Launching
The Agroforestry Cooperative
The Agroforestry Cooperative is a farmer-led organisation designed to make agroforestry practical, profitable, and scalable across the UK. Our mission is to help farmers integrate trees into productive farmland.
Restoring ecosystems, building resilience, and creating long-term shared value from the land.
By working together, members access expert design, planting, and management services, along with collective marketing and ecosystem funding. The Cooperative pools knowledge, capital, and markets so that even small farms can benefit from the environmental and economic rewards of agroforestry.
Through collaboration, we remove the barriers that hold farmers back — from high upfront costs and technical uncertainty to lack of market access — and turn agroforestry into a shared opportunity for climate, biodiversity, and farming futures.
Our Services For Farmers
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Agroforestry design & planning – Tailored layouts and species selection for your farm.
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Funding & grant support – We secure and manage public and private funding.
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Planting & establishment – Full delivery and planting from trees to guards.
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Long-term management – We handle pruning, replanting, and system upkeep.
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Ecosystem service income – Earn from carbon and biodiversity credits.
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Product Sales & Marketing – Collective marketing of fruit, nuts, and timber for better returns.
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Shared expertise – Access specialist advice, knowledge, and equipment.
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Profit sharing – Annual dividends based on your land and tree contributions.
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Risk diversification – Shared systems and mixed tree types spread financial risk.
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Training & community – Join workshops, demo farms, and peer networks.
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Representation – A collective voice shaping policy and markets for agroforestry.
Current Trees Covered
As a cooperative we welcome members with existing agroforestry systems as well as those who are yet to plant. We currently specialise in the below tree rows and encourage our members to have a mix of rows on the farm. Of course not all trees suit all farms so each farm receives a tailored planting plan for their specific context
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Apple & Pear Trees
We’ve chosen traditional orchard species like apples and pears for their proven performance in UK soils and climates. They offer reliable yields, strong market demand, and compatibility with arable systems creating early income streams while supporting pollinators and biodiversity.
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Walnut & Hazelnut Trees
Nut trees bring long-term value and resilience. Walnuts and hazelnuts thrive in mixed farming systems, providing high-value products for premium food markets. Their deep roots improve soil structure and drought resistance, building lasting farm resilience and profitability.
Carbon & Biodiversity Trees
These native and mixed-species plantings are designed to maximise environmental impact sequestering carbon, enhancing habitats, and improving landscape connectivity. They underpin the cooperative’s ecosystem service income while supporting nature recovery and long-term soil health.
Get Involved
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We are looking for farmers, companies and experts to support the cooperative to grow
"I’m Thomas Gent, a 28-year-old fourth-generation farmer from South Lincolnshire. We’ve been farming regeneratively on 800 hectares since 2008. Recently, I’ve been exploring agroforestry—integrating trees into arable systems—to further boost resilience, biodiversity, and profitability.
Agroforestry has clear benefits, but like many farms, we lack the scale, equipment, and expertise to make it viable alone. That’s why I’m proposing an Agroforestry Cooperative—a new model to make tree planting practical, profitable, and scalable across arable landscapes.”
Thomas Gent - Farmer
Gentle Farming | www.gentle-farming.co.uk
thomas.gent@gentle-farming.co.uk
07572223174