UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
Trees, Poultry and Arable Farming with Mike Mallett
Thursday October 30th 2025 7pm
Online Zoom
Thinking about integrating trees and poultry system?
Join us for an insightful webinar with Mike Mallett. Mike is farm manager of Maple Farm Kelsale, a 138-hectare family farm situated 3 miles from the Suffolk coast. The farm converted to organic in 2004 and is mostly arable with some permanent pasture, large areas of woodland, some vegetables and fruit, and laying hens. Arable crops grown include wheat (including heritage varieties), beans, spring triticale and peas, and there are two years of clover or vetch-based leys within the rotation. Meadows are grazed by visiting sheep. Most of the cropping revolves around the layer hens which live on 18 hectares of 3 fields (there are approximately 2,700 hens currently). The farm is comprised of many small fields surrounded by hedges. Hedgerows are left to grow quite wild and have 6m borders. 30 ponds enhance the farm biodiversity and provide an extensive ditch network. There is a flour mill on site (where the heritage wheat goes) and the bran and middlings produced go to the hens as feed. The horticultural unit produces year-round vegetables and fruit for their on-site farm shop. Flour and eggs are also sold through the shop, and the eggs are also sold through local Waitrose and Co-op stores. Half of the egg production going to London; supplying a home delivery service and various independent stores.
Mike is a firm believer in having as many flowering plants on the farm as possible to improve biodiversity and natural predation and Maple Farm is one of the early pioneers of agroforestry, with over 100 acres of trees on site.
“Those trees play a valuable multi-dimensional role” says Mike, “providing firewood and producing fruit and apples, giving shelter to the hens and encouraging them to range whilst providing habitats for birds, bugs and storing carbon too.”
This webinar is also suitable for Foresters preparing applications for the Silvoarable Pilots available under the Afforestation Programme Agroforestry Supports.
This webinar is funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
Agroforestry and Timber with John Sherlock
Thursday November 20th 2025 7pm
Online Zoom
Join us on Wednesday, November 20th, for an informative webinar with IAF member John Sherlock, exploring how effective management of thinnings can shape timber quality and value. Drawing on his extensive experience as a farmer, forester, sawmill operator, timber processor, and wood turner, John will discuss the full plantation cycle—from early thinnings to the final crop—and share insights on how to design and manage a system that produces high-quality timber. The session will cover practical approaches to species selection, thinning strategies, and options for adding value through woodcraft, small-scale processing, or direct marketing. Participants will also gain an understanding of how to ensure timber quality for the next generation and align forest management practices with both economic and environmental objectives.
This webinar is also suitable for Foresters preparing applications for the Silvoarable Pilots available under the Afforestation Programme Agroforestry Supports.
This webinar is funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
Agroforestry, Beef, Soil and Direct Selling
Thursday December 4th 2025 7pm
Online Zoom
Thinking about integrating trees into your farm?
Join us for an insightful webinar with Clive Bright.
Clive raises 100% pasture-fed organic beef on his 120-acre farm in Ballymote, Co.Sligo, and he sells his beef direct through his business ‘Rare Ruminare’. His livestock are a mix of traditional breeds such as Hereford, Shorthorn, Angus, Irish moil and Galloway, well suited to thrive on the farm’s species-rich grasslands. He uses Holistic Planned Grazing, an adaptive grazing rotation that gives pastures adequate time to recover between grazing events. Using ecological principles and monitoring, Holistic Planned Grazing also allows him to formulate a plan to have his animals in the right place at the right time for the right reasons. This management has dramatically increased the diversity on his farm. Working with the land’s natural capacity and the right genetics, Clive has shown you don’t have to supplement the animals’ diet if you work with nature. Clive is a great advocate for Agroforestry – merging trees and agriculture. He says, “Woodland pasture or silvopasture is the ideal habitat for livestock, providing shelter and shade and a source of additional nutrients. Trees over pasture add another level of green leaves multiplying the amount of solar energy the land captures; this enhances the mineral and water cycle and restores soil health, bolsters biodiversity and the overall resilience and productivity of the farm”. Over the last few years, ponds and wetland creation have become an integral part of Clive’s farm. He rationalises that if all life requires water, we should try to harness and cycle every drop that falls on the farm. From simple measures like making slit traps in old drains to new pond construction, holding water in the landscape and allowing it to soak deep into the soil rather than draining it away is his goal. Most of his wetland features have multiple uses, like slowing water down in the landscape, wildlife habitats, and reservoirs for livestock drinking water.
This webinar is funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
Tree Planting in Horticulture and Tillage Systems with Ben Raskin
Thursday October 9th 2025 7pm
Online Zoom
Thinking about integrating trees into your horticulture or tillage system?
Join us for an insightful webinar with Ben Raskin, a leading expert in agroforestry and sustainable horticulture. With over 30 years of experience in the sector and a long-standing role at the Soil Association, Ben brings a wealth of knowledge on practical tree planting, soil health, and innovative growing systems. He also has specialist experience in: Community Supported Agriculture Woodchip use in farming Starting and scaling horticultural enterprises Ben’s background includes managing everything from walled gardens for Michelin-starred restaurants to 10-acre organic production systems at Daylesford Organic Farm. He has led agroforestry projects at Helen Browning’s farm and advised on community farms near Bristol. Ben is also the Chair of the "Community Supported Agriculture Network UK", a committee member of the "Farm Woodland Forum", and author of several gardening books including "The Woodchip Handbook" and "Silvohorticulture".
This webinar is also suitable for Foresters preparing applications for the Silvoarable Pilots available under the Afforestation Programme Agroforestry Supports.
This webinar is funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
Organics and Agroforestry
Thursday September 25th 2025 7pm
Online Zoom
Are you a landowner or farmer thinking of converting to organics and establishing agroforestry?
Join Organics Advisor Andrew Chilton for a free webinar exploring the Organic Scheme and Agroforestry, with practical guidance on farm support payments and how to make the most of crossovers between schemes. This session will cover opportunities for your farm, from integrating agroforestry into existing systems to maximising funding while meeting environmental goals, making it ideal for those considering organics, already certified, or looking to diversify sustainably.
This webinar is also suitable for Foresters preparing agroforestry applications for organic farms for the FT8 supports available under the Afforestation Programme Agroforestry Supports.
This webinar is funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
UPCOMING WEBINARS 2025
Trees That Heal
Thursday October 2nd 2025 7pm
Online Zoom
Are you a landowner or farmer applying for the Forest Garden Pilot scheme?
TREES THAT HEAL
An incredible range of trees and shrubs can offer healing properties. While some species are known for their traditional uses, others have been researched for their active ingredients and effects. Anne Stobart, medical herbalist, will explain how selected medicinal woody plant species can be safely used in a variety of complaints from arthritis to sore throats. She will suggest ways to integrated these helpful plants into a forest garden based on permaculture design principles. Her talk will include a focus on quality in case studies of cultivated medicinal trees and shrubs for self-help or commercial purposes.
MORE INFORMATION
Anne Stobart is a medical herbalist, grower and researcher based in the UK. Following a teaching career, she completed her training as a herbal practitioner in 1993 with the School of Herbal Medicine. Anne practised as a consultant medical herbalist in Devon and subsequently managed the professional programme for clinical herbal practitioners at Middlesex University in London. Anne cofounded the Holt Wood Herbs project (2005-2015) in South West England based on permaculture design principles, transforming a redundant conifer plantation into a thriving medicinal forest garden. She is a member of the advisory board for the Journal of Herbal Medicine, and is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Exeter, UK. Her publications include Household Medicine in Seventeenth-Century England, (Bloomsbury Academic, 2016) and The Medicinal Forest Garden Handbook (Permanent Publications, 2020). Her most recent book is Trees And Shrubs That Heal: Reconnecting With The Medicinal Forest (2023) available from Permanent Publications. Anne offers online courses in growing and using medicinal trees and shrubs which can be accessed through the Medicinal Forest Garden Trust website.
https://medicinalforestgardentrust.org
Medicinal Forest Garden Trust website where you can sign up for an occasional newsletter, access information about the Trust, order books, download free factsheets and read more about growing medicinal trees and shrubs.
https://medicinalforestgardentrust.thinkific.com
Courses in medicinal forest gardening online on design, harvesting, and healing trees are hosted on the Thinkific site for the Medicinal Forest Garden Trust. A free taster course is available entitled 'Discover Medicinal Forest Gardening'.
This webinar is also suitable for Foresters preparing applications for the Forest Gardening Pilots available under the Afforestation Programme Agroforestry Supports.
This webinar is funded by Forestry Promotion Funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.