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WA Tree Farmer of the year

19/12/2016

 
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​WA Tree Farmer of the Year Award
Richard and Robyn Walker from Wilga were announced as the winners of the WA Tree Farmer of the Year Award for 2016 at the Sandalwood & Agroforestry Forum at the Muresk Institute on Friday 16 September. They have an incredible story and are an inspiration to any custodians of native forest.

Maximising the benefits of the thinning operation, including sale of all the “residue resource” produced by thinning, is the KEY element of Native Forest Management.  If there is no viable market for all the “residue resource”, the operation is likely to be done poorly and become a significant cost to the landowner.

Richard and Robyn Walker decided they would not commence thinning their forest unless all the residue resource could be sold profitably.  This is the core element of their winning project.

​Sponsorship of the Award by WA Plantation Resources, Wespine and the Forest Products Commission is gratefully acknowledged.
Arthur Harris
Arthur Harris receiving award from Vince Catania, MLA, as a State Finalist for the 2016 WA Tree Farmer of the Year Award. Arthur has used trees extensively on his property south of Busselton for shelter, biodiversity conservation, aesthetics, timber and more.
Richard and Robyn Walker
Richard & Robyn Walker receiving the 2016 WA Tree Farmer of the Year Award from Vince Catania, MLA, for their work in managing their Jarrah forest near Wilga for conservation, wood and long term health. The Award was presented at a Sandalwood and Agroforestry Forum organised by Wheatbelt NRM and the Australian Sandalwood Network at the Muresk Institute on 19 September
Cath Miller
Cath Miller receiving award from Richard Moore, as a WA Finalist. Cath is using multi-purpose trees for conservation, shelter and timber on her and her partner's property between Busselton and Margaret River.
The Towers

In 2008, Richard and Robyn Walker purchased a property known as The Towers of which only 25% was cleared for grazing.  The remainder was 300ha of unmanaged native forest.  After being clear felled for timber over 100 years ago and left un-managed since, the forest was in a sorry state.  The forest was overpopulated with trees which had stopped growing, were susceptible to disease and vulnerable to lower rainfall associated with the changing climate. 


Despite the approach being unprecedented in Western Australia, we decided to put in place a management plan to develop The Towers forest as a commercially viable native forest.  Our aim was for the forest to be a self-funded, managed, growing forest maintaining a healthy habitat for native flora and fauna.
 
The forest composition ranged from swamps of Tea Tree , Paperbark and Flooded Gum and gullies of Blackbutt (Eucalyptus patens), Grass Trees and Flooded Gum with the majority of the forested area being valley slopes and higher undulating areas of Jarrah (E. marginata) and Marri (Corymbia calophylla) with small pockets of Banksia.  There was a complex understory supporting all these areas. 

Project planning began in 2008 with license and permit applications approved in 2009.  Timber operations were set up under the trading name Towers Timber.  At this time (2009), a high proportion of the thinned material we expected to produce had no recognised market.  

Seeking market opportunities consumed us for the next two years.  In 2011 we secured an agreement to supply Jarrah “snipped char block” and had genuine enquiry for Marri chip logs. With that we decided to commence operations.
 
We had to educate contactors to meet our requirements for thinning and product cutting.  Our process was very different to the standard native forest harvesting and production techniques practiced in Western Australia at the time.

Tree marking was done with a target Basal Area of 15m2/ha.  Trees and logs were marked to retain and then all unmarked trees and logs were removed.  The decision making process was driven by what was to be kept rather than what was to be removed.  It is anticipated we will have completed this forest thinning process by the end of the 2017 season.

It is clear that the forest remaining after the thinning operation is in a much improved condition. 

We have demonstrated that farmers owning tracts of unmanaged native forest have the opportunity of generating a respectable income from previously unproductive land by adopting similar management practices of their native forests.

Ideally, the extensive State owned forests of Western Australia might be managed in a similar way at some future time.

The products of our operation are considered carbon neutral and environmentally sustainable.  The available and new markets for our products are now growing. Other potential markets are emerging.

Clear environmental benefits are delivered.  The remaining trees are less prone to disease and drought, are growing at a greater rate and are sequestering more carbon.  The fuel load reduction within the forest lessens fire risk.  The thinned native forest looks green and vigorous with broad healthy crowns when compared to nearby unmanaged areas. ​​

State Softwood Strategy - wood is good

18/12/2016

 
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​Forestry Minister Mia Davies has launched a Softwood Industry Strategy for Western Australia, which will provide ongoing job security, supply continuity for the building and construction sectors and sustainability of the State's forest estate.  The forestry industry in WA is worth more than $1 billion annually and WA's softwood industry supplies up to 70% of the State's construction roofing timber.

Ms Davies said the strategy was underpinned by a $21 million investment in expanding the softwood estate and the establishment of manufacturing and processing hubs in the South-West.

"The strategy will double the annual investment in planting on State Government and private land around manufacturing and processing hubs in regional WA, which will strengthen industry development and improve productivity," she said.

"Up to 10,000 hectares of softwood will be planted by the Forest Products Commission to expand our softwood estate over the next five years, the equivalent of two trees for every one harvested, or 2.7 million pine seedlings annually."

The strategy is focused on six key areas, with actions including  development of new training and employment pathways, improving community engagement and increasing efforts to protect plantations from fire. The strategy will establish a $100,000 innovation fund to stimulate market opportunities and appoint a forestry adviser to support and work with farmers looking to develop forestry enterprises.

The Minister said sufficient scale in forest estate was essential to safeguard jobs, avoid a dependency on imported timber and contribute to a domestic industry with significant economic and environmental value to regional WA.

For more information on the Softwood Industry Strategy for Western Australia, visit www.fpc.wa.gov.au/softwoodstrategy

South West Celebration

18/12/2016

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SWAN participated recently in the South West Celebration – an annual event organised by the South West Catchments Council to enable environmental and landcare workers across the region to come together to share and learn.

​Richard Moore gave a short talk on the Peer Group Mentoring Program being run by SWAN.  The Program pays trained mentors to support landowners who want to use trees but aren’t too sure how to start.  From SWAN’s perspective the Celebration was an excellent opportunity to catch up with our partners, to increase awareness about what we do, and to launch our new brochure on the Mentoring Program.
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Forests for life

18/12/2016

 
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At the SWAN committee meeting on Friday 16th December, Jess Beckerling from the WA Forest Alliance gave a short presentation on their new initiative "Forests for Life".

The plan aims to help the timber industry complete the transition from logging native forests into sustainably managed plantations and farm forestry. In theory, 50 million trees will be grown over 40,000 hectares to yield 450,000 - 600,000 cubic metres of high quality structural or appearance grade sawlogs per year.

They have identified 4 Eastern states eucalypts that could be suitable alternatives for local hardwoods, Sydney Bluegum, Red Ironbark, Sugar Gum and Spotted Gum.  In addition to the 20 million Eucalypts they identified the need to plant 30 million pine (Pinaster and Radiata) trees

Two regions around Manjimup and Albany have been suggested for the project encompassing an area not more than 90 kilometres from each of the towns. 20 000 hectares of farm forestry in each region is equal to approximately 3 per cent of each zone's agricultural land, not including existing plantations or horticulture.

Clearly, financial support in the establishment of timber trees will be required, and the initial cost is dependent on whether the land is leased or bought, or if a profit-sharing system is preferred. Land care funds will be sought from National Landcare Programme and Royalties for Regions grants and it is anticipated that philanthropists will be involved.

Carbon credits from the voluntary carbon market, administered through Gold Standard, will provide a substantial return on any State Government investment. Gold Standard registration is also associated with Forest Stewardship Council certification of the timber, increasing access to markets and financial returns.
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http://forestsforlife.org.au/the-plan/

Master TreeGrower course 2017 Northam

18/12/2016

 
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The call is out for Expressions of Interest in a Master TreeGrower course to be run in the Wheatbelt during the winter of 2017.  

Master TreeGrower courses help farmers and others gain skills and contacts to use trees and revegetation in whatever ways suit their particular circumstances. 
 
The Master TreeGrower is not your usual course.  First and foremost it is not prescriptive but enables participants to learn from local examples and build relationships with other like-minded landowners.

The course program is tailored to suit local conditions and the interests of the group and runs for 8 days over 2 months. Likely topics in 2017 include sandalwood, bush-foods, managing native vegetation and using trees for land protection.  Cost is $200 which helps cover cost of lunches and course materials. 

Day 1 is free for anyone who’d like to come along to see if its for them. See flyer for more information and let me know if you are interested. [email protected]

More information on the Master TreeGrower Program....

Homegrown Christmas Trees

18/12/2016

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The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) and Canberra Christmas tree delivery company, “the Christmas Tree Truck” have delivered real Christmas trees to Australian Parliament House.

AFPA Chief Executive Officer Mr Ross Hampton said, “Each tree is just one small example of all trees grown in our commercial plantations and forests around Australia. Each year more than 40 million trees are planted in our commercial plantation forests ensuring that our Australian forestry operations are completely sustainable.”   

“These modestly sized trees represent the multiple benefits of our industries. As well as providing timber, each of these trees has removed some 18 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during its growth and is storing around 5 kilograms of carbon in roots, branches and trunk; the equivalent to the emissions from driving almost 100 kilometres in the average Australian car.”
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“Australia’s 2 million hectares of plantation forests captures almost 13 megatonnes of carbon dioxide every year, providing a carbon emissions offset equivalent to around 2.5% of Australia’s net carbon emissions. This makes managed forests and commercial plantations, as well as the wood, paper and other products they provide, the only carbon positive sector of the economy.”
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25th Anniversary Landcare Grant - Miller

18/12/2016

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After discussions with their local ‘Land for Wildlife’ officer, Cath and Brad Miller applied for, and secured, Landcare 25th Anniversary funding for a revegetation project/wildlife corridor at the northwest of the property.

The area is adjacent to an endanged ironstone plant community and declared rare flora (DRF) plant, Grevillea brachystylis spp grandis is known to occur nearby. The area is just over 2 hectares and over 2500 indigenous trees and shrubs were planted.

The area was ripped on contour in May 2015, fenced in June and planted in July 2015.  They also carried out some infill planting in July 2016. 

The photo shows the planting at 18 months illustrating the range of species, a good survival rate and the overall vigour of the plants.  The sheok is over 2m tall.
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Consultation extended on Carbon Farming

18/12/2016

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Public Consultation extended on Plantations for Carbon Farming Initiative

The Department of the Environment and Energy has released a new draft plantation forestry method for public consultation.  While submissions on the Plantation Forestry method close on 30 December 2016, the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee has indicated it is willing to consider submissions on the draft method and proposed amendments to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule 2015 up until Monday 9 January 2017.

The draft method credits abatement by storing carbon from the atmosphere in trees. This is done by establishing one or more new plantation forests, or converting short-rotation plantations to long-rotation forests. These activities must result in eligible carbon abatement. Existing Emissions Reduction Fund projects under a current method, where one or more plantation forests have been established, may be able to apply to transfer to the plantations method.

Chair of Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) Mr Greg McCormack said, “Scientists and foresters have worked closely with Federal departments to ensure that the carbon storage mathematics in this draft methodology is bulletproof. Rotational forestry is not just good for jobs in the bush, but also one of the best, and most cost-effective tools, for storing carbon and reducing Australia’s carbon emissions profile.”
 
The plantation methodology will allow forest growers and farmers to factor the possibility of a small carbon payment into the high cost of establishing areas of new trees.

​Mr McCormack said, “The commitment required under the draft methodology is for a forest grower or farmer to maintain the planting for at least twenty-five years – receiving a modest carbon payment each year for the first ten years.  

“The additional income will be very minor compared to the very high costs borne over that first ten-year period. This will ensure that only the most sensible choices are made about where to plant trees – such as close to major processing facilities in Tumut and Oberon in NSW, or Gippsland in Victoria, or near Mt Gambier, South Australia, or Bunbury in Western Australia, or in Tasmania.”

More Information on the draft method and instructions on how to provide a submission are available on the Department’s website
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Global Perspectives

18/12/2016

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“The private forestry sector is only beginning to develop and it is vital that value can be added to the timber extracted from Clare forests. Nationally, by 2028, annual timber production from the private forest sector is forecast to increase eightfold, to over 3.2 million cubic metres,” concluded Mr Meaney. Read more here...

The imminent closures of the Pemberton and Manjimup sawmills are an indicator of the state of the WA forest and timber industry.  Auswest have committed to expanding the Greenbushes sawmill but these closures point to a decline in large log processing. Much of the timber available to the consumers for flooring and decking in WA still comes in containers from Indonesia and Malaysia.  

In 1900, only 5 per cent of Scotland was covered in forest, but by 2007 this had increased to 17 per cent . With the Scottish Government setting a target of 10,000 hectares of new woodlands per year, by the second half of the 21st century, woodlands will have expanded to around 25 per cent of Scotland’s land area. And with this continuing growth in the sector, the shape of forestry is changing. Read more in the Scotsman

The UK Timber Trade Federation has released its annual Statistical Review for 2016.  Timber has moved into the top 10 fastest growing UK manufacturing sectors, achieving 11.4% growth in wood products on the previous year.  UK forestry and logging was shown to have grown by 20.4%. The growth rate in the wood and wood products sector also outperformed many related industries, such as furniture, plastics and the construction of buildings. Together, the forestry and wood products sector achieved a combined value of £9.5 billion in turnover. Full story here

The United Kingdom is only about 20% self-sufficient in wood, importing millions of tonnes a year from the US, Canada and Europe. The Woodland Trust, Confor and large commercial forestry groups have called on the government to commit to planting 7,000 hectares of woodland every year until 2020 and then to increase planting to 10,000 hectares a year or planting around 15-20ml trees per year. The groups point out that while England is barely planting new trees, Scotland is planting 16ml trees a year and aims to reach 22m a year from 2017. Read more in the Guardian

S. Korea to Host World Forestry Congress in 2021 The World Forestry Congress is held once every six years to bring together the best minds in the world at preserving and protecting the world's trees. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization awarded the gathering to Korea at its council meeting in Rome on Monday. The 2021 congress will be the first time the gathering is held in the Asia-Pacific region in 43 years, since the 1978 congress in Indonesia.

In the US, most of the timber for construction comes from Canada, but there are fears that President Elect Trump is planning to renegotiate or withdraw entirely from the North American Free Trade Agreement which could mean import tariffs on a wide range of products including Canadian timber.   This would have huge implications for Canadian foresters who export 70% of their production to the US, but it could benefit the US industry, albeit at the expense of customers who are likely to pay more. 

U.S. timber interests have alleged that Canadian firms have an unfair advantage because they cut most of the wood in provincial public forests with an artificially low stumpage. The softwood trade dispute has been simmering on and off for decades.  A 1996 agreement that established quotas and tariffs on Canadian imports expired in October 2015, allowing Canada to export lumber tariff-free for one year while the parties negotiated. When they failed to come to a new agreement Oct. 12, interests such as the U.S. Lumber Coalition were free to file fresh trade grievances.

Maine sawmills employed 1,996 people in 2015, down from 2,365 in 2001, according to state labor statistics. The state’s lumber and solid wood products sector – which includes plywood and furniture – has an annual output of $1.1 billion and supports over 11,000 jobs, according to the Forest Products Council of Maine. Harvesting operations – which cut trees bound for paper mills, wood pellet makers, and firewood dealers as well as the lumber trade – employ another 2,200. More here

Farming & Forestry for Flood Prevention. A new report from Scottish forestry agents John Clegg & Co shows there is a shortage of good quality commercial forests in Scotland.  More farmer involvement is required to maintain the industry which is vital to Scotland’s rural economy – contributing £1 billion and supporting 25,000 jobs.

“Farmers don’t find forestry a land use that fits well with their familiar annual cycle of harvesting of crops of lambs or wheat,” partner Fenning Welstead said. “We need a support system that bridges the divide and results in a more mixed land use that can benefit flood prevention as well as timber production and keeping people in the countryside. We need to address that. The big thing that would make a difference would be something that bridged the income gap. There are good grants at the beginning [of the cycle] but from 5-18 years there is no income from the growing forest crop.”  Read More
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Forest owners in Knowledge Transfer Group 


“It is important to develop a forest owners group to operate as a collective to improve financial return from farm forestry, to develop a discussion group to identify best practice in farm forestry and to advocate the interests of farm forest owners in the county.”

The Clare Timber Producer Group in Ireland has held a number of meetings to identify forest owners willing to participate and to develop the project.  Commenting on the government funded program, Brian Meaney, secretary of the Clare Group said: “This is an opportunity to increase the level of forest management activity among participants of the project, realising and improving the value of their forests.”  

“We are operating in a background where there is no tradition of forestry and we, as forest owners, have to begin to address this. Farm forest owners in Clare need to be proud of their forest holdings and realise their value from  an environmental, social and economic perspective.”

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IMPROVING SURVIVAL ON DROUGHT-PRONE SOILS

18/12/2016

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Sandy slopes can be a death trap for tree seedlings, especially if the season turns dry. That’s what Boyup Brook tree growers David Singe and Natalie Kuser found in 2015 when they received just 150mm of rain in the six months after planting. But as luck would have it, the planting was part of a trial looking to improve seedling survival, and one trial-treatment has helped to significantly limit the losses.
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David and Natalie own 45 hectares on the Blackwood River south of Boyup Brook, part of which was previously cleared for pasture.

            “We’re not farmers. This is a lifestyle block”

“We could lease it out for sheep but it seemed like a lost opportunity not to utilise it ourselves and create something for our family.” David says.

In 2013 they approached South West Catchments Council (SWCC) with a proposal to demonstrate the establishment of eight local South West species in two woodlots with the aim of producing high value timber. The proposal was accepted, but with a condition that the planting incorporate a trial aimed at minimising the exposure of soils to wind and rainfall.

Trial plots tested swales, mulch, soil wetter and summer watering

With help from SWCC, David designed a woodlot that included trial plots to test the effect of four treatments—swales (furrow lining), mulch, soil wetter and summer watering—on tree survival and growth. Swales were cut along alternating rows across the whole site. Three replicate plots for the remaining treatments and two control plots, each consisting of about 100 seedlings, were positioned on the site, which consisted of sandy soils with slopes ranging between 3-15%

Average survival of seedlings on swales was 80% compared to 47% without swales, a significant difference (P<0.001). From visual inspection, David thought the effect of swales increased with increasing slope, and became obvious on slopes greater than 5%, and also increased with increasing soil-sandiness

Survival on swales was 80% compared to 47% without swales

Of the other treatments (mulch and granular soil wetter), only mulching seemed to make a difference in survival, and only on non-swale rows, where survival was 67% compared to 46% without mulch (P<0.05). However, David thought mulching was also improving growth and assisted with watering. “When we were watering we were able to get about twice as much water on the mulched plants before it began to run away.

An issue with swaling that SWAN Committee member Bob Hingston raised is the increased erosion risk due to the concentration of water flow along the swale or where water concentrates at the end of swales. This risk can be reduced by swaling on the contour, limiting the length of the swale and ending the swale on a level sill with established groundcover and no wheel ruts. Erosion was a potential risk at David’s woodlot, which received over 100mm of rainfall during one week in January. The risk was reduced by swaling as close to the contour line as possible and also by having the first swale close to the top of slope so the catchment above it was small. Mulching may also have minimised erosion by reducing the velocity of water flow along the swale.
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Peer Group Mentor Program

18/12/2016

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More than 10,000 trees have been planted on properties being supported by the Peer Group Mentor Program.  In addition to this, more than 5 hectares of trees have been thinned and pruned with a view to producing high quality knot-free sawlogs.   

The mentoring team met in Nannup on Friday 9 December to provide an update on the 20+ landowners around the South West who are part of the program.

Additional funding has been secured to run the Peer Group Mentor Program for another year and a brochure has been produced to promote the benefits of agroforestry and the idea of the PGM program.  

The new brochure will be supplemented by a series of case studies and how-to guides covering the basics of weed control, planting design and the why and how of pruning and thinning.  


Mentoring gives landowners with the contacts and skills they need to be able to get started on their tree planting projects. The Peer Group Mentoring Program is one of SWAN's core landowner support activities. 
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New laws to protect sandalwood

16/12/2016

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The future of Western Australia's sandalwood industry has been strengthened following the passing of key legislation focused on conserving the State's natural assets. The 66-year-old Wildlife Conservation Act and 87-year-old Sandalwood Act will be replaced with a modern Act which will significantly increase penalties for illegal sandalwood activity.  
 
Forestry Minister Mia Davies said the legislative overhaul would increase maximum penalties for individuals illegally harvesting and stealing sandalwood from $200 to $200,000, and corporations found guilty of illegal sandalwood activity now faced fines of up to $1 million.
 
Ms Davies said the new laws supported implementation of a legality verification process that would allow marketplace sandalwood products to be traced to the point of harvest.  Ms Davies said that following the parliamentary inquiry into the sandalwood industry, which had identified the extent of illegal activity, the Liberal National Government had committed to taking the necessary steps to sustain and protect the industry.   
 
"This system will significantly increase transparency and provide plantation and wild sandalwood harvesters, processors and customers with confidence that the harvest is lawful," she said.
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