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The need for continuing education and training in agroforestry for both professionals and practitioners was recognized in the early 1990s. Specific needs for such training were identified for various regions of the United States (Merwin, 1997), and scattered regional trainings were held across a broad range of topics (Josiah, 1999); however, active professional training programs did not become commonplace until the early 2000s. Agroforestry training programs are reviewed in more detail in Chapter 19.

The first USDA agroforestry strategic framework (USDA, 2011) discussed the need for education and training of natural resource professionals, including training needs, methods, tools and certification, to effectively deliver agroforestry assistance. General recommendations included pursuing partnerships and cross‐training opportunities with special interest groups and nontraditional partners and seeking training opportunities such as landowner‐to‐landowner, peer‐to‐peer, local organizations, and professional training of different audiences.

In 2019, the USDA released an updated Agroforestry Strategic Framework (USDA, 2019), revisiting priorities for professional education. Their primary objective was to increase the availability of information and tools that help natural resource professionals to provide technical, educational, financial, and marketing assistance. The outlined strategies included support for university efforts to develop agroforestry curricula and to offer a major, certificate, or area of expertise in agroforestry, providing natural resource professionals with an array of options for receiving and providing training and technical assistance in agroforestry technologies and landowner outreach, including professional meetings and conferences, stand‐alone training activities, and online courses, and developing recognition mechanisms for professionals that have gained expertise in agroforestry through completion of a recommended set of agroforestry training requirements (e.g., agroforestry certification).

In spite of significant advances in both the science and practice of agroforestry during the past 35 yr, adoption has been limited. Up to about 2010, the situation persisted in which natural resource professionals and other educators were not well equipped to help landowners adopt agroforestry and benefit directly from an intensive immersion into agroforestry. Without being able to observe and understand the benefits of agroforestry, professionals lacked interest and, without interest, agroforestry practices were not being promoted or adopted. One of the most important contact points between landowners and natural resource professionals is the local county agent, often working for university extension, the USDA–NRCS, or a Soil and Water Conservation District. These are the professionals who help farmers as they adopt practices receiving local or federal government support. Although many of these professionals administer programs to which agroforestry practices might apply, the lack of knowledge or interest in those options by agents means that they are not suggesting agroforestry options to landowners, severely limiting the dissemination and demonstration of agroforestry practices.

One concrete step designed to help rectify this knowledge gap was created back in 2013. The University of Missouri and MAAWG collaborated to create a week‐long intensive crash course in agroforestry planning and design: the Agroforestry Academy (Gold et al., 2019). The Agroforestry Academy, initially funded for 2 yr through an North Central Region–SARE Professional Development Program grant, was originally designed for professional development of natural resource professionals, extension agents, and other educators to advance the adoption of agroforestry as a cornerstone of productive land use in the Midwest. After the academy’s second year, it was also opened up to landowners with a particular focus on opportunities for resource‐limited farmers and military veteran farmers. Through other grant funding, scholarships have been provided to support military veterans. Up through 2021, the Agroforestry Academy has been offered for 7 yr with 175 educators and landowners trained in agroforestry. During the past decade (i.e., 2010–2020), many other spinoff trainings, offered throughout the United States, have evolved from or in parallel with the Agroforestry Academy.

Advanced training on the five agroforestry practices includes options for marketing, economic, social dimensions, and environmental services benefits and, coupled with practice in agroforestry planning and design, facilitates the development of an agroforestry knowledge network. In turn, this has helped to build the infrastructure needed to enhance landowner adoption of agroforestry, resulting in increased sustainability of rural communities and the food and agricultural system. As a result of the Agroforestry Academy and other training programs offered across the United States, educators and landowners are gaining an improved understanding of the design and implementation of agroforestry practices, including documented changes in awareness and knowledge and on‐the‐ground adoption (Gold et al., 2019).