Storying a responsive agroforestry technical assistance and training landscape in the US

Abstract In response to limited technical assistance capacity available to meet growing producer interest in agroforestry in the US, several inter-regional organizers of a burgeoning effort to coordinate national-scale agroforestry technical assistance and training (TAT) focused multiple sessions at the 2025 North American Agroforestry Conference on current conditions and surfacing opportunities for the development of agroforestry professional pathways. Federal support for agroforestry is increasingly dynamic, and effective design and implementation of the practices requires a depth of skill and understanding. Perspectives from multiple programs in targeted regions of the US contribute to this storied landscape of agroforestry training for technical assistance providers. Through our collaborative efforts to understand the scope of existing programs, we present emerging models and priorities that aim to address observed and documented gaps in agroforestry TAT. This descriptive review of programs is informed by an agroforestry TAT inventory conducted in 2024 by the Agroforestry Coalition’s TAT Working Group, a coordinated curriculum development effort with a subset of partners in the group, and a Theory of Change model created and under revision by agroforestry TAT leadership in the US. Together, we envision agroforestry training integrated across allied institutions and agencies, a thriving professional network, and regional adaptability that centers practitioner experiences.