Foreword
Prologue
1. What Is Silvopasture?
2. Perspectives from Ecology and History
3. Taking Care of Animals
4. Converting Woods to Silvopasture
5. Bringing Trees into Pasture
6. Putting It All Together with a Farm Ecosystem
Epilogue
Index
Steve Gabriel, author of Farming the Woods (with Ken Mudge), is an
ecologist, educator, and a forest farmer who has lived most of his
life in the Finger Lakes region of New York. His personal mission
is to reconnect people of all ages with the natural world and to
provide the tools for good management of forests and other
landscapes. He currently splits his time between working for the
Cornell Small Farms Program, and developing the farm he runs with
wife Elizabeth, Wellspring Forest Farm, which produces shiitake
mushrooms, duck eggs, pastured lamb, nursery trees, and maple
syrup.
Eric Toensmeier is the award-winning author of Paradise Lot and
Perennial Vegetables, and the co-author of Edible Forest Gardens.
Eric is an appointed lecturer at Yale University, a Senior Fellow
with Project Drawdown, and an international trainer. He presents in
English and Spanish throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico,
Guatemala, and the Caribbean. Eric has studied useful perennial
plants and their roles in agroforestry systems for over two
decades, and cultivates about 300 species in his urban garden. His
writing can be viewed online at perennialsolutions.org.
“With farmland getting scarcer and the climate getting warmer, we
must figure out novel approaches to growing food on less land with
a smaller environmental footprint. Getting meat, firewood, lumber,
mushrooms, berries, nuts, and other crops off the same piece of
land will be even more important. One of the best approaches to
that is silvopasturing—combining food animals with tree crops.
Author Steve Gabriel gives us a well-organized, practical guide to
this centuries-old approach of land management.”—Rebecca
Thistlethwaite, author of Farms with a Future and The New Livestock
Farmer
“A heartfelt, humble, and hope-filled account of the need for
people to embrace one another and the landscapes we inhabit, told
through the invaluable language of silvopasture. This book is
packed with information and practical examples for anyone
interested in the benefits of trees and grazing for the health of
soil, plants, herbivores, and human beings.”—Fred Provenza,
professor emeritus, Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State
University
“There comes a time when modern messengers are needed to bring new
life to ancient practices so that they can be utilized by the
masses to transform society. In this foundational book, Steve
Gabriel masterfully blends years of hard work, listening, and
studying to present the complex subject in simple yet meaningful
ways. Silvopasture provides much needed support and inspiration for
anyone interested in becoming part of the solution to our climate,
ecological, economic, and health challenges.”—Vail Dixon, Simple
Soil Solutions
“There is rapidly increasing interest among European farmers in
combining trees and livestock, but until now there’s been no really
good book to guide them that explores all the benefits, as well as
the tricky management decisions, involved in silvopasture systems.
This is where Steve Gabriel’s book, appearing at exactly the right
moment, comes in. Covering both tree management (stocking, species,
etc.) and animal management (fencing, shelter, and breeds) as well
as the ecology of the interactions between the two, this book
should become the first port of call for farmers needing that extra
information and confidence to take the step toward becoming
agroforesters.”—Martin Crawford, director, Agroforestry Research
Trust
“To practice silvopasture grazing successfully we must recognize
the complexity of the farm ecosystem as a whole, and understand the
needs of the many different parts of the system: livestock;
understory plants, including grasses, legumes, and forbs; trees and
other woody plants; and, of course, the soil itself, which must be
maintained in good health. This book is an excellent resource to
gain the essential knowledge needed to manage silvopasture
well.”—Sarah Flack, author of The Art and Science of Grazing
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