The 4-H Memorial Camp Demonstration Farm is located at Allerton Park, a 1,500-acre park in Monticello, IL, owned by the University of Illinois. Here, the Savanna Institute manages a 35-acre alley cropping demonstration farm that features rows of hardwood timber with alleys of annual row crop rotation.

Alley cropping is an agroforestry practice where farmers cultivate crops in between widely spaced rows of trees or shrubs. The alleys at 4-H Memorial are 200 feet wide to accommodate two different sizes of machinery. Timber trees are planted in 3-row blocks, and their deep perennial roots capture nutrients that shallow annual crop roots cannot, increasing the productive potential of a farm. Plus, the trees reduce wind stress on crops, provide beneficial microclimates, store carbon, regenerate soil, and provide wildlife habitat.