Why Farmers Should Rethink Willows

Thursday, August 27, 2026

From shelterbelts to biomass, this hardy species has untapped potential

By Stacy Berry

Farmers across Canada aren’t generally likely to consider willows as part of an annual cropping rotation, but this plant could have major potential benefits in a cropping system.

To start from the beginning, willows are trees, explains Winston Gamache of Edmonton, a previous agroforestry specialist at Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society (AWES). A general definition of a tree is “an upright woody species, generally taller than five metres, and with one stem.” This differentiates willows from shrubs (also woody, but generally shorter and with multiple stems per plant).

One might argue that they have seen a bushy, shrubby willow stand, and they would also be correct.

“Willows are unique from most other trees in that when they are cut, they will sucker and regrow,” says Randall Van Wagner, Chatham, Ont., the head of Tree Canada’s National Greening Program.

Suckering is when a plant grows shoots directly from its root system in response to some unfavourable condition, including damage, drought, or other pressures. This is energetically taxing for a plant, but willows have somewhat mastered the ability. This ability, although amazing and an excellent survival technique for a plant, can make willows a weed in the eye of a farmer who doesn’t want them somewhere.

Jessica York, owner of the Branch Ranch in Warkworth, Ont., recognizes “many farmers don’t like willow because some of the native varieties really spread and can take over if they aren’t managed. Even after removal, they can return if any part of a root has been missed in the process.”

And willows can grow in many different places.

“Willows are found across Canada, from the Northwest Territories to Southern Ontario, in a wide range of habitats,” says Van Wagner.

“There are hundreds of different species of willows of the genus Salix in Canada. Alberta specifically has over 50 native species alone,” adds Gamache. “Willows have a very plastic phenotype.”

Phenotype is the term for how a plant physically presents its genes, and plasticity is the term for how much an organism can change in its lifespan or gene expression. Gamache explains that willows having a plastic phenotype means that “you could have an exact clone, but it could look very different based on response to herbivory or environment. This also means exact identification of willow species can be very challenging.”

York grows select varieties of basketry willow and is well-versed in how different willow varieties behave differently. “The native varieties of willow are often found growing near water or in damp areas; however, not all cultivated varieties thrive in wet areas. We like to say that willow likes water, but the cultivated varieties we grow (at the Branch Ranch) don’t like to have ‘wet feet.’ Willow is very hardy and thrives in most soil types, except sand usually.”

Van Wagner agrees that “willows have a unique growing capability. Tree Canada has used willows for that reason. We’ve used willows to absorb landfill leachate and reduce soil erosion. And the willows themselves can be periodically harvested for biofuel, chipping, mulching, and reincorporating into the soil as biomass.”

York specifically “sells living willow cuttings for planting, living willow structures, as well as dry willow across Canada and the U.S.” York prides the Branch Ranch “on using sustainable growing practices, and they are most known for their weaving workshops.” York’s appreciation isn’t limited to willow’s use as a basketry material, though. “Willow has been used over time for many uses: basketry, medicine (specific varieties; not all), erosion control, fish traps, furniture, building materials, fencing material and much more.”

However, most farmers aren’t planning to learn to grow and harvest basketry or medicinal willows as part of their annual cropping rotations. So how could willows fit into a conventional cropping system?

Gamache: “Use them to promote restoration of marginal lands, riparian areas, eroded river and stream banks. Willow’s fast growth can make them great for nutrient management and catching runoff. They are the backbone of shelterbelts and reduce wind erosion.”

Van Wagner has seen the impacts that willows can have on reducing wind and water erosion. “Southern Ontario is a big farming area, with big machinery being used. Farmers want to maximize their planting areas, but trees around a perimeter or dividing different fields slow the wind.”

Van Wagner [SB1.1] references several small trials conducted by Ontario farmers. “Immediately adjacent to the windbreak, the crop may be a little smaller. The assumption is that the trees are shading the plants, or stealing moisture, and it is possible that in the first years of shelterbelt establishment, the trees are a little more energy-hungry. However, a little further out, production and growth rates actually increased further into the field from wind mitigation.” The increases seen further afield were over and above the small loss from competition.

York: “From an environmental standpoint, willow sequesters carbon quickly and efficiently compared to many other plants. When left to flower in early spring, it provides one of the very first food sources for pollinators emerging after winter. It supports ecosystems while also providing usable material — that balance is extraordinary.”

Van Wagner furthers: “Willows are one of the first ones to flower in the spring and are very important for honeybees, pollinators, and other beneficial insects, including natural predators.”

Gamache recognizes that farmers must consider the economics of their land use. “Crop biotypes are being bred to be shorter to reduce lodging and increase harvestability. Straw isn’t as cheap or as available as it used to be, and many producers get more value from leaving the straw on the field. A possible way to utilize marginal land — plant some willows to restore a streambank and make your own sawdust every couple of years!”

The other part of economics that a producer might forget is that the cost of trying to use the land to produce a crop might cost you more than you make. Gamache: “If you have marginal lands with nice willows growing there? It’s likely squishy and soft, and your tractor will get stuck. You’re going to waste more time and money digging your tractor out than you’ll get in bales or acres.”

To both clarify and complicate things, Gamache adds that leaving a site completely undisturbed doesn’t necessarily make it healthy.

“Native willows evolved with grazing, floods, fire — if you leave them alone too long, they won’t do as well either.” Therefore, periodically harvesting, brushing, or even grazing an area of willows will improve the overall health of the site, possibly give a farmer a usable product, and, with willows’ unique and fast-growing ability, the stand will regrow quickly, providing you with all the benefits it was providing you before.

Many farmers don’t know the intricacies of trees the way they know their crops or livestock. Not to fear! “If a farmer is interested in tree planting, check out the Tree Canada website (www.treecanada.ca).

“We are happy to help design a project, and there might be funding to help benefit their operations,” says Van Wagner.

The constantly changing conversation around land use and the environment can be frustrating and confusing [SB2.1], and Gamache notes, “(in Canada), we’ve always had so much land, we haven’t really had to think about better utilization of the land.”

However, York believes that plant species like willows can help bring people closer to nature and to each other.

“On a personal level, I’m continually moved by how willow connects people to the land. In our workshops, participants see the full cycle: planting, growing, harvesting, drying, soaking, and finally weaving. Turning something you’ve grown yourself into a beautiful, functional object is far more powerful than many expect. It reconnects people to the production of materials, to seasonal rhythms, and to the simple satisfaction of making something by hand.

“And that’s only scratching the surface of what willow can do. Its potential reaches far beyond what we use it for — which is part of what makes it so endlessly fascinating.” BF