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FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS

EU DEBATE

August 2016 Issue 76

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Changing perceptions p18

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Shaping a future post-Brexit p4

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CONTENTS

CONFOR AGENDA

4 BREXIT

Threats and opportunities post-Brexit

S

With the Brexit die cast, a strong clear voice for forestry is imperative, says Confor chief executive Stuart Goodall

o, we’re leaving the EU, and for many Brexit fatigue is already setting in. This is where Confor comes to the fore.

Unravelling the UK from the EU, and setting up a new trading relationship will result in considerable change – change that will provide both unprecedented opportunities and threats for our sector.

In the years leading up to and beyond the exit date we will see, amongst other things, new rural policies in each country with new support mechanisms, a review of EU legislation to decide whether they should be adapted or removed, and decisions regarding timber standards. Every part of our sector will be affected.

Confor has published an analysis of Brexit on our sector and that paper will form the basis of further, more detailed work where we develop the ideas and evidence to promote the sector.

Rural and environmental organisations will be lobbying hard to promote their own interests, and our sector needs to engage early, continuously and robustly. This will form a significant additional strand of work for Confor, but it is also an opportunity for us to demonstrate the importance and benefit of an effective single voice. If Confor does well, the sector will do well, if Confor does badly… well we just won’t.

Confor has significantly stepped up its lobbying and influencing activity in recent years, and that has laid the groundwork for what will require to be significant additional work in the years to come. I believe Confor can make a real difference for members, providing the leadership and expertise to navigate a way through the Brexit process to secure the best outcome for our sector.

That work is already underway. We have discussed Brexit implications at our Westminster All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry and following significant lobbying by Confor I’m pleased to say that there will be an official Government inquiry into forestry later this year.

We have a strong advocate for the sector in Scotland with Fergus Ewing, who I’ve already spoken to four times, and in Wales Martin has held multiple meetings with two of the new Cabinet Secretaries. In Northern Ireland, the new minister has announced funding for increased productive planting.

Over the next few years the foundations will be laid for government policy, regulation and funding that will shape our sector for decades to come. Confor has emerged to lead the sector in lobbying and influencing and it now needs to take that work to another level, and do that very quickly.

We need a strong, clear voice if we are to secure the future for our sector.

0131 240 1410 info@confor.org.uk

Caroline Harrison National manager for England While Caroline is on maternity leave, please contact Jez Ralph jez@confor.org.uk

Martin Bishop National manager for Wales Rheolwr Genedlaethol i Gymru M: 07876 029482 E: martin.bishop@confor.org.uk

Jamie Farquhar National manager for Scotland M: 07817 374906 E: jamie.farquhar@confor.org.uk

Stefanie Kaiser Communications and editor FTN T: 0131 240 1420 E: stefanie.kaiser@confor.org.uk

www.confor.org.uk For the latest news of forestry and wood sign up to #forestandwood on twitter

We want to hear from you Forestry and Timber News is your magazine, please contact Stefanie with your views and comments

Published by Countrywide Publications, Fountain Way, Reydon, Suffolk IP18 6SZ, on behalf of Confor. Printed by Micropress Printers.

For advertising, contact Chloe Stockdale 01502 725835 / chloe@micropress.co.uk

A bright future for forestry in Wales

15 BUSINESS & FINANCE

Investors see value of forestry in light of Brexit chill Threats and opportunities in uncertain times Good start to year for timber sales but will it last?

Community gets backing to invest in Scottish hydro project

18 COMMUNICATION

Breaking down the wall – shaping perceptions More than words – Visual communication and beyond Using social media for timber marketing Get it right first time to save time and money

27 APF PREVIEW

APF 2016 set to smash all records APF seminar programme Confor at APF2016 Discover the Forest Workers Zone Exhibitors

43 TIMBER TRANSPORT

Rural roads fail to keep pace with growth in forestry

45 PLANT HEALTH

Forest health and inter-generational responsibility

46 MEMBER NEWS 49 BIODIVERSITY

Clear-fell sites revealed as a secret haven for biodiversity

51 CONFERENCE PREVIEW

Maximising returns from forestry

51 TIMBER Re-building our cities with timber Edinburgh’s Pop-Up Cities

55 FORESTRY IN IRELAND

Optimism and uncertainty Ireland faces increasing shortfall

61 SQUIRREL CONTROL

Andrew Heald National representative for N. Ireland M: 07771 844653 E: andrew.heald@confor.org.uk

What’s in store for forestry?

Confor calls for reassurance on financial support for sector APPGF chair announces inquiry into the future of forestry

12 ROYAL WELSH SHOW

CONFOR CONTACTS Confor head office and editorial office 59 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2JG

Tackling the grey menace

62 COUNTRY NEWS

BREXIT

BREXIT

PUBLIC FUNDING European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)

What’s in store for forestry?

EAFRD represents Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and funds rural development payments to farmers, foresters and rural communities. The UK is scheduled to receive €5.2bn through EAFRD in the current period (2014-20). The EU agrees themes and principles for funding but details are set out in National Programmes, drafted by national governments and agreed with the EU. In the UK, documents are prepared on an individual nation basis, so details vary across the UK.

The vote to leave the European Union will undoubtedly have a major impact on the forestry and timber sector - although we do not yet know exactly what those impacts will be.

Before the referendum, Confor commissioned a discussion paper to identify the areas where the EU has an impact on the sector’s work. Within three weeks of the Brexit vote, Confor developed a more detailed paper to look at those areas in more depth. The new report, The impact of leaving the European Union on the UK forestry sector, by Martin Glynn, provides a framework assessment to the sector and initial information and guidance to forestry and woodusing businesses.

The report also identifies which types of business – nurseries, establishment, harvesting, haulage and processing – will be affected in each of three key areas: legislative and regulatory affairs; public funding; and markets and trading.

Each area will be examined in more detail over the coming months by experts from Con-

Woodland Creation & Management

for’s membership. At every stage, Confor members will be kept fully informed.

Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive of Confor, said: “This report lays down clearly where our members are likely to face impacts from the Brexit decision - and what those potential impacts might be. There is a lot we don’t know, but this important piece of work provides the basis for Confor to promote the sector’s interests at a time of great change.”

Mr Goodall added: “We also need to focus on the here and now. Businesses need reassurance that funding support will be available in future, especially if we are to ensure continued planting.

We cannot allow paralysis to set in - the wheels of business must be allowed to continue turning at the same time as we work hard to shape a new future in the best interests of the forestry and timber sector.”

This is a summary of the Martin Glynn report, with an at-a-glance guide below. The full report can be found on the Confor website in the Publications section.

The report at a glance The forestry and timber sector will be affected in three key areas, according to Martin Glynn’s report: Public funding, including: European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development; European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund; EU Programmes; state aid.

Trade & markets, including: goods; labour; timber; renewable energy; land.

Legislative and regulatory affairs, including: Environmental Impact Assessments; Birds and Habitats Directive; plant health and quality; employment and health and safety law.

4 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

EAFRD supports the creation and management of woodlands where this has an environmental or rural development benefit.

New planting, the creation or improvement of habitats, restoration of forests following pest and disease incidents, reducing flood risks and improving access are among eligible activities.

The production of timber per se is not a supported activity but many eligible activities will indirectly result in this. The annual grant budget is £80.4m (Scotland £36m, England £31m, Wales £10.3m and Northern Ireland £3.1m).

Supply Chain and Timber Processing

The forestry supply chain and small-scale timber processing sector benefits from support through EAFRD with grants for machinery, training, buildings, innovation and collaboration. The extent to which the sector benefits varies between nations and forestry rarely has a ‘ring-fenced’ budget, instead competing with agriculture and other rural industries for a share of the funding.

Future options: The future of farm and rural support payments in the UK is likely to be a major issue, with the potential to have a very significant impact on the forestry sector. Pillar 1 of the CAP (direct payments to farmers) has traditionally taken a significant proportion of the EU budget, and still accounts for around 40 per cent. UK governments have indicated a consistent desire for these payments to reduce and for environmental payments to take a greater share.

During the Referendum campaign, the Leave supporters indicated payments would continue, but many competing areas of expenditure were also highlighted and could attract higher political attention. Conversely, should a weak pound lead to increased food prices and implications for inflation, maintenance of farm incomes through subsidies may be an attractive option.

Possible scenarios include: retention of existing arrangements post-2020; withdrawal of all support for the forestry sector but maintenance of support for agriculture (direct payments and/or rural development);

withdrawal of all rural development support; introduction of an amended programme of support for rural development, including agriculture and forestry.

The last outcome is considered the most probable. The focus of debate is likely to be on what activities are included, to what extent they are grant aided and the details of grant scheme implementation.

Potential Impacts: Policy regarding support for rural development is a devolved matter, decided by national governments. However, allocation of funding for CAP supported activities as a whole is decided at EU and UK level, so full devolution or agreement on budgets between Westminster and the devolved administrations is needed. In either case, as there will be no common European framework on which this support is based, there is likely to be greater divergence between national schemes and potentially greater variation in the relative success of the sector.

The future of existing Rural Development Schemes and contracts issued through them is an issue of major concern. Most land management agreements contain an element of funding over 5-10 years and a lack of security regarding this could be a disincentive to future applications.

The future of payments for equipment and training through the Leader schemes and other non-land based schemes is also in major doubt and most funders have been instructed to halt approval.

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF)

With EAFRD, ERDF and ESF are the major EU Funds making up the European Structural Investment Funds programme. ERDF supports projects which enable or promote economic development within discreet regions, primarily in ICT, innovation, SME development and supporting a shift to a low carbon economy.

ESF’s focus is ‘quality’ employment, labour mobility, social inclusion and training.

Forestry has not traditionally accessed these funds to any great extent, given that they cannot support ‘in forest’ activity.

There have been instances where they have supported local/regional projects which address wider needs. For example, some current projects aim to benefit from ERDF’s low carbon priority to support woodfuel markets and supply chains.

EU Programmes

The EU also provides direct support for a number of other activities, delivered through a variety of grant schemes and focused on issues such as research and innovation, young people and transnational co-operation. Examples include Horizon 2020, LIFE and Erasmus+.

Horizon 2020 has a budget of approximately €80bn for 2014-2020.

The forest sector has benefited from a number of these funds. Often, these focus on

particular subjects, such as plant health or use of timber in construction and involve a number of partners.

The importance of such funding is underlined by the share of Forest Research’s annual income derived from EU sources, increasing to £783,000 (6 per cent) in 2014/15 from £486,000 (3.6 per cent) in 2012/3.

Participation in these projects is not limited to EU member states. Horizon 2020 extends to 15 ‘Associated Countries’ including most non-EU European countries. Association Agreements have to be reached before such status is granted. Ensuring such agreements are in place to ensure a seamless transition from EU membership to non-membership will be important in exit negotiations.

TRADING & MARKETS Goods

As an EU member, the UK benefits from the free trade of goods within the EEA. Goods that can be traded freely include plants (subject to regulations), machinery, chemicals, timber and timber products. As such, membership or not of the EEA will impact directly upon most aspects of the forestry and timber processing sectors in the UK. The UK’s future position will depend what status it seeks following Brexit. Should it seek membership of EFTA it could, in theory, retain

EEA membership, although this is not certain.

If it was to do this it would be likely to have to comply with most EU regulations relating to the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour, and pay for this access.

If the UK was not willing to accept the free movement of labour, for example, it would not be able to join the EEA (but it could be a member of EFTA) and to access EU markets without penalty, would have to negotiate separate bilateral agreements with the EU which did not include these conditions.

Labour

The extent to which migrant labour is used in the forestry sector is difficult to assess as no reliable data is collected. However, anecdotal evidence suggests it is important in sub-sectors such as nurseries, establishment, fencing and machine operating. Many of these rely on seasonal labour to fulfil particular requirements, which migrant labour tends to have a disproportionate share of.

As described above, the ability to continue recruiting migrant labour will depend on the status of the UK after exiting the EU. Promoters of the Leave case have said that where industry can prove it needs migrant labour to operate this will be permitted. However, the speed at which such arrangements operate will be key to their success. Seasonal labour is by its nature frequently required at very short notice and any delays in its approval would render the system unworkable.

The summary continues on p6 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 5

BREXIT Timber

As the world’s third largest timber importer, the UK has played a significant role in the formulation of timber trade policies and their implementation. The EU published the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan in 2003, setting out measures available to the EU and member states to tackle illegal logging, including the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), which were adopted in 2010 and came into force in 2013.

The Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulation 2013 transposes the EUTR into GB statute.

The EUTR requires operators who place timber onto the market for the first time to exercise due diligence with regard to its origin and sustainability. The EUTR was transposed into the EEA Agreement in May 2015, so the UK would have to maintain the requirements of the EUTR if it became a member of the EFTA with access to the EEA. If the UK was outside of the EEA it would in theory be possible to remove the requirements although the terms of any trade agreement could still require it, as could UK government policy.

The UK’s future trading position will also dictate to a large extent the use of standards for timber products. These are commonly classified according to European Standards, used by the EU to underpin much of the regulation it applies to the area, such as the Construction Products Regulation (305/2011/ EU). Membership of the EEA would require

adherence to these standards and regulations, although it may be possible to drop some requirements for timber grown and used in the UK. Similarly it may be possible to relax some aspects of CE marking which the UK has traditionally been reluctant to fully adopt.

Clearly with an industry as global as the timber trade, adoption of multiple standards and regulations is a source of significant cost.

Land

The financial viability of afforestation proposals is closely linked to the price of land.

It is commonly thought payments to farmers through the Common Agricultural Policy (‘farm subsidies’) distort the value of farmland, to the disadvantage of the forestry sector.

Should the UK decide to reduce or even remove farm subsidies altogether it is therefore possible land prices may reduce, making afforestation both more attractive (as an alternative land use) and more viable, financially The nature of the replacement farm subsidy system in the individual nations will have a major impact on the comparative viability of forestry in the UK.

LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS Legislation governed by the EU falls into one of two types – Directives or Regulations. Directives are decided at EU level but have to be transposed into legislation by individual countries before they become law in that country.

Regulations are also decided by the EU but become law across the EU without further enabling legislation in individual countries.

In broad terms, once the UK exits the EU, Regulations will by default lapse, whereas Directives will still apply as they are enshrined in legislation, which will need amending or repealing before they are affected.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

The EU EIA Directive (85/337/EEC) came into force in 1985, but has been amended several times, most recently in 2014.

Relevant developments potentially requiring an EIA include afforestation, deforestation, roads and quarries. Thresholds are set above which projects may require an EIA, subject to a screening process. The thresholds are set by individual countries within the UK and thus vary, but the screening process is the same.

James Williamson

Future options: As a Directive enshrined in UK legislation, EIA requirements will not automatically change if the UK exits the EU. Legislation would have to be amended or repealed before any change. In most cases the EIA Directive is brought into effect via Statutory Instruments which do not require

6 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

primary legislation to amend or repeal.

The 2014 amendment to the EIA Directive is due to be transposed into UK legislation by May 2017. Will this happen? Article 50 does not allow for any suspension of the adoption of new or amended EU legislation during the two-year negotiation period, so in theory the amended Directive will have to be transposed into UK law.

The basic options are: retain legislation as framed at the time of leaving the EU; introduce new EIA legislation; remove of EIA legislation. Any future arrangements will probably be based on individual countries as devolved matters and any differences could amplify the impact overall.

Potential Impacts: Repeal of EIA legislation, or significant amendment, has the potential to remove or lower one barrier to afforestation, given that the Regulations have reportedly discouraged proposals due to the potential costs and time delays.

Controversial schemes could lead to increased tension with stakeholders including NGOs and farmers, unless a framework is in place to regulate.

Deforestation could become easier, but other UK law (eg Felling Licences) and nonregulatory processes like certification could limit the impact.

planting are ‘controlled’ material and must have a phytosanitary certificate issued by the country of origin to meets requirements for entry to the EU. Certification is governed by the World Trade Organisation.

Future options: Plant health and quality legislation in the UK results from EU Directives and will remain in place following the UK’s exit, with the subsequent options being to retain, amend or remove it. However, unlike environmental legislation, the outcome is likely to be dictated by whether the UK decides to remain within the ‘single market’. If so, existing procedures must be retained. If not it would be possible to adopt new procedures, which would probably mean adopting rules for importing from non-EU countries to EU countries and the need for phytosanitary certificates for controlled material.

Potential Impacts: The impact on plant health will depend on the UK’s position with the ‘single market’. Leaving it would provide an opportunity to implement more stringent requirements on the importation of plant material which could result in the reduction, or delay, in the introduction of new pests and diseases to the UK. Such restrictions would still have to comply with WTO principles.

Employment and Health & Safety Law

Birds and Habitats Directives

This is the EU’s oldest environmental legislation, introduced in 1979. The Habitats Directive was adopted in 1992. Together, they form the primary legal basis for the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the means by which the EU meets the Bern and Bonn Conventions.

The Directives are transposed into UK law through a variety of primary and secondary legislation, on a UK and individual country basis.

The Habitats Directive requires member states to introduce a range of measures, including the creation and management of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas, the protection of certain species of animals and plants, and monitoring and reporting on the status of certain species and habitats. Lists of protected and priority species and habitats, regularly updated, form part of the Directive. The Birds Directive provides for protection of all wild birds, as well the identification and conservation of priority species.

Future options: As with EIA, UK law would remain on the statute book following an EU exit and require primary or secondary legislation to remove/amend it. As the UK is a signatory to the Bern and Bonn conventions, legislation would be needed to meet the conventions’ requirements. The likeliest option is retention of existing arrangements,

with individual countries being freed to amend, within the constraints of the relevant conventions.

Potential Impacts: The potential impact of leaving the EU on these areas of legislation is likely to be limited. Individual countries could propose amendments which would have to be consulted on and may reflect the particular concerns of those countries, for example the seasonality of certain restrictions on work in woodland, or species or habitats to be provided with particular protection.

Plant Health & Quality

Plant Health in the EU is governed by an EU Directive (2000/29/EC), supported by a number of Control Directives and Emergency Measures.

This aims to prevent the introduction of harmful pests and diseases into the EU or limit their spread within the EU if present.

It provides the basis on which plants can be traded between member states and imports into the EU are permitted.

Plant material and timber is freely tradable within the EU and Switzerland (unless on a restricted list) but requirements may be placed on specific species as a result of plant health concerns. At present, this includes Ash, Oak, Pine and Sweet Chestnut, which require a Plant Passport to be moved from one EU country to another.

Plants from outside the EU intended for

A large body of UK employment and Health & Safety (H&S) law derives from EU legislation, mainly Directives transposed into UK primary or secondary legislation - including the Working Time Directive (WTD), TUPE and Agency Workers Regulations (AWR). There is also significant legislation not derived from the EU. In addition, the UK in many cases goes beyond the minimum requirements of EU law, such as in the field of equality and discrimination.

Future options: Legislation covering areas where the UK goes beyond EU requirements, or had measures in place before the EU introduced them, are very unlikely to be affected. In theory, elements such as WTD and AWR, could be repealed. However, should the UK remain within the single market, it would have to comply with EU legislation. In respect of the WTD, the UK currently benefits from an opt-out which could be removed if the UK is not an EU member but remains within the single market.

Potential Impacts: If the UK remains within the single market there is unlikely to be a significant change to most employment and H&S law, although the removal of the WTD opt-out could be a disadvantage for many employers. Should the UK leave the single market it is possible employment law would be a priority for the repeal of EU-based law, resulting in significant changes. Such changes could be heavily influenced by the nature of the UK government at the time, and whether Scotland seeks independence. These factors could lead to greater instability in employment law.

Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 7

BREXIT

Confor calls for reassurance on financial support for sector The forestry and timber sector needs urgent reassurance from Government on future financial support, at the same time as discussing how to shape a positive post-Brexit future.

A total of £80m is spent annually on supporting activity in the sector across the UK and it is vital that current commitments are honoured and funding made available post-Brexit to support current grant-aided activity, in particular new planting, to ensure business confidence.

A detailed discussion organised by Confor at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry, which took place less than three weeks after the vote to Leave, included a call to ensure that debate about the future should not lead to paralysis in the short to medium term.

APPGF Chairman Chris Davies promised to take the issue up with Government, while Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive of Confor, said that all the initial signs – from the UK Government and the devolved administrations – were that those contracts would be honoured. However, he warned that a lack of clarity over future funding could be damaging: “Uncertainty over continued grant support is undermining new activity, especially planting. People are already considering if they should be working up planting schemes if they don’t know if they are going to get approval and funding.

“There is also a double uncertainty with the devolved administrations as they need to know what the situation will be at UK level. Post-Brexit, CAP funding will nominally sit with the UK Gov-

Stuart Goodall presents to APPGF ernment and devolved administrations need to know what funding they will have available to them.”

Mr Goodall explained that Confor had commissioned the Martin Glynn paper on the impact of Brexit as quickly as possible to provide information, guidance and reassurance to members.

“Following the vote to leave, there have been a

lot of questions from members and we had to react quickly to that,” Mr Goodall said.

Simon Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Royal Forestry Society, said: “We need to give woodland owners and managers assurance that contracts they have entered into will be honoured without equivocation – and that they will be encouraged Continued on p10

APPGF chair announces inquiry into future of forestry The APPGF meeting heard advance news of an expected wide-ranging Westminster inquiry into the future of the UK forestry and timber industry.

Notice of the inquiry was given by Chris Davies MP, Chair of the APPGF and Conservative MP for Brecon & Radnorshire.

The inquiry will be conducted by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee and is likely to be announced in the autumn, with a call for written evidence, followed by oral evidence sessions in early 2017 and a report by spring 2017.

Confor Chief Executive Stuart Goodall, who will be expected to give evidence to the inquiry, said: “This is tremendous news and a real boost to the sector. I am delighted that Confor’s lobbying work - and the hard work and commitment of Chris Davies MP - has paid off and that forestry and timber will get serious consideration by a parliamentary committee at this extremely important time for the sector.”

The APPGF also pledged to write urgently to the Under-Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs to clarify the status of the remainder of the £1 million Forestry Innovation Fund announced in the March 2015 Budget.

An initial application window to fund Woodland Creation Planning Grants received a very positive response from the sector, with ten planting schemes coming forward totalling in excess of 1000 hectares with between £200,000 and £250,000 paid out of the £1 million pot.

8 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

Stuart Goodall said: “This funding was strongly welcomed by the sector as an important and cost effective tool to support the growth of forestry in the English regions. It has de-risked the process of applying, which can be long and expensive. The woodland Creation Planning Grant generated a lot of interest and activity.

“It is clear that this is a very efficient mechanism to help meet planting targets. It is a crucial driver and within the whole scheme of things, it is a small amount of money.”

Mr Goodall said that despite the narrow application window, the fund has unlocked a range and scale of proposals to plant productive forests not seen since the 1990s. He added: This is extremely important as uncertainty around the impacts of leaving the EU has threatened to undermine confidence in tree planting.

“The projects supported by the funding will stimulate employment in rural areas where there are few alternative job opportunities and play a crucial role in delivering government targets for tree planting and carbon emissions reduction.”

However, Mr Goodall said it was crucial that the remaining balance of the £1m fund was opened up soon to stimulate further planting, with a wider application window.

George McRobbie, Managing Director of Tilhill Forestry, said: “There is lots of inertia and momentum needs to be built up. Short, sharp application windows are unhelpful in creating that momentum.”

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BREXIT Continued from p8 to enter into new contracts so we can continue to manage our woods and plant new woodland.”

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, ViceChair of the APPGF and a prominent Leave campaigner, urged the sector to seek the opportunities presented by Brexit.

She said that she had personal experience of the challenges of obtaining grant support to plant trees under the current CAP system and called on the forestry sector to be proactive in shaping a post-Brexit future.

“The decision gives us an opportunity to look at how we fund our rural industries,” she said. “Noone has decided what the new model might look like so it’s up to the farming and forestry sectors to bring a new system forward. This will not happen in the next two years, it will be the next 5-10 years, so there is plenty of time for the forestry sector to decide how best it should be done. If we have strong, robust conversations now, and ask people to think in a different way, we can shape policy.”

Mrs Trevelyan, MP for Berwickupon-Tweed, told the APPGF that there was “enormous potential to join forestry and farming together post-Brexit”. She added: “It is logical to look at it in the round and to create a level playing-field.”

Stuart Goodall said that the amount of money which goes to forestry through existing schemes funded by the EU was “comparatively very small, but hugely influential in supporting new planting”.

He added: “Coming out of the CAP would allow us to do things differently. The current system acts as a disincentive to farmers to diversify.”

Summarising the Martin Glynn paper for the group. Mr Goodall said the forestry sector was “exposed to a huge amount of envi-

ronmental legislation from the EU” and that Confor members would be substantially affected by fluctuations in exchange rates and trading rules: “In the initial period after the decision to leave, the weak pound provided a boost for the UK timber market and the pound is likely to remain weak for some time, but there is no certainty what will happen in the medium and long term.”

Mr Goodall said Confor had to get information out quickly: “There is no information yet coming out of the public sector so we have a chance to step into the breach and inform our members, the whole sector and stakeholders.”

APPGF Chairman Chris Davies said he saw great opportunities for the forestry and timber sector after Brexit. He welcomed the work done by Confor and others in reacting quickly to the Brexit vote but urged co-operation across the rural economy: “If you can get together with some aims, what a force you would be. This is a massive opportunity and we need to be together.

He also told the meeting: “We are in a great state of fluidity but we need to be sensible, calm and have a plan.”

Mike Seville, Forestry and Woodland Adviser to the CLA, agreed collaboration was needed. He said: “We are in a completely new place and keen to talk to the forestry, agricultural and environmental sectors to marshall arguments for continued payments for land use, then to consider how they might be divvied up in future.”

Confor Chairman Athole McKillop warned that the Leave vote meant that the EU could no longer be blamed for a lack of planting in England. He said: “Defra has the ability to over-complicate things and we need to make them simpler.

The new minister has to take a firm hand – and has to listen to the sector.”

Stakeholders’ response Andrew Bronwin (Andrew Bronwin & Co Ltd) The news that Wales had voted to leave the EU caused a reaction of surprise and confusion amongst many. Why would the country make such a decision when it is in receipt of billions of pounds of European money? Subsequent commentary revealed an antagonism to EU lack of accountability and a failure by the Welsh Government to engage with the people over the way EU money was administered and spent.

It is likely that Wales will be financially worse off, certainly in the short to medium term. And we have to acknowledge that forestry is low in the pecking order both politically and in the queue for public funds.

Wales will have to generate more income and spend less and forestry could make its contribution to those demands. With the fall in the value of sterling the demand for homegrown timber should increase subject to the economy holding up and promoting the planting of commercial forests on our marginal hill land will be much cheaper than endlessly propping up agriculture.

It is vital the commercial sector argues its case with clarity and vigour. For the last 30 years it has been too silent allowing agriculture and the conservation-focused NGOs to dominate. That must not happen again. Welsh Government has embarked on an ambitious programme to establish a sustainable economy but it needs to shift its focus in the rural sector to more commercial activities, like forestry, which require less public subsidy.

Above all politicians need to listen. If the referendum vote told them anything it told them that. The current culture is for those seeking public funding to praise government policies, regardless of their view, and promise cooperation in the hope that their sector will see some of the cake. We need greater honesty but the fact is it will be a bun fight for public resources. We need to sharpen our elbows and get stuck in. It is all to play for and the game will be rough.

Justin Mumford, FICFor CEnv (Lockhart Garratt) It is likely that agricultural subsidies will be cut as they are not favoured by the Treasury. To me this is just a question of it happening sooner rather than later as the current model would not of gone beyond the budget renegotiations of 2020 in any event. It is unlikely that this will spill over into the environmental support which we currently administer and know so well. If anything, this might be strengthened!

Judging by the UK government’s responses to a range of environmental proposals from the European Commission in recent years, it seems more likely that the current government and possibly its successors would opt for a “less ambitious approach than that adopted by the EU”.

The failure of the leave and the remain campaign to discuss the environment means that no-one can argue the result is a mandate to remove hard fought environmental protections. No-one can claim that the soaring rhetoric that we needed to “take back control” means there is a green light for the UK to again become the dirty man of Europe.

Energy minister and leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom has previously pointed out that “our own UK Climate Change Act of 2008, is world leading”. It is possible for us be a world leader in nature protection, air pollution and the transformation to a truly sustainable economy.

“ Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Chris Davies pictured with Confor Chief Executive Stuart Goodall (centre) 10 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

It is likely that agricultural subsidies will be cut as they are not favoured by the Treasury.

The governments’ response SCOTLAND

Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Scottish Government I have always taken a close interest in forestry, the timber sawmilling and panel products sector, not least because of the huge importance of all of these in my own constituency of Inverness and Nairn (and for 12 years Lochaber) where companies like Norbord, BSW and Gordon’s are major employers and contribute significantly to the local economy.

The Scottish forestry sector is resilient and vibrant, and is now contributing £1Bn GVA to the Scottish economy, while supporting around 25,000 jobs, and contributing to Scotland’s ambitious climate change targets among other wider outcomes. However, the uncertainty wrought by the EU referendum vote has potentially the biggest impact in the short and medium term. It risks slowing investment in woodland creation and in expanded processing capacity and it is generating challenges such as the concern around the 5-year funding grants.

In the short term, the reduced value of the pound is a mixed blessing for many sectors and, for example, home-grown timber could secure a larger share of the market as imported timber becomes more expensive. However, be assured that the real focus of the Scottish Government is on securing and developing the long-term future of this essential element of our rural economy as part of our wider priority to represent and protect Scotland’s interests.

The Scottish Government is very supportive of Scotland’s forestry sector and has ambitious planting targets – we are determined to work closely with the sector to meet these while also doing all that we can to ensure that the EU referendum vote does not impact this important work.

We have been proactive in engaging with the sector since the EU referendum vote, including speaking to key sector representatives within a day of the outcome being known and meeting in late June to discuss the planting targets and to provide further assurance of the Scottish Government’s commitment to the sector. We have also informed the sector that the Scottish Government will be holding further meetings with key members of the sector over the summer and will be convening two forestry sector summits in the autumn.

The Scottish Government is intent on exploring all options to protect and maintain Scotland’s existing relationship with the EU and thereby to continue to enjoy the benefits of EU membership, including the single market and freedom of movement.

WALES Lesley Griffiths, Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Welsh Assembly

The result of the European Union membership referendum will have reverberations across the country for years to come. The result has a very significant impact on the Environment and Rural Affairs portfolio.

On 4 July, the First Minister and I met with stakeholders to discuss what our priorities should be in the negotiations ahead and for the policies that may emerge following the UK’s exit.

Many stakeholders are seeking reassurance in relation to funding. The First Minister has clearly stated we will press during the negotiations for continuity in all the major EU programmes until the end of 2020 and for continued access to EU markets.

NORTHERN IRELAND Michelle McIlveen, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland) Answer in response to a ministerial question regarding the minister’s assessment of her Department’s relationship with Europe in light of EU referendum result: “Last week’s vote will inevitably change the relationship that my Department has with Europe. At this early stage I cannot give you any detail on the mechanisms of our exit however it will be my top priority to ensure our agri-food industry, rural communities and

Pillar 1 of the CAP (direct payments to farmers and land managers) is an annual scheme and will continue on an annual basis until the UK’s exit becomes final.

The Rural Development Programme (Pillar 2) is more complex. The First Minister has sought assurances from the Prime Minister that whenever the EU funds cease, an equivalent amount will be given to the Welsh Government to allow continuity in the planned Programme.

To date, he has not received that assurance, therefore, there is uncertainty as to our future funding streams.

Anyone currently holding a contract can be assured Welsh Government will honour it.

Where stakeholders are applying for a scheme that is in progress, we advise them to continue with the process. Where their project will complete in a relatively short timescale, we will be more confident of being able to fund it. However, where a project extends beyond 2018, we now have to delay the decision until we are sure of our future funding.

This is a summary and the full statement is available @ http://gov.wales/about/cabinet/ cabinetstatements/2016-new/euexit/?lang=en

environment stakeholders make the best of this new opportunity.

“Although we have voted to leave, this will not take effect until the UK Government has negotiated a withdrawal treaty with the EU. This negotiation will take a number of years to complete. EU support for our farmers and our current trading arrangements, will remain in place during that time. We will be negotiating new trading arrangements with the EU and the rest of the world and I will be working to defend the interests of our agri-food industry in these negotiations.

“As we move forward I intend to develop a strong and closer working relationship with the Defra Minister, and my counterparts in the Scottish and Welsh Governments, to ensure I deliver all that I can for farmers, foresters, fishermen and the environment in Northern Ireland.”

Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 11

ROYAL WELSH SHOW

A bright future for forestry in Wales Mike Henderson reports from Confor’s seminar at the show On a day of blistering heat at the Royal Welsh Show, a packed audience heard four speakers on this hot topic.

EU funding for the Rural Development Programme will fall away. Recent Welsh Government legislation highlights sustainable management of natural resources in Wales as a top priority for Wales and its economy. Confor believes that a thriving commercial forestry sector will make a significant contribution to the rural economy, as demonstrated in our Upland Forestry Wales 2015 report. Forestry professionals already know that sound, sustainable forest management can deliver most of the aims of the latest Acts. But if we are to expand our commercial forest resource we must develop a culture in Wales which views our industry as an essential part of the rural economy. So, our theme for the seminar is set.

Confor on Brexit

Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive of Confor, introduced the Confor paper The impact of leaving the European Union on the UK Forestry Sector, available on the Confor website.

Trading conditions are excellent. Global demand for timber is forecast to treble by 2050.

After China and Japan, the UK is the third largest importer of timber products. In an integrated land use programme, commercial forestry in Wales could play a major role, one which included offering hill farmers an attractive option to diversify.

The Welsh forestry sector needs confidence in continuing funding. We need to get together, work up solutions and options, and engage early with policy makers. There is huge potential for commercial forestry, but we have to present a compelling case.

Asked if there is an opportunity to push for a different land use policy, Stuart said we should aim to give landowners the chance to choose from a suite of opportunities, commercial forestry among them.

mercially managed conifer has declined by 16000ha. The Welsh Government has set a target of 20% forest cover by 2030, against 14% currently. Against the target of around 6500ha of new woodland to year end March 2016, despite generous funding, Glastir has delivered 122ha.

Mike placed the blame for poor delivery squarely on bureaucrats, hunkered down in a concrete bunker, seemingly cut off from contact with straight-talking, commercial forestry professionals.

Bill MacDonald, Land Use and Sustainable Forest Management Policy Advisor, WG, bravely stepped out of the audience and promised that the latest version of Glastir would be released ‘very soon’, and should improve delivery.

Timber conversion

Jonathan Poynton, Director, Pontrilas Group, gave a view of ‘Modern timber conversion’, from inside a fifth-generation family sawmill. Pontrilas have invested £25m in the 57 acre site over the past ten years. In a very competitive marketplace, the mill works tirelessly to drive efficiencies. Focus is on three key indicators, Run Time, Yield and Volume.

Jonathan gave us some numbers showing how marginal profitable operation can be. A 1%

variance on Run Time means £150,000 a year on the bottom line, and 1% on Yield means £350,000. The mill aims to be a bespoke supplier of every conceivable value-added sawn timber product. With such a sophisticated, mechanised sawmill operation, it is possible that the first human hand to touch the sawn wood is the person buying the product from the builders merchant.

There is a huge market for timber in England. Jonathan ended with a plea for his main concerns, a stable log supply and increased commercial planting.

Timber in construction

Steve Cook, Principal Sustainable Development Manager, Willmott Dixon and Director of Grown in Britain, spoke to ‘What products do the main (construction) contractors want?’

The group of contractors Steve represents, with a combined annual turnover of £30bn, aim to specify British timber. They work to three core values. They demonstrate social value, they connect timber users back to forests, and operate responsible business practices.

In UK construction, 37% of softwood timber used is of British manufacture, 6% of hardwood timber, 70% of OSB, and 50% of MDF and Chipboard.

Wales is projected to need 14,000 new houses a year for the next 20 years. 90% of timber in those houses will be softwood, to general use C16 grade. The market potential for Welsh timber is huge. There is plenty of value-added opportunity. New timber modifying processes are increasing timber durability. Steve’s message, indeed the message from the whole seminar was ‘The future is bright. Now go to it.’

The Welsh question

Mike Tustin, John Clegg & Co, followed with ‘Can Wales grow trees?’ Answer, ‘Yes’.

Wales has the climate and soil, the best in the UK, maybe even the best in the Northern Hemisphere, for growing trees. We must remain flexible in our approach to species selection. As temperatures rise and rainfall declines, Sitka Spruce may be less suited to East Wales.

However, while Wales can grow trees, the numbers appear to show that Wales is falling down on the job. Since 2000, the area of com-

Tim Kirk receiving a thank you from Stuart Goodall for his many years of service to Confor as Chair of Confor Wales and a valued committee member. Paul Raymond Barker right) recently stood down from the Confor Wales committee after many years – we are very grateful for all his work and we wanted to show our appreciation with a small gift.

12 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

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BUSINESS & FINANCE

Long-term investors see value of forestry in light of Brexit chill Forest market report by Fenning Welstead, of John Clegg & Co In the immediate aftermath of the surprising EU referendum result, and I am writing this less than a week after David Cameron intimated his intention to stand down, there has been a great deal of noise signifying largely nothing. By the time you read this perhaps all will be clear but so, perhaps, will the blue moon!

The months of May and June seemed to be characterised by extremes – boom or bust – depending on whether ‘Remain’ or ‘Brexit’ was making the utterances. Confusion abounded as there did not seem to be any facts to back up the claims. Facts are still in short supply.

What of UK Forestry? John Clegg & Co’s Haddenham office reported brisk business in the six week period covering the latter half of May and June. Fact: 17 woods sold in England and Wales. Fact: ten woods launched on the market over the same period. Fact: strong interest registered. The Edinburgh office also saw an upturn in interest and successful sales during this period.

The immediate reaction from those who have been expressing an interest in acquiring forestry has been positive. John Clegg & Co currently has on the market, the very extensive Invertrossachs Forest, 1358ha asking £6.38m, which is being inspected closely by a number of prospective purchasers. None of these show any sign of withdrawing or, at this stage, of adjusting their views on values. Other clients have also said that they regard forestry and timber assets as excellent long-term investments and some of them are seeking to acquire more.

Bidwells have just launched the extensive Glen Massan Estate into the market. Extending to 3279ha and priced at over £9m this may be one of the largest forests presented this year. It offers commercial timber and a superb, secluded setting. It should likewise draw strong interest. Timber price movements are not yet clear but if the £GB remains weakened, the historical effect has been to increase home-grown timber prices as imports become more expensive.

The one big thing that comes out of the result is that the political system has become divorced from the everyday concerns of the electorate. I believe that this is a Europe-wide, if not even a global issue. The British electorate have simply had a chance to express their views.

We might also remember that the vote was only carried by a small margin and that almost half

of the votes cast were for us to remain in Europe. It might not be unreasonable to assume that a degree of pragmatism will prevail in the interests of continued trade and economic activity. Neither Europe, nor Britain, can afford a downturn.

Forestry does benefit from grant support and much of this is funded through a European route, although not all of it. The indications this week are that we should continue to submit applications under the various grant schemes in the different countries and that these will be considered as if there was no change. We are, effectively, still part of Europe for at least two years, plus however long it takes for somebody to activate Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. If EU funding disappears for forestry presumably the same will occur in respect of EU subsidies for farming which would provoke a really hard look at land-use.

Scotland, England and Wales all have stated intentions to increase new planting and woodland cover. The grants available in each of the countries appear, at face value, to be very attractive; however, the problem has been, and continues to be, the significant hassle in securing the approval for the forestry development.

The consultation process and uncertainty is very off-putting for prospective new planting investment. My personal view is that new planting targets would be met if we accepted forestry as a fundamentally sound land use that can be integrated into farming. While there is some sign that this is happening, might that become eas-

ier in the post-EU world where we could make decisions tailored to the UK. This article usually focuses on current forestry market activity. In the south-east of England Possingworth Park Lake and Woodland, 42ha, are well managed mixed woodlands, principally mid to late rotation, with a beautiful 4ha lake and three further ponds. Guided at £750,000 there is already good interest at this level.

Moving west to Devon, Goodstone Forest is a fine mixed age wood with mainly coniferous crops; principally of Douglas fir and Sitka spruce offering excellent opportunities for capital growth and future investment income. Within the 43ha is an attractive winding stretch of the River Lemon. Guided at £499,999 Goodstone Forest has attracted immediate interest in the marketplace.

In Wales, a very swift offer took Coed Caersaeson, 56ha in the Snowdonia National Park, out of the market. The late 1960s crops, mainly Sitka spruce, larch and pine achieved over the guide price of £450,000.

In south Scotland the sale of Hartside, 394ha of 30-year-old commercial spruce crops went under offer at well over the guide price of £8756 per ha.

We believe that the market for woods and commercial forestry will continue to perform in reflection of the underlying value in land and a renewable timber resource. For those buying smaller scale woodlands the joy of ownership is an added bonus. At the industrial scale raw material supply may be a key driver.

The extensive Invertrossachs Forest with an asking price of £6.38m is attracting a number of prospective purchasers.

Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 15

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Threats and opportunities in uncertain times Euroforest Timber Market report by Graeme Ralph The last few months of 2015 saw domestic sawlog demand at low levels primarily as a result of exchange rates favouring imported sawn timber. This effect was felt the most by the big carcassing mills in the north of the country whereas the predominantly fencing-based mills further south were cushioned, to some extent at least, from the worst of the pressure. This resulted in low log prices over much of the country which continued into early 2016.

Weakening of the pound, combined with the usual spring increase in building activity, has produced better sawlog demand during the first half of this year with co-products supplies being as high as anyone can remember as a direct result of sawmills operating flat out as well as

adding extra shifts in many cases. The result has been steadily rising log prices at the forest gate and logs moving to customers as quickly as they can be produced. While we are not yet back up to the price levels of a couple of years ago, and sawmillers are reporting that they are well bought over the summer and early autumn, many are keen to secure volume now to take them through the latter part of this year and into next.

In the small roundwood sector the picture is not quite so rosy. The high level of sawmill coproducts has meant that in plants where this is an option, round timber has been replaced by chips and sawdust, leading to reduced demand and price. There have also been a number of outages, both planned and unplanned, up and down the country, which has further reduced demand and price. However, with an increasing reliance on the biomass sector underwriting small roundwood prices, as we enter autumn and into winter demand can be expected to rise along with price.

And then there is the effect of Brexit. It is

too early to say for sure which way this will take us in the forestry market. On the one hand the early casualties of the stock market have been the housebuilders, as reduced confidence is reflected in an anticipated fall in new house builds and reduced demand for all grades of timber.

On the other hand the falling pound makes export of our forest products more attractive and may make up for any reduction in volume in the domestic market.

A very real worry, and something that has been mentioned in this column in the past, is the skills shortage we face in our industry. As more and more of the forest machine operators at one end, and planters at the other, are sourced from outside the UK, we must remain aware of the effect of any limitations on the free movement of people on our industry. What is for sure is that we are entering a brave new world in so many ways, and that there will be as many opportunities as there are threats, and we should take advantage of whatever opportunities present themselves to strengthen our industry over the coming months and years.

Good start to year for timber sales but will it last?

Community gets backing to invest in Scottish hydro project A community group in Lochgoilhead in Argyllshire has secured £740,000 backing to invest in a new hydro scheme – on land leased through a deal with Forest Enterprise Scotland and Scottish Water – giving them a regular income for the future.

The backing is from the Scottish Government’s Renewable Energy Investment Fund, delivered by Scottish Enterprise. The funding will enable the community group to obtain a 20% stake in the £3.7m 1.35MW hydro development being built by Broadlands Energy (Donich) on the Donich Water.

16 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

Welcoming the investment, Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity said: “I am delighted that the Scottish Government is contributing to the funding of the Donich scheme – the first Forest Enterprise Scotland shared ownership project to secure REIF funding. This is great news for the community and the local rural economy.”

When the hydro project becomes operational around September this year, the community will start benefiting from revenue generated by the scheme and for the project’s lease period of 40 years.

While prices were down during 2015 for small roundwood, logs and standing timber, the first half of 2016 has seen a rebound driven mostly by the sawn fencing market and the weakened sterling, according to the latest Timber Bulletin, published by Tilhill Forestry.

The Bulletin – now in its 15th year – provides commentary and interpretation on key themes affecting the timber market.

Peter Whitfield, timber operations director at Tilhill, said: “The report clearly illustrates that the last year has been a turbulent one with many parts of our industry being negatively affected. However, it is not all doom and gloom; in the context of the global average, the UK has performed strongly and with exchange rates likely to be in our favour, it is forecast to continue to do so in comparison with other countries.”

The vote to leave the EU and the potential impact of Brexit is also discussed. The report states that the vote has created uncertainty in the market but that the upside is that it is now more expensive to import timber which could provide a welcome boost for UK sawmilling.

However, the sawmilling sector is vulnerable to the economy and exchange rates. Fortunately, biomass and the panel sector are less exposed to economic uncertainty although biomass will be hit hard by the reforms to the Renewable Heath Initiative (RHI).

Another concern is that insufficient trees are being planted to meet long-term demand.

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COMMUNICATION

Breaking down the wall Stefanie Kaiser on shaping perceptions of the forestry and wood sector and, overleaf, looks at some communication tools

People gather in front of trees – the people are in a group, the trees form a green wall.

Green, yes, but a wall nevertheless.

I decided to use icon art to start this article.

Icons – commonly used in infographics and animations – are a simple and direct way of saying little but communicating much.

Walls are not good for relationships. If walls between people exist, effective communication cannot happen. We often wonder why ‘others’ (ie someone we talk to, the general public etc) just do not seem to get the most obvious messages. Do they lack intellectual capacity? No, it is as simple as this communication model shows: Intended meaning

contributing to public goods. Our arguments of why commercial forestry makes economic, environmental and social sense are strong, ‘no brainers‘, some would say. However, it is at an intellectual level where those messages are most convincing. What we are struggling with is how the layman interprets the message based on their pre-existing opinions and perceptions.

Perception happens at a more emotional level and once established, it cannot be changed easily by presenting convincing arguments alone. Perceptions are often formed early in life, by experiences. And, as it happens, for a lot of us, the concept of productive forestry that we were exposed to in our childhood is very different to the model of contemporary forestry that is a reality in the UK nowadays. In addition, we all have seen our share of horrifying television images of Brazilian rainforests being destroyed by massive machines – clearfelled.

So, no wonder that clearfells are not something that a lot of people would intuitively perceive as pintoresque or even sustainable. However, they do get a cosy feeling when driving past a wheat field (an unsustainable monoculture at best) being harvested by a tractor – it reminds them of the “good olden times” when we were all happily living as farmers... Back to forestry: we know that “clearfell is not clearfell”, and we can present good arguments for why clearfell harvesting practices in the UK are in line with sustainable forest management (see p49). But how can we challenge the feelings that the image of a clearfell evokes in people?

American psychologist Jerome Bruner, who passed away last year, developed a model of perception. If a person has still not developed an opinion on a target, it is easy to shape their perception. This is heavily exploited in politics, Perceived meaning

Shared space A

verbal message non-verbal message

A’s reality

Germans use the phrase ‘to have a wire to someone’, meaning ‘to have an open communication channel, a good connection with someone’. Bottom line: it’s not all about what we communicate, but how we do it.

Forestry is THE sustainable industry of the XXI century – don’t you get it?

For many of us foresters it is difficult to comprehend why the general public might not always see productive forestry as a green sector that addresses the challenges of our times, ie creating economic value while generating environmental and social benefits at the same time, 18 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

B

B’s reality

not always with the best intentions. At this stage, they can receive and assess different arguments. They then start to form an opinion and will tend to accept information that confirms their view of the subject. A more consistent perception is shaped in their heads – at this stage, messages that stand in contrast to their perception will most likely not affect their perception anymore.

This is the challenge the productive forestry sector often faces when communicating with external stakeholders. Among a large part of the population, maybe not so much the youngest generations, there are certain perceptions

of the commercial forestry that have partially been shaped by less sustainable land use practices of the past, when tax considerations heavily influenced forest design. I would dare to say that the sector of renewable energies, for example, has an advantage in this respect: it is a fairly new sector that has started with a clear promise of sustainability; their image is that of a green and modern sector, although in reality, forestry is way ahead of it when it comes to sustainability at all levels.

As a first step, Confor is now more inclined to use the term ‘productive forestry‘, rather than using the adjective ‘commercial‘, which for many people has a slightly negative connotation.

“

How can we challenge the feelings that the image of a clearfell evokes in people?

Learning from Branding

So, before we start trying to ‘teach’ people anything or appeal to their intellectual reasoning, we need to change the way they feel about things.

A brand is a set of marketing and communication methods that help to create a lasting (and desired) impression in the minds of an audience (eg costumers, the general public).

We can learn a lot from the publicity sector when it comes to changing perceptions: what are the tools we can use to make the general public see our sector as we do, as a sustainable, innovative and modern industry? It is not only about using modern media platforms that people are familiar with (social media, animations etc), but also using the right colours, words, layouts or symbols to set the right context for our content.

In 2016, it would be slightly odd to receive a client in an office with a clear‚ in-need-of-modernisation and not-quite-retro-yet design, with brown curtains, 70s tapestry and crochet doilies – unless of course we are a creative agency that consciously goes for a vintage look-and-feel. In the same fashion, we need to pay attention to seemingly trivial format details – such as the seven ‘tools’ listed in the tag cloud illustration on the next page – to ensure that our corporate image, our ‘brand’, is perceived as contemporary, and therefore our sustainability claims are taken seriously.

The circular economy illustration (right) shows a style that people can easily associate with the concepts of green, sustainable or circular economy, or ethical markets.

A certain palette of muted colours are used, soft edges, shapes with no outlines, iconic art, sans-serif fonts – we see such a style everywhere nowadays: when products receive a branding

quality products responsible

cutting

edge

Addressing misperceptions Excerpt from Confor’s 2015 communications strategy

career

innovative

high net-worth

diversity

green

modern

renewable

How would you use the seven tools listed below to depict a modern forestry sector that can be described by the key words in the tag cloud?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Typography Colour and colour combinations Infographic and iconic art Simple designs Simple messages and slogans Contemporary design elements Avoiding words with negative connotation.

makeover, when Greggs changed its branding to appear more middle class and healthy etc.

Nowadays, icons and infographics with a contemporary look are freely available online.

Three common (mis)perceptions that we aim to challenge followed by the accurate perceptions we want to help to shape

1

“New planting is bad for the landscape, wildlife and local people and involves change (from bare land to forest, then to large clear-fells), which is not desirable.

Commercial/productive forestry means square blocks of dense conifer monocultures, which look threatening and unnatural, and are most likely unsustainable.”

New planting is a positive opportunity to create value in the form of rural economic development and the delivery of highervalue ecosystem services, in particular carbon. Modern commercial forestry is multi-purpose and takes into consideration aspects of landscape and access, environment and wildlife. We can be proud that UK forestry is guided by very high sustainability standards.

2

“Forests are for recreation or wildlife and managing them, especially harvesting trees, is damaging to the forest (trees don’t get old and die or blow over).” Clear-fell, especially, is seen as bad as it has a negative visual and wildlife impact.

“Conifers are bad.”

All forests have been subject to human intervention, and responsible management benefits a forest for wildlife and for people.

This can include anything from thinning to create light, to clearfell of some areas for timber and replanting that creates habitat

for particular species. Income from sales of wood provides resources for public access and thinned forest has more light and is more attractive. Both broadleaved and conifers have a reason to exist, the mix should depend on the site and the purpose of the forest. Productive (still mixed) forests produce a valuable, everyday product – wood. Modern design ensures they are attractive in the landscape and protect water. Some of the most intense management produces very high wildlife benefit, eg coppicing.

3

“Forestry and wood processing is an old-fashioned, low-value and low-skill industry.” People do not have a visual image of how the forests that are being planted, following best practice, will look like or the benefits they will provide; it is an out-of-date style of forestry that keeps informing their perception. A main challenge is that many high-impact mature forests that people see now, are the result of planting policies of the 70ies and 80ies. Nowadays, such forests would include a certain amount of mixed species and areas managed for wildlife, and landscape factors would be taken into account.

Forestry is a modern, innovative, cuttingedge and (in rural areas) relatively highvalue sector. It produces high-quality ‘green’ products and offers interesting and diverse employment opportunities.

The circular ecomomy model: taken from: www.sandbirch.com Simple and more informal, amicable wording and formats are often used to suggest transparency and effectiveness. What you see is what you get. Our forestry has gone with the times, but if its branding stays behind, so will people’s associations of our industry.

“

What you see is what you get.

Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 19

COMMUNICATION

More than words Visual communication tools and beyond Video Video is a staple comms tool nowadays, but its only as good as its content. Videos can be incredibly boring and can, in the worst case, create an image of an organisation, company or sector that is dull and outdated.

On the other hand, it can be used to surprise audiences with fresh and contemporary content. Branding tricks can help here too

– choose the right typgraphy for titles, an interesting mix of people that represent the ‘vibe‘ you want to communicate, the right shots, length, and so forth. Sounds difficult?

Work with a trusted production company and make sure you are involved in the production process to make sure they fully understand not only the messages you want to convey, but also the look-and-feel you want to achieve in the final product.

Engaging your audience

by Toby Trueman Our experience of working within the forestry sector has seen us partnering with project teams from Confor, Forestry Commission, ICF, Scottish Natural Heritage and SEPA, and on a number of key focus points from largescale industrial processes to environmental issues. These projects have given us reason to research the sector and examine how it currently markets itself in the digital space.

There are opportunities to develop content that is more aligned with the modern viewership; films that respect the viewing preferences of the audience while keeping a focus on engagement. If Facebook is your key distribution channel, then your film should be no longer than 60 seconds and able to work without sound, seeing as 85% of videos viewed on Facebook are watched silently as people quickly browse their feeds. If you’ve got a larger project to house on your website and play out at conferences, then you could take a more documentary approach and go for a longer run-time, knowing you’ll have a more targeted audience base or you want to make something that can be used as a resource.

Whichever direction you want to go for your project, a key aim is to consider your

story and your production values, which doesn’t necessarily mean bigger budget!

The forestry sector in itself is very visual, and easily lends itself to great content. Even so, a key narrative is important, as is keeping information clear, concise and relevant: an audience can only absorb so much information, so don’t try to put too much into your film.

We approach filmmaking by making sure we first understand the topic, needs and the audience. A certain creative direction might work for one project, but not for another, so it’s important to approach every film with fresh eyes. In collaboration with the client, we chip away at the core messaging until it’s down to the bare essentials, then focus on how best to bring these to life.

Remember that once your video is out there, promote it. Engage with people on social media and repeatedly push it out across your network. If people like it, they will share it, so don’t sit back and hope people will stumble across it by accident. The audience is central to every consideration in filmmaking; make films for them, and not for yourself. We can help with that.

Toby Trueman, creative director at Heehaw, an Edinburgh-based production company www.heehaw.co.uk

A still from the Confor video Our Forests, Our People www.confor.org.uk/our-story/our-story/

“It only takes us 150ms to process a symbol and 100ms to attach a meaning to it.”

NeoMan Studios In the link below, you’ll find a great example of an effective infographic that could easily be turned into an animation. It explains why infographics are so successful. http://neomam.com/interactive/13reasons

Infographic animation Infographics and infographic animations are often used by communicators to provide audiences with an easy-to-understand graphic representation of otherwise complicated data.

Typical corporate explainer animations use elements of iconic art and infographics, but more bespoke artistic styles, from stop-motion to hand-drawn illustrations can be used. Animations are a very direct way of communicating, because we are visually wired and are constantly being overloaded with information. This means that animation and infographics have an impressive potential to help us with effective communication, including the tackling of entrenched public perceptions. But the tool itself does not do the job – it is the art of designing the right content and style that allows us to make full use of this potential.

In the case of the Confor animation, the infographics helped us get across the bigger picture of the forestry and wood story, and ‘tick’ many of the secondary messages we want the public to understand: the connection between forest and product, management and biodiversity, among others. We also want our audiences to understand why we produce wood and how that relates to the forest, touching on important aspects such as wood as a sustainable material, carbon benefits from wood and forests, modern forestry practices, the economic contribution of forestry and the need for planting to satisfy demand.

In case you did not have to chance to see the animation commissioned by Confor for the forestry and timber sector:

www.confor.org.uk/our-story/animating-forestry 20 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

y

3D visualisation and beyond While foresters are well known for their attachment to 2D maps, these aren’t always helpful in explaining the impact of landscape change to all stakeholders. 3D stills or animated sequences can be an effective way of showing stakeholders where current forests come from, how they are changing and what they will look like in the future. Public opinions on landuse are often based on perceptions, rather than objective analysis.

“Photo-realistic computer visualisation is a powerful new tool, allowing the silviculturalist and forest manager to analyse the time dimension of management proposals and engage in effective participatory decision-making with a range of non-specialist stakeholders”, says Dr Scott McG Wilson, Chartered Forester and Surveyor based in Aberdeen. Steve Conolly of Cawdor Forestry adds that “visualising what our planting or felling proposals are likely to look like in the future is especially important in sensitive landscapes”.

Community engagement consultant and FC Commissioner Amanda Bryan agrees: “This use of modern technology could revolutionise the way in which the sector communicates, emphasising benefits and potentially minimising any concerns,” (more on page 24).

Forestry companies and organisations all over the world are already producing visualisations, using 3D landscape design & visualisation softwares such as Visual Nature Studio, for which a forestry edition exists. FCS are currently working to develop a new computer generated visualisation system named ‘Prospect’. The aspiration is that by early

Information as an experience – the ultimate key to shaping perceptions

by Tam Treanor, of Beebionica Methods by which we engage and inform our audience are changing fast. Brochures, social media, video all work fairly well at getting across information. But are there more engaging ways of reaching people? I suggest the answer is yes, there most certainly are. We are embarking on an era where we do not simply digest information, we experience it.

From virtual reality headsets to immersive and interactive multi-sensory installations, the tools, techniques and expertise are fast developing to make experiencing information the new reality.

The construction industry have been quick on the uptake using immersive rooms to virtually explore large architectural builds before commissioning them. Forest and harvesting managers face the same challenge of having to justify propositions involving large-scale landscape changes to both the public and civil servants.

Use of landscape visualisation for woodland expansion planning.

Images previously created using the 3DNature Visual Nature Studio software, employing Ordnance Survey Land-Form Profile contour data under OS Licence No. 100042781. Copyright: Dr. Scott McG. Wilson.

2017 the forestry sector will have access to a relatively inexpensive and effective visualisation software capable of – importantly – contributing towards the design process and visualising forest management proposals, for the benefit of all forestry stakeholders.

As with all communication productions, the question of how best to disseminate it is key to achieving a good return on investment. In the case of visualisations, websites are the obvious choice to host impactful images and animations, but for larger projects, there are more cutting-edge solutions to engage audiences in a truly impactful way.

Immersive experiences and virtual realities will soon be booming – the ultimate way to emotionally connect with your audience and create long-lasting impressions.

Imagine exploring forests through an immersive 360° video display of forest growth sequences, modelled in 3D. Now add the possibility of sounds coming from different directions – as it would in real life. In the real world we digest an incredible amount of information very efficiently through all our senses at once - this is why well-guided trips to the field so often result in people making “if I had known this before…” concessions. By modelling the sounds and graphics we can not only create a very good representation of future realities; we can also orchestrate an environment that reinforces positive messages at an emotional level – this is important when we are dealing with long-term landscape-level changes that cannot easily be shown in real-life.

Virtual techniques allow us to display the reality in a controlled way.

Imagine wanting to raise awareness of the importance of conifer forests for biodiversity. In an immersive room or pod we could, like in a museum, accompany an impactful image or video with voice-overs and spatialised sound to give a sense of the pulsating forest life most of us weren’t aware of.

Nowadays, there is no need to come up with the funds to build a private IMAX theatre. More portable or bespoke solutions exist and it is more about how we use the concept of ‘immersion’ in a creative way to suit our purposes.

BeeBionica is an Immersive Experiences and Interaction design studio. www.beebionica.com

“

Very soon we will move through digital information not just with our eyes and ears but with all our senses: I call this ‘experiential information’ – the ultimate way to shape perceptions and public opinion.

Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 21

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COMMUNICATION

Using social media for timber marketing

by Arthur Bletchley Over 90% of the UK’s population have internet access and 14% of adult internet users prefer to use social media when communicating with unfamiliar people, according to Ofcom’s The Communications Market Report (August 2015). So while less than email (41%) this exceeds face to face meetings, SMS and voice calls. It is thus sensible to consider using social media to help market timber.

I inherited a small rural estate including 175 acres of woodland near Hereford almost 20 years ago and while the more accessible areas had been thinned, the larger part still needed attention. I quickly learnt that improving access for timber lorries and forest machinery within the woods was essential and made that investment. I was fortunate to be able to quarry my own stone for new and improved roads and was then left with an accessible timber stacking area. I obtained felling (thinning) licences and of course my timber contractor had an extensive contact list of interested timber merchants etc.

I also harvested email addresses and spammed them to broaden interest: for example exporting ash stumps through Cork, Ireland to hurley stick makers definitely paid dividends. That though was all more than ten years ago.

It is not economic for an estate this size to maintain a contractor and his machinery permanently on site, thus thinning will be cyclical.

I have recently obtained another felling (thinning) licence. This stop/ start impacts on timber marketing and now it is almost like starting a new business all over again. For sure I still have the contact details of those who I last dealt with, but I would like to bake a bigger cake.

The use of social media has grown over the last 10 years. Now 72% of adult internet users have a social media profile with Facebook being used the most. Others include Flickr, Google+, Instagram, Linked In, Pinterest, Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitter, Wordpress (Blogging) and YouTube.

Coincidentally, in the course of my other enterprises I have been

successful in attracting French students doing their international marketing baccalaureate to my office on internships. The last one – Jules Balouin – kindly made a video promoting my timber for sale which I published on YouTube (see below). At the time of writing it had been watched 77 times and has attracted interest from timber buyers looking for ash, Douglas, larch and oak. A link to the video has been emailed to those on the updated lists.

Adequate photographs, sound and video can be captured with a smartphone or tablet. Sound can then be improved with software like Audacity and the video can be processed with something like iMovie which is available on Mac and Windows. Movie Maker can be used on PCs. The cost of marketing on social media platforms can be negligible, compared with the cost of mounting something like a Google Adwords campaign. The return on investment may though be variable.

So far I have discussed using social media to help market timber for sale from a small estate. Those with larger estates and agents who continuously supply timber should integrate their social media presence into their search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy – to promote their website, identification and use of keywords will be important.

Brexit may also provide opportunities for marketing timber internationally via social media, for example in meeting plant health and regulation standards.

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COMMUNICATION

Stakeholder engagement

Get it right first time to save time and money

by Amanda Bryan Confor has been working with its members to identify what the best approaches are to stakeholder engagement, both in terms of what is effective for the sector and what works best for different stakeholder groups from neighbours and communities to statutory consultees. On the back of this the guidance reproduced here was launched earlier this year. The development of the guidance drew heavily on experience of the sector and has been supplemented by a number of good practice case studies which will be added to as new examples arise. Although developed in Scotland it is equally valid across the whole of Great Britain.

Most foresters should be familiar with the reasons for undertaking stakeholder consulta-

“

Forest managers therefore need to think about the best way to get information out to people

24 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

tion, particularly around the development of long-term forest plans and new woodland creation. However, it is just as important to consider engagement in advance of harvesting, restocking or other forest operations. Regular engagement could also address problems facing forest managers such as fly tipping or antisocial behaviour. Getting your engagement right first time can save both time and money, meaning plans are approved more quickly and that future problems are avoided.

This work drew heavily on feedback from the sector and stakeholder groups gathered through face-to-face and telephone interviews in late 2014 and through workshops with stakeholders at the Scottish Rural Parliament in 2014 and with the sector in spring 2015. We asked people about what worked and what didn’t work both in terms of when and how to consult.

Experience shows that while it may take more time, having open days or site visits can be very effective in helping all parties understand the issues. Drop-in sessions allowing stakeholders to attend at a time that suits them can allow greater opportunity for one to one dialogue and more meaningful discussion. On the flip side ‘town hall’ style meetings, which are often the fall back option for consultation, tended to result in confrontational situations creating more heat than light.

It should also be noted that sometimes peo-

ple don’t necessarily have much to say, it is just that they want to be informed about what is going on. Forest managers therefore need to think about the best way to get information out to people – it could be about using household mail drops or articles in community newsletters, it could be about using social media or it might just be about posting signs at forest gates. The method used will all depend on the specific community and the type of forest users.

The forestry sector is leading the way in the development of this type of guidance and this should inform civil servants as they consider how to implement Part 5 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 which gives Scottish Ministers authority to provide guidance for all landowners to engage communities on decisions relating to land. Over the border in England there isn’t an equivalent but the greater density of population and the challenges around securing new woodland creation and landscape change makes stakeholder engagement a high priority.

If you have an example of good practice in stakeholder engagement that you would like to share with others then please contact Amanda Bryan on aigasassociates@aol.com

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Presented by

APF 2016 set to smash all records

Ragley Estate, Alcester, Warwickshire • 15/16/17 September 2016

W

ith still two months to go (at the time of writing) until APF 2016 on the 15/16/17 September at Ragley Estate, Alcester, Warwickshire the Exhibition has already achieved record exhibitor bookings. This year will see a 10% increase in exhibitor numbers from 2014, reaching 300 for the first time. A full list of current exhibitors can be found on p36.

Exhibition secretary, Ian Millward said, “We are absolutely delighted at the level of bookings to date and they are continuing to come in on a daily basis. The word has certainly got around that the APF Exhibition is the place to be if you sell machinery, equipment and services into the forestry, woodland and arboricultural industries.

We only have eight sites left on our already exContinued on p29

All pictures from APF 2014 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 27

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APF PREVIEW

Continued from p27 tended static area and there is a real possibility that we will sell out of stand space before September and I urge any exhibitors still considering attending to book soon before it is too late.�

As the show develops and grows there is more to do and see than ever before. Machinery for both large and small-scale woodlands will be strongly represented and over 300 tonnes of timber will be harvested over the three days of the show.

There will be many product launches and new machines on show never seen before in the UK. If you are planning to buy or replace any machinery then you need to be at the show as it is the one place you can see every manufacturer and see their equipment working in realistic conditions.

Events and features

Forestry Commission will be holding a series of topical seminars to bring you up to date with current research and news on the latest pest and diseases. Confor will be holding their AGM on the Thursday morning at the show.

The Forest Worker Zone will see a range of daily practical drop-in discussions and demonstrations on a variety of subjects from ergonomic and efficient felling techniques, chainsaw maintenance, managing back pain, the new forest apprenticeship scheme to payment through the head. The draft programme for this can be found on the events page of the website.

There are new features even when you want to relax and enjoy a well-earned pint or lunch with old friends and colleagues. Both the main catering areas will have large covered seating areas in case the weather turns inclement and both of these areas will have free Wi-Fi available to enable you to catch up with work emails.

The catering area near the woodland crafts area will have a range of artisan produced food including squirrel pie!

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Chainsaw carving competitions are both taking place again with the standard set to be higher than ever before.

There will also be The Komatsu UK Forwarder Driving Competition and the very popular woodland crafts area with a huge range of rarely seen crafts on display. There is also an added attraction this year a with the Inch Perfect trials motorbike display team performing their amazing stunts in the Redwood Global arena.

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APF PREVIEW

APF seminar programme Thursday 15 September

Friday 16 September

9am-9.45am 10am-11am Confor Confor panel discussion

10am-10.45am FC/Grown in Britain Wood stock – an increasing supply and demand of British hardwood.

Ian Tubby GiB

11.15am-12pm FC/Grown in Britain Wood stock – an increasing supply and demand of British hardwood.

Ian Tubby GiB

11am-11.45am Observatree Observatree – Tree health early warning systems

12.15pm-12.45pm Confor Confor AGM

12pm-1pm FC Plant health – An overview of current health activities and challenges in England and the measures we can take to protect our trees. Ben Jones/James Roberts

1pm-1.45pm FC Plant health – An overview of current health activities and challenges in England and the measures we can take to protect our trees. Ben Jones/James Roberts 2pm-2.45pm Observatree Observatree – Tree health early warning systems

2pm-2.45pm FC Squirrel issues – To be presented jointly with the Squirrel Accord. Rebecca Isted

3pm-4pm FC The Way Forward – Why we need to urgently act now. Climate Change Accord/John Weir

3pm-4pm FC Technical Development – Small scale harvesting issues, linking to grants etc.

Stephen Penny/Duncan

3pm-4pm FC Education and skills. Steve Fowkes

Saturday 17 September 11am-11.45am Observatree Observatree – Tree health early warning system

ALL SEMINARS ARE HELD IN THE SEMINAR TENT Find out more by visiting www.apfexhibition.co.uk, www.forestry.gov.uk/apf or www.confor.org.uk 30 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

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www.caledonianforestryservices.co.uk 32 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

APF PREVIEW

Confor at APF2016 The APF is always a highlight of the year, and 2016’s is set to be one of the best yet, with even more exhibitors than ever before.

Following the Brexit vote, Confor will host a panel debate at 10am on Thursday on what the potential impact could be on our sector.

We will also be pleased to welcome forestry minister Rory Stewart, MP who has confirmed that he will attend the show on Thursday, 15 September.

Confor will have more information about Brexit available in our tent and, of course, do speak to any of the team. We will be in our usual spot to the right of the main entrance, and members are encouraged to drop in and

join us for refreshments at any time.

The company AGM will be at 12.15pm in the Seminar tent with lunch to follow in the Confor tent at 12.45pm, kindly sponsored again by John Clegg & Co. Our sincere thanks go to them for their continued generosity.

Remember: only your membership card can secure free entry for you to APF2016. Contact Liz on 0131 240 1410 or liz@confor.org.uk for a replacement card. We cannot refund entry fees, so bring that card!

With September fast approaching, there are a few important things that all members should remember: 1. The APF is not to be missed; 2. Bring your membership card for free entry; 3. Bring along a friend or colleague who is not a member, and we will persuade them to join! New members who join at the Show get the entrance fee taken off their subscription.

Arboricultural Division

Visit shop.listerwilder.co.uk or scan the QR code

Corporate and trade members need to apply to Confor HQ for their tickets allocation.

Individual members simply need to turn up on the gate and show their current membership card to qualify for free entry. ut please do bring your membership card. APF do not have the facility to check your membership and without your card you will be charged the full gate price of £20 and we cannot offer subsequent refunds.

If you need to buy additional tickets or book camping you can do this via the APF website and receive a discount.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Full details of the exhibition, maps, booking forms and a list of exhibitors booked to date are on the exhibitor section of the website 8 www.apfexhibition.co.uk E: info@apfexhibition.co.uk T: 01737 245081 www.facebook.com/APFExhibition @APFExhibition

the r

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Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 33

THEFENCING THE APP APP FOR FENCE FAST, ACCURATE PLANNING FENCE PLANNING

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APF PREVIEW

Discover the Forest Workers Zone APF organisers have dedicated an area (stand number 1140 on the demo circuit) for forestry and woodland workers, with a programme of workshops, and experts on hand to answer questions relevant to those working on the ‘wood face’ of the industry.

There will be demonstrations on chainsaw repairs, sharpening hand tools with Sean Helman, high-lead systems, ergonomic felling techniques, and adding value to products.

Professionals will be leading discussions and giving advice on subjects such as managing risk, the opportunities of co-operative working with conservation groups and small woodland owners, efficient work practices, countryside stewardship grants, and much more Mike Abbot, the ‘grandfather’ of green wood work, will talk about his experiences and

the evolution of the green wood industry, and Stephen Cull (The Blademaster) will be talking about his life as a mobile sawyer.

On Friday a panel of guests will hold a careers clinic, advising on different pathways to a job in the woods or ways to further your career.

There will also be a competition to win a Sugi Hara chainsaw bar, as well as lots of popup opportunities to win Dolmar goodies.

The area has been funded by the APF committee, with input from the NCFED, FISA, FCA, ESUS forestry, MWMAC, the FC, AJS Forest Garden, and Chainsawbars.co.uk among others.

For more information or to get involved, contact toby@sayitwithwood.co.uk.

Call for volunteers to accompany and inspire school parties at APF Yes, it’s that time again – your chance to introduce children to our industry.

With several hundred local schoolchildren attending the show on the Thursday and Friday, we are looking for volunteers to accompany each group to explain and interpret what the group is seeing at each stop.

If you are interested please let me know by email fiona.angier@confor.org.uk or phone 0131 240 1419 (please leave a message).

The Forest Workers Zone at the Confor Woodland Show in 2015

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APF PREVIEW • EXHIBITORS Exhibitor.............................................................. Stand no A & J Arb ................................................................................. F17b A. T. Osborne Ltd ................................................. 200 - 240 in A. W. Jenkinson Forest Products .............................I 1, 2, 3 A.C. Price (Engineering) Ltd ............................ 360 - 400 in ABC Response Training ..................................................... G3a Access Industries .......................................................................J7 Access Platform Sales ....................................1860-1880 in Acorn Environmental Management Group ................C5 Agrigem Ltd ............................................................................ G2a AHWI UK Ltd ................................................ 1080 - 1120 out Air-Seal Products Ltd . ...................................................... D10b Alba Trees Plc .......................................................................C14b Albach Maschinenbau Gmbh & Co ......1200 - 1215 in Alkota ......................................................................................... H9b Allswage UK ............................................................................ H10 Ansini Ltd ................................................................................ F10b Apex Fluid Power Ltd ............................................................I8a Approved Hydraulics Ltd . .....................................................F6 Arb Pro Software Ltd ........................................................... F9a Arborcheck ............................................................................. F11a Arboricultural Association .............................................. F16a Arborisk.co.uk ......................................................................... H5a Arborplan Insurance ........................................................... G9a Arbortec Forestwear . ......................................................... DS 8 Ariens (Echo Tools) ..................................................................E8 Ashtead Plant Hire Co. Ltd . ..............................................C12 Aspen Fuels ...............................................................................I8b Associated Utility Supplies Limited Aus ...................... H1 Association Of Pole Lathe Turners .................. Craft Area Atkinson Vos Ltd ......................................... 1000 - 1040 out Autoguide Equipment ............................. 1240 - 1250 out

Avant Techno UK Ltd . ....................................... 720 - 760 in B.A.S.E Kit Ltd ..........................................................................D9c Bag Supplies ...............................................................................A1 Batsford Timber .....................................................................B1b Be-ge Seating ...........................................................................I9a Bernard Conroy ...............................................1120 - 1130 in Bill Sanders .............................................................................Craft Bioeuipment Ltd ......................................... 1540 - 1600 out Blademaster ........................................................................... H6a Bomford Turner .................................................................. D17a Brampton Valley Training & Assessments Ltd ........ E6a British Hardwood Tree Nursery Ltd .............................. E6b British Horse Loggers . ................................................ 800 out Brit-Tipp Limited ............................................................F7 & F8 Bruks ....................................................................................AB D9a Bryce Suma Post Drivers .............................1840 - 1860 in Bsp Hydraulics Ltd . .............................................................. G3b Bucket Warehouse ................................................................ E9a Buxtons Ltd .....................................................................B2 & B3 Cabcare Products Ltd ..........................................................B4a Caledonian Forestry Services Ltd ...........2000 - 2040 in Carbon Compost Co Ltd .............................1325 - 1335 in Cardley - Group .................................................... 640 - 680 in Centerprise International Ltd ..................................... D13a Central Platform Services Ltd .......................................H11a Certainly Wood . .................................................................DS 3a Charles Taylor ......................................................................... H7b Cherry Products .................................................................. D16b Cheviot Trees ........................................................................... E1a Chippers International ........................................ 80 - 120 in Chris Forestry .....................................................................DS10a Christie Elite Nurseries ....................................................... D5a

Clinton Chaloner . ................................................................Craft Confor ............................................................................................A5 Consulting Arborist Society ........................................... F11b Cord King (Europe) ......................................................... 1720a Costco Wholesale ..................................................................D4c CTC Recruitment . .............................................................. D13b CTM - Conservation Technology & Machinery........E11 D.A.Hughes Forestry ................................. 1400 - 1440 out De La Hayes Engineering.................................................. H5b DMM & Teufelberger .......................................................... H2b Dow Mus-Max . ...............................................1920-1960 out Eagle Asset Finance ......................................................... D17b Easy Post Petrol Driver .................................1375 - 1390 in Ecco Stoves .............................................................................. G9b Eddie Marsh ............................................................... Craft Area Egger Forestry ...............................................................J5 & J6a Endeavour Vehicle Conversions .................................. F16b Eschlböck 1............................................................880 - 1895 in Euroforest Ltd ...................................................................J1 & I0 EuroGate International . .............................1690 - 1700 in Europe Forestry ...............................................1740 - 1780 in Eydon Kettle Co Ltd ....................................................... Ds 12a F.R.Jones and Sons ......................................................... D1,2,3 Fairway Hydraulics .....................................1980 - 1985 Out Falcon Forestry Ltd . ........................................................... E16a Farm Forestry Co Ltd . .......................................................... E4a Farma Trailer . ..........................................................................E12 Farmi Forestry UK ...........................................................1720 B FGM Claymore ........................................................................ E7b Fisa ...............................................................................................TBC Fletcher Stewart (Stockport) Ltd ......................................F3 Forest Machine Magazine .............................................G12b

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APF PREVIEW • EXHIBITORS Forest Machine Services ...............................840 - 880 out Forest Master Ltd ................................................ 400 - 440 in Forest Plans .............................................................................. A2c Forestry Commission ..............................................................A4 Forestry Contracting Association ...........1200 - 1210 in Forestry Journal ..............................................1750-1765 out Fox Medics First Aid Training . ......................................G10b Fuel Proof Ltd ............................................... 1785 - 1805 out Fuelwood (Warwick) Ltd ...............................240 - 320 out Futurum .....................................................................................F12 GB Lubricants ...................................................1280 - 1305 in Geosynthetics ..........................................................................E2c Glebe Fabrications (Timbercroc) .................................. H9a Glen Farrow Uk Ltd ........................................1335 - 1375 in Global Recycling Solutions . .......................1940 - 2000 in Global Sales . ........................................................................... D12 Gold Star Products ............................................................... D4b Granville Reeves C....................................................................raft Greenfix Ltd . .........................................................................H11b Greenmech Ltd .....................................................80 - 110 out Green-Tech Ltd ..........................................................................C8 Growi Uk .................................................................. 240 - 280 in Hampton Steel Ltd .................................................................D8 Hazlewood Trailers ................................................................I11 Health & Safety Executive ...........................1800-1840 in Heathwood Nurseries Ltd...................................................C7a Helec Ltd ................................................................. G11 & G12a Hiab Ltd . ...........................................................................0 - 40 in Haix .....................................................................................Sponsor Home Forestry LLP .................................................840-880 in Honey Brothers Ltd ...................................................A9,10,11 Hopespare ............................................................................... D4a Husqvarna Hycon Ltd ............................................................................... E16b Ian Morgan Arboricultural Training Services ........ DS 4 Ifor Williams Trailers ............................................................E17 Institute of Chartered Foresters .....................................I9b Isuzu (UK) Ltd ............................................................................E3 Isuzu Truck (UK) Ltd ................................................................E5 J.W Landscaping Ltd .......................................................... G6b James Jones & Sons Ltd . .......................................................J4 Jensen Service GmbH ..................................1520 - 1560 in John Deere Forestry ........................................880 - 960 out JSC Saurida UAB ........................................1250 - 1260 Out KaarbonTech Surveying .....................................................H6c Kanga UK Ltd ...................................................1680 - 1690 in Kilworth Machinery .........................................200 - 240 out King Feeders Uk....................................................................... J6b King Trailers ................................................................. G4 & G5a Kington Farm Supplies (Arrow Plant & Tool Hire) DS 2

Kingwell Holdings Ltd .............................................................E7 Kiowa ............................................................................................I10 Kirkby Tyres ............................................................................. H7a Kirkland .................................................................... 580 - 640 in Komatsu Forest Ltd ..........................................................I4,5,6 Kretzer / Cottage Firewood Machinery.1390 - 1400 in Kubota (UK) Ltd ................................................760 - 800 out Lamberhurst Engineering Ltd........................ 280 - 320 in Larry Jones ..............................................................................Craft LC Packaging Ltd ...................................................................C3b Lincmaster Security Products ......................................... D6a Lister Wilder Ltd .......................................................................D7 Logosol Uk ..........................................................1920 - 1940in Lycetts ......................................................................................... F9b M. Large Tree Services Ltd ..................... 1280 - 1300 out Makita UK Ltd .............................................520 - 560 in + C4 Mark Beach Forestry .....................................1265 - 1280 in MarketBook .............................................................................. E2b Marlow Ropes Ltd ................................................................ D6b Marshall Agricultural Engineering ..... 1840 - 1920 out Mason Woodchippers..................................................... D10a McArthur Forest Services ................................. 880 - 950 in McConnel Ltd .............................................................................F5 McVeigh Parker & Co Ltd ......................................................A3 MEBOR (d.o.o) .................................................1305 - 1325 in Megan Lawley Vintage Mercedes-Benz Trucks.......................................... A12 & A13 Merrist Wood College . .........................................................E6c Michelin Tyre Plc ........................................................................J4 Midland Power Distribution Ltd ................... 560 - 580 in Mitsubishi Motors .......................................................H3 & H4 Molson Equipment Services . ....................1215 - 1265 in Moreda Riviere Trefilerias S.A ........................................ G2b MP & KM Golding Ltd .........................................................C11 MST Parts Group .................................................................. D5b MuirHouse Farm Partnership ..........................................TBC Mule Tipper Inserts LLP .................................................DS 7a Mwmac Ltd ............................................................ 800 - 840 in NCD Equipment Ltd . ....................................1040 - 1080 in Neill Mapes Woodland Artist ........................................Craft Nicholsons ................................................................................ E9b Nomix Enviro ...........................................................................C3a Norcar Uk (Moorend Ltd) ............................................... E10b Nordic Outdoor .........................................................................F4 Nordic Tyres.......................................................................... G17b Oakleaf Forestry ............................................... 800 - 840 Out Ohashi Inc . ....................................................1775 - 1785 Out Orange Plant ....................440 - 455 in & 1780 - 1800 in Outreach Ltd .......................................................... 160 - 200 in Overland Environmental Services Ltd ..1440 - 1460 in

Owen Jones ............................................................................Craft Oxdale Products ........................................................................C2 Pear Technology Services Ltd ...................................... D11a Peter Tree ................................................................................Craft Phil Cooper & Eco Log ...................................... H17b & H18 Pinosa Group ....................................................1400 - 1420 in Plaisance Equipements Sarl ......................1480 - 1500 in Ponsse UK .......................................................I12 & I13 & I14 Positioning Resources Ltd F...............................................17a Predator Power Ltd......................................... 1080 - 1120 in ProArb Magazine............................................................... Ds 3b Promax Access Ltd .........................................1895 - 1920 in PSD Groundscare ................................. H12 & 120 - 140 in Quickfencer Ltd .................................................................. D16a R.J. Fukes/Logset ..............................................H15b to H17a Rainbow Professional Ltd .................................................. E1b Ranger Equipment ....................................1680 - 1700 Out Redwood Global . ........................................ 2000 - 2040 out Rezatec Limited ..................................................................... G5b Riko UK Ltd ...................................................................40 - 80 in Robinson Trailers ...................................................... I15 & I16 Rock Machinery Ltd . ....................................1765-1775 out Rotochopper Inc ................................................................DS 3c Rowlinson Packaging Ltd . .................................................G6c Royal Forestry Society .........................................................A2b RSL Engineering .....................................................................C7b Rustic Carpentry & The Village Carpenter.. Craft Area Rytec Industrial Equipment Ltd .......... 1640 - 1680 out Samoa Ltd ............................................................................... D9b Samurai Saws Uk Ltd ................................................... Ds 10b Saturn Machine Knives Ltd .............................................. F9a Scottish School of Forestry............................................. E10a SDL Biomass........................................................... DS 11 & 10c Silky Fox Handsaws .........................................360 - 380 out Simon Richard Ltd (Reform) ...............................................C6 Small Woodland Owners Group (SWOG) .......... DS 12c Sorbus International Ltd .......................................C9 & C10 Spaldings Ltd........................................................................... E7a Spanner Re2 Gmbh ..................................................................J8 Sparsholt College Hampshire . ........................................ E2a Spectrum Plant ............................................ 1700 - 1720 out Stihl Gb ..................................1985 - 2000 out & 455 - 520 STM Company Ltd . ................................... 1600 - 1640 out Stobart Biomass Products . ........................................J2 & J3 Stumpbusters ............................................... 1040 - 1080 out Suttons (ross) Ltd .......................................1120 - 1130 Out TAJFUN Liv d.o.o .................................................. 140 - 160 in Teagle Machinery Ltd....................................................... C14a Teupen Maschinenbau Gmbh.................. 1560 - 1600 in Tevo Limited ............................................................................... H8

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Courses are made as real as possible by using fake wounds We are experienced trainers and mountain rescue medics, with a high level of knowledge with working in remote and hostile environments Courses available throughout the UK weekdays and weekends First Aid kits and supplies For more information on the courses available contact Steve Johnson on: Tel 01457 810586 Mobile 07860 639479 Email courses@abc-response.co.uk www.abc-response.co.uk See us at stand G3A at the APF ABC Response Training, 27 Springmeadow Lane, Uppermill, Saddleworth OL3 6HW

40 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

APF PREVIEW • EXHIBITORS The Odd Chair . .....................................................................Craft The Old Tool Store............................................................... Craft The Overlander/Canopy Camping....... 1130-1145 out The Rachet Shop ................................................................ F10a The Wood Wizard.................................................... Craft Area The Woodsmiths Store Ltd .............................................Craft Tilhill Forestry Ltd .......................................................... A6, 7, 8 Timberwolf ........................................................1640 - 1680 in Tipmaster Ltd ............................................................................ G1 Tireboss Tire Pressure Control International Ltd....... J4 Tornado Wire Ltd ......................................................................B5 TrackPlot ................................................................................... G6a Trak - Met Uk ......................................................110 - 120 out Treekit Ltd................................................................................ DS 9 Trees Please Ltd ................................................................. D11b Treesource / Summerfield Books .................................. H6b Trust Insurance Services Ltd ...............................................C1 Tubex ...........................................................................................B1a Ultra Plant Ltd......................................................................... B4b Vermeer UK ...................................................1300 - 1340 Out Versalift ...........................................................1960 - 1980 Out W M Clark & Son Ltd ........................................ G16 & G17a W. L. Gore & Associates (uk) Ltd ................................... H2a Wallenstein UK ...............................................960 - 1000 out Welmac Uk.................................................................................... I7 Westcon Equipment (UK) Ltd..................... 160 - 200 out WHOTZ HOT Ltd.................................................................... A2a WildWood Coppice Crafts . .............................................Craft William Agar .....................................................................DS 12b Willowpool Designs ............................................................Craft Wilson Machinery Ltd .............................................0 - 80 out Winchester Garden Machinery Ltd....................... F1 & F2 Wolfenwood Ltd .............................................1000 - 1040 in Woodland Investment Management Ltd ..............Craft Woodland Mills . .................................................................DS 7b Woodland Trust.................................................................. G10a Woodmizer UK Ltd ..........................................120 - 160 out Woodsure .................................................................................. E4b Workware ........................................................................G7 & G8 Wrekin Products Ltd ..........................................................G10c

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TIMBER TRANSPORT

Rural roads fail to keep pace with growth in forestry Members of the the Timber Transport Forum looked at the priorities for the Forum for next year and in the longer term at the June meeting, hosted by Egger at Hexham.

Across the UK the forest harvest continues to increase. We are harvesting more than 10m tonnes each year, 50% more than in 2000 when the Forum was first set up to deal with the limitations of the local road infrastructure serving our forests. The measures we take – following agreed routes, using lower impact vehicles and limiting the concentration of lorries on fragile roads – have helped us keep pace with the increased volume but we are running to keep still. The longer term timber forecast sees harvests continuing to increase over the next 10-15 years.

There remains a significant gap between the progress of forestry as a successful commercial land use, creating wealth and providing jobs, and the state of our rural roads. At the same time there has rarely been more pressure on the local

After the meeting, Forum members were treated to a tour of Egger’s Hexham manufacturing plant and also had the chance for an upclose look at a state of the art timber wagon, courtesy of R&H Scott Hauliers.

authority budgets available for maintaining and improving those roads.

The Forum, together with Confor and the UKFPA, make the case at a national level and, in Scotland at least, we welcome the continued government support through the Strategic Timber Transport Fund. The £2.85m for 2016-17 will help address some of the more critical situations where timber haulage has a real impact on communities or on the environment. However the national money still requires match funding from councils or from industry and with resurfacing a single-track road costing around £100k per kilometre, the money goes only so far.

The timber industry has to engage at the

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local level, working through timber transport groups to liaise with councils, to inform council committees and to talk to the councillors who take the final decisions on how budgets are spent. Forest owners and timber processors have to be involved in the wider rural and community forums, demonstrating the benefits of forestry to local people and to the local economy and presenting the case to improve the roads we require for the benefit of all. If we are not represented in local politics, council roads budgets will continue to be eroded, shared out among services with equally valid demands for resources such as housing and social care. www.timbertransportforum.org.uk

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PLANT HEALTH

Forest health and inter-generational Invasive species responsibility Jim Pratt MBE responds to a feature on forest health (FTN, June 2016) The two pages devoted to forest health are depressing. We have known, for over 100 years, that moving pathogens between continents is asking for trouble, and yet we still do it. Why? If we were really motivated to pass a decent environment on to the next generation, we would take action to prevent it. Compiling lists of pests and diseases does not mean that we can predict what they will do or control them. There is only one sure way to do that: do not to let them into the country at all. How do we do that? By moving towards an industry in which we grow all our own plants (just as we did during the war) and restrict plant movements across boundaries to axenic material (seeds and tissue cultures).

This idea was proposed by Professor Clive Brasier, Emeritus Pathologist at Forest Research.

In 2005, in The Plantsman (March, pp 54-57) he advocated: • Regulating plant introductions far more stringently • Importing, under license only, meristem

cultures or seed for propagation • Encouraging local commercial propagation of exotic forest trees, shrubs or ornamentals.

By 2012, his message was even bleaker: Unfortunately present international plant health protocol ….. has failed to provide an acceptable level of protection against the export and import of exotic pathogens; and failed to educate the public on the issue. In present circumstances, none of the world’s tree populations, whether native or introduced, whether natural or the products of sophisticated tree breeding, can be considered secure.

As I get older, and witness the withering assault on our forests from introduced pests and pathogens, and think about the legacy I leave for my grandchildren, I get angrier and more ashamed. Why is it that my generation, which has the technology at its finger-tips, takes no effective action to change what we know is wrong?

Jim Pratt was a forester and forest officer in the Forestry Commission for over 40 years. He retired as head, Pathology section, Forest Research NRS in 2002.

NEW 13 TONNE MODEL

On 14 July, DEFRA informed its stakeholders of a new EU legislation which will change how certain Invasive Alien Species are managed across the EU. The associated restrictions and obligations will come into force on 3 August. All of these species have been accepted as meeting agreed criteria concerning their invasiveness and ability to establish in several Member States.

The decision by the British public to leave the European Union does not mean there will be immediate changes. Until the UK formally leaves the EU, it still has a legal obligation to comply with the EU law and all EU Invasive Alien Species (IAS) Regulation rules and regulations will apply.

Listing imposes restrictions on the commercial keeping, sale, and transporting of the listed plants and animals, and their intentional breeding or release. A permit scheme will be in operation to allow derogations from some of these restrictions (other than their release) but only in very limited circumstances.

The invasive plant species of Union concern are: American skunk cabbage, Asiatic tearthumb, Curly waterweed, Eastern baccharis, Floating pennywort, Floating primrose, Green cambomba, Kudzu vine, Parrot’s feather, Persian hogweed, Water hyacinth, Water primrose (2 species) and Whitetop weed. www.nonnativespecies.org/home/index.cfm

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MEMBER NEWS

KEY EVENTS in 2016 15-17 September – APF Show 2016, Ragley Estate 10-16 October – Grown in Britain Week 1 November – Making Woodlands Pay, major conference organised by Confor and the Royal Forestry Society More details at www.confor.org.uk/resources/events

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BIODIVERSITY

Clear-fell sites revealed as a secret haven for biodiversity Most people looking at a clearfell site think it is a wasteland but a recent survey carried out by members of the British Lichen Society on behalf of Forest Enterprise Scotland has shown that clear-fell sites in forests are of significant biodiversity value.

A total of 19 clear-felled areas were surveyed across Scotland, from Galloway to Sutherland, and an incredible 179 different lichens were identified. This tally included two new species for the British Isles and three species that so far defy identification!

Lichens are a partnership between a fungus and algae; using only water, air and sunlight, the algae produce food, whilst the fungus cells act as a protective shield for the algae.

Species Ecologist with Forest Enterprise Scotland, Kenny Kortland, said; “Few people have looked at biodiversity on clear-felled sites in forests. Most people think of them as barren wastelands, but the more we look the more we find that they provide habitat for a wide range of species. This is confirmed by the amazing results of this lichen survey.”

Lichens are amongst the first organisms to colonise new or significantly changed ecosys-

tems because they can disperse over long distances as spores. Once the trees are removed from a site, the lichens rapidly colonise the remaining deadwood logs and stumps and, when established, then provide a ‘micro-habitat’ for insects and other small invertebrates.

Kenny added; “We knew that clear fells were used by various birds and mammals, but this survey has really highlighted that these formerly overlooked habitats are full of other biodiversity. There are over 1500 species of lichen in Scotland, making this country important for lichens on a European and even global scale, so the fact that clear fells provide suitable habitat is fantastic news.

“In productive forests, areas are clear felled for timber and then left open for two to seven years. This provides an opportunity for the lichens, until the site is replanted and the trees grow again. However, other areas will be clear felled, meaning that within this cycle of forest management there is always new habitat appearing for these lichen species.’’

A formal report on this study is being prepared and will be published in 2017.

Above: Bacidia saxenii and Lecania cyrtella and below, Cladonia chlorophaea and Hypogymnia physodes

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CONFERENCE PREVIEW

Maximising returns from forestry Jenny Wong urges woodland owners to take a creative approach to the opportunities from non-timber forest products Uncertain times are coming for forest owners as old certainties are swept away and globalisation starts to mean something different as relationships to markets are re-negotiated. In such times we need to use all our ingenuity to find ways of maintaining and ideally enhancing forest incomes.

Understanding and catering for future timber demands is a key element of this as is understanding the economics of different silvicultural systems. However, could diversification mean looking beyond timber to other products?

Taking a broader view, there has perhaps never been a time when the general public has been more interested in products related to forests and this raises a lot of interesting questions about possible income streams for forest owners. For example: • The shops are full of products made from species that grow in Britain such as elderflower cordials, ‘champagne and even beer and wild mushroom soups. There are also new ones appearing all the time. The latest is ‘birch water’, a recent addition to the ‘exercise drinks market’ from the United States, but made from birches in France, Latvia, Finland and Ukraine. Is there a

TIMBER way for a forest owner to access these markets?

• Ray Mears has obviously made a career from bushcraft – is this an opportunity for other people as well?

• There is also something of a revival in traditional handicrafts such as willow baskets, green woodworking and bodging. What sorts of jobs does this activity create? Can these provide opportunities for forest incomes?

It is people who are the ultimate consumers of forest products – we have usually focussed on what they wish to purchase … but might it be possible to turn an income from the 9 per cent of the population that picks up something ‘wild’ such as a basket of mushrooms, a bag of blackberries, or a pocketful of pine cones to take home? Charges for such things would be very difficult to impose – but are there other ways to generate an income from this activity?

Usually forests only provide periodic incomes, maybe covering costs of thinnings with a long wait for profit. Is there anything which can be harvested from commercial conifer plantations between thinnings to supplement a forest owners’ income?

The issue of early stage income is even more intriguing for new broadleaf plantings – these are generally perceived as not providing any useful income for owners for many, many years.

But is it possible to generate an income from small, young broadleaf plantings?

The answer to all these questions is ‘YES’ – come to the Making Woodlands Pay conference on 1 November to find out why…

Dr Jenny Wong is an expert in non-timber forest products, Managing Director of Wild Resources Limited and an Honorary Lecturer at The University of Bangor. She is a speaker at Making Woodlands Pay, a major conference jointly organised by Confor and the Royal Forestry Society on 1 November 2016 at The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

For the full programme and bookings, go to www.rfs.org.uk or call 01295 678588

Re-building our cities with timber

by Christiane Lellig campaign director, Wood for Good Focussing on the current housing situation, Wood for Good launched a series of conferences this spring to promote the potential of timber construction to help solve this imminent crisis through its versatility, speedy delivery, energy efficiency and carbon capture.

The situation is urgent. London is already at breaking point, with the imbalance between available homes and demand untenable. The ongoing trend towards urbanisation intensifies the pressure on cities and their increasing populations. A paradigm shift is needed in the way we conceive and construct buildings and cities in the UK. Our London conference on the Vertical Timber City in June demonstrated how timber can be used for sustainable multi-storey buildings.

Internationally renowned architects and engineers including Andrew Waugh (Waugh Thistleton Architects), Matt Hoad (HTA Design LLP), Julian Weyer (C.F. Møller Architects) and Simon Smith (Smith & Wallwork) presented feature projects.

The audience of architects, specifiers, surveyors and policymakers made for interesting discussions around the challenges faced and practical solutions to be found. Particular attention was paid to engineered timber and hybrid construction models, combining timber with concrete and other building materials to overcome specific demands in high-rise buildings.

Feedback from participants suggests that the conference delivered inspiration and food for thought, not only for the 436 tall buildings currently in the capital’s planning pipeline.

“Modern timber technology is turning wood into the high tech material of our age. All types – and heights – of buildings can now be formed from engineered timber products, as is evidenced by projects emerging around the world” commented Craig White, chairman of Wood for Good.

The campaign will continue to feature wood

“

Continued on p53

Modern timber technology is turning wood into the high tech material of our age.

Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 51

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TIMBER Continued from p51

as nature’s most versatile building material for housing projects of all types and scales.

Coming up in the autumn is a special event on new possibilities for timber within the custom-build market. Custom-built housing is fast emerging as one of the key routes to delivering the large numbers of high quality, low energy homes required to meet UK government targets. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) employing the latest off-site timber manufacturing technologies are central to this process – an exciting opportunity for timber design-led projects. www.woodforgood.com

The world’s highest timber building – TREET, Bergen, Norway

Edinburgh’s Pop-Up Cities Timber was a striking feature of a Wood for Good sponsored installation in the centre of Edinburgh this summer. The Pop-Up Cities Expo was organised by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland as part of Scotland’s Festival of Architecture 2016. It involved five pavilions sited in Mound Square in the centre of Edinburgh, representing the cities of Bergen, Dundee, Rotterdam, Vilnius and Edinburgh.

The pavilions have been open to the public for four weeks and attracted large crowds. A public seminar involved the architects and planners from each city, presenting and interpreting their works and describing the shared challenges of managing the cultural heritage of cities while developing them as sustainable centres for 21st century life.

The Edinburgh pavilion designed by Konishi Gaffney Architects was inspired by origami and used timber from James Jones & Sons Ltd, cladding supplied by Russwods, and plywood from Lathams.

The Bergen pavilion was another timber construction designed by Petter Bergerud and built entirely of small batons of Norway spruce.

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FORESTRY IN IRELAND

Optimism and uncertainty

by Donal Magner While forest cover in Ireland is less than one third of the EU average, forest cover has steadily increased, especially in the Republic of Ireland since the 1940s (Fig 1). As a result the area of forest in the Republic is now estimated at 750,000ha or 10.7% of the total land area compared with 90,000ha in Northern Ireland or 6.5.

State and private forestry

Coillte – the Irish Forestry Board – manages 396,000ha (53%) of the Republic’s forests while most of the balance is in private ownership. Since the late 1990s virtually all afforestation in the Republic has been carried out by private growers – mainly farmers. The private forestry programme, which was part funded by the EU since the late 1980s has been funded by the exchequer since 2007. New planting by the private sector since 1990 has averaged 10,000ha although this has dropped to 6000ha in recent years.

State afforestation has also ceased in Northern Ireland but in contrast to the Republic, annual private planting is virtually non-existent, rarely exceeding 300ha.

Processing

By 2020, total annual timber production on the island will reach 4.8m m3 (Fig 2),which is estimated to increase to 7.9m m3 by 2035 compared to 3.4m m3 in 2014, according to the All Ireland Roundwood Production Forecast 20162035 issued by COFORD, the forestry advisory group in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Irish wood processors rely mainly on Sitka

While timber production is the main objective of the Coillte-managed forest of Cruagh, it also maximises its non-wood benefits as it is close to Dublin. Over 25m visits are made to Coillte and Northern Ireland Forest Service woodlands annually. Photo: Donal Magner

Fig 1: Cumulative forest cover and area (ha) planted in 20-year periods 1880-2020

Fig 2: Actual and forecasted timber production from Irish forests 1985, 2010 and 2020 (m3)

spruce and pine which reflects species selection over the past half century (Table 1). As better quality land was planted mainly by farmers since the 1990s there has been a shift in species selection towards broadleaves, while lodgepole pine is rarely planted since afforestation ceased in blanket bogs (Table 2).

Markets

Ireland exports 1.38m m3 of timber products annually comprising 0.72m m3 of sawn timber and 0.62m m3 wood-based panels with a value of €320m. The UK is the main outlet for virtually all of Ireland’s exported sawn products and most panel board products. While panel board processors such as Masonite (door panels) and Coillte Panel Products (OSB and MDF) have an opportunity to continue to explore markets outside the UK, sawmills are likely to rely almost exclusively on Ireland’s close neighbour.

Forest owners are in a fortunate position as Continued on p57 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 55

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FORESTRY IN IRELAND Continued from p55

Table 1: Percentage species breakdown for afforestation by private landowner, mainly farmers, in selected years 1997-2014

price makers in Ireland because there is overcapacity especially in sawmilling. It is estimated that 250,000m3 of logs are imported by the mills annually from Scotland to make up the shortfall. So, there has been no shortage of buyers in sawmilling, panel board processing and in recent years wood energy outlets.

Challenges

Sawmill owners are all too aware of their vulnerability to currency volatility in the UK. The recent fall in the value of the pound against the euro has had a major negative effect on the price of sawn, pallet and fencing products in Irish exports to the UK. If tariffs were introduced in post-Brexit trade negotiations, the industry would be unsustainable, based on the current price of logs in Ireland which have been historically much higher than the UK..

However, Irish processors have shown in the past that they can adapt to fluctuating currency environments. They have also demonstrated that they have the capability to adapt to market downturns, especially since the construction crash in 2008 when they went on to increase production and export market share. Also, sawn timber demand is likely to increase in the domestic market over the coming years if the government achieves its annual target to increase house building to 25,000 units.

Timber mobilisation is a major challenge especially for private forest owners. This is being addressed by forest owner groups now established throughout the country. Some of these are now forming companies and co-operatives with a more commercial focus and an objective to promote thinning, road making and other operations to mobilise wood.

Multipurpose forestry

The open forest policy adopted by Coillte and the Northern Ireland Forest Service demonstrates that social, economic and environmental objectives are now the key to multipurpose forestry.

This approach paid dividends as the Irish public successfully opposed the Government plan to privatise Coillte’s timber harvesting rights in 2013.

It also demonstrated that the true worth of forests is measured not only in economic terms but in their total contribution to society.

Conifers

Broadleaves

Year

Affores -tation

Sitka Pine* spruce

Norway Other Total Ash** Oak Other*** Total spruce conifers conifers broadleaves

1997

11,389

58

10

10

6

84

6

4

4

16

2000

15,434

60

4

9

12

85

6

2

7

15

2008

6,249

39

6

7

12

64

9

6

20

36

2012

6,652

54

2

9

4

69

9

9

13

31

2014

6,156

65

1

8

4

78

0

8

14

22

Source: Forest Service 2009-2015 and ITGA Forestry & Timber Yearbook * No breakdown of pine species available but Scots pine likely to be the major species as it is planted under the Native Woodland Scheme so lodgepole pine afforestation is now negligible nationally. ** Ash no longer planted from 2013 due to outbreak of Chalara ash dieback *** No breakdown of remainder but mostly native birch and alder with1.0 to 2.5% sycamore and beech.

Donal Magner is the forestry editor of the Irish Farmers Journal.

He is executive secretary of the Wood Marketing Federation and author of Stopping

by Woods – A Guide to the Forests and Woodlands of Ireland.

Table 2: Species planted in selected years during the 1970s and 1980s in the Republic of Ireland by the State

Planting

Percentage of species planted

Year

Affores -tation

Refores -tation

Sitka spruce

Lodge Other Total Broad -pole pine conifers* conifers -leaves

1970 8,382

375

57

24

15

96

4

1971 8,498

433

64

21

10

95

5

1972 9,607

408

67

20

13

95

5

1978 8,074

819

48

38

9

95

5

1979 7,588

626

45

40

11

96

4

1984

5,192

1,767 64

22

11

97

3

1985

4,625

1,663 60

22

15

97

3

Source: Forest & Percentage Wildlife Service 1971–1986 * mainly Douglas fir and larch with an average 2% for Norway spruce in the 1980s

Investment website ‘first for Irish forestry’ MEP Sean Kelly has launched a new website – foresttomarket.ie – which will serve as a platform for investors to source forestry and land suitable for forestry for sale by auctioneers across the country.

The move is a first for forestry in Ireland and follows a report by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland which found the average price per hectare for forestry land was e9,838 in 2015, an increase of 5% over 2014.

The website has been developed by For-

estry Services (FSL) and will provide a platform for auctioneers to advertise property assets; investors to source assets; mailshots to all auctioneers and investors registered on the site of properties uploaded to the site; and updates on current forestry matters.

FSL will manage the site and provide services to auctioneers such as preparing for sale land suitable for forestry and existing plantations, advice on stamp duty calculations and CGT implications on sale of forests.

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FORESTRY IN IRELAND

Ireland faces increasing shortfall

by Stuart Goodall Speaking at Ireland’s National Forestry Conference on 1 July 2016 near Dublin, I was struck once again by how the UK and Irish forestry sectors often face similar issues.

The theme of the event was ‘Wood Mobilisation’ prompted by the recently released allIreland timber forecast. That report, when set against the all-Ireland roundwood demand forecast of 2011, appears to show a potential shortfall in supply of approximately 2m m3 by 2020, half in sawlog and half in energy wood.

As can be seen from figure 1, wood supply is set to increase from 3.8m m3 at present to 4.7m m3 by 2020 and 6.5m m3 by 2028, with the growth coming from private sector forests in the Republic.

The private forestry resource is viewed as less likely to come to market than that from Coillte (red) or the Northern Ireland Forest Service (blue). It is made up of over 17,000 owners with an average forest size of 10ha, leading to issues of scale and accessibility.

Forecast demand in 2020 is 6.3m m3 made up of conventional demand of 3.6m m3 and 2.7m m3 for biomass – the latter significantly up from 2016 (fig 2).

Unlike the UK where wood processing invest-

ment has generally tracked the increase in timber availability, in the Republic a great deal of investment was made in anticipation of forecast supply that proved to be an over-estimation. As a consequence, Irish mills have had to rely on imports from west-coast Scotland and Northern Ireland, and there are initiatives to mobilise timber from the private sector. There is also a legacy of reduced confidence in official forecasts.

The Irish wood processing industry is very reliant on the UK for its market, where it competes head-on with UK producers. Irish mills produce a similar type and quality of products to UK mills. Therefore, the UK slow-down in house-building after 2008 delivered a doublewhammy to Irish mills alongside the collapse in new housing there.

Ireland exports around 70% of its sawn timber and virtually all its panel board production.

Trading in the UK, they operate in a challenging market, especially as the continued slowdown in China and difficulties in middle-east/North African markets have encouraged major European and international timber suppliers to pay greater attention to the UK.

Political backing

On the plus side, the sector has typically enjoyed strong political support. The new Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, Andrew Doyle set the tone for the conference when he outlined the importance of a strong planting

programme to supply the Irish sawmilling and timber processing industry, but emphasised the need to optimise the existing forest resource.

“We must also maximise the volume of raw material that is harvested from our forests, not just roundwood for our processers, but also the less traditional assortments for our growing renewable energy sector,” he said. “The forest machine operator training course and the proposed establishment of forest certification groups, will both contribute to the mobilisation of timber and meeting demand for certified timber.”

Interestingly the Minister has two sons studying forestry at university.

Speakers at the conference identified continuity of supply as being paramount at each stage of the supply chain and Coillte, along with its sawmill customers, has agreed on a new timber sales system based on annual contracts. The Irish Timber Growers Association has initiated a Wood Price Quarterly initiative which has the potential to be developed into a comprehensive collective timber sales system.

The Republic has enjoyed considerable expansion in its forest resource, but there is still a time-lag before that becomes available and a big question mark will likely remain over how the many small woodlands will be harvested.

My guess is that our friends across the Irish Sea will tackle that particular challenge in the same energetic and determined way they have dealt with so much in recent years.

Fig 1 Supply forecast

Fig 2 Roundwood demand island of Ireland 2010-2020

Harvested logs in Co Wicklow 58 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

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SQUIRREL CONTROL

Tackling the grey menace

by Diana MacMullen The Sandringham Estate in Norfolk hosted a practical grey squirrel control day (12 May 2016) which was prepared and presented by David White, field manager east and East Midlands, of the Forestry Commission.

David has run several of these courses in the past; his wealth of knowledge and understanding shone through all that he shared with us, based on his experiences in a varied career from gamekeeper to wildlife ranger (managing grey squirrels to protect trees or for red squirrel conservation).

The event covered damage; different methods of grey squirrel control now Warfarin is not an option; trapping; planning a control programme (including optimising the timing, controlling at a landscape level and monitoring the success of the control programme); and looking at a wide variety of traps, discussing siting of traps.

Grey squirrel are prolific breeders, with two litters being the norm, averaging three per litter.

Females are fertile at 8-11 months, males at four months. The most serious damage is generally between April and September and damage is frequent on the dominant trees particularly in the second year after a crop has been thinned when the sap flow in the phloem is at its strongest. My own take on squirrel damage on newly thinned crops is that disturbed/displaced squirrels are reestablishing territory. (Thinning little and often therefore is likely to suffer less squirrel damage.)

David indicated that fresh damage seems to occur when the numbers rise above four squirrels/ ha. There is some anecdotal evidence of squirrels copying others they see stripping bark. Research is also looking at calcium deficiency as a reason for stripping. Squirrels also strip stringy bark to line their dreys and strip dead bark foraging for fungi and insects.

Basal stripping is common on beech and sycamore where there is no understorey – the squir-

rels are safe to strip without fear of predators.

Trees most likely to suffer damage include oak, beech, hornbeam, sycamore, sweet chestnut, Norway maple, Cricket Bat willow, Pine, larch and spruce. Ash, field maple and birch are less likely to be damaged; lime, aspen, alder, crab apple and cherry are least likely in most cases.

Young woodlands of many species adjacent to mature seed bearing trees may be particularly vulnerable to damage – a cautionary note for CCF and underplanted/mixed age woodlands.

We all know the devastating effects of squirrel damage on our trees. Squirrels also predate on bird nests and young, indeed the GWT estimates that squirrels may reduce breeding populations of game birds by 15%; and they estimate that 65% of grain fed to game birds is eaten by other mammals. Cobnut growers estimate they lose 20% of their crop to greys.

Control without warfarin

Fertility control is not yet a solution. At present it would need to be injected into each squirrel.

Research is looking at an oral dose but specificity (to squirrels) and dosing issues are major problems to be resolved.

“

Fresh damage seems to occur when the numbers rise above four squirrels/ha.

Biological control (by Pine martens) is likely to play a part in grey squirrel control in some areas but like all methods of control is probably best used with a variety of other control methods to be fully successful. Further research is ongoing into the effects of pine martens on grey squirrel populations.

Drey poking and shooting can be useful in addition to other means, but recolonisation of dreys happens quickly in extensive woodland.

Traps. David showed us a wide range of traps – spring traps, cage traps from the UK and New Zealand, some complying with EU legislation (Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards –AIHTS). With at least four participants being gamekeepers the discussion was good on their relative merits and dis-merits. Out in Sandringham’s woodlands David had set out a number of traps – helped by by the estate’s foresters Paul Griffin and Derek Paton – illustrating the craft of siting different types of trap.

Planning a programme

With the transition from eWGS to Countryside Stewardship being much on the minds of the FC and woodland owners and advisors, David gave us guidance on planning a control programme and highlighted one possible method for monitoring its success.

Additional Best Practice guidance is available from the FC (Practice note FCPN4 2007, will be updated in due course). The European Squirrel Initiative has a Trapping advice leaflet (available direct). BASC Provides guidance on trapping pest mammal species. Finally, formal certificated training on woodland pest control is available.

David’s final thoughts were that we should think of squirrel control as integral to forestry planning and management; control is crucial if your objectives are to grow timber (you’ll even grow more chip/firewood if squirrels are controlled); work professionally and within the Law; work with your neighbours; be open to new methods and guidance.

The mix of advisors, woodland owners, foresters and keepers on the course proved a valuable mix adding to informed discussion. If David plans to run a future course I strongly commend attendance, I doubt anyone would not learn several things to help in controlling this pest.

Diana MacMullen is a director of The Verderers

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COUNTRY NEWS

NORTHERN IRELAND

ENGLAND Jez Ralph

Andrew Heald M: 07771 844653 E: andrew.heald@confor.org.uk

Support for England members – and a baby girl for Caroline

Scheme aims to increase planting

jez@confor.org.uk

A well-known face in the forestry and timber sector joins the Confor team this week to provide support to members in England.

Jez Ralph, who has a wide range of forestry and timber interests, will provide part-time maternity cover for England Manager Caroline Harrison, who had a baby girl –Tillia May Ayre (Tilly) – in July.

The Confor family send their congratulations to Caroline and look forward to welcoming her back in the New Year.

An experienced forester, Jez will combine his existing part-time work at Hooke Park – the Architectural Association’s working forest in Dorset – with Confor duties.

Confor Chief Executive Stuart Goodall said: “We wish Caroline all the very best and will miss her while she’s away, but it’s also great to have someone with Jez’s knowledge and experience to provide cover until her return.”

Jez Ralph also operates a consultancy, Timber Strategies, which aims to “capitalise on innovations by growing better timber, processing higher-value products, being more efficient within the supply chain and using more timber products in everyday applications.”

Stuart Goodall added: “Jez is a great thinker and innovator in the forestry and timber world and will be a tremendous asset to the team.”

Jez can be contacted on jez@confor.org.uk.

His working days will normally be Thursday and Friday.

Grown in Britain first for Exmoor

‘Grown in Britain on Exmoor’ is the first group licence scheme in the UK and was recently awarded to Exmoor National Park Authority.

The certification mark has been granted after a rigorous audit assessment, which recognised

Caroline and Tilly the Authority’s own management system to administer a group licence for woodland owners and timber processors joining the scheme from the local area.

Graeme McVittie of Exmoor National Park Authority said: “The Grown in Britain badge is an important symbol, which enables businesses and the public to easily identify timber, fuel and other forest products from woodlands that have been well managed. This is critical in supporting the local economy, tackling climate change and enhancing landscape and biodiversity.

The scheme is administered through the Exmoor WoodLinks Initiative based at Exmoor National Park Authority. James Mason, development officer, said: “Being in a group scheme reduces auditing costs as the auditors fees are shared between those in the group. We are in the process of signing up new members and would welcome more. ” Andrew Harvey, director of Grown in Britain added: “The licence is a vital part of feeding the new demand we have created – consumers want to know where their products are coming from and many want to buy local and now they can look for the Grown in Britain assurance marking on timber and wood products from their country and even their local area such as Exmoor.”

Pictured left to right: James Mason – ENPA Projects Officer; Sir Harry Studholme – Forestry Commission, Chair; William Theed – Theed Forestry Estate; Adrian Theed - Theed Forestry Estate; Graeme McVittie MICFor – ENPA Conservation Officer Woodlands; Richard Milton – Exmoor Woodfuel Ltd; and Andrew Harvey – director, Grown in Britain

62 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

Northern Ireland’s Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Michelle McIlveen launched the re-opening of the Forest Expansion Scheme during a visit to Castle Archdale Forest, Co Fermanagh where the minister met Malcolm Beatty, Chief Executive of the Forest Service.

The Forest Expansion Scheme will provide support for farmers and landowners to plant woodlands of five hectares or greater this winter. It is part-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, under the Rural Development Programme and the first phase of the scheme last year resulted in over 180ha of new planting.

The minister said that forestry made a valuable contribution to the Northern Ireland economy, saying: “Forestry has potential to contribute to a number of the outcomes in the new draft Programme for Government. For example, the outcomes of living and working sustainably and protecting the environment are served by working in forestry, wood processing, and the small businesses that use forests for tourism and pre-school activities. Also, supplying and using wood as a substitute for fossil fuels will help reduce emissions. And taking exercise in our forests will contribute towards the outcome of living long, healthy, active lives.”

Successful applicants to the Forest Expansion Scheme Establishment Grant may now receive up to 100% of eligible costs, compared with a maximum of 70% of costs under previous schemes. In addition annual premia are now payable over a ten year period compared with 15 years under previous schemes, but at increased rates.

The Forest Expansion Scheme is competitive, meaning that projects must conform to the UK Forestry Standard and that the scheme favours bids with lower costs and which are part financed by the applicant. Applications are scored higher by providing public access, increased carbon sequestration, richer biodiversity, and larger-scale over other bids.

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COUNTRY NEWS

SCOTLAND

Jamie Farquhar, Confor national manager for Scotland 07817 374906 jamie.farquhar@confor.org.uk

Brexit and the forestry sector

The greatest threat to our sector in Scotland is uncertainty about immediate and medium term funding for new woodland creation, and for maintaining our softwood resource.

Forestry schemes for woodland creation and long term forest plans are still taking far too long to gain approval, and if woodland owners and inward investors cannot be assured that future funding will be in place, they will instruct agents to hold back on preparatory work.

Confor has already written to Scottish Government about this, and met the Cabinet Secretary to emphasise the importance of early clarification. Fergus Ewing has offered to meet any nervous inward investors, and we are arranging the first of such meetings shortly.

As well as continuing to press for early clarity about future funding, next steps will include a review of EU derived legislation, notably environmental, that impacts our sector in Scotland. This is especially relevant to EU Regulations that will by default lapse with Brexit. As with other sectors we will have to lobby hard if we will seek changes to such legislation.

Meeting the Forestry minister

Confor’s first meeting with the Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing MSP took place on 30 June. Mr Ewing expressed real support for the industry, confirming that the 10,000 hectare per annum target for new woodland creation (as per the SNP manifesto) was an absolute commitment. He stated that forestry ‘summits’ in north and south Scotland will be held later this year. He was obviously genuinely surprised to learn about how long forestry schemes were taking to obtain approval, and ideas of a large scheme approval platform, a commercial woodland advisory group, and a single government specialist for monitoring progress of schemes were all discussed. The importance of the commerciality of the National Forest Estate was discussed, and the necessity for it to produce a predictable and level supply of wood.

Mr Ewing said it was his intention to continue the repositioning programme. It all sounds very positive - we look forward working with the new minister, and hopefully the sector will benefit from his enthusiasm and support.

Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS)

Although RPID started paying out 2015 Annual Recurrent Payments last month, progress remains painfully slow, and I am continually asking for better and more open communication about this, and demanding that in future there must be greater certainty of timing of payments so that folk can budget accordingly.

64 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

Under Article 14 of the CAP regulations - Flexibility between Pillars – there is an opportunity to review the decision on the transfer of funds from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2. This would have to be notified to the Commission by 1 August 2017 and would take effect from 2018. The review cannot result in a decrease from the original transfer of 9.5%. There can, however, be an increase up to a maximum of 15%. Although this is obviously sensitive to Brexit, Confor will nevertheless be arguing for an increase to the transfer, as the present annual SRDP budget for forestry at £36m is inadequate to deliver the planting targets.

Forest roads – prior notification

We have had a most disappointing response from Kevin Stewart MSP, Minister for Local Government and Housing to our representations that following publication of the independent review, forest roads should be removed from the prior notification procedures.

He states that “… the legislation has not yet had time to fully bed in”, and that “Scottish Government has no plans at present to make changes to the legislation.” Needless to say we will be trying to convince them otherwise over the coming months!

Strategic Timber Transport Scheme

Following approval in May of a number of schemes in Round 19, there is still funding available this year under the STTS. New applications can be submitted when complete, all necessary permissions are in place and they have the written support of the relevant Timber Transport Group. They will be reviewed and money allocated to successful proposals on a first come first served basis.

It is important for applicants to clearly state how the proposed works will help to deliver the key objectives of the Scheme.

All applications must be received on or before Fri 30 September. Approved works must be completed and invoices submitted by Fri 24 February 2017.

Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards

Well done to all those who received an award this year at the Royal Highland Show.

Our particular congratulations go to: Sutherland Estates, Golspie - for the John Kennedy Memorial Trophy for Multi-purpose Woodlands Jane O’Donovan & Neil MacKenzie - for the Woodland Trust Scotland Trophy for New Native Woods, for their Garradh Beithe Wood, Inverness-shire Forest Enterprise Scotland – for the Hunter Blair Trophy for Silvicultural Excellence - for Allt Charmaig, Errochty Forest, Perthshire, and for the Dulverton Flagon as a special prize for innovation and diversity - for Sibster Forest, Caithness Mr Pelham Olive - for the James Jones Trophy for New Commercial Woods - for Carrick Estate, Cowal. Mr Olive’s new forest at Carrick was designed by Tilhill Forestry, who have now been recognised in the SFWA six times in the last ten years. It is a shining example of modern productive forestry within a National Park and close to eagle territory. Well done to everyone involved! www.sfwa.co.uk/wp-content/ uploads/2016/06/Role-of-Honour-HandoutFINAL-corrected-DCT-180616.pdf

Forestry & Timber Technologies regional meetings

Don’t forget to mark your diaries for the next round of regional meetings: North-east: 28 September at Huntly (tbc) South: 26 October at Lockerbie Mid: 27 October at Stirling

P ramorum and tree health aerial surveys Dr Anna Brown, FCS Head of Plant Health, reports: The 2016 early summer tree health aerial surveillance programme was carried out during May and June. A total of 546 suspect sites were identified (c. 236 larch and 310 spruce) and follow-up field surveys are underway.

Initial results suggest that there are no new significant areas of Phytophthora ramorum symptoms out-with the south-west Scotland Management Zone. However, as with previous years, a large number of individual suspicious trees have been identified at what may prove to be new infection sites across the country. Symptoms have also been observed in close proximity to a small number of areas previously infected with P. ramorum. A number of areas within the north and south eastern edges of the management zone now have

pockets of heavy infection, whereas some sites with known infection appear to have only limited disease extension compared with previous years. More extensive flights of the Management Zone are due to be carried out on 19 and 20 July and the late season flights between 16 August and 8 September.

The aerial surveys are also used to look for a range of other pests and diseases – particularly those which may prove damaging to Sitka Spruce. Spruce defoliation, apparently by Elatobium abietinum, was again observed in large areas in eastern Scotland, particularly in agricultural shelterbelts. Although stands with Dendroctinus micans have been detected from the air, a number of sites with confirmed infestation of this pest were overflown and little or no symptoms observed. This highlights the difficulty of spotting certain symptoms from the air, and the need for ground staff to remain vigilant.

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Forestry & Timber News, August 2016 65

COUNTRY NEWS

Royal Welsh Agricultural Society Woodlands Competition 2016

WALES

Martin Bishop, Confor national manager for Wales tel 07876 029482 martin.bishop@confor.org.uk

Changes in Welsh Government

Lesley Griffiths, the new Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, said “My first priority will be meeting with and listening to the views of the agriculture industry and the wider supply chain. I want to do this as soon as possible in order to learn more about the challenges facing the sector, as well as the many opportunities.”

Confor have already had a meeting with the minister in Cardiff which was very positive.

Martin outlined the size and scale of our sector and had initial discussions about how our sector can contribute to a post Brexit Wales.

The Environment and Rural Affairs portfolio is large and wider than previous ministers’. It includes planning, fisheries and agriculture, including CAP and RDP as well as our sector.

Confor has had initial contact with the minister who is very supportive of the forestry sector.

Among many other things, the minister is responsible for: the provision of support and advice to assist the establishment, growth, modernisation or development of business in Wales; the promotion of Wales as a location for business and investment; the promotion of Welsh exports; entrepreneurship, enterprise and business information; transport policy, including the development of an integrated transport system in Wales, and much more.

Woodchoppers Ball

Dust off your suits, the South Wales timber trade benevolent society Annual Woodchoppers Ball is on Friday 14 October at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Cardiff. 6.45pm. To book tickets contact: Sonia Bassett Sonia@hsbassett.co.uk Andy Thomas andy@walestimber.co.uk Dilwyn Howells dhowells@premierforest.co.uk I look forward to seeing many of you there, good meal with music and dancing afterwards, it is a great evening and a worthy cause.

Rural Payments Wales – check your email and mobile phone number From Monday 1 September, Rural Payments Wales will no longer send the majority of correspondence by post. Make sure your email address and mobile phone details are up to date via ‘Online Preferences’ on your RPW Online account.

66 Forestry & Timber News, August 2016

Flickr: Ken Skates. creativecommons.org) via Wikimedia Commons.

Ken Skates AM appointed Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure

Tim Kirk reports This year saw a different format for entry and attracted 12 entries in three of the four classes offered. (Very disappointingly none in the under 10ha category). In turn there were a further 30 Stand entries for specific compartments. Of the entries, two were big agriculturally based estates, six were “commercial” woodlands, two were large commercial plantations with a sawmill at their hub and owner managed, and two privately managed small hardwoods, with community interest.

The quality was exceptional in many areas, with a great variation of approach and achievement. A number were dealing with the 60/70s plantings and engaged in restocking and ongoing maintenance.

It was very noticeable that, with the demise of management grant schemes, the information given in some cases was poor and those involved with certification schemes had the most useful plans.

This does not mean there was a lack of planning elsewhere on the properties and all demonstrated a clear purpose for their woodlands, and direction for the future.

An absence of new planting was disappointing, and so no award for the best farm woodlands—there weren’t any.

This lack of management grants as a driver for activity was a regular point of discussion. It was highlighted by the fact that there were no NRW entries, a great pity.

From comments made by many managers in the competition, there is a clear worry about the apparent neglect of parts of the forest industry by the Welsh Government, a lack of understanding of what is really needed, and the resultant potential bonuses for Wales of a successful industry. Plus concern over the emerging loss of the State sector’s interest in a buoyant commercial future.

Prizes were widely spread amongst most entries, with the two small community woods of Bron Haul, and Warren Wood, near St Asaph scoring well, and both winning cups. Nant Clwyd was voted the best overall conifer entry, for the Charles Shakerley Memorial Cup. Cae Gwian and Tilhill manager Simon Graham scored highly and received the EFG Perpetual Challenge Cup, as well as the Wilson Memorial Shield for the best manager, with most points overall.

Simon was also awarded the ICF Challenge trophy for best professional management in all classes.

The Results The Milford Silver medal: Bron Haul. David Brown. Best broadleaf entry stands A, B, & C. The Charles Shakerley Cup: Nant Clwyd.

Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland. Best conifer entry Stands D, E, & F. EFG Challenge Cup: Cae Gwian. Hugh Johnson Best entry Classes 1-4.

Merion Davies Challenge Cup: The Warren.

Rod Waterfield. Best Community Woodland.

DJ Owen Prize for the best farm Woodland: Not awarded as no satisfactory entries.

Williams-Ellis Cup for most points in the Stand classes: Joint winners. David Brown and Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland.

Wilson Memorial Shield: Manager with the most Stand entry points. Simon Graham.

RFS Gold Medal for the best entry in Stands A-I: David Brown. Bron Haul.

ICF Challenge trophy for the best professional management in Classes 1-4.

Simon Graham.

Our thanks go to the judges Tim Kirk of Kirk Valuations and Alan Jones of Clifford Jones Timber.

Simon Graham of Tilhill receiving his award from Stuart Goodall.

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