The challenge of establishing trees on an agroforestry site while grazing livestock on the same land is clear from a new project on CAFRE’s lowland farm at Greenmount, Co Antrim.

The 0.78ha site was planted in March 2020 with willow, alder and birch trees spaced 5m by 5m apart.

Different types of tree guards are being trialled to find out which works best for agroforestry.

At a farm walk on Monday, Nicola Warden from CAFRE said a steel guard with spikes, known as cactus guards, were the best at protecting the trees from sheep and wildlife.

However, at a cost of £23 each, the guards are too expensive for most commercial farms, especially when the total grant for establishing agroforestry under the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) equates to £4 per tree.

“The fine plastic mesh guards were definitely not the best. The solid plastic guards were good although they would maybe work better if holes were drilled in them,” Warden said.

The idea of drilling holes is to stop water accumulating in the guard and to keep saplings cooler so growth is slowed and a stronger tree establishes.

Most of the guards trialled at Greenmount cost £2-3 each, which doesn’t leave much of the EFS grant left for site preparation, tree saplings, wooden stakes, and labour.

Greenmount staff have ongoing work with replacing dead trees and fixing guards, which suggests the annual EFS maintenance payment of £65/ha is also too low.

Bryan Irvine from CAFRE said a wet part of the farm was chosen for the agroforestry site because it is the type of land that farmers will be most willing to plant in trees.

“We want the trees to suck up water, so we get an extended grazing season. We have treated the grass as normal so it has received lime and fertiliser. We have been weed-wiping rushes too,” he said.

Sheep have been effectively set stocked on the agroforestry site so far, although a rotational grazing system was recommended by visitors on Monday. By grazing sheep intensely for a short period of time, there is less opportunity for nibbling and scratching against young trees.