#37 Increasing tree cover from 3% to 20% for resilience, profit and biodiversity with Jill and Andrew Stewart

Andrew and Jill Stewart are owners and managers of Yan Yan Gurt West Farm in the Otway Ranges, Southern Victoria, Australia. For the past 30 years, they have taken regenerative agriculture extremely seriously in order to solve problems of soil salinisation, soil erosion, climate change and animal welfare. In order to do so they have planted 23kms of shelterbelts and riparian buffers, connected into a complex ecological mosaic to produce both ecosystem services and a huge variety of new enterprises. Since they started planting trees they have increased tree cover from 3% to 20%, without reducing any of their sheep productivity. Quite the contrary, they have opened up a whole new set of enterprises from saw logs to woody florals. Tune in to find out more about this incredible transition!TABLE OF CONTENTS01:40 Introduction08:50 The story of the farm15:00 Main productions25:34 Timber production36:07 Harvest and milling44:43 Economic decision of harvesting shelter belts52:36 Do trees increase too much fixed costs? 59:13 Are subsidies necessary to justify economically agroforestry plantations? 01:06:29 Tree - Pasture interaction 01:15:01 Managing weeds when planting young trees   • RESOURCEShttps://www.facebook.com/yanyangurtwestfarm/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3KXLsj2qLw&t=306s• GET IN TOUCH www.regenerativeagroforestry.org• SUPPORT US www.gumroad.com/regenagroforestry• FOLLOW US on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.