The May meeting provided an opportunity for advisory council members to meet one another and learn about research projects and their applications to landowners.

Advisers at the May meeting elected Greg Ruark, director of USDA’s National Agroforestry Center, chairman.

James Robinson, an agroforester with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, said agroforestry systems are especially applicable to small-scale and medium-scale farms in the Southeast. Combinations of livestock and timber, for example, can yield good returns for landowners and help them diversify their operations.

"There’s a lot of opportunity for forest farming because of real application to small acreages," said Robinson.

George Owens, an advisory council member who uses agroforestry in Chipley, Fla., said he is serving on the council because he has seen the economic benefits of agroforestry on his own farm. In 1984, he planted trees for timber on his property, where he also grazes cattle.