“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
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.”
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
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.”
