{"id":4949,"date":"2026-05-04T09:01:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T09:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/?p=4949"},"modified":"2026-05-04T09:01:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T09:01:36","slug":"planting-trees-in-spite-of-the-paperwork-forest-agro-hruskys-quiet-fight-to-green-south-moravia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/planting-trees-in-spite-of-the-paperwork-forest-agro-hruskys-quiet-fight-to-green-south-moravia\/","title":{"rendered":"Planting trees in spite of the paperwork: Forest-Agro Hru\u0161ky’s quiet fight to green South Moravia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An interview with Aneta Koh\u00fatov\u00e1, Forest-Agro Hru\u0161ky \u00b7 Reforest Project, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Two years ago, at the very start of the ReForest project, we spoke with Aneta Koh\u00fatov\u00e1 of Forest-Agro Hru\u0161ky \u2014 a farm operating in one of the most intensively farmed and sparsely forested parts of the Czech Republic. The South Moravian landscape she works in is characterised by vast monocultures, chronic aridity, and a bureaucratic subsidy system that seemed almost designed to penalise farmers for doing the right thing. Her frustration was palpable, but so was her determination: biocorridors and old orchards were going in, whatever the paperwork said. Today, the trees are growing. A new drought-tolerant tree line was planted in autumn 2024. The biocorridor is nearly eight years old and visibly changing the microclimate. And the subsidy system, while still maddening, has shifted \u2014 slightly \u2014 in the right direction. In this follow-up conversation, we return to South Moravia to hear how the landscape, and the fight to protect it, has developed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What have been the most significant changes at Forest-Agro Hru\u0161ky since the original case study?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have continued establishing landscape features. In autumn 2024 we planted another one \u2014 a tree line made up of both native and non-native drought-tolerant species. It’s essentially a pilot project that will help us understand how well different species can establish themselves in our extreme local climate. South Moravia is not a forgiving environment for young trees, so learning which species can survive here is genuinely important knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond that, the existing biocorridor has continued to develop, and we’ve made further changes to the old apricot orchard \u2014 removing more dead trees and planning to take down the old fencing so that wildlife can move through it more freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is the biocorridor developing, and what is it actually doing for the landscape?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s developing well, and at nearly eight years old it’s already fulfilling real functions. The anti-erosion and biodiversity benefits are the most visible \u2014 it has become a meaningful refuge for wildlife and bird species in a landscape that offers very few alternatives. In some places the vegetation has already reached four metres in height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The microclimate effect is now something you can physically feel. If you stand in the lee of the biocorridor when the wind is blowing from that direction, the reduction in wind speed is noticeable and significant. We expect that to translate into better soil moisture retention in the adjacent fields over time \u2014 which, given how dry this region has become, matters enormously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If you stand behind the vegetation now \u2014 where in some places it has already reached four metres \u2014 and the wind is blowing from that side, you can clearly feel a significant reduction in wind speed.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The subsidy system was a source of deep frustration in the original case study. Has anything improved \u2014 or gotten worse?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both, depending on the year. When we planted the new tree line in 2024, we were told it could not extend to the edges of the field block. We had to set the planting back from the edge and sow a crop along the margin so that the feature would formally sit inside the block. The consequence was that we couldn’t access the tree line with machinery \u2014 everything had to be carried by hand across the crop. Nobody could explain why this rule existed. Fortunately, it was abolished the following year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the apricot orchard, we ran into a different problem in 2025: to qualify as a landscape orchard, we were told we had too few trees per hectare. That requirement has since been adjusted, and we can now keep the orchard under a permanent crop regime and continue receiving agricultural subsidies without having to invest heavily in replanting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So: progress, but always through friction. Nothing about this system is designed to make ecological farming straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Instead of receiving help and support, farmers are more likely to face extra costs, more administration, and even penalties. It is no wonder they choose not to plant trees.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ve described how the fear of subsidy repayment \u2014 if trees die \u2014 puts farmers off planting in the first place. Is that still a major barrier?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absolutely, and it’s one of the most damaging dynamics in the whole system. Tree mortality is very common in this climate \u2014 it’s not a sign of mismanagement, it’s a natural reality in an increasingly arid region. But if a farmer accepts a subsidy to plant trees and those trees die, they risk having to repay the subsidy or cover disproportionate costs to restore the feature. The rational response to that risk is simply not to plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see this repeatedly. Farmers who are genuinely interested in agroforestry decide against it not because they don’t believe in it, but because the administrative and financial exposure is too high. Changing that calculation \u2014 making it safe to try \u2014 is one of the most important policy changes that could happen for agroforestry in this country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has the wider community responded to what you’re doing \u2014 and have neighbouring farmers followed suit?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local people are genuinely supportive. After the devastating tornado that struck here in 2021, the connection between bare, parched landscapes and extreme weather events became very tangible for people in this region. There’s a real public understanding now that the exposed, treeless character of the landscape is not just aesthetically bleak \u2014 it’s part of why conditions here are becoming more dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other farmers are a different story. The support hasn’t translated into action among our neighbours. The barriers \u2014 financial, administrative, cultural \u2014 are still high enough that goodwill alone doesn’t move people to plant trees on productive land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has being part of the ReForest network made a difference to the farm’s visibility or your connections in the agroforestry world?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has, in ways we didn’t fully anticipate. Through the project we came to the attention of Hospod\u00e1\u0159sk\u00e9 noviny and the magazine Lesnick\u00e1 pr\u00e1ce, both of which interviewed us \u2014 giving us a platform to raise the profile of the farm and promote agroforestry more broadly. Being featured in those publications has a reach we couldn’t have achieved on our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The network has also connected us with scientists working on agroforestry across Europe. Being able to discuss our problems and experiences with people who understand the specifics \u2014 not just the theory \u2014 has been valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What counts as the biggest success since the case study was written?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The successful establishment of the trees in the landscape. That sounds simple, but in this climate it is the result of relentless effort and care. Trees in South Moravia don’t establish themselves easily \u2014 you fight for every one. The fact that they’re there, growing, changing the microclimate, sheltering wildlife, is the foundation everything else is built on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, what are the priorities \u2014 and what pressures is the farm facing?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The priority is simple: plant more trees, create more landscape mosaic, build a microclimate that works better for crops, animals, and people. But to do that, the farm has to stay viable \u2014 and that is not straightforward right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are under pressure from multiple directions simultaneously: land speculators, growing administrative burdens, bans on important crop protection products, and commodity purchase prices that have barely moved since the 1990s while costs have risen dramatically. The ecological vision is clear. The economic and political environment makes it genuinely hard to act on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That tension \u2014 between knowing what the landscape needs and being able to afford to provide it \u2014 is the central reality of farming in South Moravia today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog article is developed as a result of the co-creation work with Living Labs coordinated by <\/em><\/strong>EMEA<\/em><\/strong><\/a> with the support of Project partners and living Lab leaders<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An interview with Aneta Koh\u00fatov\u00e1, Forest-Agro Hru\u0161ky \u00b7 Reforest Project, 2025 Two years ago, at the very start of the ReForest project, we spoke with Aneta Koh\u00fatov\u00e1 of Forest-Agro Hru\u0161ky […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4951,"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4949\/revisions\/4951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agroreforest.eu\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}