Maine is promoting agroforestry
Maine Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry Amanda Beal recently dropped by a classroom of farmers and woodlot owners eager to learn about the challenges and opportunities of agroforestry at the 2026 Agricultural Trades Show at the Augusta Civic Center.
She noted that she and her husband manage a 35-acre agroforestry project – a mixed fruit tree orchard and 25-acre woodlot – in Warren.
Landowner Outreach Forester Dr. Nicole Rogers of UMaine-Orono introduced the overall topic of agroforestry. “USDA defines it as the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic and social benefits,” Rogers explained.
“Maine is the most forested state in the country, and there are 1.3 million acres of farmland in Maine.” Somewhat less than 50% of farms have forestland, totaling some 600,000 acres of woodlands.
State Soil Scientist Matt Boucher explained, “USDA has designated five practices as being particularly significant in agroforestry design: silvopasture; alley cropping (with shared nutrients, shade and moisture); riparian buffers on water bodies; shelterbelts; and nontraditional forest farming.”
Boucher noted it would be hard to overstate the need for rigorous and detailed planning when implementing an agroforestry project. “It’s hard to imagine that anything could be undertaken in the first year, and planning is sure to continue in years three to five … Start out on a small scale,” Boucher urged those trying out the challenges of agroforestry. “We have a broad opportunity here; we could be a national leader.”
Members of the Maine DACF, including District Forester Julie Forester, were delighted to introduce registered architect David W. Landmann of Windsor as their “outside” speaker to talk about a longtime agroforestry project he decided to develop two decades ago when his business partner retired and his younger daughter graduated from high school.
“I was at a major juncture at that time in my life, and I decided to stick with architecture, when interesting and profitable, and to develop an agricultural and forestry income, plus from primitive campsites (that I’ve not yet implemented),” Landmann said.
“I bought 100 acres of land: first 65 acres, and then the remaining 35 five years ago. My 100 acres has 880 feet of frontage on a paved road; this is the high point and the average width. From the paved road it slopes down to Bull Brook, which is about 220 feet below the road. From this brook, it rises about 160 feet to my back line. This whole spaghetti-shaped parcel runs about a mile between the road and his back line.
“My terrain is a series of plateaus and steep slopes, almost cliffs,” he said. “There’s one wetland that’s 180 feet by 750 feet. The uppermost 12 acres is in hay from which I cut 1,000 bales a year, and the remainder is in timber, except for the 16-acre beaver pond/marsh.”
Landmann has had a commercial timber harvest in one section of his parcel, and he’s selectively thinned another.
He generally maintains a 75-foot buffer along Bull Brook and its associated marsh.
He continues to plant and upgrade windbreaks, given his property’s steep grades. In other places, he encourages plants that like hydric soils and “wet feet,” and he practices foraging.
Landmann has enjoyed restoring former woods roads that had become overgrown and maintaining them. He’s planted mushrooms in logs, and he picks edible berries, herbs and ramps.
Landmann relishes making “Hugel mounds” (from the German “mound growing/ culture”) – raised garden beds built from decaying wood and thinned organic matter, creating a self-irrigating, fertile soil that reduces watering and builds rich compost over time in which to grow vegetables, fruits and herbs while providing wildlife habitats.
The mounds work like giant sponges, with buried logs retaining moisture and slowly releasing nutrients as they decompose, improving soil structure and fertility for years, making them a key permaculture technique for sustainable gardening.
by Edith Tucker
