Within the past few years, we’ve started using the phrase coffee agroforestry to better describe the shade-grown coffee process. Since this phrase is still pretty fresh in the mainstream world of coffee and agriculture, let’s look at what it means. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines agroforestry as “the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic, and social benefits.” They explain that for an agricultural management practice to be called agroforestry, it must also be intentional, intensive, integrated, and interactive. Shade-grown…
