Developing a Professional Agroforester Certification Program to Advance Agroforestry Adoption in the United States

Friday, October 27, 2023

3:00pm - 4:00pm PST

Location: Expo Hall

Poster Presenter(s)

Michael A. Gold, PhD

Research Professor
MU Center for Agroforestry
Columbia, Missouri, United States

Author(s)

HH

Hannah Hemmelgarn, MS Agroforestry

Assistant Program Director
MU Center for Agroforestry, United States
KF

Katherine Favor, MS Agroforestry

Agroforestry and Sustainable Agriculture Specialist
NCAT/ATTRA, United States

A professional agroforestry certification, a necessary and missing component of the agroforestry knowledge network, will help scale up agroforestry nation-wide. Modeled after similar national society standards (e.g., Professional Forester, Certified Crop Advisors), a professional agroforester credential and associated mentorship network will prepare a cadre of agroforestry technical assistance providers.

Learning Objectives:

This poster clearly explains the need for and benefits of a Certified Agroforester credential.
This poster offers ideas towards: 1) The best option(s) around which the Certified Agroforester credential should be designed; and 2) The existing organizational structure(s) available to build, offer, and sustain a Certified Agroforester credential.