Becoming A Tree-Tenant

Trees but no land…

There is a saying ‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago’. It may seem fairly unhelpful, but it got me thinking that if I was serious about wanting to grow my own tree crops it would be better to start sooner rather than later (whether I felt ready or not!). I wanted to grow some nut trees as they interested me the most from a food security perspective- a high calorie crop that could offer a lot nutritionally for many generations to come. I was interested in both walnuts and sweet chestnuts, but with import restrictions making sweet chestnuts trees of the cultivars I was interested in hard to come by, I decided on walnuts. I had access to nursery space to grow some trees on for a year, so bought some grafted walnut trees from Fruit and Nut Ireland whilst I was working there. At the time I had no idea where I was going to plant them, but having them felt like a good first step and I had a year to find them a permanent home.

The search for land

What land is suitable for walnut trees?

Important requirements for healthy trees include:

  • Ideally you want a sheltered, sunny site mid slope on a south or south west slope, free from unseasonal frosts. You want moist, deep, fertile well draining soils with a pH between 6-7. A deep-medium loam without a hardpan or high water table is preferred.
    • You need full sun for cropping with a desired aspect of south to south-west to maximise ripening of nuts in autumn.
    • Frost pockets (such as bottom of a valley and low-lying land) should be avoided as flowers and leaves early in the year can be vulnerable to late spring frosts.
    • Shelter is important- walnuts are wind pollinated so strong winds will impact pollination/ growth.
    • They need free draining soils as roots need good aeration for health.  
    • High rainfall areas should be avoided due to higher risk of fungal disease.  

Important requirements for management of a nut crop:

  • Ideally you want your nut orchard not to be situated near other wooded areas with large squirrel populations. A buffer zone without squirrel ‘access’ corridors will make long-term pest management much easier. Ideally you also want to be away from large deer and rabbit populations (but protection can be used).
  • Need to have good access to get equipment/machinery/harvest in and out of field.
  • Access to a source of water in case there of a very dry summer the year after planting, young trees might need irrigating.

General things to be aware of when planting trees on land

  • Wayleaves- if there are power lines running over a field there may be a strip underneath where you can’t plant trees.
  • Similarly should check if there are any underground services or cables which could prevent the planting of trees.

Initially I thought about trying to see if there was anyway I could buy a small parcel of marginal land to grow trees on. Unfortunately in South Devon (like many other places in the UK) the price of small parcels of land is extremely prohibitive for anyone wanting to do anything horticultural. At over £10,000 an acre the possible return on initial investment would seem impossible.

Growing trees as a tenant?

Most agricultural tenancies are short-term, without decent security of renewal. Many often prohibit the planting of trees as it could reduce the desirability of the land for future tenants.  Even the longer tenancies seem to be on a seven-year cycle. To grow a tree crop, where the first seven years you are more or less just baby-sitting, this short-term land access would never work. The upfront investment in the trees and delay lag until cropping is one of the main deterrence for wider adoption of tree crops in the landscape. It is a real shame, as although a nut tree they won’t reach peak production for 20-25 year, after that they will keep cropping for decades and decades to come, requiring far less inputs and work than any other annual crop. It also will seem like a risky venture- there are not many example ‘models’ for people to follow in the UK.  Beyond the traditional fruit orchards in some parts of the country other tree crops have never been widely adopted or experimented with. Without an established tree-culture heritage to fall back on it is hard to come by the required confidence and expertise to take the leap of faith.  An expensive and risky investment is unlikely to attract many traditional farmers. This seems to be why the owning and planting or orchards is mostly restricted to the more affluent landowners or hobbyists. Tree-crops is not something adopted by many young people or new entrants to agriculture as the route in is expensive and inaccessible. Which is a shame as a young person will be able to dedicate a longer portion of their lives overseeing the management and experimentation with that crop.  

Tree tenancy- following Dartington’s lead

In 2018 Dartington Hall Trust established a 48- acre silvoarable agroforestry field with multiple tenants sharing the space. The alleys were managed as part of the existing tenant farmers arable rotation. The tree rows were planted and managed by different organisations; Luscombe drinks planted Elder to be managed for elderflower for their soft drinks, Huxham Cross Farm planted dessert apples, and Dartington planted some experimental Sichuan pepper trees. For more information about Dartington’s project: https://www.dartington.org/about/our-land/agroforestry/ https://www.dartington.org/trust-test-new-multi-agency-agroforestry-model-48-acres/

 ‘The benefit of multiple partners is that it makes the project more socially and economically resilient. Everyone comes bringing the skills relevant to the crop they’re going to manage or the job they’re going to do. So instead of one farmer, with say 20 years of experience, you end up with multiple partners with 60, 80, 100 years of combined experience across multiple specialities. You just have to listen to them and facilitate them having a chance to listen to each other. It also makes it more economically resilient because while everyone brings their own markets for their own crops, by working together in future, accessing different markets,’ Harriet Bell Community Resilience (Food & Farming) Manager at Dartington. https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/silovarable-agroforestry-update-how-learn-their-mistakes

A specific agroforestry tree tenancy seemed like a good option to investigate. Especially at the moment with growing interested in agroforestry- there are likely to be landowners or existing farmers wanting to incorporate tree crops into their systems. Some agroforestry projects I have visited the trees in the system suffer an element of neglect, as the existing farmers lack time or expertise to ensure proper establishment and growth. It could be an attractive offer to a landowner, having a person offer to actively manage a tree crop providing the labour and required knowledge, without the existing systems having to adapt too much.

So I decided I would try to find such a landowner willing to let me grow trees on their land- under a longer-term tenancy agreement (I like ‘trenancy’). I used social media to circulate my offer and was surprised by the number of responses and groups interested in having trees grown on their land. So definitely opportunities for more people out their to establish a ‘trenancy’.

I had responses from several interested landowners, farmers and organisations. Seems to be plenty more opportunities for others interested in setting up a similar arrangement. After several meetings and site visits a provisional agreement was drawn up with one land owner.

The Agreement:

The concept: The aim of this project is to establish a dual purpose orchard that can function as a walnut trial site for monitoring and research of cultivar performance and suitability, whilst also offering future nut cropping. Tree husbandry will be undertaken using organic and agro-ecological principles, with environmental and biodiversity protection as a high priority.

The objectives:

  • In 2019 to plant 90 Juglans sp. trees of at least 20 varieties.
  • To monitor precocity of different cultivars to reach healthy growth and development with commercial cropping potential.  
  • To monitor susceptibility of different cultivars to the two major walnut diseases of economic significance; walnut blight and walnut anthracnose.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of organic weed suppression and disease control practices. 
  • Once trees are cropping to assess variations in different cultivars’ yield of marketable nuts.
  •  To openly publish findings to disseminate information to help inform other growers.
  • To obtain an economically viable walnut yield to provide an additional source of income for both land owner and orchard manager.

Costs and Responsibilities

It was decided that costs and profits would be split 50:50 between orchard manager and land owner. This way rent would not be paid in early years before production, risk is shared and both parties would benefit if the project is successful.  It was decided the project would run for 25 years at which point the trees would become property of the landowner. Options for possible break clauses and terms in case of termination were discussed. A spreadsheet was created trying to divide the costs of establishment evenly between the parties. A cost value was associated to each input for the project. Then a forecast of potential yields and revenue that might be generated was predicted for next 25 years. An effort was made to balance out the costs so both parties felt they were getting a fair deal and sharing the risk equally.

Upfront costs

  • Landlord costs: Groundwork- a contractor to carry out subsoiling and tree guards against sheep.
  • Orchard manager (‘trenant’) costs: Trees, stakes, mulch mats and planting labour.
  • Share the legal fees to draw up a contract

Ongoing costs:

  • Landlord costs: Loss of subsidy, nominal ground rent, pest control (deer and squirrels).
  • Orchard manager (‘trenant’) costs: Tree care inputs and labour (weeding, monitoring, pruning etc), harvesting , processing and marketing of future crops. 

Could we build a network of tree tenants?

It could be possible to have so many more productive trees in the landscape if lots of individuals took on joint tenancies with existing landowners and farmers. It is not especially demanding to manage a small area of tree crops, and could easily be managed on a part-time/ free-time basis. I like the ideas of a network of different small scale tree tenants- who could work together to jointly process or market their tree crops. It can be hard making a small venture economically viable but at the same time you lose the ecological benefits when a monoculture of a single tree crop exceeds a certain size. But if different people managing small pockets of trees worked together to achieve joint economies of scale, perhaps a new model of farming could be developed. Lots more people involved and lots more diversity throughout the landscape.