Renewed interest for silvopastoral systems in Europe

The reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has created renewed interest in the implementation of agroforestry and silvopastoral systems. The multifunctional use of trees for energy and wood production, nutrient cycling, carbon storage, biodiversity, landscape quality and -last but not least- fodder makes trees a potential third crop next to grass and maize on dairy farms. To decide which trees to use for planting, it is important to have insight into the feeding value of the different species. Therefore we created a database on feeding values of leaves and twigs, using data from the literature. These data show that, compared to grass, the in-vitro organic matter digestibility of tree leaves is relatively low. However, crude protein and mineral levels of some species are relatively high, which shows the potential value of tree leaves as an additional feed source.