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Agroforestry, an age-old concept, could provide a path to Maine’s future. Part of the regenerative agriculture movement, it involves an integrated approach to cultivating trees with crops and – sometimes – livestock. These diversified farm systems nourish soil health and wildlife while offering more resilience in a warming world locking up atmospheric carbon, absorbing floodwaters, and sheltering crops and animals from high winds and extreme heat.
“Diversity is really key to sustainability for small farms and the ecology of farms,” said vegetable farmer Max Boudreau of Winslow Farm in Falmouth. He sees many landowners and homesteaders “putting these principles into practice,” but said agroforestry is still “a foreign concept” in farm service agencies.