Expanding Agroforestry Project Incentive Program
The Expanding Agroforestry Project fosters opportunities for farmers to increase income while providing environmental benefits through direct incentive payments and technical assistance.
How it works
The Expanding Agroforestry Project (EAP) provides incentive payments and technical assistance to eligible producers and landowners interested in establishing alley cropping, silvopasture, and windbreak agroforestry practices.
The Center for Agroforestry is the regional team lead for the ‘Lower Midwest’ and serves producers in four states: Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. We will be accepting applications twice per year through 2028. Our next application cycle will open in early summer 2024. To stay up to date on announcements and educational opportunities related to this project, please join our list serve!
If you are outside of the Lower Midwest, but own or lease land in one of the 30 eligible states, you can still apply! Please reference the map below to see which organization is the regional team lead in your area.
After applying, producers who are selected into the program will work with our technical assistance providers to finalize all design elements – from where to source trees to irrigation design – and complete all required paperwork. Once under contract, producers will receive incentive payments for planting trees. The cost of site preparation and the resources needed for tree survival (e.g., irrigation, tree tubes, etc.) are factored into the total incentive payment received.
Producers receive:
Qualifying practices:
Project background
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) launched this project in early 2023 to expand agroforestry across 30 states. The five-year pilot project is designed to catalyze significant private investments into the agroforestry industry while increasing producers’ incomes and delivering multiple environmental benefits. This project brings together leading businesses, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions including the Center for Agroforestry, regional team lead for the Lower Midwest. This effort, which includes targeted outcomes to address the needs of underserved farmers, will create 30,000 acres of new agroforestry plantings over five years.
Funding for this project is from the USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, an initiative to drive natural climate solutions by financing partnerships that support the production and marketing of climate-smart agricultural and forestry commodities.
Goals of the program in a nutshell
- Scale up agroforestry practices. Through technical assistance and a strong network of project partners, EAP will advance on-farm solutions, creating a national model to spur the adoption of agroforestry practices.
- Sequester carbon and promote ecological agriculture. Planting woody perennial crops promotes carbon sequestration, soil health, water quality, and biodiversity.
- Create a national network of demonstration farms. Through tours, workshops, and classes, this network of demonstration farms will serve as a prime educational resource for the successful establishment and succession of agroforestry practices.
- Identify barriers and solutions to market growth. Develop business models and assist farmers in getting their products to market
Learn more
Please visit the Expanding Agroforestry Project Website for more information about this program including an extensive FAQ document found at the bottom of the page.
For any questions you may have related to this project, email agroforestryassistance@missouri.edu
VISIT THE EXPANDING AGROFORESTRY PROJECT WEBSITE