely invested in getting on top of the problem.
We’ve also used funding from the Woodland Trust to experiment with different tree guards, testing sheep’s wool and human hair down the tubes.
Five years on
Since starting in 2020, our agroforestry system has delivered multiple benefits without reducing farm productivity.
Alongside the wildlife benefits, the project has had huge social benefits too. We get about 25 to 30 farm visits a year from people who want to see the agroforestry. When people get to see what we do – while still producing food - it really does give them confidence to think about doing it too.
Expanding the agroforestry system at Shimpling Park Farm is a no-brainer. We don’t intend to use it everywhere on the farm, but we do want to get trees into arable fields.
I’m looking forward to doing some more agroforestry.
Read the Forestry Commission’s introduction to agroforestry on GOV.UK.
Advice and guidance can be provided by your local Agroforestry Woodland Officer. To get in touch, email us at GRNationalteam@forestrycommission.gov.uk with your location.
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