Forestry & Timber News

FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS December 2017 Issue 84

DESIGNING THE FUTURE OF FORESTRY NEW TECHNOLOGIES PLANTING Perfecting Wood Protection. Leading the way

Preserving wood – and the quality of life Our experience means you get the best possible protection for wood. Over 100 years ago we created modern Wood Protection. Since then we’ve been continually perfecting our Wood Protection products and associated scientific and technical services. Over 300 patents worldwide speak for themselves. Our aim for the future is to continue building on this experience. And we’re happy to share the resulting know-how and expertise with our customers: a combination of advanced technology and more than a century of experience that guarantees Wood Protection you can depend on. Leading the Way in Wood Protection

BASF Wolman GmbH, Dr.-Wolman-Str. 31–33, 76547 Sinzheim, Germany, Contact: [email protected], Phone: 0161 488 5329, www.basf.com/wolman CONTENTS REGULARS 17 | CERTIFICATION Confor is a membership organisation FSC GENERAL ASSEMBLY that promotes sustainable forestry and 20 | RURAL FUTURE wood-using businesses. A Q&A WITH ANNE McCALL, Confor members receive Forestry and DIRECTOR OF RSPB SCOTLAND Timber News for free as part of their membership. For more information on 22 | CONFOR MEMBERS membership, visit RELIABILITY IS KEY FOR Perfecting www.confor.org.uk/join-us FAMILY-RUN WELSH SAWMILL Past issues and articles can be accessed online at Cover picture: Prospect Forest 36 | WOODFUEL Wood Protection. www.confor.org.uk/news/ftn-magazine Design Software can be a powerful BOILER IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT ally for stakeholder engagement. Non-member subscriptions: FOR SCOTTISH DISTILLERY Ian Thomas explains how. See p30. £54 (£59 overseas). KAOLINITE FOR CLEAN Please contact [email protected] BIOMASS? Leading the way NEWS & COMMENT 42 | PLANT HEALTH 5 | EDITORIAL 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FORESTRY ON THE MARGINS IS ABOUT XYLELLA FASTIDIOSA CONFOR CONTACTS FORESTRY FORGOTTEN 45 | VIEW FROM THE Stefanie Kaiser Communications and editor FTN 6 | COMMUNICATING WITH EMERALD ISLE T: 0131 240 1420 MEMBERS E: [email protected] 46 | TREE HEALTH HOW WE ARE CHANGING IN A CHANGING WORLD FERTILITY CONTROL HELPS Caroline Harrison TACKLE GREY MENACE National manager for England 7 | PLANTING M: 07500 927482 48 | DIVERSIFICATION E: [email protected] TIDE BEGINS TO TURN ON PRODUCTIVE PLANTING ALTERNATIVE CONIFERS Jamie Farquhar 53 | SILVICULTURE National manager for Scotland 10 | CONFOR NEWS M: 07817 374906 JAPANESE RED CEDAR E: [email protected] CONFOR SHORTLISTED FOR PRESTIGIOUS AWARD 56 | MARKETS Martin Bishop FORESTRY IN THE SCOTTISH TIMBER AUCTIONS MARKET National manager for Wales PARLIAMENT Rheolwr Genedlaethol i Gymru REPORT M: 07876 029482 CONFOR ENGAGES WITH NEW E: [email protected] GROWN IN BRITAIN HARNESSES WELSH MINISTER POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA Andrew Heald MICFor Technical Director and 12 | COMMON COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTY MARKET 2017 Northern Ireland representative POLICY M: 07771 844653 ENCOURAGING PRICES BUT E: [email protected] LOOKING FOR THE COMMON CAUTION ADVISED GROUND 66 | PESTICIDES NOTEBOOK LOWTHER ESTATE: HOW TO 69 | MOTORING Confor head office and editorial office PLANT A LARGE PRODUCTIVE 59 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 2JG WOODLAND 70 | FORESTRY IN PICTURES 14 | NORTHERN IRELAND 0131 240 1410 UPDATE FEATURES PLANTING AND OPTIMISM [email protected] GROW BUT BREXIT BRINGS 27 | NEW TECHNOLOGIES UNCERTAINTY THE INTERNET OF TREES www.confor.org.uk 18 | FORESTRY COMMISSION SATELLITE-DERIVED FORESTRY Preserving wood – and the quality of life DEVOLUTION INTELLIGENCE For the latest news of forestry and wood Our experience means you get the best possible protection for wood. Over 100 years sign up to #forestandwood on twitter BEYOND THE COMMISSION FILLING THE PERCEPTION GAP ago we created modern Wood Protection. Since then we’ve been continually perfecting MY FUTURE, MY TECHNOLOGY our Wood Protection products and associated scientific and technical services. 19 | CONFOR: A YEAR IN THE MEDIA 37 | WOOD SCIENCE & Over 300 patents worldwide speak for themselves. Our aim for the future is to continue Published by Countrywide Publications, TREATMENT building on this experience. And we’re happy to share the resulting know-how and Fountain Way, Reydon, Suffolk IP18 6SZ 25 | CONFOR NEWS expertise with our customers: a combination of advanced technology and more on behalf of Confor. ‘NO SHORT-CUTS TO FIRE CONFOR ASSOCIATE PARTNER PERFORMANCE STANDARDS’ than a century of experience that guarantees Wood Protection you can depend on. For advertising, contact Chloe Hine OF TIMBER EXPO 2017 01502 725835 BASF WOLMAN TREATMENTS Leading the Way in Wood Protection CONFOR AND ICF HOST JOINT GET WPA APPROVAL [email protected] CONFERENCE Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd WOOD MODIFICATION

BASF Wolman GmbH, Dr.-Wolman-Str. 31–33, 76547 Sinzheim, Germany, ProfessorJulian Evans returns with his small woodlands owner articles next year. Contact: [email protected], Phone: 0161 488 5329, www.basf.com/wolman UK MANUFACTURED METAL STRAINER POST SYSTEMS

Hinge Joint Fencing Hampton NET™ Fencing PATENT GB2537761 StapleloK Intermediate NEW Box and Angle Metal Posts Metal Strainer Systems Barbed Wires Line Wires 01933 234070 [email protected] hamptonsteel.co.uk EDITORIAL

Forestry on the margins is forestry forgotten UK MANUFACTURED METAL STUART GOODALL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CONFOR eptember 01, 2019 will mark the For that, they need to believe that the sector 100th anniversary of the Forestry is important to their portfolios and that they STRAINER POST SYSTEMS Act, and by then the Forestry can make a difference by demanding action S Commission (FC) name will remain from their officials. only in England. Quite simply, forestry on the margins is The proposed structural changes to the forestry forgotten. FC in 2019 (reported on page 18) are the At the same time, we want to avoid predictable culmination of the process of unwelcome tinkering and poorly thought devolution, though the greater integration through policy-making. To achieve informed, of forestry policy and regulation into long-term policy and action requires a government is partly a response to the position of influence accompanied by success of the sector in raising the profile of evidence-based proposals that are positioned forestry and wood processing. to appeal to the audience – the minister and I appreciate that many members would like their key advisers. less, rather than more political ‘interference’ In recent years, with the additional resource in our sector, but additional financial support available from a growing organisation, Confor and improvements to regulatory systems are has been able to step up its development of achieved through stimulating greater levels of well-prepared and targeted lobbying material. political interest. We have also built our networks of influence. Similarly, if we want And, quite frankly, we have learnt from forestry to be influential in experience what works and what does not. the debate around what Lobbying is far more than writing a replaces the Common strongly-worded letter to the minister or a Agricultural Policy and one-off meeting. Every successful sector in how the plethora deploys considerable resource, over a period of EU environmental of time, and that sustained effort has to be legislation is translated/ undertaken professionally. The short-listing interpreted into UK law this year of Confor for the prestigious UK then we need to be near Public Affairs Awards is welcome recognition the centre not on the that we are being successful. periphery. As we enter a further period of change, I have been lobbying I now believe that, through Confor, forestry for over a decade, and and wood processing enjoy a level of significant progress understanding and support across the UK has been made that has never achieved before. This gives Hinge Joint Fencing when ministers are me the confidence to ask ministers in any persuaded and of the countries of the UK to take an active Hampton NET™ Fencing motivated to act. interest in our sector – to ask them to make PATENT GB2537761 changes that will see more forests planted, StapleloK Intermediate more woodland managed, and more wood NEW Box and Angle Metal Posts products produced. Metal Strainer Systems Barbed Wires Line Wires 01933 234070 [email protected] hamptonsteel.co.uk The world around us is changing fast and so are the way people access and process information. We at Confor are committed to stay on track and in 2017, have worked hard to improve the way we communicate with you, our members. See what’s in for you – and please give us your feedback!

E-newsletter Infographics Have you noticed that your e-newsletter & media is different this year? To keep up with We make all infographics, digital marketing standards, we are now videos and other resources using mailchimp for our e-newsletter available on your website. and some events communications. These graphic resources are a great way to What’s new? get our sector’s core messages out there – • More attractive layout, including pictures and featured use them for your own events, or to get the content. point across to your farmer neighbour! • Offers more flexibility for those of you who want www.confor.org.uk/resources/ content to be featured infographics-and-media/ • Lets us track who has received the newsletter. This allows us to make sure our news reach the people we FORESTRY & FORESTRY & FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS TIMBER FORESTRY & NEWS October 2017 Issue 83 August 2017 Issue 82 NEWS SAVE THE DATE TIMBER CONFOR want to reach WOODLAND SHOW TIMBER June 2017 Issue 81 December 2017 Issue 84 7-8 SEPTEMBER SEE p31 NEWS Option to sign up additional members of your team to FOR DETAILS • DESIGNING THE A MANIFESTO FUTURE OF FORESTRY FOR FORESTRY NEW TECHNOLOGIES receive the e-news PLANTING • Option to unsubscribe or update your profile and COMMUNICATING FORESTRY preferences TIMBER IN CONSTRUCTION Are our digital news updates reaching you? FTN We don’t have e-mail contacts for all of our members. If We are proud of our handsome magazine you are NOT receiving our e-news, get in touch with us to and we have now at last settled what we provide or change an email address. believe to be a professional and attractive If you are a corporate member, you can sign up more look. It’s your magazine - love it, use it. team members by using our subscription form. • The print magazine now offers additional web resources for some articles – watch out for the mouse icon and go to www.confor. Online ticketing org.uk/FTNweb Forestry in pictures: Send us your striking Introduced for the Confor Woodland • photographs and sharp comments to be Show 2017, you can now featured on the last page of FTN. • Buy event tickets directly from our Send letters to the editor – engage in the events webpages, using a safe online • discussion! ticketing platform • Get involved: watch out for call-to-action • Choose to print your ticket or present it on boxes, engage with us! your smartphone • Remember, all past issues are available • Get all events information in one place online and you can browse for individual Select special requirements options, add catering and • articles here: other purchase options where available www.confor.org.uk/news/ftn-magazine

Social media You might like it or not, but social GET INVOLVED media is a reality and its power has to be harnessed. There are two easy ways to give your feedback: We have been increasingly using graphic e-postcards to promote 1 Online our core messages and campaigns, and have been Find a feedback form and a enewsletter collaborating with other organisations to get our word subscription form here out to a wider audience. www.confor.org.uk/FTNweb In 2018, we will work more with you, our membership, to 2 Contact the editor help you use social media to promote both the sector and E: [email protected] your business. Watch out for a new section in FTN! T: 0131 240 1420 COMMUNICATING TO MEMBERS TO COMMUNICATING PLANTING

Tide begins to turn on productive planting

In terms of government spending, it was a prover- been the key to unlocking new productive planting bial drop in the ocean. But the £1m funding for the at scale. We are now seeing the combined fruits of Woodland Creation Planning Grant could be the Confor’s hard work and the determination of appli- catalyst which stimulates a new generation of large- cants like Ian Jack – proving that it is sometimes a scale productive planting in England. small investment early in the process that can make Rory Stewart MP was the minister responsible all the difference. for forestry who announced the money at Confor’s Westminster conference back in November 2015. Plummet Confor’s The initial promise of funding came from the Con- “We have seen productive planting plummet to its servative-Lib Dem coalition government in early 2015, lower level in a generation, but Confor has continued campaign for but it had not been confirmed before David Cameron the fight to turn the tide. Hopefully, other schemes more support won his outright majority in May 2015. Confor recog- will follow Lowther and give real confidence to the to encourage nised the danger of the money slipping away and lob- sector that England is open for high-quality, large- planting is bied hard for the pledge to be honoured – and this scale productive planting schemes. This winter, the beginning to was confirmed in a letter from the then-Chancellor Lowther scheme means we will see more large-scale George Osborne to Confor’s Chief Executive Stuart planting activity in England than we have for dec- bear fruit, as Goodall. Mr Goodall went to the November 2015 con- ades and hopefully it will usher in a series of busy David Lee ference with this important piece of paper in his hand planting seasons. This will help protect and create reports – and it was to prove a pivotal moment. jobs along the forestry and timber supply chain and The Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) investment in our rural communities, have a positive was highlighted last month by the largest produc- impact on climate change targets and the wider en- tive planting scheme to be approved in England for vironment and provide a great raw material for fu- more than 25 years. ture generations to build with.” More than 213,000 trees will be planted over 2016 was the worst year for new planting on mod- 170ha at the Lowther Estate, south of Penrith, Cum- ern record and Confor calculated that the UK Govern- bria, this winter 120ha of productive softwood spe- ment’s target to plant 11m trees by 2020 was more cies, while the remainder will be predominantly pro- than seven years behind schedule – unless new large- ductive broadleaves. scale planting schemes started to be approved. David Bliss, Estate Manager for Lowther Estate, Stuart Goodall said: “We are delighted to see the a long-standing Confor member, said: “The Wood- Lowther scheme approved and hope it signals a real land Creation Planning Grant funding helped Ian upsurge in planting. Speaking to potential inves- Jack, our recently-retired forester, to plan and gain tors a few years ago I was told they needed political approval for this magnificent commercial woodland, support and a scheme that wasn’t ‘anti-productive which will in the fullness of time support many local planting’ if they were to look once more at England jobs and associated forestry businesses. We are ex- as a place for modern, new productive forestry. After tremely excited to have gained consent for the larg- a huge amount of lobbying and raising awareness in est conifer planting scheme in recent times. We now the media, we now have that political support and look forward to the challenge of planting.” the WCPG, which we pushed for, has helped to ‘de- risk’ the process of making an application. We also ‘Brilliant news’ requested additional funding in recognition of the Confor’s England Manager Caroline Harrison said carbon benefits of tree planting and subsequently the granting of Countryside Stewardship approval welcomed the introduction of the £19.2m Woodland for Lowther – known locally as Jack’s Wood to re- Carbon Fund.” flect Ian Jack’s dedication to the project –was Mr Goodall said the larger schemes now coming brilliant news for the sector, especially with other through in England meant forestry was in a healthier largely productive planting schemes in the pipeline state across the UK – with renewed optimism in the awaiting approval. sector in Wales and planting rates pushing up to and Andy Howard, the project manager behind the beyond Government targets in Scotland. large-scale Doddington North planting application “The Branching Out report in Wales laid down in Northumberland, has also highlighted the WCPG the need for more productive planting very clearly as an important factor in the decision to prepare an – thanks in no small part to the commitment of our application for an even larger proposed new pro- Wales Manager Martin Bishop to telling the forestry ductive scheme. story. Martin continues to work hard with politicians Caroline Harrison said: “The WCPG really has to ensure the 13 recommendations in the Branching >>

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 7 PLANTING

>> Out report are implemented, especially the call to significantly increase planting rates.” Confor’s work in Wales is starting to pay off, with historically low planting rates starting to nudge up- ENGLAND wards – and in Scotland, the picture is even brighter. As with the WCPG in England, it was practical ac- The UK Government was missing its very modest tion stimulated by Confor that has pushed up new target of 11 million trees in the 2015-2020 planting in Scotland. After years of making improve- Parliamentary term by a country mile. Confor ments to successive grant schemes, Confor asked calculated that at current planting rates, the target members what could make a final, decisive differ- wouldn’t be hit until summer 2027. ence to planting rates. The answer was to learn from New applications for large schemes were the planning process. Cabinet Secretary for Rural unknown since the 1980s in England, and initially Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing, seized on the agencies, including Forestry Commission, this and appointed former Chief Planner for Scot-

SITUATION appeared unprepared and negative land, Jim Mackinnon, whose fast-track report recom- mended a number of changes to reduce bureaucracy and stimulate new planting. These were accepted by Fergus Ewing and projected planting for 2017/18 is 7250ha, with 2018/18 potentially seeing 12,000ha. CONFOR LOBBIES AT WESTMINSTER Confor has secured valuable cross-party support for forestry in the Scottish Parliament, and the Scot- In 2016, Confor lobbies at Westminster for funding to tish Government subsequently raised its new plant- increase productive planting in England ing targets earlier this year from 10,000ha per year • Secured commitment from Chancellor of the Exchequer to 15,000ha per year by 2025, linking the numbers George Osborne to a £1m fund for forestry closely with their impact on climate change targets • Confor proposed in 2016 that it be used to de-risk new and construction with home-grown timber. applications for large, productive planting schemes Mr Goodall said: “We are very encouraged by de- • Oct 2016 Request to Ministers for additional funding

velopments across the UK. It is very pleasing when ACTION for woodland creation you start to see hard work paying off – but it is im- • Facilitated and organised high-profile media coverage portant that we keep up the pressure because we of the planting challenge faced by the forestry sector still have a long way to go. “The UK is the second largest net importer of forest products, after China, and we simply have to grow more of our own timber for future generations. NEW FUNDING FOR WOODLAND We are starting to see more joined-up policy think- CREATION APPROVED! ing about forestry and timber, with the Clean Growth Strategy showing that the UK Government recognis- • Woodland Creation Planning Grant (when – check) es the need to plant more trees linked to key policy • Creation of £19m Woodland Carbon Fund. areas like climate change mitigation, flood preven- tion and housebuilding. MEDIA PUTS FORESTRY “We need to do more work in England to identify, IN THE SPOTLIGHT and remove, the barriers which are preventing more Countryfile and the Guardian among other planting applications coming forward. It was great media outlets, take the lack of tree planting

to see Dr Therese Coffey highlighting improvements OUTCOME seriously for the first time. to the Countryside Stewardship scheme last month - improved application forms, guidance being release earlier and funding for a wider variety of options. It is practical steps like these – following on from the Woodland Creation Planning Grant – which will en- NEW PLANTING AT LAST! courage more large-scale planting and help us in- A 170ha productive planting scheme has crease woodland cover in England from its low base. been approved on Confor member Lowther “At the same time, we continue to press for better Estate and we are hopeful that an even bigger scheme will soon be approved at restocking and improved woodland management – Doddington in Northumberland. planting has been a high-profile issue and success, but we cannot lose sight of our existing resource.” • Lowther Estate: how to plant a large productive SECTOR’S PROFILE RAISED woodland, see p12 Ministers are talking about the importance of delivering productive planting for the industry, and using more wood in timber building.

FTN WEB RESOURCES OUTLOOK There is a real appetite to deliver much more productive planting across England. Download the Branching Out report and infographic (right) www.confor.org.uk

8 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK SCOTLAND WALES Although Confor lobbying ensured that the usual A long-term drop-off in planting has seen Wales complete collapse in planting that accompanies a lose 40 million trees in 15 years, threatening the new scheme was avoided, and the right balance of future of an industry supporting 10,000 jobs. productive and native panting was being achieved, the levels were still well below the 10,000 hectare annual target. Get this text checked

SECTOR IDENTIFIES KEY SOLUTION CONFOR LOBBY ON NEED TO REMOVE BARRIERS TO PLANTING FOR INCREASED PLANTING When Fergus Ewing was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Confor lobbied a wide range of politicians, NRW and other Rural Affairs & Connectivity in May 2016, Confor challenged stakeholders on the need to increase new planting and members to identify one thing that would provide for speed up restocking on the WGWE – and marshalled large a step-change in planting. The answer was to take the rural employers to warn of the damaging job implications experience of local planners into the Forestry Commission. of a lack of future timber supply.

BRANCHING OUT REPORT Confor input into the WG consultation on CHANGES IN FC SCOTAND forestry policy resulted in the Branching Out report summarising the issues and calling Mr Ewing accepts suggestions and appoints ex-chief planner on WG to act now. Published in July 2017 by for Scotland Jim Mackinnon. the Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment Confor channelled the expertise of its membership into a and Rural Affairs Committee, it highlights all review and its recommendations have seen real changes in the issues Confor had raised – including the Forestry Commission Scotland with the planting forecast benefits of tree planting to the economy, now to rise to over 7000ha this season. environment and communities.

FUTURE PLANTING SURPASSES TARGET FORECASTS FOR 2018 REMAIN TOO LOW Projected figures for 2018/19 – perhaps as much as New planting forecasts for 2018 remain too low and much 12,000ha, exceed the Scottish Government’s 10,000ha more needs to be done – and Confor continues to press for annual target –with the prospect of rising further to meet the Branching Out report to be implemented in full. the Scottish Government’s raised planting target of NRW forecasts and increase in restocking on the WGFWE 15,000ha per annum by 2025. from 2018 onwards to reduced the backlog.

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 9 CONFOR NEWS

Confor shortlisted Forestry in for prestigious award the Scottish

Confor has been shortlisted as a final- Party to commit to tree planting tar- ist in a UK-wide awards programme gets ahead of the 2017 election, after Parliament which recognises excellence in politi- real concerns that the commitment On 7 November, the Scottish Parliament held the cal engagement. would be dropped as part Stage One debate on the Forestry & Land Man- The Public Affairs of a slimmed-down mani- agement (Scotland) Bill. The Stage One debate Awards 2017 includes a festo is when parliament formally agrees to consider category for Trade Body The shortlisting is for a piece of legislation, but it is also an opportu- Campaign of the Year, with Confor and Public Affairs nity for parties to indicate what areas of the pro- Confor one of five finalists Co-operative, which proposed legislation they may seek to amend, and alongside high-profile bod- vides detailed support to what their overall position on the policy may be. ies like the Federation of Confor in a number of ar- Confor has met with many of the members Master Builders and Royal eas, including political en- who spoke, either in committee or by organis- College of Nursing. gagement, external communications, ing visits to local forestry and timber businesses. Finalists in other categories include publications and events. Before the debate, we provided every member the National Farmers Union, National The Public Affairs Awards 2017 will with an infographic-style briefing on forestry in Union of Students, Greenpeace UK take place on 14 December in London. Scotland. and the National Housing Federation. https://thepublicaffairsawards.com/ The debate was striking in demonstrating the Confor’s entry focuses on its suc- portfolio/lobbying-the-european- extent of cross-party understanding of the multi- cess in persuading the Conservative parliament/ ple economic, environmental and social benefits of forestry in the Scottish parliament. There was consensus amongst all parties on the importance of expanding forestry. Fulton MacGregor (SNP) described how, as a self-confessed city boy, the debate had taken his appreciation of forestry from a love of climbing a pine-clad Munro, to an understanding of the complexity and importance of the forestry industry. Although officially a formality, the value of occasions like this in increasing understanding of forestry amongst policymakers and wider society is enormous.

FTN WEB RESOURCES

Catch up dinner with Minister: Confor hosted a business dinner with Michael Read more about the topic: Gove at the Conservative Party Conference. The dinner provided an excellent • More quotes from parliament members opportunity for member businesses to brief the Secretary of State on the • Confor briefing on Stage 1 Report opportunities and challenges facing the forestry and timber sector. From left: Scotland Bill John Paterson (Egger), Michael Gove and Athole McKillop (chair of Confor). www.confor.org.uk Planning for the future Confor engages I manage the forests around us – planning, restoring with new and conserving to maintain their health and protect their future. To do it properly, I need my tools to be Welsh MInister reliable, dependable and built to last. That’s why I choose STIHL. Confor manager Martin Bishop, members of the Confor Wales committee MS 661 C-M and the forest business sector group Chris Pratt Powerful professional chainsaw with met with Hannah Blythyn the recently Forester since 1996 STIHL M-Tronic engine management appointed Welsh Government Minister From left to right: Phil Wilkinson (ETC Sawmills and UKFPA Chair in Wales). Andrew for Environment. Bronwin (Confor vice Chair in Wales), Chris Emery (Kronospan and Wood Panel Industry The meeting concluded with much Federation). Gary Newman (Woodknowledge Wales). Hannah Blythyn (Environment agreement on the need for action Minister). David Edwards (Tilhill Forestry and Institute of Chartered Foresters president). and we look forward to working with Martin Bishop (Confor Manger for Wales). Dr Eleanor Harris (Confor Policy Researcher). the minister to encourage planting in Mike Harvey (Maelor Nurseries and Confor Chair in Wales). Alan Hunt (Forestry and Timber Find out more at your local Wales in the future. Development Advisor, NRW) STIHL Approved Dealer or visit www.stihl.co.uk/pro 10 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK Planning for the future I manage the forests around us – planning, restoring and conserving to maintain their health and protect their future. To do it properly, I need my tools to be reliable, dependable and built to last. That’s why I choose STIHL.

MS 661 C-M Chris Pratt Powerful professional chainsaw with Forester since 1996 STIHL M-Tronic engine management

Find out more at your local STIHL Approved Dealer or visit www.stihl.co.uk/pro COMMON COUNTRYSIDE POLICY

WESTMINSTER CONFERENCE 29 NOVEMBER Lowther Estate: how to plant a large productive woodland

t annual Westminster conference, Con- for launched its latest contribution to Looking for the the debate on Brexit, A Common Coun- Atryside Policy. It calls for a fresh approach to rural policy and funding, based on a new system which treats different land uses equally - common ground and delivers support based on positive outcomes for our rural areas. Attendees heard how businesses in the sector Confor has stepped up its work The Woodland Trust’s Chief Execu- have grappled with the challenges of mixed land with fellow rural organisations in an ef- tive Beccy Speight also joined Stuart use under CAP, how they overcame those chal- fort to develop an inclusive rural policy Goodall on a panel at the conference, lenges and how they are looking to the future. after Brexit. alongside Forestry Minister Dr Therese One land use that has been brought under keen The publication of Confor’s paper, Coffey. focus by continued lobbying from Confor is wood- A Common Countryside Policy, was At the conference, Mr Goodall land creation. Recent statistics show that there has followed by the recent conference in presented the Common Countryside been a gradual shift towards an increase in planting Westminster, to encourage open dis- Policy document to Environment Sec- rates in England. However, in order to meet the sec- cussion on what future rural policy and retary, Michael Gove MP. tor’s future wood supply challenges, there needs to funding might look like. Mr Goodall said: “Michael Gove has be a dramatic increase in the amount of large-scale The centrepiece of the event – To- promised a green Brexit and forestry productive woodland creation. A joint Confor and wards A Common Countryside Policy can play a big part in ensuring that is Woodland Trust statement in 2015 called for the – was a debate involving five rural delivered. Government to support a planting target of 7000 groups with very different perspec- “However, we understand that there ha per annum until 2020, with scope to increase tives. Minette Batters of the National are many voices in the rural debate Farmers’ Union, Beccy Speight of with their own perspectives. All we are The Woodland Trust, Mark Tufnell asking in our discussion paper is for of the CLA and Will Ashgley-Cantello fair treatment for all rural land uses - of WWF-UK joined Confor’s Stuart and for funding to be targeted at spe- Goodall on the stage. Each spoke to cific, positive outcomes which deliver the subject, What Does A Common benefit to our rural economy, environ- This is a fantastic Countryside Policy Look Like To You? ment and communities. “ example of before a debate with all the speakers. “Confor hopes the conference can integrated Stuart Goodall said: “The discus- kick-start further collaborative work to sion and the wider conference was de- help deliver a positive future for our land use on the signed to move the debate about our rural areas.” Lowther Estate. The rural future away from polarised posi- Speaker Caroline Harrison of Con- application process tions to examine where there is com- for asked the question: “How do we proved to be very onerous and may mon ground. In addition, it was about make tree planting happen as part of recognising the challenges ahead but future rurual policy and funding?” The well have put a stop to the scheme, looking at solutions to those chal- example of Lowther Estate (see panel) but, for the dedication of Ian Jack lenges, rather than being consumed was used as a case study to outline and his belief that this substantial by them.” solutions. new woodland will provide multiple The conference built on collaborative work with both The Woodland FTN WEB RESOURCES benefits to both the Estate and to Trust and the rural land and busi- See conference the local community for generations ness community through the CLA. A presentations and photos to come. joint statement stressing the need for Download the report A more tree planting - signed by Con- CAROLINE HARRISON, CONFOR’S Common Countryside Policy for. The Woodland Trust and the CLA Watch the animation online ENGLAND MANAGER - was launched at the Conservative www.confor.org.uk Party conference in Manchester.

12 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK this to 10,000ha per annum from 2020 onwards. Confor member Lowther Estate in Cumbria has recently worked with partners including the For- estry Commission to develop proposals and bring to fruition a new large scale woodland. Their work can highlight what can be achieved within the current funding framework and what lessons can be learned. The Estate gained Countryside Stewardship approval for 170 hectares of new productive woodland ‘Jacks Wood’ which is part within the Lake District National Park. They will be planting the scheme this winter. 121ha will be productive conifer; the remainder will be predominantly productive broadleaves. In total, 213,098 trees will be planted - this will be the largest area of productive conifer to be planted in England since the 1980s. Lowther Estates used the Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) to help with the design process for the new woodland, receiving payments to cover the costs of the planning process David Bliss Estate Manager for Lowther Estate said; “The successful application is entirely down to the work of Ian Jack our recently retired forester. from submission of a full application within just Ian Jack The WCPG funding helped him plan and gain ap- three months. Alternatively, an expression of inter- proval for this magnificent commercial woodland, est, accompanied by an FC-approved WCPG Stage which will in the fullness of time support many lo- 1 checklist, can get an ‘in principle’ approval within cal jobs and associated forestry businesses. We now one month which may help to secure investment. look forward to the challenge of planting the area.” In recent weeks a number of changes have also been made to the Woodland Carbon Fund in a bid Details to encourage more interest in the offer. Firstly, the Keith Jones, Forestry Commission England’s Area threshold for minimum size applications has been Director for the North West and West Midlands said: lowered to allow for applications of a minimum of 10 “This wonderful woodland creation scheme is well hectares (previously applications had to be a mini- thought out and enacted. The development and ap- mum of 30ha). Secondly, eligibility for continued Ba- proval of schemes of this type can only be achieved sic Payments has been extended to include Wood- by proposing the right scheme in the right place and land Carbon Fund applicants. And finally, funding for then by developing the important details of its de- roads/tracks and a second stage payment at year sign, through early and close working between the 5 following the successful establishment of trees applicant, stakeholders and the Forestry Commission. (£1000k per ha) have been made available. How- “This scheme shows that new large-scale produc- ever, these extra incentives are time limited, so only tive schemes are possible when applicants follow UK applications that are made soon will be able to take Forestry Standard guidelines.” advantage. Ian Jack, who led the development of the project for the Lowther Estate said: “Overall this scheme came about through excellent and professional team working between the Estate and the Local Forest Woodland creation Services office.” Application forms and guidance for the Country- essential workshops side Stewardship woodland creation grant funding were made available in September this year to allow Organised by the Institute of Chartered Foresters and FC Scotland, this more time to plan applications. The application win- series of events in spring 2018 will give you the opportunity to explore how dow itself opens on Tuesday 2 January 2018. to identify key issues when preparing applications for grant aid in Scotland. www.forestry.gov.uk/england-grants • Thu 01 March – New Lanark Mill Hotel, Lanark • Thu 08 March – Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries • Tue 13 March – Drumossie Hotel, Inverness Woodland Carbon Fund • Thu 15 March – Battleby Conference Centre, Perth Similar schemes might also be helped via the Wood- • Tue 20 March – Park Inn Hotel, Aberdeen land Carbon Fund (planting rates at £6800 to £8500 More details to follow soon on per ha depending on location). Under this scheme, www.confor.org.uk/resources/events/ agreements can be in place (subject to EIA consent)

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 13 NORTHERN IRELAND UPDATE

Professional harvesting to maximise Planting and the value of your investment. optimism grow www.egger.com/forestry but Brexit brings uncertainty

There has been some improvement in optimism and planting rates in Northern Ireland in the last year but this is starting from a relatively low level. With nearly 12 months without an Assembly in Stormont, the Northern Ireland Forest Service has been working to continue to support and administer new applications as well as dealing with the uncertainties of Brexit. Planting The FES Scheme has been popular, with 410ha planted so far, with this year 38 applications received for 350ha. The planting target for this RDP programme has now been doubled to 1200ha. It is hoped and assumed that FES will continue post Brexit, potentially under national funding alone. There are some concerns that a significant per- John Hetherington of Premier Woodlands recently planted a new productive centage of proposed schemes are declined, with ap- woodland of nearly 40ha near Garvagh, which is one of the largest new proximately 150ha turned down last year. A variety commercial woodlands in Northern Ireland in recent years. The site was of reasons have been suggested including proposed mainly improved grassland, with significant area of rushes. Approximately costs being higher than the FC standard cost lists, half the site (17has) was planted with Sitka spruce, with Lodgepole Pine used failure to fully identify constraints and in some cases as a nurse crop in an intimate mix in some areas. Picture shows birch/alder owners simply withdrawing the schemes. ending at excluded deep peat area (photo Premier Woodlands)

Brexit suggestion has been to recognise the island of Brexit is a major issue for Northern Ireland and Ireland as one plant health zone. the lack of an Assembly has made discussions challenging. Confor’s Northern Ireland Chairman Timber trade James Hamilton Stubber and representative There is also significant timber and forest Andrew Heald, have held a number of meetings product movement both from Scotland with key stakeholders to identify the main to Ireland, and from Ireland to Northern challenges and share the concerns of processors, Ireland. It remains unclear how this trade growers and agents. will be impacted, whether by tighter import controls or tariffs on cross border Biosecurity movement. Plant health controls is a recurring issue, particularly as there are no major tree nurseries Workforce in Northern Ireland, so the majority of plants The challenges of skilled labour is also are imported from Ireland. However, the significant with many people travelling across the conversations and proposals in other parts of border in both directions to work each day. The the UK is to significantly restrict the importation ‘Common Travel Area’ covers the whole of the of plants from Europe, Confor has repeatedly island of Ireland and the UK, and predates any EU raised the concerns as to how this could impact agreements for the free movement of people. It is new planting in Ireland. There appears to be no assumed that this will not change regardless of any appetite for a return to a hard border, so one Brexit negotiations.

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14 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK Professional harvesting to maximise the value of your investment.

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Confor takes central role at FSC General Assembly

arlier this year I had the honour to be contacted by Hans Djurberg (who sits on the Inter- Enational FSC Board, representing Economic North) and asked whether I would coordinate the economic chamber at the General Assembly (GA) in Vancouver. Following discussions with Stuart Goodall and Confor’s technical a number of Confor members we decided that this would be a unique opportunity to influence FSC at Andrew makes a point in Vancouver director Andrew an international level, and to ensure the concerns of Heald reports from UK certificate holders were heard at the highest level. I am concerned that there seems to be a general the FSC General In addition, I had tabled a Motion at the General fatigue particularly around public consultations, and Assembly in Assembly, which called on FSC to make better use that some organisations are concerned about the Vancouver. of audit date, to try to drive forward risk based au- ‘value proposition. diting, enable informed standard revision and better The General Assembly is democracy red in tooth demonstrate the impact of FSC certification. and claw; some great ideas are rejected and some As a coordinator my role was to help prepare and less good ones are supported. Some members want support the debate around the Motions, and if pos- to see FSC as the platinum standard and to drive sible connect Motion proposers to other proposers forward protection of intact forest landscapes, other with similar ideas. I also worked with the two other members that FSC should remain as a market driven chamber coordinators to introduce proposers to mechanism to support the sustainable management FSC staff who could explain if their idea was includ- of forest products. ed in the Global Strategic Plan. FSC can often feel strategically very chaotic and The trade unions renewed their call for a variety it was frustrating to read a Greenpeace article pub- of ILO labour issues to be included in Chain of Cus- lished immediately after the GA, complaining that tody requirements, but their motion was not sup- very few Motions had been passed. The Director Gen- ported. There was a Motion for a 4th Chamber to eral of FSC, had specifically asked the Membership represent Indigenous Peoples, but this also failed to not overload the FSC staff with additional work, and attract sufficient support. for a focus on delivering the Global Strategic Plan. From my own and Confor’s perspective, I think the GA was reasonably positive from the original 60 Some of the positives I would highlight from this GA: motions, a large number were withdrawn or amalga- • renewed interest and support for small-holders. A lot of the FSC challenges mated and there were no sudden shifts in policy. My for smallholders are universal for all forest owners, so solving them should own ‘Motion 16’ was supported unanimously without result in significant overall positive change. a single vote against, it was one of only fifteen mo- • the pesticide policy is now more pragmatic and workable tions approved during the week. I had worked very closely with WWF and with IPEF and IBA, (who rep- • some of the ideas discussed in FSC 2.0 sessions were very exciting resent a large number of Latin American companies) There were also some challenges: to ensure that the language of the Motion was fully • the FSC family is still arguing about Controlled Wood and Intact Forest acceptable. Landscapes (IFL). FSC’s biggest challenge is how to enable the 600 I think this General Assembly actually helped reach, if not a solution then at General assembly delegates to work together, to least an agreed direction of travel for these key issues. listen better and most importantly, to all trust each other a little more.

Kerb now approved for certified forests

Following a review of FSC Pesticide procedures, it ticide regulation, and are now taking a much risk was decided that Propyzamide the active ingredient based approach. This includes a traffic light system in Kerb (a winter herbicide for grass) was no longer a for individual pesticides rather than the previous “Highly Hazardous” chemical. This means that Kerb “highly hazardous” list. Confor has already respond- can now be used in certified forest properties. ed positively to the initial consultation and we hope Derogation to use Kerb was withdrawn by FSC a to see this revised approach fully implemented in number of years ago, and this review is a very wel- summer 2018. come and represents a more scientific approach to pesticide management. More on Kerb in Colin Palmer’s Pesticide Notebook FSC are having a complete revision of their pes- on page 62

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 17 FORESTRY COMMISSION DEVOLUTION

Beyond the Commission

here will be new arrangements for cross- though it is retaining the same structures, this is an border working in public sector forestry fol- opportunity to refresh the work of Forestry Commis- Tlowing Scottish devolution. From 2019, For- sion England. The English Forest Estate aims to de- estry Commission Scotland will cease to exist, and velop more diversified business activities, although forestry will be brought under the direct control of it may be hampered by the requirement in the 1967 Scottish ministers. As Scotland is home to almost Forestry Act to manage forestry land for forestry- half the sector, this has significant implications for related purposes, a requirement which Forest Enter- the whole UK. prise Scotland were keen to see removed from their Confor has pressed ministers to provide clarity on new legislation. who UK-wide aspects of forestry, such as the UK For- estry Standard, Forestry Statistics, Forest Research UK-wide collaboration and Plant Health, will be co-ordinated in future. On 7 There is almost universal agreement within the sec- November, when the Scottish Parliament debated the tor that the UK Forestry Standard and Woodland draft devolution bill, the ministers responded with an Carbon Code, Forest Research and plant health announcement. The graphic [below/left/right/above] should remain UK-wide. Following sustained lobby- sets out the new structures as announced. ing by Confor on the subject, ministers announced that these would indeed remain UK-wide. Devolved delivery Confor will be As the graphic [below/left/right/above] shows, Following devolution, England, Scotland and Wales “pushing for the arrangement proposed is that England, Wales will be in charge of their own arrangements for deliv- reassurance, and Scotland will host different areas of activity. ering forestry services to the private sector (grants Forest Research will be based in England, al- and regulations), and for running their own national in the form though our understanding is that facilities in Scot- forest estate. of specific land will remain. Commissioning of research will be The Scottish government has given assurance arrangements, overseen by Wales, as independent from the English that, although they are bringing in new legislation, to ensure this and Scottish public and private sectors which will the service delivered under the new structures deliver most of the research. should be ‘business as usual’. commitment [to UK-wide arrangements for Plant health will also England, conversely, has announced that al- new planting] continue to be delivered by England.

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18 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK Confor: A year in the media

Confor has secured significant, high-profile coverage for the forestry and wood-processing sector throughout 2017. The UK Forestry Standard and Woodland Carbon Here are some of the highlights... Code will be based in Scotland, which will also lead on ‘forestry economics’. BBC COUNTRYFILE FORESTS SPECIAL APRIL Questions and concerns Confor worked over a period of several months with the These announcements raise as many questions as Countryfile production team to persuade them to run they answer. a specific programme on forestry in the UK - and How will the research arrangements operate in then to set up filming at a number of locations. Chief Executive Stuart Goodall was interviewed in England’s practice, and what is included in ‘forestry econom- largest forest, Kielder, to discuss the need for far ics’? Will Forestry Statistics remain intact, or will greater productive planting - and a number of Confor some aspects, for example timber production fore- members were interviewed for different elements of the casting, be part of ‘forestry economics’? Confor will programme, watched by more than 7.5m people. seek clarity on this issue, and for an increased role for the private sector in forestry research. BBC RADIO 4 COSTING THE EARTH MAY How will devolved governments ensure buy-in Stuart Goodall accompanied presenter Tom Heap to the Jerah planting from one another to the arrangements they decide? site in central Scotland and the Glennon Brothers’ Windymains sawmill in East Lothian to take a detailed look at the industry and the need for For example, Natural Resources Wales, where for- enhanced productive planting. “Woodlands are to be used, not just to be estry is already fully devolved, has begun to issue admired,” Tom Heap concluded at the end of the programme. its own guidelines on forestry and water, in parallel to the UK Forestry Standard Forestry and Water THE TIMES SEPTEMBER Guidelines. What will prevent standards diverging From Trees to Timber Homes conference special over time across the UK? Will the valuable time-series of UK-wide forestry statistics be broken as dif- BBC RADIO 4 TODAY PROGRAMME/BBC WEBSITE OCTOBER ferent parts of the UK begin using different forms Confor worked closely with Chris Morris of the BBC’s Reality Check to plan a of measurement? Already, governments are eager to programme on the planting crisis, which lead to a five-minute feature on the switch to new measures which amplify the extent of Today programme and an accompanying piece on the BBC website. forest cover, in the face of Confor’s successful work to highlight lack of new planting in the press. BBC CBEEBIES LET’S GO CLUB DECEMBER Confor will be pushing for reassurance, in the Once more, Confor was able to offer the BBC guidance and production form of specific arrangements, to ensure this com- input for one of their programmes. In this case, the children’s magazine The mitment. For example, a suggestion we have made Let’s Go Club (Cbeebies) was looking at three ways to reuse a Christmas before is to re-establish regular meetings between tree. Confor was contacted by BBC for guidance and was able to source UK forestry ministers, to ensure political buy-in to three suitable Christmas trees with only a few days’ notice, thanks to member Oliver Combe (York Christmas Trees, Wiggington). arrangements, rather than leaving civil servants to be pulled several ways. How does the Northern Ireland Forest Service fit BBC RADIO SCOTLAND NOVEMBER into the arrangements? In the absence of a govern- Stuart Goodall appeared in a feature on BBC Scotland ahead of the Bonn Climate Change conference ment in Stormont, Northern Ireland has been unable to participate in these discussions. BBC ONE SCOTLAND THE FOREST JANUARY 2018 What next? Forestry and timber production will be in the spotlight in a new six-part television series. The Forest is a new We expect further announcements in the coming observational documentary series which provide the months, and will be following developments closely general public with an insight into forestry and timber and updating our members through FTN and e-news. production at Galloway Forest Park. Episode one will We will also continue to ensure our concerns are kept also feature operations at the James Jones Sawmill before governments and asking that the private sec- in nearby Lockerbie. The work of specialist contractor Dewi Williams, who regularly comes to Galloway to tor is consulted on arrangements as they are devel- harvest trees from the forest’s most inaccessible areas, will oped, rather than being kept behind closed doors. also be highlighted in another episode. Pictured: Andy Campbell at James Jones sawmill (Photo: Tern TV/BBC Scotland)

GET INVOLVED THE SCOTSMAN FEB, APR, JUNE, AUG, OCT We would be grateful to hear from Regular opinion columns on variety of forestry topics, including Scottish members on any questions you have Forestry Bill, climate change and new planting. about the arrangements: please Eleanor Harris me at [email protected] TRADE PRESS REGULAR Confor puts out regular news releases and has gained detailed coverage over the course of the year in publications including Forestry Journal, FTN WEB RESOURCES Pro-Arb Magazine, Fencing News and TimberWeb, as well as wider rural publications including Scottish Farmer. Forestry Commission England has produced a useful animation on FTN WEB RESOURCES The Future Forestry Commission Find links to programmes and PDFs of articles in FTN additional resources Watch the animation online on www.confor.org www.confor.org.uk

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 19 RURAL FUTURE

What do you anticipate to be the main who plant appropriate trees as part of di- sustainability challenges related to land versification and as a contribution towards use in the next 5-10 years? reducing agricultural carbon emissions). Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we all face. It is already af- The UK is now the second largest net fecting our wildlife and adding to exist- importer of timber in the world after ing pressures driving declines in biodi- China. From an economic, environmental versity globally. It will have widespread and even moral point of view, should we impacts on land use sectors and individual produce more of the wood we consume? businesses as a result of more extreme In a Scottish context, we have a strong weather events, increased pests and timber sector which is exporting to mainly Q&A diseases and changing growing condi- to the rest of the UK. The comparatively tions. However, land use itself is part of low planting rates in the other UK coun- ANNE the problem. Agriculture and related land tries may be of more concern. We support use account for almost a quarter of all sustainable forest management, whether greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland and that is in the UK or internationally. In terms McCALL much greater effort is needed to reduce of carbon footprint, it makes sense to this, but farming, forestry and activities source timber products locally, provided such as peatland restoration are also part they are from sustainably managed, (and of the solution and can help to store soil preferably FSC certified) forests. It remains carbon and provide adaptation responses important to ensure that new woodland Confor asks the recently to a changing climate. If we get it right, we planting does not cause damage to our can tackle climate change in ways that also priority open habitats and species, and appointed director of benefit wildlife and make sense for rural that mistakes from past periods of inap- RSPB Scotland about businesses. propriately located afforestation continue to be rectified. We welcome the ongoing her vision of a future Have you/RSPB got a vision for land-use commitment of the timber industry and integrated land use policy post-Brexit? Is ‘evolution’ or ‘revo- Scottish government to sustainable for- lution’ the way to get there? est management (SFM), and support the Brexit raises significant challenges for the UKFS as a minimum standard acceptable land use sectors but has also created an for SFM. opportunity to have a fresh think about the policies and funding that support them. From an RSPB perspective, what planting RSPB Scotland, along with our conserva- targets should we pursue, and how should tion partners in Scottish Environment the mix between native and productive LINK, has set out our initial ideas on future woodlands ideally look like? rural land use policy in the report ‘Renew- In broad terms, we support woodland ex- ing Scotland’s Rural Areas’. This makes pansion, where it will be ecologically and the case for maintaining rural funding environmentally beneficial and sustainable. but rethinking how we spend this money. All new woodland planting needs to be We want to see much greater emphasis subject to assessment, including EIA when on encouraging and rewarding foresters, appropriate. A stronger spatial planning farmers and other land managers for pro- approach would allow better decision ducing environmental goods and services making about not just targets but where - such as wildlife, attractive landscapes, those targets can be delivered. and clean water – that the market doesn’t There doesn’t need to be a hard distinc- pay for. At the same time, investments are tion between ‘native’ and ‘productive’ for- needed to help such businesses adapt and ests, native woodland can be managed with develop and be able to maximise market a wide range of ‘products’ as outputs. This opportunities for products such as food is not to say that we would support our and timber. But change can’t and won’t best woodlands for wildlife being regularly happen overnight and we need a period of harvested though. As part of an integrated transition to give businesses time to adapt approach to land management, woodland to new policy and support measures. can be built into land management plans to provide a wide range of benefits, including In your opinion, what should the role of social outcomes, biodiversity, environmen- forestry be in future rural policy? tal (carbon & water management), as well Forestry is one component of an inte- as economic products. Government fund- grated approach to land use management. ing should enable this to happen. It is important that we continue to support a sustainable, domestic timber industry, Where do you see opportunities for but increasingly other sectors need to productive planting in the UK, and more work together to deliver public goods and specifically in Scotland? What are the benefits (for example rewarding farmers current barriers in your opinion?

20 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK “Productive planting should be targeted to the areas where it will deliver the most public benefits and fewest negative impacts.

Productive planting should be targeted land expansion and viewing forestry as proached by the sector. We have had early to the areas where it will deliver the a core component of a broad integrated talks with Confor and some of its members most public benefits and fewest nega- land use approach. We have hosted joint about developing a demonstration productive impacts. As someone with a planning events, such as the Future of Forestry tive forest which delivers shared, agreed background I’d like to see spatial planning dinner which was attended by MSPs and objectives and I’m always open to new playing a strong role in ensuring that we senior representatives from across the ideas for partnership working. plant the forests of the future in areas government, forestry, environmental and which are not only less environmentally agricultural sectors. We sit on a number RSPB recently renewed its UKWAS certifi- sensitive but also have the right infrastruc- of industry groups including the steering cation, how are you finding it? ture to ensure the timber can get to mar- group for UKWAS, the Mackinnon review In broad terms we are very supportive of ket. Our own experience of tree removal working groups and the Forestry Commis- certification, particularly the high envi- in the Flow Country has amply highlighted sion Customer representatives Group and ronmental standards required to gain FSC how poorly located woodland can not only I’d like to think that there is considerable certification. All of our reserves with wood- damage important habitats but can also scope for further collaboration. land 10ha or more are currently certified. be extremely tricky to remove due to the We are represented on the steering group capacity of existing road networks. We are The RSPB works closely with farmers of UKWAS and have been closely involved currently working on our woodland expan- across the UK to show that farming can in the latest review of both the UKWAS sion policy, which will set our thoughts be economically and environmentally standard and the light-touch review of out in more detail (due by spring 2018). productive. The RSPB also has its own the UKFS. However, as a charity we’re also Barriers to woodland creation include demonstration farm at Knapwell in mindful of the need for economic return land availability and cost. We have been Cambridgeshire – do you think that RSPB from woodland and one of the benefits involved in the Mackinnon review, and sub- should take the same approach to forest of accreditation has been that it makes sequently formed delivery and implemen- management? financial sense – this year we’ve increased tation working groups, which investigated I’d like to think we already demonstrate income per tonne from sawlogs, slats and how the forest planting process could be good practice in forest and woodland chip directly as a result of being FSC ac- streamlined and speeded up. management across our reserves network. credited. We also work well with our neighbours, Are Confor’s and RSPB’s objectives at and are partners in a number of schemes What helps you relax outside of work? odds? And where do you think there is including Cairngorms Connect and the I guess not surprisingly I like to spend time scope for greater collaboration? Great Trossachs Forest. We believe in max- outdoors – either visiting nature reserves, We work closely with Confor and have imising dialogue and engaging early with walking or working in the garden. Time similar policy positions in a number of new woodland creation schemes, as well with friends, family and the odd art gallery key areas, including supporting wood- as responding to consultations when ap- or two are firm favourites as well.

FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 21 CONFOR MEMBERS

Reliability is key for family-run Welsh sawmill

ames Davies Ltd is based at Cenarth in the Martin Bishop and beautiful Teifi valley in West Wales. Today the Stuart Goodall Jbusiness is managed by Quinton Davies and visit Welsh family- employs 34 local people, and it can trace its roots run sawmill James back over a century. The area has a long history as a woodworking Davies. centre – in the 19th century most of the village’s fam- ilies were involved in making wooden bowls, spoons and stools from local sycamore and ash. The Davies family’s workshop in the village of Abercych was in operation in the late 1800s using water-power to produce turned wood products. The company as it exists now was incorporated in 1953 when it relocated to its current site on the banks of the River Teifi. Quinton puts a business focus on reliability: “As a family-owned sawmill and timber business we have more than a century’s experience putting depend- ability at the heart of what we do”. Quinton Davies (left) with Martin Bishop and – Today, the medium-sized sawmill takes in around below – a vintage shot of the workshop 50,000 tonnes of wood a year, with significant investment in new equipment in recent years. The main species sawn are spruce, larch and sawmill. About 40% of what comes in is larch, mainly DouglasfFir, all sourced from within 80 miles of the for fencing products, but also decking with the onsite moulder. The spruce goes for feather edge fencing, motorway rails and carcassing. Recent investment totals about £4.5m, targeted at a new re-saw and incising machine, feather edge line, optimising edger and a new sorting line. The main mill is set-up so that James Davies can be very flexible on log size and sizes produced, enabling us to meet the needs of small to medium sized fencing retailers and contractors. James Davies now offers 15-year lifetime guarantees with products incised and stamped for trace- ability. About 500m3 a week is treated, heat treated and kiln dried. The mill operates at an average 60% recovery, with good markets for the co-products as well onsite use in a 500kw boiler supplying heat to onsite kilns. There has been an increase in woodchip demand from local businesses and farms that have invested in biomass plants. James Davies are on the Biomass Suppliers List (BSL). Other by-products, sawdust and woodfibre, are widely used as animal bedding and tracks. Quinton is worried that margins are still tight, with log prices remaining high and mills struggling to raise prices with their customers. While the investment has made the business more efficient, the site is constrained by a lack of a

22 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK James Davies Ltd is a member of the Wood Protection Association and is an Associate Sponsor of the WPA’s British Softwoods Field Trial. The key objectives of the field trial are: 1. To assess the natural durability of the key plantation grown softwoods grown commercially in Britain – spruce, pine, Douglas fir and larch; 2. Objectively assess the benefits of incising technology of these species in UK ground conditions; in marketing materials and; 3. Compare the impact of two different pre- treatment drying regimes on Sitka spruce; 4. Compare the impact of two different preservative loadings in UK species and UK ground conditions; 5. Provide relevant data to better inform future developments in BS8417 (use class 4) treatment specifications. The project is expected to run for up to 15 years.

broadband capacity in the area which leaves them unable to realise the full benefit of the considerable investment. Confor’s National Manager for Wales, Martin Bishop has raised this with the local Assem- bly Member and we hope that the Welsh Govern- ment will take notice and take action. Rural broadband is an important issue for many businesses in the forestry sector and not just in Wales. www.jamesdaviessawmills.co.uk

AMs and MP visit James Davies

Following an invitation from Confor Wales, Leanne Wood, the Plaid Cymru Assembly Member and leader of the party, Simon Thomas, Assembly Member for Mid & West Region and Plaid Cym- ru Shadow Cabinet Minister for Energy, Climate Change and Rural Affairs, visited James Davies Saw- mills recently. The purpose of the visit was to highlight the dif- ficulties rural businesses face with a limited broadband connection and to highlight the opportunities the forestry and wood processing sector can provide. They were shown the working sawmill, from the initial breakdown bandsaws right through to the new investments of sorting and stacking lines. Al- ways quite impressive for anyone outside our sector to see as they get quite close to the action when they are in the control cabins. cians can helps us. Left to right, Lyndon The technology in the wood processing sector Joining us for the visit were David v Edwards and Lloyd, Iwan Lloyd- is always a surprise to others not involved in it and Iwan Lloyd-Williams of Tilhill Forestry to put the per- Williams, David v they were very impressed with that and the skills of spective of the growing sector, and Lyndon Lloyd, Edwards, Leanne Wood, the workforce needed to operate it. the local councillor for the area who is a great sup- Simon Thomas, Quinton After the walk around we had the opportunity to porter of the business and has been very active in Davies, Ben Lake, Martin discuss what the sector needs and how the politi- getting support from WG for the sawmill. Bishop and Alun James

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 201723 CONFOR MEMBERS

Are you Confor subscriptions tax deductible?

We referred this question from a Confor member to our retained woodland taxation helpline (David Gittins) who has given the following advice: “If you are an individual or simple partnership owning a forest, the answer is NO. Since the change in the tax laws under Chancellor Lawson, non-corporate owners do not need to make a return of their commercial forestry activities to HMRC. Therefore no income, gross or net, need be declared and I would hope that such people are not declaring their forestry net income or net Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport at the National expenditure to HMRC. I would certainly encourage Assembly for Wales, was introduced to staff at Maelor Forest Nurseries people to keep accounts (to provide evidence that during a constituency visit this autumn. www.maelor.co.uk the woodlands are being managed on a commercial basis, as I suggested in my briefing note two years Makita opens report he prepared in his forestry ago) but encourage them to omit any mention Glasgow centre policy and law module on woodland of those woodland accounts in their tax returns. creation. Corporate owners may submit accounts to HMRC Makita UK has opened its first Jonathan (below) was presented as, for example, part of an estate tax return, but in regional Factory Service Centre with a wooden trophy in the shape any tax calculation the net forestry expenditure or (FSC) & Training Academy and of an acorn by Phil Di Duca, North income is excluded. training academy in Glasgow’s Highland District Manager for Tilhill “Clearly, any income from non-forestry activity Govan commercial district. It will Forestry at the Scottish School of within an owner’s woodland, such as shooting or support Scotland and Northern Forestry, Balloch, along with £250. windfarm rents should be returned to HMRC. But England. The FSC has also been In Birmingham, Hannah Clarke, I do not think that a Confor subscription can be awarded the national responsibility 22, has won an award for being the subtracted from that income. for the secure environment of top student on the Countryside and “If, however, you are paying tax on a trade servicing Makita’s range of dust Environmental Management Course carried on in connection with forestry - nurseries, extraction machines. at Harper Adams University. Hannah forestry professionals, contractors, sawmills etc., - The Factory Service Centre & was presented with her trophy by then the answer is YES: a Confor membership fee Training Academy delivers technical Tilhill Forestry Regional Manager should be a legitimate expense to charge against repairs and maintenance services Iwan Williams along with £250. your trading income.” for the full range of Makita products, As part of the company’s work including all mains and cordless to strengthen links with students, construction machines, and the Tilhill Forestry presents awards to expanding range of grounds care top performing forestry students tools, including petrol engine at leading universities offering products. qualifications in Forestry. The Makita uses training to ensure company also runs a popular that both authorised distributors graduate placement scheme and a and operators are fully conversant structured programme to grow the with the power tools, how to management skills of their staff. obtain the best performance www.tilhill.com from the machines and how to NEW MEMBERS maintain them for efficiency and productivity. Makita offers a full Alan Lawson – Angus itinerary of training courses covering Ellinor Dobie – Gwynedd the extensive product range. Jemima Letts – Cambridgeshire www.makitauk.com John W Trimble – Co Tyrone John Walker – Gwynedd Tilhill honours students Peter Roe – Gwynedd Piers Hugill – Oxfordshire Forest Management student William J Marshall – Cumbria Jonathan Hawick from Inverness Elizabeth Heighway Translations – College UHI has won the Tilhill Birmingham Forestry Award for Best New Tomorrow’s Forests Ltd – Devon Planting Application following a

24 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK CONFOR NEWS

Confor associate partner of Timber Expo 2017

Recognising the importance of featuring British forestry, organisers of Timber Expo 2017 invited Confor to represent the domestic forestry and timber sector to the crowd of construction and architecture professionals who attended the event. The event was a great opportunity to raise our sector’s profile Timber Expo is part of UK Construction Week, an annual event being held in October at NEC Birming- ham. This year, visitor numbers reached a record with a 11% increase from last year. Brexit was widely discussed this year and Confor had a number of relevant publications on display. Confor’s core message at the stand was “British timber is fit for purpose”, for which a leaflet targeted at wood end users (joiners, builder) was designed, in collaboration with James Jones and Sons and BWS. Egger kindly provided a visually striking exhibition piece, showing the variety of products that can be made from homegrown timber (see picture). After the success at the Confor Woodland Show, the VR headset showing the FC filmForestry in Scotland in 360 degrees was once more a highlight at the stand. One of two catered events, a drinks reception was held for architects, with Peter Wilson presenting his new book The Modern Timber House in the UK, sponsored by Wood for Good. A great opportunity for Confor to reach out to a slightly different, but nevertheless very important audience. After many conversations with bright, young en- gineers and architects, Confor staff flagged up the FTN WEB RESOURCES fact that many them thought of homegrown timber as an inferior product, and that there was a com- Download the leaflet munications gap that needs to be addressed in the www.confor.org.uk future if homegrown timber is to be promoted.

Confor and ICF host joint conference

The impending downturn in softwood timber avail- investors viewed woodland creation and Alice ability has become a matter of great concern to the Snowden (Future Trees Trust) gave a timely remind- sector in recent years. This renewed need for wood- er of how with the aid of tree breeding broadleaves land creation coincides with ambitious Government could play a role in productive woodlands. targets for tree planting which it is currently strug- Ewan Calcott (FCE) described the regulatory gling to achieve. It was against this background setting for new planting and Brad Tooze (Natural that the Confor and ICF North of England Regional England) provided a broader environmental per- Groups hosted a conference on Productive Wood- spective. Case studies of Doddington North Moor by NEW MEMBERS land Creation: Challenges and Solutions on 18 Octo- Andy Howard (Pennine Biomass) and Richard Pow Alan Lawson – Angus ber in Hexham. (FCE), and Jerah by Andrew Vaughan (Tilhill), com- Ellinor Dobie – Gwynedd Oliver Combe (Roots to Prosperity) and Richard pleted the day by highlighting the challenges and Jemima Letts – Cambridgeshire Greenhous (Forestry Commission England) outlined solutions for practitioners and regulators alike. John W Trimble – Co Tyrone the scale of the need and how public policy sup- Feedback from the day indicated that much re- John Walker – Gwynedd ported productive woodland creation. Athole McKil- mains to be done in order to achieve the aspirations Peter Roe – Gwynedd lop (Land Factor) posed questions as to land avail- and targets set out at the start of the day, but this Piers Hugill – Oxfordshire ability post-Brexit. Mark Broadmeadow and Richard event proved to be one small step in the right direc- William J Marshall – Cumbria Hellier (FCE) described work undertaken to identify tion. Elizabeth Heighway Translations – where such planting could take place and how it Birmingham could be designed to complement the landscape, at Presentations can be downloaded here: Tomorrow’s Forests Ltd – Devon the same time as satisfying stakeholder needs and https://www.charteredforesters.org/event/2017- smoothing the way for approval. icf-north-england-productive-woodland-creation- Jason Sinden (FIM Ltd) gave insight into how challenges-solutions/

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 25 WISHING ALL OUR CUSTOMERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS 2018! Caledonian Forestry Services Ltd

First choice for forestry machinery

West Third, Tullibardine, Auchterarder PH3 1NJ T: 01764 663798 E: [email protected] www.caledonianforestryservices.co.uk WISHING ALL OUR CUSTOMERS A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS 2018! NEW TECHNOLOGIES Caledonian Forestry The Internet of Trees he world now revolves around data and acquisition of data involving drones, scanners and digital information, increasing amounts of it cameras is new and exciting work. The immense in every walk of life, some of it useful, some amount of point-cloud data generated however Tinteresting, lots surplus. Forestry isn’t im- is daunting, indecipherable and storage intensive. Services Ltd mune to this and how we collect, store and analyse Companies (and new open source software such as data is becoming increasingly important in order to 3D Forest) exist to take this acquisition and analysis sort the useful and interesting from the surplus. on but it is vital for the end-user to know exactly As forestry becomes more complex, collecting what is achievable and what data they require in or- Jez Ralph, of and dealing with data will become ever more im- der to get the outputs required. These technologies First choice for forestry machinery Timber Strategies portant. Changes in silviculture to more complex can only be successful if knowledge of the technol- on creating and forest structures, advances in automation and the ogy is coupled with silvicultural or timber processing burgeoning amounts of timber products being de- experience by the end-user of the data. managing data veloped all create more data that needs to be efficiently managed. When every tree becomes digital The days of sample plots and tripping over brambles Data, data everywhere to get far enough out to get a top height may be All of this data is being created by new methods of numbered as the digital inventory world advances. capturing information. Whether it is a blue-tooth With in-forest LIDAR allowing mensurational data connected caliper, motion sensor cameras, stack on a tree by tree basis the opportunities are enor- measuring apps, on-harvester digital tools all are mous (refer to article number 14 rezatec). On a collecting data meaning every forest and tree is be- forest level, the use of this data could allow us to coming part of the digital data cloud. monitor canopy or soil health or annual increment The collection of this data is the easy part of the by comparing annual scans. On an individual tree process, it is the analysis and storage in an acces- level we can identify qualities such as straightness, sible format that becomes difficult. Take the sim- taper, curve for specialist applications, possibly even ple act of photographing every compartment in a knottiness tree by tree to aid marketing or thinning. woodland. Easy enough to take multiple photo- On a small scale, the work of the Architectural As- graphs showing typical woodland structure, typical sociation at Hooke Park provides an extreme look tree form etc, however, creating many hundreds of forward at the opportunities data presents across photographs and paying for file storage becomes a the supply chain. Working from a demand-led per- big issue for images that may rarely be used. The spective of sourcing timber for a building design, ar- simple act of renaming files and properly catalogu- chitecture students are able to work with the forester ing as soon as possible after they were created, to find the best material for specific applications. In harshly deleting unnecessary images that don’t give the case of the boiler house and the woodchip store, good value information creates a more useable an 3D scans of standing trees were generated using a accessible resource. variety of tools. These scans could be interpreted On a more complex scale, 3D inventory of for- for centre lines, specific radii of curves and end di- ests using LIDAR or photogrammetry will start to ameters and the resulting information fed back into become common practice. For those using it, the algorithms to find the best stems for individual elements within the building. The forester is then able Drone-based 3D to extract only those stems that were needed within photogrammetry stands of specialist timber and adapt thinning cycles at Hooke Park and accordingly. resulting mesh analysis to start to analyse A new silvicultural craft tree density and What is fascinating about these advances in data canopy condition. acquisition and interpretation is that they present Pictures: Architectural a new decision-making tool for silviculturalists and Association: Landscape timber users. Unlike the use of single-age monocul- & Urbanism ture grid plantings that generally made silvicultural and processing strategies easier this new paradigm of data orientated forestry doesn’t prescribe inter- ventions or investments but allows increasingly complex decisions to be made. It doesn’t take away the need to understand the complexity of an individual West Third, Tullibardine, Auchterarder PH3 1NJ woodland or timber but adds to the understanding. In this way new technologies and new approaches T: 01764 663798 E: [email protected] to data will represent the most significant change to forestry and timber in a generation providing anew paradigm for forest and timber management. www.caledonianforestryservices.co.uk CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 27 NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Satellite-derived forestry intelligence

Philip Briscoe outlines an innovative huge quantities of geospatial information in a short and complementary alternative space of time. With such data increasingly available and providing high-resolution earth observation in- to Lidar for forestry management sights, satellite imagery enables deeper and more decision support regular forest intelligence for a complete view of the forest landscape as it changes over time. orest analytics is a complex business, re- Skilled analysis of satellite data yields detailed quiring the sophisticated analysis of data insights that would not be possible with aerial or gathered across sometimes vast geo- ground-based data gathering methods. This detail Fgraphical areas. Delivering it can be done goes right down to tree species identification and using networks of ground-based sensors, aerial health analysis. Furthermore, earth observation sat- sensors such as drones or Lidar data, and geospa- ellite data can be gathered weekly or even daily, tial data sourced from satellites. Lidar and satellites enabling the live monitoring of forests without the are particularly useful because they provide forest guess work between Lidar updates. asset information with greater accuracy, depth and The continuous management of forests using contextual detail across large areas. In turn, this im- such up-to-date information means there are fewer proves the efficiency of ground team deployment, chances to miss environmental and anthropogenic reduces associated logistics and materials costs and changes. Significantly, it also helps with mitigating enables intelligent planning for forest operational the risk of insurance claims being invalidated by de- activities. tecting changes such as fire damage or storm damage too late. Lidar offers valuable detail – Satellite data has other advantages over Lidar. but it has its limitations It is much less weather-dependent, as synthetic- Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote aperture radar can penetrate cloud cover to collect sensing method used to examine the surface of the geospatial data whatever the weather. It is also able Earth, and it can provide a highly detailed snapshot to provide analysed data for an entire forest area, of a forest. Its strengths lie in measuring accuracy rather than the small proportion covered by Lidar. and detail; it can provide forest metrics such as tree In addition, the scale and rate of earth observation height and structure, for instance. However, the im- data capture is growing almost exponentially, mean- agery and data it captures show a single point in ing there are now large imagery archives of increas- time. With prohibitively high data acquisition costs ing resolution available either as open source data or – aircraft and equipment, for example – and data for acquisition at commercially competitive prices. capture being dependent on clear skies, it can be Increasing demand and availability has produced a difficult to gather data on a regular enough basis. competitive market in which data that used to be The price of using Lidar data is not just down prohibitively expensive is now affordable. As to acquisition costs; following a Lidar data capture this trend continues, there will be an enor- flight, the data must then be processed by highly mous amount of data collected daily that skilled analysts in order to yield the commercially is beyond current analytical capabili- important forestry insights for which it was gath- ties provided by airborne collection. ered. With gaps between data gathering of up to 10 Ground truthing years or more, this makes Lidar of limited value in Whichever method you use, a spotting forest change over time. This means that large percentage of forest anal- important forest changes – such as pathogen out- ysis costs arises from the need breaks, species diversification, wind blow damage, for extensive ground truthing to urban creep and other factors – may be missed. make the captured data useful. Realistically, Lidar is therefore typically only used The need for this ground-based to capture a proportion of a forest, with statistical manual data collection can be techniques then used to derive estimates across the minimised by the abilities of whole forest area. powerful machine learning algorithms, which are deployed in Satellite data provides a complete picture satellite data analytics and allow of forest change over time smaller ground-captured datasets Satellite data technology has evolved to provide to train the advanced artificial intel-

28 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK ligence. This improves the efficiency and targeting of Combining earth observation with Lidar results in Satellite data provides ground-based data capture, reducing the costs asso- a ‘best of both worlds’ scenario: detailed Lidar data complete picture of ciated with deploying ground teams. teaches the system what to look for in larger-scale forest change over However, cost reduction is far from the only ad- earth observation datasets, replicating the results time vantage of using satellite data over Lidar. Tradition- across entire land assets quickly and accurately. ally, with random sampling and regular passing ob- servations, ground teams need to cover a large area Standalone forestry intelligence to gather information about a woodland, but they will With limited resource for ground truthing and no never be able to capture the whole picture at any giv- budget for Lidar, satellite data analytics alone pre- en time. What’s more, there might be many weeks or sent a very attractive option for small and medium- months before a revisit, particularly in remote or inac- sized land owners with forested assets, whether they cessible locations. While this is not problematic for are plantations or natural managed forests. Satellite species identification, it can mean missing important data combined with minimal ground truthing data variations in tree health, growth and yield as a result can provide derived insights on mensuration, spe- of issues such as disturbance damage, disease onset cies or type classification, health and disturbance. or stunted growth. Accessible to companies of all sizes, this scalable Earth observation provides consistent data and forestry intelligence helps inform land management analysis on a large scale, allowing for better targeting decisions. What’s more, clients can decide on the of ground team efforts so they are not wasting time update frequency of earth observation data and on and money visiting ‘healthy’ locations. Although it is the size of area analysed, meaning all budgets and also useful to have this data for calibration and veri- geographical areas of interest are catered for. fication purposes, the earth observation datasets ultimately enable more targeted and efficient Earth observation – an ideal forestry management of the ground team resource. This decision support tool means smaller teams, a more focused and ef- Whether you decide to use Lidar and enrich it with ficient approach, and lower costs. satellite data, or replace Lidar entirely, the benefits are considerable. You can use earth observation Enriching the picture data to complete and enrich the picture of your for- For organisations in which Lidar is already an est, removing data fragmentation by filling in the important part of geospatial forest analysis, gaps in your forest landscape knowledge. It can also earth observation can add a level of detail be aggregated with all other ground-sensor data to and regularly-updated data that enables a ensure no data silos exist. Where Lidar excels, sat- comprehensive understanding of what is hap- ellites offer a highly competitive alternative; and pening between Lidar updates. where Lidar cannot detect, satellite data completes This has the potential to reduce dependency the picture. on Lidar for considerable cost savings. www.rezatec.com

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 29 NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Filling the perception gap

Ian Thomas talks about his experience The Forestry Commission (Scotland) have been using the Prospect Forest Design working in partnership with Mapmaker (based in Software and how it can be a powerful Carradale, Argyll) to create a new visualisation tool called Prospect. The objective was to create a tool ally for stakeholder engagement. that would facilitate both woodland creation and improve the design of existing woodland. Having used reating a new woodland is a leap of faith similar more basic software for many years, I have for all parties. Even for professional for- now had the opportunity to trial the new Prospect esters attempting to imagine a currently software on a number of projects including both Ctreeless agricultural landscape as a matur- woodland creation and Forest plans. In my view, the ing diverse woodland is a challenge, so for non-for- Prospect software offers a number of advantages estry people who are interested in woodland crea- over the existing fairly limited competition and is tion, painting the picture in their minds eye of what well worth considering. might be is a problem, and this is a problem with For stakeholders, a visualisation can show what a consequences. well designed mixed woodland will look like. The dry The problem for the forest industry is that this percentages of broadleaves, mixed conifers and yes perception gap is filled with assumptions based on even Sitka Spruce come alive and are immediately often limited information and the bias to which we apparent to the viewer. What people might see from are all subject. Mention a commercial conifer wood- their own house, or the impact on views from inside land to most lay people and the vision that comes the wood can be immediately demonstrated. to mind is likely to include celebrities, tax avoidance, dead waders, wall to wall impenetrable Sitka spruce, and toilet paper….not necessarily in that order. Great progress has been made to changing the perception of what woodland creation means, and the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) and the UK Wood- Plans, text, maps and guidelines land Assurance Standard (UKWAS) have played “ are pretty accessible to a very positive role in this respect. Experience of woodland creation in both Scotland & England sug- most foresters... but for non- gests that the awareness of how commercial forestry foresters these can represent an has changed for the better is very different in each country. In general, the Scottish experience is that impenetrable obstacle to seeing most stakeholders are aware of how much forestry the wood for the trees. has upped its game to deliver truly multi-purpose commercial forests, while in England the lack of While inaccurate suppositions may hopefully be commercial woodland creation has meant that the laid to rest by using the software, the caveat to this UKFS & UKWAS are often a totally foreign concept. is that the woodland actually does need to be well Within this knowledge gap the old bias against for- designed! If the design proposal is wrong in land- estry flourishes and this can be exploited by parties scape terms then the software won’t paint a pretty From top: at 2017, for whom forestry is considered undesirable even picture however hard you try. This is where another woodland creation site within a mixed landscape. feature of the software comes into play, and this is prior to planting in So the problem is how to demonstrate to other in the interactive element that allows adjustments to 2017 showing proposed people who are often time constrained what it is you be made to the plan, and then to see clearly the im- forest road line; are trying to achieve? Plans, text, maps and guide- pacts of the changes instantly in the visualisations. at 2027, woodland lines are pretty accessible to most foresters as these This is not only a great way of engaging with stake- creation site at 2027 are the tools of our trade, but for non-foresters these holders, but even more crucially perhaps, it enables showing semi mature can represent an impenetrable obstacle to seeing the forestry professional to experiment and design a crop; the wood for the trees. forest that truly fits with the landform beneath. at 2060: Woodland Computer generated visualisations producing an The software works by using OS open data ter- creation site at 2060 accurate representation of how a proposed wood- rain files and imported GIS shapefiles to create a showing mature land will look offer the potential to address this per- range of draped options which can include a realistic woodland. ception deficit, and potentially help to overcome portrayal of tree cover and drapes to indicate tree many of the hurdles that woodland creation faces. species or felling date. The realistic tree cover option

30 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK functions that I personally will never use, and I have only scratched the surface, but from my perspective it does exactly what I want from it. The software can generate photomontages and there are also various options relating to how complex the project is that can simplify the whole process. Considerations of complexity, compatibility and ease of use are vital for the forestry professional with often limited time. GIS is a pretty essential tool for all forest managers now, and with a good grasp of GIS the Prospect software is straightforward to use. It also integrates well with all the outputs from commonly used GIS systems. There are a number of options intended to enable the software to be used by people with lim- GIS is a ited GIS knowledge but I haven’t trialled these yet. “ The two main potential uses of the software are pretty for woodland creation projects or forest design plan- essential tool ning for existing woodland. There is a static version of the software that demonstrates the appearance for all forest of the woodland at a fixed point in time, but the soft- managers ware comes into its own when you apply changes now over time to the proposal. This is based on inputting values for planting date, Yield Class, species, spacing and felling date. Many of these elements are generated in any event as part of the plan design process, so these can be readily imported into the software. For woodland creation projects the required shapefiles are easy to create and simple to use in the software. In contrast using the software for the forest

allows changes with season, with autumn being my planning of existing forests is more complicated. Felling phases can personal favourite. This arises because for existing forests the software be shown as discrete Once the system is set up, simply adjusting the is designed to run using the Forestry Commissions colours. date slider shows how the woodland grows and de- Sub Compartment Database which performs a lot of velops over time, and this can include felling and functions and is of necessity complicated. Despite restocking. Percentages of forestry species are also this complexity, I have managed to get the software indicated. to work well with private sector forest plans, so a bit The interface is based around an interactive map of perseverance for this element is perhaps required. (OS base layers or aerials can be imported) showing An added advantage of the temporal function is the proposal at any time in map form, and this then that both clients and foresters can get some idea of links directly to the panorama function to create how their cherished new woodland will look like in the visualisations. There are a range of parameters the distant future, even if we won’t be around to see which can be adjusted to alter both the map and the the real thing for ourselves! appearance of the panorama image. [email protected] In common with all software Prospect has a lot of http://prospect.mapmaker.com/

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 31 Tree & timber investigation – Decay & Defect Detection equipment and service Tree Diagnostics Microsecond Timer Quickly measure the time taken by a ‘Stress Wave’ across a stem or Decaybranch. & Defect Detection A tap on the start sensor is all that is needed to provide the time. MicrosecondPC or Phone App record & compare Timer the result with a target time. QuicklySlow times indicate measure decay or defects. the time taken ArborSonicby a ‘Stress 3D Acoustic Wave’ Tomograph across a stem Detect, size and location of decayed or hollow section non- ordestructively. branch. Measures the time taken by a ‘Stress Wave’ to sensors attached to ArborSonicthe tree. 3D Acoustic Tree Stability & Safety Use the software or phone App to show the internal condition or the Tomographextent of decay. Detect,Create 3D images size by linking and multiple location scans. of Tree Speed up assessments and improve accuracy using optional decayedArborSonic DigitalDynaRoot orCallipers. hollow section. Diagnostics Calculates tree stability using the wind: Loxston Groundcare Ltd are Wood Testing Equipment Anemometer; records wind velocity & direction. 01423 323851 07831 530563 [email protected] Inclinometer ;www.treediagnostics.co.uk to provide inclination data. Evaluation App; provides tree stability information. the sole UK distributer for

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My future, my technology

one-of-a-kind conference held by RFS on 20 October, saw a group Wade highlighted that technology can Aof forestry and arboricultural stu- and should be used in conjunction with dents challenged to drive a technological traditional methods. revolution to transform the way toods and trees are managed in the UK. How can and will new technologies Future Foresters was the first national change the UK forestry sector? conference for forestry and arboricultural Technology is playing an increasingly students. Held by the RFS in partnership important role in the forestry sector, with Sorbus International and Stihl and with its reach stretching the length hosted by Moulton College, it attracted of the timber supply chain, with it more than 200 students, recent graduates also helping us to make the most of and apprentices from organisations across the timber which is being grown in the country. Companies and organisations Britain. It is allowing wood which would provided hands on exhibitions and demon- have otherwise been discarded to strations from drone technology to the lat- be analysed and ‘fitted’ into designs Forestry student Jemima Letts, 20, est chippers, and from computerised cal- for timber structures. Technology is spends the summer seasons working as lipers to innovations in climbing harnesses. also shaping change in the field of an outdoor activity instructor. Here, three attendees of the RFS Tech- arboriculture, with it now being used nology day give their perspective on the @Foresterthought to determine if urban trees are safe, future of forestry and the role new tech- with technology adding depth to the nologies will play in their career. What made you attend the event? traditional visual tree assessment. I really wanted to get an idea of the Are new technologies duly technology which is out there and being considered and discussed in your used by professionals in the industry, forestry course? and see how technology is changing One of my university lecturers has There is a new future and both forestry and arboriculture. It also always talked about how all us foresters “ seemed like a great opportunity to meet will soon be replaced with drones, which it is digital and it is going other students from all over the country will be able to do everything we do, to come very fast. You at an event which was organised just for but quicker and better. Although we all are the people who will students and was believed to be the first used to just laugh, drones are starting of its kind in the UK! to become commonplace and have a take up that challenge. lot of different applications in a forestry Part of it is understanding What do New Technologies mean for and arboriculture setting. In spite of this, Future Foresters? new technologies are not discussed in the past, understanding I have seen how technology has depth on my course and after attending the history of timber revolutionised some aspects of forestry, the conference, I think this needs to use and then taking that and how it will continue to do so. change - we need to graduate being the I aspire to work within community foresters that can control the drones, further. forestry and have seen how technology not the ones being replaced by the JEZ RALPH, is being increasingly used with and by drones! KEYNOTE SPEAKER the general public and not just forestry professionals. This means that in the future, I will be able to use technology to Fiona Andrews, 22, is a forestry student involve and engage the public in forest focussing on conservation (BSc projects and operations, with community Conservation in Forestry). science projects also benefitting from [email protected] such advances. ‘We’, the next generation of foresters, What made you attend the event? need to be the ones pushing forward As technologies are not really discussed new technology, raising awareness about during university lecturers/seminars, I how it can help and increasing its use felt it would benefit me to hear some of in both large commercial forests and the latest research in forestry which may RESOURCES smaller community woodlands. However, become common use during my career. Slides, videos, information on speakers as so elegantly put by Professor Dan and exhibitors from the Technology Ridley-Ellis, technology is not just What do New Technologies mean for Day will be available at www.rfs.org. all about the gadgets, but about the Future Foresters? uk/events/future-foresters and a full application of our knowledge and Technology is the future in forestry report will appear in the QJF in January. understanding. At the event, Mr Phil development, especially when it >>

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 33 NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Forestry student George Dennison, 20, How can and will new technologies has worked part-time in arboriculture in change the UK forestry sector? the Peak District National Park. Forestry is becoming more accessible, @GDennison1997 moving away from traditional stereotypes. Diversification is the buzzword. What made you attend the event? Developing capabilities in the field of The RFS Future Foresters Technology genetics allows the foresters to create day was the first of its kind. A symposium resilient and dynamic ecosystems in designed specifically for students and the face of climate change and foreign recent graduates. Talks throughout the pests and diseases. This will expectantly >> comes to using resources efficiently and morning were aimed to inspire students, increase the volume of afforestation as identifying trees suffering from disease discussing the rapid technological forestry becomes a more reliable and before problems arise, especially in urban development paired with its influence profitable investment. Not only this, but areas where property damage could occur on directing the future of forestry and public perception of forests and their if a tree falls. Development is still needed arboriculture. The afternoon brought a level of involvement is changing. Youth is but forestry is improving all the time. selection of companies all able to help more involved and aware of environmental I see new technologies shaping forestry develop understanding of the desired issues than ever before, combined with a in many ways, and assomeone who characteristics of an employable graduate. formidable attitude for change. This will is interested in the management of This combined with a great array of undoubtedly lead to further planting for forests under continuous cover forestry, technologies which will be developed and the purpose of biodiversity retention and technology I feel will become a dominate used within the industry. habitat creation, along with the social tool, especially in mensuration and yield values this brings. class which still needs development to What do New Technologies mean for account for multi-structured forests. Future Foresters? Are new technologies duly considered The profession of forestry is forever and discussed in your forestry course? How can and will new technologies evolving. Over the last century, but mainly During lectures discussion occasionally change the UK forestry sector? in the last decade, our profession has breaks into the future technology Technology can change forestry in many become safer whilst our work efficiency within forestry. However, it is outside ways and I feel this will improve efficiency has increased. Options now available of the lecture room where the future on mensuration, identify the most effective to a forester have vastly increased their technology within forestry is discussed use of timber and identify diseased and silvicultural toolbox. The industry requires along with its applications. Professors damaged trees early to be able to prevent multidisciplinary, individuals capable of are knowledgeable on the subject and damage in urban areas. considering various circumstances whilst do inject fresh viewpoints and up to date adopting the wide variety of revolutionary information about recent developments in Are new technologies duly considered advances. the sector. and discussed in your forestry course? The incredible speed at which technology I feel they are not talked about enough, is developed and then applied within the especially in my course. It is not helped industry is outstanding. My generation are that the university do not have access described as digital natives. With this title, to the latest technology to then be able it is our duty and honour to take on and to learn about them, both in physical develop this technology further. The rate instruments and software. and accuracy of data collection allows I would love if universities all were able forests to be assessed more frequently to at least arrange with companies to see and vigorously. Furthermore, technology and ‘have a go’ with new technologies facilitates the ability to accurately assess in the sector so students can see what the quality and quantity of ecosystem technologies they are likely to come across services, thus helping diversify forest during their forestry career. income.

Haglof impresses with digital calipers

George was among many impressed with the demonstration of Haglof callipers. “When I saw the Haglof callipers at work, I was mesmerised at how quickly and easily you could set up your sample area and collect the data, with it making me wish I could have had a pair for my fieldwork!” he said. “The fact that you could then transfer the data you collected onto a computer in a spreadsheet format seemed almost too good to be true.” Bangor University was the lucky winner of a Haglof DP II computer calliper mensuration system, generously donated by Haglof, for its submission on The impact of advancing technology on Future Foresters.

34 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK Female students offered hi-tech opportunity

Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) is offering two female students the chance to gain hi-tech skills which will improve their future employment prospects. The students will work with FES’s Geographical Information Systems (GIS) team, which uses state-of-the-art technology to support forestry and land management operations across the country. The three month long placements are part of a national Scot- tish Government drive to attract more women into the technology and science sectors, as well as helping address the gender imbal- ance in the workplace. The student placements are based in Edinburgh and Inverness and run from June to August 2018. Forest Enterprise Scotland is working with Equate Scotland, which is the national expert in gender equality through the STEM sectors. www.equatescotland.org.uk/projects/2018-placements/

Drones for weed control Drones can do more than surveyingand some US businesses are now using them for weed control and planting. ‘Precision forestry’ company DroneSeed is one of these companies that is currently conducting herbicide applications and is working on systems to precisely deliver seed to forest sites. This spring they received US FAA approval to use “drone swarms to deliver agricultural payloads (fertilisers, herbicides, and water)”. Drones are already widely used to accurately map the locations of weed species. These maps can then be used to develop a treatment plan to efficiently target each species with herbicide delivered by a drone. Spot treatments of individual plants should be possible. This will minimize herbicide use and reduce the impact on non-target species. Using a drone to conduct herbicide treatments in forests offers significant advantages over the use of manned aircraft and ground crews on foot equipped with backpack sprayers, says Drone Seed. www.droneseed.co

Cyberforests help predict climate Forests take eons to grow, making it challenging to assess just how they will be affected by long-term climate change. Now researchers at Washington State University have created the world’s first computer simulation capable of growing realistic forests. Us- ing a model they have named LES (the Russian for forest), scientists can grow a virtual forest over a few weeks. news.wsu.edu/2016/02/24/145871/

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • June 2017 35 WOODFUEL

Kaolinite for clean biomass?

In its September 2017 issue, the Swiss Forestry magazine Wald und Holz reported that researchers at the Technical University of Hamburg have found out that emissions of fine particles during the burning of wood pellets can be reduced by 50% by adding kaolinite to the pellets. These are first results and studies continue. The researchers hope that this cost-effective and easily implemented enhancement of wood pellets could make its way into the European regulations for biomass. They hope that this technique could widen the spectrum of materials that can be used for biomass pellets – in the future, it might open the possibility of producing ‘mixed pellets’ – using the widely available straw in combination with traditional sawmill produce. New boiler in the right spirit A wide range of literature and case studies on mixed biomass pellets has been produced for Scottish distillery in the last 15 years in countries like Finland, Austria or Germany. A Scottish distillery has confirmed water was probably the easiest part of Leading researcher for this project is Prof. its commitment to environmentally the brief for me. This is definitely one Martin Kaltschmitt, head of the University’s friendly production techniques by of the most beautiful locations I’ve Institute for environmental and energy choosing locally-sourced woodchip as worked in but its location also made technologies. [email protected] its primary power source. things tricky in a variety of ways. Ncn’ean looked into their options “The distillery is located at the end Bruce Allen, Chairman of Woodsure and decided that a woodchip boiler of a 22 mile single track road on the comments: would be ideal for their needs, offering Morvern Peninsula, not a situation “ENplus A1 Pellets are amongst the cleanest a low carbon footprint, low running that’s designed to assist in the deliv- burning wood fuels especially when combusted costs, and in a part of Scotland with ery of a complex engineering project, in modern highly controlled boilers. Recent plenty of commercial forestry, fuel and even more difficult to deal with studies have shown the benefits of such a could be easily transported, minimis- than a project we completed on North combination of boiler and fuels. Any innovative ing both costs and pollution. But there Uist in the Outer Hebrides, which just treatment that reduces particulates has to was a catch. Founder of Ncn’ean An- shows how awkward access was and be welcomed although adding any chemical nabel Thomas explains that they need- how much we had to account for this to clean fuels is a matter for careful study to ed something a little different from the when carrying out the works. ensure that gains in one area e.g. particulate norm. All challenges were met and the reduction, are not lost in other areas like “Unlike most biomass boilers in the 850kW woodchip boiler system has unnecessary chemicals in the emissions or UK, distilling requires steam, not just now successfully finished its commis- anything that could react with or corrode hot water, so it was important to us sioning and first period of operation, boiler components. We would be interested in that we found partners with the right reliably providing low carbon, low cost seeing the test results and would welcome any expertise who could deliver a high- steam for the distillery since January progress in the area of reduced environmental quality product that met our specific this year. In addition to providing pro- impact.” needs.” cess steam, the boiler also heats the distillery office, visitor centre and toi- Challenges let block, and one of the two whisky Enter re:heat, biomass energy experts maturation sheds. It will save over 230 with years of experience in fitting re- tonnes of CO2 each year compared to newable heating systems tailored to running its oil equivalent. It will re- their clients’ individual requirements. quire around 300 tonnes of woodchip Director Neil Harrison was keen to get annually, all of which is sourced from to grips with the unique specifications low grade and unmerchantable tim- of the unusual Ncn’ean project and the ber from the surrounding forestry on challenges that would be faced in the the estate, typically travelling no more course of its completion. than five miles from where it grows to Neil said: “Providing a boiler that where it is used. would produce steam as well as hot www.reheat.uk.com

36 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • June 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK WOOD SCIENCE & TREATMENT

No short-cuts to fire performance standards, says WPA

Fire performance and preservative will be at the heart of the WPA role in contributing treated wood quality top Wood to the development of a Confederation of Timber In- Protection Association priorities in 2017 dustries (CTI) guide to the fire mitigation techniques for wood and wood based materials which is antici- he Grenfell Tower disaster has catapulted pated will be published by CTI in 2018. In the mean- the fire performance of buildings into the time, the WPA has taken the decision to help raise public spotlight. Building materials and awareness by providing its FR Specification Manual Ttechniques are coming under scrutiny like & Checklist as a free download from the WPA web- never before. Wood and wood based materials will site . A free information sheet about the fire perfor- not escape this scrutiny. WPA director Steve Young mance of external timber cladding in response to a says that it is absolutely critical to the future pros- steep increase in enquires in the wake of the Grenfell pects for timber in construction that the reaction to Tower fire is also available. fire performance qualities of timber components are better understood and that the techniques available WPA commissions BRE to conduct to retard ignition and the spread of flame across its materials health project surface are not only specified correctly but are also Material health, indoor air quality and healthy build- verified as compliant with this specification atthe ings are factor of building design that are assum- construction site before installation. ing increasing relevance in construction design. Over the last two to three years, WPA has been WPA believes that the potential for these matters to campaigning for better implementation of Building adversely affect demand for treated wood cannot Regulations and CPR compliance requirements for be ignored. Steve Young confirmed that the wood flame retardant wood materials, wood panels in par- protection sector was unable to react positively to ticular. As part of this campaign, WPA has recently these issues due to a lack of supporting technical The Grenfell tragedy entered into a partnership with Local Authority data and this needed to be corrected. In July, BRE put the fire safety Building Control (LABC) to promote and underpin was commissioned by WPA to implement a project of buildings into the product knowledge and awareness of flame retard- to get to grips with the information gap and make public spotlight as ant enhanced wood to LABC staff, building control the WPA the top authority on indoor-air quality data never before, officers and the designers, developers and contrac- for treated wood. tors who are LABC customers. A range of communication activities are planned over the next two years Preservative treated wood priorities including bespoke articles and publications and on- focus on quality assurance line CPDs and videos. At its annual conference in April, the WPA an- “The WPA position on flame retardant treatment nounced the results of market research carried out for wood is based on a simple premise,” says Steve in collaboration with other trade associations. The Young. “The only effective means to achieve the results highlighted that low levels of understanding required fire performance standard or CPR compli- about pre-treated wood specification and quality/ ance for a [timber] component is to use a proven fitness for purpose characterised the supply chain. flame retardant applied by a quality assured factory “Supply chain knowledge has been a perennial issue applied process. There are no short-cuts to achiev- in the timber industry for as long as I can remem- ing Euroclass fire performance standards.” ber.” says Steve Young who confirms that WPA is committed to working with Confor, TTF and Wood Building Regulations Review Campus on activities to help address this over the The WPA believes that the independent review of next 12 months. Building Regulations relating to fire currently under- On treated wood performance the WPA Bench- way may well result in changes that affect the use mark is a quality assurance scheme designed to of wood. WPA Technical Director Gordon Ewbank confirm that an individual piece of wood has been confirms that WPA wants to see changes that will treated correctly for its end use as specified by Brit- require greater diligence in the specification and use ish Standard BS 8417. “This is an independent, highly of flame retardant treatments. He says: “WPA has credible, verification of treatment quality and fitness responded strongly to this reviews call for evidence for purpose of an individual product like a fence and our submission sets out clearly the proven long- post” says Steve who added that the scheme would term performance qualities of factory applied flame be further enhanced in 2018 by the introduction retardant treatments and requirement for on-site of a ‘performance bond’ for treated wood used in verification of compliance with standards and CPR ground contact applications. declarations of performance.” Steve Young emphasises that the same principles www.wood-protection.org

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 37 The Ultimate Post Driver for the professional fencer

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BASF Wolman treatments get WPA approval

BASF Wolman has recently been granted approval Wood Protection chemicals for industrial use to for its vacuum pressure treatment wood preserva- protect timber against wood destroying fungi and tives Wolmanit® CX-8WB and Wolmanit® CX-8F by insects, extending the life cycle and thus further in- the UK’s Wood Protection Association (WPA). creasing the sustainability of timber. The approval is linked to a thorough check of www.basf.com/wolman the wood preservatives efficacy based on the high- performance requirements of the WPA Approval Scheme. Dr. Stephan Breyne, Regional Sales Manager for BASF Wolman’s UK and Nordic regions, highlights the importance of the registration: “We are delighted in having received the WPA approval for Wolmanit® CX-8WB and Wolmanit® CX-8F. The approval underlines the outstanding efficacy of our CuHDO-based wood preservatives which fulfill the strict approval specifications of the WPA. This is an important step to further enhance high quality treatment in the UK and acknowledges the importance of the WPA Approval Scheme.” With these approvals, all of Wolman’s wood preservatives registered and marketed in the UK are now listed under the WPA Approval Scheme. BASF Wolman GmbH is part of the Construction Chemicals Division of BASF. The company devel- ops, manufactures and distributes high performance

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CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 39 ADVERTORIAL

• TANALITH contains tried and tested biocide actives to Ensuring Compliance provide the broadest range of protection against decay and insect attack. round 85 years ago the TANALITH brand of wood • Only TANALITH preservatives incorporate innovative and preservatives was first introduced to provide an award winning BARamine application technologies to assuredA and reliable long term protection against decay deliver premium treatment and long term protection results. and insect attack for a wide range of construction and Andy continued, ‘The Lonza regulatory team provides a vital landscaping timbers. ‘behind -the-scenes’ service. To make sure our current and Today TANALITH is a tried, tested and trusted protection for future products are used in a safe and responsible manner and our modern timbers across global markets. And this trusted to keep our customers ahead of the ever changing regulatory performance and the confidence it brings to timber treatment requirements across all of our markets, we have a team of companies and their end customers is even more important experienced regulatory and legal experts directly involved in a as regulatory factors are increasingly influencing the wood wide range of industry bodies.’ protection industry. ‘The wood preservation industry is highly regulated through Andy Hodge, marketing director on Lonza Wood Protection a range of governmental organisations that can impact both explains, ‘The Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) now drives locally and at EU level. We cannot underestimate the power the make-up of our future wood preservatives with increasing of such legislation and compliance is a critical aspect of our pressures on the palette of effective biocidal actives that are product management. As a global leader in biocides and wood available to wood preservative suppliers.’ protection technologies, Lonza is ideally placed to keep our ‘One typical example is Boron – a traditional ingredient in customers abreast of, and respond to, the increasing scope many wood preservative products but now increasingly under and complexity of such regulations.’ pressure from both a health and environmental aspect.’ ‘Lonza’s aim has always been to provide our customers with tried, tested and proven wood preservative products that will not only meet our customers’ current requirements but to be adaptable to meet their future needs.’ ‘The latest TANALITH wood preservatives from Lonza have all the right ingredients and proven performance to help keep our customers ahead of the regulatory game and let them plan with confidence for their different treated timber markets.’ Those credentials are impressive: TANALITH provides a • All TANALITH preservatives are boron free formulations. robust long term protection • TANALITH was the first copper based wood preservative to for ground contact timbers gain BPR approval.

REAL WORLD THINKING. TRUST TANALITH – helping to keep you ahead of the game! REAL WORLD PERFORMANCE. www.lonzawoodprotection.com/eu ADVERTORIAL

• TANALITH contains tried and tested biocide actives to WOOD SCIENCE & TREATMENT Ensuring Compliance provide the broadest range of protection against decay and insect attack. round 85 years ago the TANALITH brand of wood • Only TANALITH preservatives incorporate innovative and preservatives was first introduced to provide an award winning BARamine application technologies to assuredA and reliable long term protection against decay deliver premium treatment and long term protection results. and insect attack for a wide range of construction and Andy continued, ‘The Lonza regulatory team provides a vital Using lasers landscaping timbers. ‘behind -the-scenes’ service. To make sure our current and Today TANALITH is a tried, tested and trusted protection for future products are used in a safe and responsible manner and to improve wood our modern timbers across global markets. And this trusted to keep our customers ahead of the ever changing regulatory performance and the confidence it brings to timber treatment requirements across all of our markets, we have a team of companies and their end customers is even more important experienced regulatory and legal experts directly involved in a modification as regulatory factors are increasingly influencing the wood wide range of industry bodies.’ protection industry. ‘The wood preservation industry is highly regulated through A consortium made up of specialist companies and Andy Hodge, marketing director on Lonza Wood Protection a range of governmental organisations that can impact both institutions has received £1.2m of co-funding from explains, ‘The Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) now drives locally and at EU level. We cannot underestimate the power the UK’s innovation agency Innovate UK. The fund- the make-up of our future wood preservatives with increasing of such legislation and compliance is a critical aspect of our ing is for a project which aims to improve permeabil- pressures on the palette of effective biocidal actives that are product management. As a global leader in biocides and wood ity and processing of timbers during resin treatment. available to wood preservative suppliers.’ protection technologies, Lonza is ideally placed to keep our The consortium members are Fibre 7 UK Ltd, Mil- ‘One typical example is Boron – a traditional ingredient in customers abreast of, and respond to, the increasing scope lennium Lasers Ltd, Bangor University and Coventry many wood preservative products but now increasingly under and complexity of such regulations.’ University. pressure from both a health and environmental aspect.’ Treatment using resin is one of a growing plat- ‘Lonza’s aim has always been to provide our customers with form of wood modification technologies which can tried, tested and proven wood preservative products that will alter the properties and service life of timber for use not only meet our customers’ current requirements but to be in demanding environments or to enhance aesthet- adaptable to meet their future needs.’ ics. ‘The latest TANALITH wood preservatives from Lonza have Patterns of micro-incisions will be made in the all the right ingredients and proven performance to help keep faces of wood prior to treatment to improve pen- Close-up of a cross- our customers ahead of the regulatory game and let them plan etration of resin into wood pieces. This will enable section of pine, with confidence for their different treated timber markets.’ a greater range of timber species to be modified, seen under light Those credentials are impressive: TANALITH provides a including those growing in the UK. Since lasers are microscope. The • All TANALITH preservatives are boron free formulations. robust long term protection able to “drill fine holes”, with the appropriate pattern researchers are looking for ground contact timbers • TANALITH was the first copper based wood preservative to of incisions it is believed that an even distribution of at the dimensions of gain BPR approval. fluid can be achieved to considerable depths. the cells like this to consider its existing Significant benefits permeability, and Andy Pitman, Fibre 7’s Technical Director believes select a strategy for “this laser-drilling offers significant benefits for our the laser enhanced wood treatment process increasing the range of tim- permeable wood. bers we can employ and the section sizes we can Right: pine sections. modify.” He added, “The technology offers others needing to impregnate timbers with fluids such as wood preservatives an additional tool, since far less damage will be caused using lasers compared with mechanical incising meaning it can be used on joinery timbers. “ The project runs through to December 2019. The work at Bangor University will be carried out by Bio Composites, which provides innovation and biomaterials for industry.

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CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 41 things you need to know about Xylella fastidiosa

Forest Research scientists Ana Perez-Sierra and Joan Webber, impacts range from wilting, growth stunting and leaf scorch, to dieback and with Animal and Plant Health Agency inspectors Edward the death of entire plants. In olive trees for Birchall and Lucy Carson-Taylor, provide an update on this example, the disease starts with withering 9emerging risk to plants and trees across Europe. and desiccation of the terminal shoots, but as the damage expands through the canopy, trees collapse and die. Typically on trees such as oak, elm What is Xylella? 2 Where has the disease plane, maple (Acer spp.) and Aesculus, 1 come from? visible symptoms caused by Xylella Xylella, or more properly Xylella fastidiosa, Before the findings in Europe,Xylella fastidiosa ssp. multiplex are mainly leaf is a disease causing bacterium that can was encountered mainly in the Americas. scorch so in the USA the disease is known infect many woody plants including Subspecies fastidiosa is found in Central as bacterial leaf scorch or BLS. Some broadleaved trees. There are at least four America, North America and Taiwan, effects, however, can be more severe accepted subspecies of Xylella which where it affects citrus, grapevines and and include twig and branch dieback or attack various plant types inciting different coffee and almond plants. Subspecies growth stunting of the entire tree. The types of symptoms. They are - multiplex has mainly been found in the characteristic leaf symptoms which are • Xylella fastidiosa ssp. fastidiosa USA and probably has the widest host most visible in later summer include • Xylella fastidiosa ssp. pauca range which includes trees such as oak, browning at the leaf margins (not along • Xylella fastidiosa ssp. multiplex elm and plane. Multiplex is considered to the main veins), often with a yellow edge • Xylella fastidiosa ssp. sandyi pose the greatest risk to trees in the UK. to the browned areas. However, other Until recently, Xylella was only known disorders can cause similar symptoms (see from the Americas and Taiwan, but it first What does Xylella do to Disorders box). became notorious in Europe following 3 infected plants? reports of the rapid decline and death of The bacterium invades the water 4 How does Xylella ancient olive trees in the Apulia region transporting xylem vessels in plants, spread? of southern Italy in 2013. X fastidiosa was blocking water movement and causing In the natural environment Xylella is confirmed as the cause and the subspecies symptoms that initially resemble water exclusively transmitted by insects such as identified asX fastidiosa ssp. pauca. Now stress. Depending on the susceptibility of leafhoppers and froghoppers which feed around a million trees in southern Apulia affected plants and the Xylella subspecies, on xylem fluid. There are various insect are affected by the disease, referred to as Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS). Subsequently other Xylella outbreaks in Europe have been found in France, Spain and Germany (see Timeline) with a wide range of plant species affected. In addition to X fastidiosa ssp. pauca causing OQDS in Italy, subspecies fastidiosa and multiplex have also been found in other European countries. To control this bacterial pathogen which is now treated as a quarantine pest, stringent measures are in place. All EU Member States are required to eradicate any outbreaks, or if that is impossible, to prevent further spread. Figure 1 Olive quick decline syndrome (left) Early Xylella fastidiosa symptoms (branch wilting) on an olive tree in September 2014; (right) symptom development on the same tree by May 2016. (Courtesy of Donato Boscia from CNR-IPSP, Italy)

Xylella timeline 2013 2015 2016 (July) 2016 (October) 2017 (August) 2017 (June) X fastidiosa X fastidiosa ssp. X fastidiosa Infected almond Grapevines were X fastidiosa ssp. The most recent ssp. pauca multiplex identified ssp. fastidiosa trees were found also found to multiplex was figures from first confirmed affecting several confirmed in a on Mallorca and be affected on found on the Europe suggest in causing plant species German glasshouse then other affected Mallorca. The Spanish mainland around 150 shrub devastation to in France and on an oleander hosts on Ibiza and Balearics now have (south of Valencia) and tree species olive plantations in Corsica. plant and then Menorca. many outbreaks on Prunus dulcis have been infected. southern Italy. on Rosmarinus, involving three (almond). Erysimum and subspecies of X Streptocarpus. fastidiosa.

42 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK species in Britain that could become Figure 2 Xylella bacterial leaf scorch symptoms on tree foliage (left) American sycamore vectors if Xylella was introduced, including (Platanus occidentalis); (centre) English oak (Quercus robur); (right) elm. (Courtesy of the common froghopper (meadow Theodore D. Leininger, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org, John Hartman, University of spittlebug). Although these insects Kentucky, Bugwood.org and Sandra Jensen, Cornell University, Bugwood)org) generally only fly short distances they can be moved much further by the wind. As they feed, they pick up the bacterium from Disorders with similar symtoms infected plants and pass it onto healthy plants. Movement in trade of infected Several disorders produce symptoms similar to those caused by Xylella fastidiosa. plants also aids disease spread. • Horse chestnut trees commonly suffer from a fungal disease which causes a brown leaf blotch with a yellow halo. The horse chestnut leaf miner also damages foliage but 5 How likely is it that Xylella might causes an inter-veinal browning of leaves rather than marginal browning. establish? • Elms suffer from Dutch elm disease which also causes wilting and browning of foliage. Xylella has not yet been found in the UK, • Plane trees suffer from a fungus called anthracnose which causes twig death and leaf but if it arrives at least one subspecies is blight. Powdery mildew can also cause yellowing and distortion of young plane leaves. likely to be able to survive and establish • Drought stress can cause cupping and browning at the leaf margins. most probably in the warmer parts of the UK, especially in regions with minimal frost episodes. Xylella fastidiosa ssp. multiplex 7 What happens if Xylella is 8 Good practice to combat which infects various forest tree genera found in UK? Xylella is active in temperate regions of North An outbreak in the UK could lead to • If importing plants, ensure that plant America. destruction of host plants within 100 m passports arriving with host plants are and a 5 km movement ban for ‘specified’ correct and keep the passports to aid 6 What are we doing plants for five years. Any findings will dealt trace back if necessary. to prepare? with to reflect risk and evidence of spread. • Source from known suppliers or The Forestry Commission undertakes Where Xylella is found on a plant and visit suppliers to view their procedures, targeted annual surveys of susceptible the disease has spread or there is risk biosecurity arrangements and the plants tree species as part of the surveillance that spread has occurred, then a 5 km they grow. See web resources. activities against X fastidiosa. The Animal demarcated area is required - the size and • Ensure imported plants originate from and Plant Health Agency (APHA) also how long it remains in place will depend and are sourced from disease free areas. conducts official surveys forX fastidiosa on a risk assessment. For regularly updated details on affected >> and works with businesses which import If infected plants are recently arrived susceptible plant species. Landscapers, but vectors carrying Xylella are not designers, retailers and anyone directly found, then a demarcated area is not importing plants are now subject to the needed. Plant Health Services will require same stringent requirements as growers destruction of the infected plants and any and suppliers. Prior to the movement of nearby potential hosts will probably have all potential Xylella ‘host plants’ across to be destroyed as well. the EU they must have been officially For isolated outbreaks resulting from inspected and be accompanied by a plant introductions of infected plants where passport to show they have been sourced there is robust evidence that spread has from disease free areas/sites. High risk not occurred and other actions are taken, hosts such as Coffea, Lavandula dentata, the buffer zone width may be reduced Nerium oleander, Olea europaea, Polygala to 1 km and restrictions revoked after a myrtifolia and Prunus dulcis have extra minimum of 12 months. requirements. Figure 3 Laboratory processing of tree foliage samples at Forest Research for the detection of Xylella fastidiosa (Forestry Commission).

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 43 Suppliers of new and ex demo forestry, fencing & firewood machinery

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>> areas, known plant hosts and legislation, Ash dieback update Knowledge Transfer to the processing and see web resources. Since it was first discovered in County sale of first thinnings and firewood. There • Isolate or quarantine new plant batches Leitrim in October 2012, Ash dieback has are 2,000 owners now officially registered and monitor them during the growing been confirmed in 384 forest plantations, with Producer Groups which represents season for any symptoms – whilst not and is now present in every county in the about 20% of all private forest owners. a legal requirement it is good practice Republic. These were the official figures at Some of the groups have employed for- to place ‘imported’ hosts of Xylella in a 31/7/2017 but there has been many reports esters to advise owners on planting, man- quarantine area – ideally some distance from forestry consultants of new outbreaks agement etc. which has been a cause of away from other host plants and under in August, September and October. concern for some forestry consultants and physical protection if possible. If an In response to the dramatic rate of in- companies due to the fact that the groups outbreak is confirmed all ‘host’ material crease in incidents of the disease, the For- have received state funding from the Rural within 100m will be destroyed. est Service introduced a more pragmatic Development Programme and some are • For contractors/designers, ensure that policy for the removal and treatment of the now effectively in competition with private plants are ordered early and monitor infected ash crops this year. sector businesses. for disease in a low risk area before final The previous one-size-fits-all which One of the first groups to get estab- planting. stipulated 100% clearance and disposal of lished was the Donegal Woodland Owners • Label and keep records of all received all material by burying in pits or trenches Co-Op which markets itself as a wood sup- batches of plants including where they (unless it was fit for firewood) has been ply co-operative actively involved in thin- came from and when. Also maintain modified by the introduction of a three cat- ning and sales of firewood, and which has records of pesticide treatments. egory classification system with associated being pro-active in promoting the use of • Destroy old or unusable plants. requirements: woodfuel in Donegal. Another progressive • Comply with the UK national • Class 1: <7m top height group is the Irish Wood Producers which requirements to notify the UK Plant Health Remove all ash trees has 650 members based in Wexford, Kilk- Service about certain species of plants • Class 2 > 7m < 15m top height or 18cm enny and Laois. under the ‘EU Plant and Tree notification DBH or 25 years old scheme’. Remove infected individual trees Afforestation outturn 2017 • Class 3 >15m top height or 18cm DBH or There is a real probability that the af- 25 years old forestation target of 7000ha will not be If you suspect a plant is Consultant produces Management Plan achieved in 2017 unless there is an unprec- 9 affected by X fastidiosa for owner which may or may not include edented level of planting in the final two Suspected X fastidiosa outbreaks must partial removal. months of the year. To date approximately be reported to the relevant Plant Health The requirement to bury all infected ma- 4250ha have been planted and realistical- Service authority: terial is now optional with onsite windrow- ly a final outturn of 5500ha would be an • For Forestry Commission use the Tree ing now permitted. excellent achievement at this stage. Many Alert form: http://www.forestry.gov. Site clearance grants of E1500/ha are reasons have been put forward for the uk/treealert available for Classes 1 and 2, with a replant- drop in in planting levels, from high pric- • For England and Wales, contact your ing grant of E3300/ha for a conifer replace- es for land leasing, expansion in the dairy APHA Plant Health and Seeds Inspector ment crop, and E5000/ha for a broadleaf sector post-quota removal, sterilisation or the PHSI Headquarters, Sand Hutton, species. In addition the existing Broadleaf of large area for environmental reasons York. Tel: 01904 405138 or email: Thinning Grant of E750/ha can be availed where no planting is permitted, higher lev- [email protected] of by owners in Class 2 and 3 where the els of bureaucracy with the Forest Service, • For Scotland, contact the Scottish partial felling of infected trees is planned. and the new requirement to erect site no- Government’s Horticulture and With an estimated 20,000ha of ash tices on the land where a licence to plant Marketing Unit by email: planted in the Republic between 1994 and is being sought, and the new mechanism [email protected] 2011 growers and foresters will be dealing which allows objections from the public • For Northern Ireland, contact the with the consequences of Ash Dieback for to the issuing of planting licences. Even DAERA Plant Health Inspection many years to come. though the new afforestation licence re- Branch: Tel: 0300 200 7847 email: quirements were only introduced in June [email protected] Forestry producer/owner groups 2017, there has been 15-20 objections to It is a major indication of how the private the issuing of new licences by members of forest industry in Ireland is maturing, and the public which does not augur well for now entering a new phase, that Forestry the future. producer/owner groups which commenced in the mid-noughties have become firmly Timber Prices established. This development can rightly Timber prices have remained steady FTN WEB RESOURCES be regarded as a landmark one for the pri- throughout 2017 with roadside prices cur- Find links for: vate forest industry in Ireland. rently averaging: E Guidance on high risk hosts The Forestry Division of TEAGASC the • Commercial sawlog: 72 E Information on affected areas, state agency with responsibility for Agri- • Pallet: €46 E hosts and legislation cultural R&D in Ireland were instrumental in • Pulp: 27 Additional information on UK starting and organising the various groups Demand is strong for all grades although Plant health nationwide, and there are now 20 plus pallet roadside prices have softened a lit- www.confor.org.uk groups covering the entire country with tle from since the first quarter of 2017. varying degrees of involvement from basic www.kestrelforestry.ie

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 45 TREE HEALTH

Fertility control helps tackle grey menace

by Bob Cartwright , UK Squirrel Accord the vaccine and delivery system. The meeting also heard emerging evidence that grey squirrels, already n 2014, DEFRA and Forestry Commission Eng- notorious for bark stripping could, in the process, be land published their Policy and Actions for Grey spreading some imported tree diseases such as Ash Squirrels and England’s Woodlands1. They put dieback and Oak wilt. Ithe annual cost of grey squirrel damage to our The potential game changer is a novel formula- broadleaved and coniferous woodlands at between tion that would deliver the immuno-contraceptive £6m and £10m. How many commercial enterprises orally through bait treated with sporopollenin exine can afford that cost each year yet remain profitable? capsules (SpECs). The bait is likely to be in paste For most parts of Britain this would be reason form, delivered through grey-only feed hoppers. enough to look beyond traditional trapping and Laboratory tests are initially examining the effec- shooting as ways to control greys. But the 2014 re- tiveness of the contraceptive and the take-up of bait port also noted how greys squirrels out-compete from the hopper. If these tests and the succeeding our native red squirrels. Greys spread squirrel pox captive and field trials prove successful an applica- virus too, a disease almost invariably fatal to reds tion will follow to register the vaccine for wider use. but which leaves the greys unaffected. The diaspora Once eventually approved, the scientists still stress of greys since their 1870s introduction from America that the vaccine will never replace trapping and – and the explosion in numbers now estimated to shooting and the Accord and APHA will be mount- exceed at least 3.5m – means that red populations, ing a parallel programme to raise public awareness. particularly in England, have become confined to But if effective, the vaccine should secure a crash in isolated populations. They are genuinely threatened the national grey population that, with comple- with extinction. mentary control measures, could contain In 2015, on the initiative of HRH Prince Charles, and then reverse their march across 32 organisations, including Confor, signed the Unit- the UK. ed Kingdom Squirrel Accord. Its aims are to bring If the vaccine isn’t the sin- a concerted and coordinated approach to securing gle silver bullet, are there in- the future of our red squirrels and woodlands; and novations in trapping that controlling the introduced grey squirrel. Earlier this improve cost-effectiveness? year, the Accord, now 35-strong, commissioned a APHA has recently re-test- five-year, £1million research programme by the Gov- ed the Good Nature trap, ernment’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). a less labour intensive sys- The objective? To create and deliver an immunocon- tem than the usual live and traceptive vaccine that will control grey squirrels’ kill traps. While only useful fertility. The Accord’s Autumn 2017 Meeting in Oc- in non-red squirrel areas, they tober2, held at the APHA’s headquarters near York emit a scent that lures the crea- heard of good progress on laboratory-based trials. ture into the trap and triggers an Field trials will follow, then applications to register instantly lethal gas-propelled piston

46 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK Greys threaten both our woodlands – and our native red squirrel © Sarah McNeil © Sarah into the animal. All being well, the trap will be added unteers deploy the hoppers and replenish stocks of to the approved list by summer 2018. Gradually, new treated bait? Or will the role be confined to licensed REFERENCES tools are being added to the toolbox. Together they pest operatives? 1. Grey Squirrels and England’s Woodlands, 2014, DEFRA and should make woodland planting more profitable, At this stage, we should congratulate the UK Forestry Commission England pest control more cost effective, and a future for our Squirrel Accord for commissioning the research. For 2. UK Squirrel Accord and Royal Forestry Society Autumn much-loved red squirrels more secure. the first time there is a realistic prospect of anaf- Meeting 2017 The UK Squirrel Accord and APHA have pro- fordable and effective solution. A solution that offers 3. Grey Squirrel Fertility Control duced a regularly updated Frequently Asked Ques- real hope for the health and welfare of our wood- Programme FAQs v 4.0 tions document3 to keep interested parties abreast lands – and our precious red squirrels. of the research programme’s progress. At this stage, many questions inevitably remain to be answered. FTN WEB RESOURCES Will the vaccine prove effective? Can we be sure the hopper will prevent access by red squirrels? The Links to the references (right) can be research will answer these questions. But then, if it found in FTN web resources at does get the green light, will the vaccine and hop- www.confor.org.uk per be affordable? Can landowners and trained vol-

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CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 47 DIVERSIFICATION

Alternative conifers: different perspectives

ast Lothian-based Alba Trees Plc – the UK’s largest container grown forest nursery – host- Eed a meeting of the Royal Scottish Forestry Society on 05 October to discuss the increasingly relevant topic of ‘alternative conifers’. Although billed as ‘The Nursery Persepective’, a number of speakers from across the forestry industry were in attendance to give their views on the use of these species.

Alternative conifers for Scotland: past record and future opportunities Dr Scott McG. Wilson stressed the need to diversify the current stocking mix was discussed and some of the reasons given were to increase resilience to the emerging threat of pest and disease, to take account of future climate change, to facilitate silvicultural diversification and to meet the increasing demand for external timber cladding for use in construction. Scotland has a long record of introducing and testing additional species, for example in arboreta, forest gardens and scientific trials. Effective silviculture has been established for Douglas fir and Norway upscale alternative conifer production in case there Picture: www.pinterest.co.uk/ spruce. Scottish forestry has some experience of is insufficient demand from the market. source/itascagreenhouse.com/ western hemlock, wester red cedar, Serbian spruce, Additional problems include the sourcing of grand fir and noble fir, however, further trialling is seed and seed costs. These costs, in addition to a required as well as provenance and silvicultural in- high proportion of crop failures and the increased vestigations. There are other species present, but time required on the nursery does mean that some these are less well understood and include coastal alternative conifer species are considerably more redwood, Pacific silver fir and Japanese cedar (read expensive than other commercial plants. For exam- more on p19) and cypress. ple, seed grown Sitka spruce is sold at an average Scott identified that these ‘alternative’ coniferous price of £0.24 per plant. Grand fir sells for £0.40 and species display options for use on more sheltered, coastal redwood for £0.70. better drained and fertile sites of lower slopes and If the market exists, the nurseries will do what valley bottoms in addition to Sitka as part of the they can to supply the required plants – but future species mix. Scott closed by stating that tree breed- research in the following areas is required: ing and provenance trials continue to be important • UK seed sources versus imported seed sources and that nurseries should focus on these species, • Understanding adaptation and performance of but more knowledge needs to be gathered amongst introduced species foresters and the processing sector. • Biosecurity risks of new species • Alternatives to seed production. Nursery perspective on alternative conifers A forester’s perspective Alba Trees Managing Director Rodney Shearer stat- Andrew MacQueen, Forest Manager, Tilhill Forestry, ed that the nursery has grown a number of ‘alterna- raised the question forest managers should be ask- tive conifers’ over the years and continues to do so ing themselves – “how do we do alternatives well”, to meet the demands of forest managers interested rather than “should we, or shouldn’t we.” in diversifying their planting stock. Andrew discussed how alternative conifer spe- Of the 9,338,252 trees sold by Alba in sales year cies have a lot to offer, but that they cannot be 2016-17, 5,481,811 (58.7%) of these were conifers. Of shoe-horned onto unsuitable sites – these species all conifers sold, over 85% were Scots pine or Sitka can perhaps be used in conjunction with Sitka, but spruce – meaning that a limited percentage of the only if site conditions are adequate. There needs to nursery’s sales were made up of alternative conifer be a move back to a greater focus on silvicultural species. skills and techniques that puts the right plants in the Despite some interest, nurseries are reluctant to right areas, versus a blanket usage of Sitka on better >>

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>> ground where alternative conifers or even productive hardwoods could be used.

Public/Forest Enterprise perspective Alan Gale (Resilience Manager, Forest Enterprise Scotland) outlined the Forest Enterprise Scotland’s land management planning process and introduced the group to the rationale behind FE’s restocking species choice. The public forestry sector has different aims to the private trade – FES has to strive to meet the Scottish Government’s ambitions as well as ensuring a supply of productive timber.

Suitability of alternative conifers for construction grade timber Dr Steven Adams (Reasearch Fellow, Centre for Wood Science and Technology, Edinburgh Napier University) summarised the current knowledge about the properties of the candidate species, compared to Sitka and detailed what the industry is doing to get more information about that. Considerable work has been done by the Stra- tegic Integrated Research in Timber (SIRT) group since 2003 on testing the properties of tree species for construction grade timber. Douglas Fir has been identified as fairly suitably, while a recent paper by ments from the 1930s and are looking to select Attendees of the RSFS Forest Research has demonstrated the qualities of stands (and individuals within stands) to start a meeting held at Alba noble fir, western hemlock and western red cedar. breeding programme. Trees nursery on 05 Testing is also being carried out on silver fir, Japa- Where are the good stands? Steve noted that October 2017 nese cedar and Serbian spruce. it was critical to be vigilant when collecting seed Steven advised that a timber species survey has from small, obsure stands – to ensure that individu- been conducted amongst timber processors who als aren’t related. Genetic markers can be used to were asked to give their opinions on various alterna- identify this. tive species. The results of this survey are awaiting Seed orchards could be created (by selecting in- analysis, but may be useful. Steven ended on an individual good trees from various stands). This isn’t teresting note. Why not consider productive hard- always guaranteed, but should be an improvement woods, i.e. birch, sycamore? on the native range. Genetic testing can be carried out to establish if they are really better and, if so, Plant Breeding seed can be collected and grown on in the nursery. Dr Steve Lee (Science Group & Programme Leader, It was noted, however, that this process was very ex- Forest Research) discussed the importance of the pensive. best adapted seed source and advised that their Tree breeding and selection is likely to be low key had been limited work carried out in the breeding of unless there is a major cash injection or significant alternative conifers. He posed the question “do we interest in a certain species. know best provenance?” www.albatrees.co.uk Forest Research are revisiting historic experi- www.rsfs.org

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Japanese Red Cedar Pentland Bio mass’s New Mu s-Ma x WT1 0 DLK o ut on it’s first job up in Scotland ‘The Azores’ experience PentThlaisndchBipiopemass’s New Mus-Max WT10 DLK out on it’s first job up r has a CAT C 18 e ngine, Penz 1 2L C Based on his experience on the Azores abin Crane & a hig er ma in Scotland h spec trail- Islands, engineering consultant Daniel nufactured by DOW Mu s-Max in the UK Estrella offers a ‘biopic’ of a tree that ThisPentlandchipper Biomass’shas a CAT CNew18 e Mus-Maxngine, Pe nWT10z 12LC DLKabin outCr aonne it’s& a firsthigh jobspe cuptr inail- seems to be promising as a timber species in the UK Scotland. Thiser chippermanufac hasture da bCATy DO C18W Mu engine,s-Max inPenzthe 12LUK Cabin Crane ryptomeria grows in relative warm and and a high spec trailer manufactured by DOW Mus-Max in the UK humid climates with high precipitation and is very shade tolerant. In terms of soil Ctype it does not show to have specific requirements. In the Azores it grows in very steep terrains, usually between the altitude of 300 to 800 meters, where temperatures are cooler, more similar to South England and Wales. It is a fast growing species with a very narrow sap- wood. Annual growth rates in the Azores average to 21 m3 per hectare which produces an estimated 630 m3 per hectare when reaching the legal felling age of 30 years. This species reaches heights of 35 to 45 meters with dbH of 60 - 80cm; however, it can reach diameter of up to two meters in older trees. In dbH of 30 cm. Presently, the older stocks available are A Cryptomeria passes are used in more windy and exposed areas aged 40 to 50 years old in western parts of the main plantation in the and larger compasses used in more protected ar- island and of 60 years in the Eastern part. The main Azores eas. It is common to use a shorter compass in the island holds about 75% of all stocks. outer perimeter of the plantation so it could work as a wind curtain for the inner trees. It is a delicate Tree characteristics balance to meet. The tree is characterised by a straight fust and small Ground maintenance after plantation is under- diameter branches. Three distinct tree varieties exist taken twice a year for the first two years and once with the heartwood varying from a pinkish color (the a year for the following three to four years. Pruning most common), a reddish brown and a dark brown. should be undertaken three times at heights 2/3m, Trees with pinkish color heartwood are lighter and 4/5m and 6/7m. have less mechanical resistance than trees with the Thinning should happen three times, respecting darker heartwood which stronger and denser. How- minimum periods of at least four years, until the tree ever, no significant differences have been noted in reaches about half the legal felling age, to reduce dimension stability. trees to a density of about 700 units/ha. The tree’s density averages 330 kg/m3 at 12% hu- Although these are the guidelines for an efficient midity but these values can vary considerably with production, they are not always followed. It is com- many factors, from tree to tree and within a tree, mon to find old stocks and even new stocks where from 280 to 380 kg/m3. Recent approved guidelines trees are left to self prune and thinning is not man- for visual grading of Cryptomeria, requires, among aged but rather happens in a natural form, result- other factors, density to be of 310 kg/m3 in order to ing in plantations with much higher tree densities of be classified as a C14, in terms of mechanical resist- 1900 trees/ha. In this case the norm is to find many << New Brantner Push-Off ance class. trees of small diameter which do not have commercial value. Silviculture The present tendency is to use larger compasses Reproduction of trees is achieved trough planta- of 2.2m to attenuate the thinning process. Cryp- tion of elements obtained trough seeding. However, tomeria, as many other trees, is susceptible to the plants can be obtained via rooting of stem cuttings. Armillarea mellea fungus disease and using these New B rantner Pu Plantation occurs when elements are at the age of larger compasses makes it more difficult for the dis- sh-Off Tel:0 two. In more exposed areas, plantation could occur ease spread from tree to tree. 844 8 007322 at the age of three, although this is a more difficult process. Germination rates of the seeding process Timber uses Tel: 0844 8007322info@woodfuelma chinery.co.uk usually vary between 35% to 50%. Japanese Red Cedar (Cryptomeria Japonica) com- [email protected] Tree spacing varies from 1.5 to 2.2m. Tighter commonly known by Cryptomeria was introduced in the >> CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 53 New Brantner Push-Off Tel:0844 8007322 [email protected] SILVICULTURE

>> Azores in mid-XIX century as an ornamental tree. Today it occupies almost two-thirds of all production forestry at an estimated 8572ha according to the last Forestry Inventory (2007). Along many decades, due to its abundance, its timber was used for a variety of applications. First- grade quality Cryptomeria has been used in traditional building in roof structures, wood ceilings, windows and doors and in carpentry. Second grade quality produce finds use as roof underlay, in con- crete form work and some in field fencing. More recently, for the last 15 years, it has also been used in milled log homes and in the fabrication of wood laminated panels.

Durability Cryptomeria is well respected for its natural durability, which makes it a potential alternative to other similar species in the UK market. It produces lightweight timber with a high strength-to-weight ratio and very good dimensional stability. It’s easy to work with and also glues and stains very well. It has a distinct and pleasant cedar type odor. ering shorter rotation periods. The other main ad- Red cedar is an easy timber to process however it vantage is its natural durability, not common in most does require cutting tools to be sharpened as it has softwoods commercialised in larger volumes, which a soft surface. makes it ideal for use in cladding and in the con- In general one of Cryptomeria main advantages struction of milled log homes among other applica- would be its fast grown potential, specially consid- tions.

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A very delicate HARDWOODS Sawlogs The major talking point in the hardwood market has been the Europe-wide increase in oak sawlog prices finally having balance a pronounced impact on the UK market. It is well documented that for the last to nine months before the sawn timber in- three years, oak prices have been increas- TIMBER crease began and secondly, log prices have ing throughout Europe but 2017 has seen AUCTIONS risen faster than the sawn prices. very strong prices and shortages of sup- MARKET This has happened because supply has ply. REPORT been out of balance with demand. Most Croatia has banned the export of of the larger processors have been stead- round oak logs to try and stimulate its Oliver Combe ily increasing their production in 2016 and domestic processing sector, EUTR regu- Timber Auctions 2017; despite some smaller mills closing the lations appears to have reduced sup- overall demand has increased. In addition, plies from the Ukraine whilst a number small roundwood demand has picked up in of factors appear to have reduced overall the second half of 2017 as Kronospan are supplies from Germany, France and the SOFTWOODS back to full capacity, new capacity at Ash- lowlands. At the same time, whilst de- ington comes on line and the Verdo plant mand for oak across Europe relentlessly at Grangemouth has started up under new increase, there is improving demand from The second half of 2017 has been charac- ownership. All of this has occurred at the China, Vietnam, Malaya and other Asian terised by a steady and consistent increase same as most of the established domestic countries for all grades and qualities with in demand for almost all UK produced tim- particular demand for good planking oak. ber products, this has finally lead to upward FACTORS IMPACTING In the UK, there is good demand for movement in end product prices. Whilst ON SUPPLY oak at a time when there is less mate- this has not been dramatic, it has begun rial available from Europe, the price is in- There appears to be less volume and at a time of year when processors are 1 creasing and the quality is variable. With available in the South and Central normally building stocks, winter 2017 has increased interest from end users in ‘Eng- England forcing mills there to look seen gaps in some mills inventories and lish oak’, there is now really strong de- North and West for their supplies. even shortages of some key pallet board mand for home-grown oak parcels. There sizes. 2 The shakeup of long-term contract has been a strong increase in prices dur- The Achilles heel of the sawn timber arrangements in Wales has increased ing Q2 and Q3 of 2017 which has carried market has for much of 2017 been the kiln competition to buy on the open market on into the winter. dried and graded carcassing market which at a time when private supplies have As of end of November 2017, prices for has stubbornly refused to accept price in- been sporadic. oak are very strong and a quick summary creases. However, Q4 of 2017 saw some of recent sale prices is shown below (all aggressive pricing by Swedish and German 3 North East England and Eastern prices per hoppus foot at roadside) producers who asked for a £20 per m3 in- Scotland have seen a continued • Good planking logs: £6 -9 crease, confident that volume not placed shortage of good sawlog parcels • Planking/beam oak: £5 - 8 in the UK could be diverted to the USA or leading to some very strong prices as • Beam oak: £4 - 6 Asia. This gave the domestic mills a long mills seek to secure core volume. • Fencing/landscaping oak: £3.50 - 5. awaited chance to increase their prices 4 Increased demand from the Irish The market for other species remains which they will be looking to capitalise on mills in the west of Scotland has taken subdued at the moment, but there are in spring 2018. up the potential oversupply here from reasons for longer term optimism as in- Whilst the exchange rate has helped do- the increased private sector offerings. creased global demand for legal, sustain- mestic producers through most of 2017, the able and ethical temperate hardwoods recent interest rate increase by the Bank of 5 Standing timber prices have should improve the market for species England has stabilised the pound and lat- been strong and some of the large other than oak. terly led to modest increases. institutional owners appear to have Ash has seen increased domestic in- The unseasoned market has seen a num- hit their budget income targets from terest for good quality white planking ash ber of modest price increases through 2017 selling less timber so have reduced their of 15 mid-quarter girth and larger, whilst and the processors will be looking for fur- total felling volumes the export market remains interested in ther increase in spring 2018 provided de- both white and olive second quality ash mand continues. producers are running at or near full capac- where quantities and access make con- So the trend for prices has started to ity and the seasonal upturn in biomass de- tainer loading viable. move upward but there is a strong BUT mand kicks in. So overall demand is strong Beech has also seen a slight increase here! The price increases have in no way and appears to be increasing. in domestic demand and also some inter- compensated for the steady increase in log Demand has exceeded supply for most est from the export market although the prices seen throughout 2017. Processors of 2017 leading to steadily increasing stand- overall volumes required are small rela- have been hit hard by two factors: firstly, ing timber prices. Timber prices have now tive to oak and ash. the log prices increase has been running six >>

56 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK The export demand for poplar has significantly although there are still excep- and 2016 and demand appears to be qui- slowed down in 2017 and currently there is tional prices being paid for very high qual- etly improving. There are still areas of lo- little demand for poplar so owners advised ity figured logs. A 4.5 3m figured sycamore cal shortage although on the whole prices to hold onto parcels until the market im- log (80cm+ diameter x 8.5m long) recently seem to have settled down at around £40 proves. sold at auction in France for over 60,000 to £45 per tonne at roadside for first grade The market for sycamore remains quiet, Euros to a German buyer. At today’s prices, firewood with parcels with a high ash con- with the closing of Nidd Valley sawmills this is about £12,000 per m3, at roadside. tent reaching £50 per tonne in some areas. there is little domestic demand except for There is less demand for oak firewood a few mills looking for high quality figured Firewood and this is usually between £5 and £10 per logs. The export market for figured syca- The firewood market has been quietly im- tonne cheaper than the first quality species more was also quiet last year and there proving over 2017, there does not appear (ash, beech, sycamore). is currently little sign that it will improve to be the very high stock levels seen in 2015

£ per tonne delivered to customers in £ per tonne delivered to customers in Wales, central and south England north England and Scotland Product Lower price Upper price Trend Product Lower price Upper price Trend

Log 18 £62.50 £67.50 Log 18 £62.50 £67.50

Bar 14 £50.00 £55.00 Bar / pallet 14 £42.50 £50.00

SRW £35.00 £42.00 = SRW £32.00 £38.00 = Fencing £48.00 £52.00 = Fencing £48.00 £52.00 =

H Wood firewood £45.00 £50.00 H Wood firewood £40.00 £45.00

These prices are for guidance purposes only and are based on historic market information.

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>> equalised across the mainland and whereas and may just accelerate the price increases. the South and Wales had higher prices in The desired effect for the processors GiB harnesses the first half of the year and the North and would be a stabilising of roundwood prices Scotland lagged behind there now appears and further increases in finished product power of to be parity across the UK. prices allowing them to restore profitability The net result is that particularly saw- and continue to invest in process efficiency social media mills have seen a serious erosion of their and product development. margin between sawn timber prices and Hopefully a period of stability over the log costs which has seriously reduced their next six months would allow the market Social media activity, including a Thun- profitability. to take stock of the situation (sawn timber derclap (joint Tweeting campaign), the As we now enter the seasonal slowdown prices, domestic demand, interest rates, launch of an e-postcards series, and posts in demand, processors will be looking very Brexit) and adjust accordingly and be sus- on and from multiple Grown in Britain carefully at their costs, cash flow and ca- tainable in the long term. Week events, culminated in the campaign pacity. There are already mutterings that if gaining over 2.5m ‘impressions’ - oppor- the situation does not improve then capac- tunities to view its messages promoting TIMBER AUCTIONS ity will have to be taken out of the market in British-grown wood - during the annual the winter of 2017/18. Timber Auctions will be holding celebration from 9-15 October. scheduled online timber tender and Normally, this is done by working a Grown in Britain Week was welcomed auction sales throughout 2018, all shorter week, ending overtime and extend- in by Parliamentary Under Secretary sales will be advertised on ing maintenance shutdowns, all of which www.timberauctions.co.uk of State for Biosecurity & Rural Affairs, reduce the demand for roundwood and so If you wish to discuss parcels of Lord Gardiner of Kimble, in Westminster. lead to a stabilising of log prices. timber you would like to discuss This was followed by a joint conference The situation is 2017 is unique in my ex- or for further information contact to demonstrate the commercial value of perience in that capacity restriction is being Oliver Combe on 07771 958975, woodlands, staged by Grown in Britain, talked about when sawn stocks are low and [email protected] the Forestry Commission, and the Coun- demand is relatively good, this could actu- for free independent marketing try Land & Business Association. Run- ally lead to shortages of some key products advice ning parallel but at Timber Expo, Grown in Britain partnered the British Woodwork- ing Federation to demonstrate the use of GLOBAL TRENDS British-grown hardwood and softwood in two exemplar timber windows. Grown in Britain licence-holders held their own Global consumption of softwood timber attractive market events and promotions, adding to the has increased with almost all the major for European mills week’s activities. markets increasing their demand. whilst the Canadian Grown in Britain CEO Dougal Driver China continues to be the major mills have focused their comments: “We now plan to keep up influence on the global markets; efforts on China. the momentum with our weekly ‘Old increasing wealth and rapid urbanisation Europe is steadily improving, Chestnuts’ e-postcards, a newsletter, fur- are leading to increased softwood however, North Africa continues to be ther partnerships and media activities, consumption, whilst domestic supplies difficult due to civil unrest and lack of to maintain and expand the good wood are becoming increasingly constrained. finance; fortunately the North American business represented by timber that’s To feed this insatiable demand, and Asian markets have more than Grown in Britain.” increasing volumes are drawn from the compensated for the North African rest of the world. Historically, Russia and shortfall. Asia were key suppliers but we now see Overall, whilst supply has increased, increasing volumes from Canada, Asia, demand has increased further which has the Pacific Rim and recently Western lead to rising finished product prices European producers. and increasing log prices in some areas Russia’s sawmill capacity steadily where supplies are keenly contested. increases, following a period of heavy There is still uncertainty in the UK investment in new processing capacity, due to Brexit, rising interest rates and particularly in Siberia and the North latterly increases in timber prices. So West. Much of this volume heads east to whilst demand and volumes have been China with the balance being absorbed increasing, there are now concerns that by the domestic market. higher prices and increased costs will The North American market remains stagnate or even reduce overall demand strong and has seen record sawn timber next year. If the pound remains weak prices over the last couple of months, and other global markets continue to as short-term demand for hurricane develop then the importers will look rebuilding and the longer-term impact to move surplus volume elsewhere of the US tariffs on Canadian timber so although UK demand may slacken have come into effect. one would hope that prices will remain Pictured: Lord Gardiner of Kimble The USA has in 2017 become a very stable. (right) in Westminster with Dougal Driver, CEO of Grown in Britain.

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 59 ● Mulching mowers from 10HP-500HP ● Tough & versatile ● Many attachments available for every forestry job Tough Tools for a Tough Job. Purchase direct from the UK Importer: t: 01892 890364 e: [email protected] Lamberhurst Engineering Ltd Priory Farm • Parsonage Lane Lamberhurst • Kent TN3 8DS www.lameng.com MARKETS

Another sound year in the forest property market

and 1995, and extending in total to 783ha. Clearly specific sites have their own de- These substantial blocks of commercial co- velopment issues and may need substan- nifer crops approaching harvesting, were tial investment in roads and fencing. As a complemented by mixed broad-leaved broad range there have been land purchas- woodlands, rivers, small lochans and a ru- es at comfortably over £3000 per hectare ined cottage. The property achieved a sale with forestry as the objective. There is lit- price of just under £15,000 per conifer hec- tle evidence of market activity of land with tare. One of the noticeable features of the planting approval but anecdotally it can be closing date was the range of offers. This at much higher figures to reflect the secu- PROPERTY MARKET appears to be a feature of the current mar- rity of having an approved scheme. Could 2017 REVIEW ketplace where bid prices can vary widely. we see a return to the days when farmers Fenning Welstead, Another Border forest sale was Pol- secured planting approval before market- John Clegg & Co moodie near Moffat. Planted in the early ing the land? 1970s and with 200ha of mature timber to exploit this is a well located property. Wales e have reached that time However, there are some steep slopes to There has been little of note, or scale in when we gather together contend with and the market understand- Wales over the last year. At 92ha Cefn ● Mulching mowers the evidence of market ably took this into account. The sale was Creuan Isaf in Gwynedd contained a sig- Wactivity over the previous completed at a figure of around £11,500 nificant proportion of Sitka spruce dating from 10HP-500HP year. Our records indicate that over £110m per hectare. from 1978. In combination with some at- of forestry property was sold on the open The Scottish Government’s objective tractive broad leaves and an area of ground market. That’s an uplift of about 40% on of forest expansion is beginning to work without replanting obligation, this sold for ● Tough & versatile 2016. The overall area of forestry sold has through the system and there have been well in excess of guide of £10,000 per hec- remained remarkably constant, at about several farmland properties traded through tare. Off-market it is rumoured that 129ha ● Many attachments 17,500ha. However, the reason for value the year where the buyer is intent on affor- of pure 1983 spruce sold for a price in the increasing is that in 2016, the properties estation. There follows a potentially lengthy region of £11,600 per hectare. However, in available for every presented to the market were generally in application process of consultation leading comparing this with Scottish Border re- forestry job lower value parts of the country, whereas to planting approval - with no guarantee of sults, one needs to bear in mind that there 2017 has seen a return to the more com- success. It takes a degree of confidence to was a requirement for major investment in petitive, higher quality forestry properties. make these investments in land. Not only is the external and internal roading. In addition there has been a relatively high this an issue for the investor but the forest The smaller woodland market has also degree of off-market activity which, by its nursery and contracting businesses have to seen a lack of product for buyers. Prices nature, is difficult to record - but we would second guess their workload and demand per hectare achieved have varied consid- expect something in the region of £20m of for trees years in advance. erably. Well stocked spruce continues to >> woodlands to have changed hands by ne- Tough Tools gotiation.

Scotland On the commercial forestry front, the sale of the Stellar portfolio of ten forests, for a Tough Job. generated considerable interest and was successfully sold as a complete portfolio. The total area of approximately 1500ha achieved a sale price of £12.5m. The ten Purchase direct from the UK Importer: forests were of varying character and loca- t: 01892 890364 tion, from Inverness-shire to the Scottish e: [email protected] Borders, and the range of woodlands offered excellent quality commercial crops Lamberhurst Engineering Ltd alongside a mixture of amenity and long- term woodland features. Priory Farm • Parsonage Lane Perhaps the strongest indicator of the Lamberhurst • Kent TN3 8DS level of interest in commercial forestry in the Scottish Borders was the sale of Le- tham, The Hass and Broombaulks. This for- www.lameng.com est is of high quality, planted between 1987 Jed Water flowing through Lethem, The Hass and Broombaulks

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 61 Market opportunity for UK ash sawlogs Competitive market prices for quality ash sawlogs felled and at rideside Felling period 1st December 2017-28th February 2018 Specifications Minimum: 30cm mid-diameter Minumum: 3.3m length

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>> attract good interest. Broadleaved restock- Moving into Kent, the Leeds Castle wood- of Dunster Estate in Somerset. These wood- ing sites have proved less appealing to lands saw an offering of ten woods ranging lands were offered for sale by the Crown purchasers unless they are in small pack- from 5.4ha to 49.6ha. These were mainly Estate. A total area of 341ha was sold at a ages. The spread of deer across Wales is broadleaved in content, with strong areas price in the region of £15,500 per hectare. beginning to hurt the prospects of young of productive coppice. All of these woods broadleaved woods where protection from attracted good offers, with prices generally browsing may be inadequate and potential- between £9000 and £12000 per hectare. It SUMMARY ly expensive to remedy. is interesting to note the difference in market value between the woods at Redleaf and We see the forestry market to be in good England The Grove and the Leeds Castle results. The shape. There is still strong interest in The market through England now appears historic records for the former show that acquiring woodland assets. As you will to be much more sensitive to location. mid-way through the twentieth century, read elsewhere in this edition, timber Strong public access in woods is a nota- the plan for the woodlands was “to convert prices have strengthened, and we are ble deterrent for many purchasers. Pull out the oak standards and chestnut coppice, to beginning to see a resurgence in new Woodlands that have become almost pub- conifer plantations embellished with many planting proposals which at last appear lic parks in terms of walkers, horse riders, deciduous species”. Readers may draw their to have political support across all three mountain bikers, etc, struggle to sell. At the own conclusions as to the results of that countries. There is a dawning realisation quality end of the market things are differ- policy change. that we have to plant more trees if we are ent. Redleaf Wood, 21.7ha and The Grove, Counties to the north and west of Lon- to meet not only the demand for timber, 19.8ha, near Tunbridge, Kent achieved over don have seen some eye-watering prices but also our climate change and diversity £20,000 per hectare. The woods had been achieved for woods in the “right” location. targets. It is a very encouraging picture. in the same family ownership for over a Prices from £25,000 to over £40,000 per century. Almost 50 years ago these woods hectare in prized areas of Hertfordshire FTN WEB RESOURCES were noted “to be beauties of a well-man- and Buckinghamshire, have been achieved. aged forestry enterprise, predominantly These prices are well in excess of other Download the full conifer, but with just the right ingredients woods in apparently similar locations, but Forest Market of old hardwoods, coppice and mixtures, to not quite the right “hot spot”. Report 2017 at be a continuous pleasure to both humans The effect and desire to be invested in www.confor.org.uk and birds”. the right location, was reflected in the sale

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CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 63 Your new GreenMech dealers for Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Berkshire and B.A.N.E.S

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Encouraging prices but caution advised

timber on the market to support our indus- line at Inverness, and with the construc- TIMBER try, as some mills are already being forced tion equipment now departed, are keen to Your new GreenMech dealers for Wiltshire, to take out production to meet availability, fill their new log yard before the onset of MARKET rather than pay even more than they al- the Highland winter. Supplies are now be- Gloucestershire, Berkshire and B.A.N.E.S REPORT ready are for logs, which would take them ing delivered here from across Scotland Graeme Ralph further into unprofitable territory, which including regular cargoes by sea from the Euroforest would not be good news for any of us in west coast. Although the new gasification the long term. plant at Killin, north of Stirling is slightly In the small roundwood sector demand behind schedule this will be another new s the chart below illustrates, the UK is good, and as sawmills reduce capac- small roundwood outlet which will come Construction Purchasing Managers ity the co-product volumes they produce on stream in 2018. In addition, the new AIndex is still in positive territory al- will fall, meaning higher small roundwood CHP plant at Cramlington is in the commis- though it did dip below 50 earlier this year. demand to replace it. Kronospan are back sioning phase, and will come into full pro- Any number above 50 indicates growth in up and running again at normal levels af- duction early next year. Add to this good the sector with a current number of 50.8, ter their problems earlier in the year. Kent demand from all of the existing markets up from 48.1 in September. This index is a Renewable Energy are currently on target and overall the small roundwood picture is measure of all construction projects and for opening in early 2018 which will provide good. while new build housing is sustaining mo- a welcome new market for the hardwood So overall the timber market message mentum there has been a noticeable drop which has not had a market for many years is one of good demand for raw material off in major new projects feeding through. and has been difficult to manage com- from industry, with all the signs being of We await announcements in the November mercially as a result. Verdo have sold their continued cautious optimism for 2018. Best budget that might stimulate new house plants to German company Entrade and wishes for a Happy Christmas, and a busy building projects. both have now reopened producing pellets and prosperous New Year! What the chart above does illustrate and briquettes. In Scotland Norbord have very well is the fact that, compared with the successfully commissioned their new OSB www.euroforest.co.uk last time that our industry benefitted from high standing timber prices, our market is UK CONSTRUCTION PURCHASING MANAGERS INDEX currently in a much more fragile state. De- mand for logs remains very high, which is 65 driving prices to record levels, but the sawlog to sawn timber ratio, which reflects the potential for our sawmillers to make some 60 profit, is currently too high. This means that log prices are unsustainable without a rise 55 in sawn timber prices, and looking at the chart it is obvious that this is going to be a struggle unless demand rises from cur- 50 rent levels. The message to you as a grower is that there is strong log demand, prices are as good as they have been, so whilst GA Groundcare is a 45 it might be tempting to hold off for better 2012 2014 2016 Greenmech Dealer specialising prices, now really is the time to get your in professional and commercial ground care equipment. Our New whistleblower’ platform aims friendly team is on hand to assist you with machinery to expose illegal timber trade sales, hire, parts or service. A new initiative called ‘Timberleaks’ was sent, these laws and these consumers are launched this autumn by Earthsight, a UK- not being respected. Contrary to their pub- based non-profit. lic statements, many companies continue Timberleaks will be regularly exposing to import and sell wood which they should cases of suspect wood in international sup- not. By doing so, they are undercutting ply chains, especially products imported their competitors. Office: 01380 828863 and sold in the US and Europe. Both the US If you are aware of or suspect wrongdo- and EU have laws which make it an offence ing by your own company or a competitor, to import wood which was illegally sourced we encourage you to come forward. The Ash: 07881 027599 Alun: 07585 616159 overseas. Most consumers also expect their Timberleaks website provides a means to wood to have been produced sustainably do this securely and anonymously. www.gagroundcare.com and without violating human rights. At pre- www.timberleaks.org/contact CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 65 PESTICIDES NOTEBOOK COLIN PALMER

NPTC spraying certificate validity

ndustry discussions earlier in 2017 high- EXAMPLES lighted the fact that there is considerable confusion among foresters, Christ- See table opposite mas tree growers and their contractors Example 1 or rotary atomiser. Other modules such as I A tractor driver took PA1 + PA2 in 1990 PA6MC for a hand held weeedwiper will as to the validity of NPTC/City & Guilds This permits him / her to use hand held be required before using any other type certificates held – and their appropriate- equipment such as a knapsack sprayer or hand of applicator. Modules PA1 + PA2 would be ness for particular tasks. held granule applicator, but not a hand held required for tractor boom spraying, and PA1 + This confusion is entirely understand- mistblower for which a PA9 is required. PA3A for a cannon type airblast sprayer. The same would apply to Christmas tree growers. able as the initial 1987 rules were revised in Example 2 1994 and again in 2012 each time changing A forest worker took a PA1 + PA6 in 2001 Example 4 the validity parameters for new certificate He / she may also use hand held equipment A 73 year old Christmas tree grower has such as a knapsack sprayer or hand held no spraying qualifications holders. granule applicator, but not a hand held As he / she was born before 31st December The 2012 rule change was particularly mistblower for which a PA9 is required. 1964, then modules 015 + 152 will be required onerous as most, but not all hand held for most hand held uses, and 051 + 054 for Example 3 applications gained after 2012 became using a hand held mistblower. Modules 051 +

A spraying contractor took a PA1 + PA6 in 2015 053 will be required for tractor applied boom grouped under a PA6 umbrella but with NO He / she may only use a knapsack sprayer or cannon type airblast sprayers. allowance for one qualification permitting use of other application systems. This means that if you have a post 2012 PA6A, you are not permitted, for example, to use a weedwiper or stem injection/ tree thinning technique without the ap- New FR report on the integrated management propriate PA6MC or PA6INJ certificate. Pre of Hylobius abietis in UK forestry 2012 qualifications were unaffected by this change. The position was further compli- Interim Guidance on the Integrated Management of Hylobi- cated by the need for “grandfathers” to be us abietis in UK forestry - this new Note provides the latest qualified with a rather less onerous certifi- guidance on the integrated pest management of the insect cation process. Hylobius abietis. It draws on some of the key findings after It should be noted that all spray opera- 7 years of an ongoing programme of collaborative forest in- tors need a PA1 certificate in addition to dustry research on alternatives to the use of the insecticide the application certificate, unless they are cypermethrin for protecting trees from Hylobius damage. In “grandfathers” in which case a 051 certifi- addition, as a separate Appendix, it summarises knowledge cate is required - even if a PA1 is held. and guidance on the safe use of the insecticide acetami- In order to attempt to provide more prid, which is increasingly being phased in across the UK clarity the chart opposite has been devel- forest industry as an alternative to cypermethrin. oped over the summer and autumn, and www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/hylobius is based on one produced by certification professionals in liaison with NPTC/City & Kerb revival Guilds in 2016. It has been modified for the guidance of certificate holders involved in As noted in Andrew Heald’s Certification can grow away from the weedkiller. forestry and Christmas tree production. As notes (see p17), the removal of propyza- • Although overspraying of trees with an indication of the complexity of this pro- mide from FSC’s Highly Hazardous list glyphosate is ideally limited to pine cess, the table below is actually the eigth has led to renewed interest in the prod- & spruce, propyzamide can safely be revision of the original paper! uct as an alternative winter treatment sprayed over all crop species including to glyphosate. So how does it fit in the broadleaves. weeding programme? The following bul- • Propyzamide reliably controls most let points provide the main features: grasses, but is not effective on tussocks, MEMBER SERVICES • Unlike glyphosate, propyzamide has rushes and other coarse grasses. It can Pesticides helpline no foliar activity, and works purely by also have some activity on buttercup, root uptake. sorrel and docks. • Propyzamide is very sparingly solu- • There are currently over 40 propyza- If you haven’t used the service to date, ble, so requires plentiful rain to reach the mide product with approval for use in the be assured it is a free service operated weed roots, therefore the optimum tim- forest, including Kerb Flo, Kerb Granules, by Confor’s crop protection adviser ing tends to be November & December. Careca, Cohort, Proper Flo, Relva and Colin Palmer on behalf of Confor • Unlike glyphosate, propyzamide can many parallel imports and “own brand” members. Colin can be contacted 8am be sprayed in rainy weather. products sold by agchem distributors. to 8pm Mondays to Fridays on 01531 • It is essential that the herbicide has • Propyzamide is a lot more expensive 633500 (leave a message if necessary) entered the weeds while they are semi than glyphosate, but as the above notes or by email to: [email protected] dormant and before weed growth com- indicate, it nevertheless has a useful role mences in the spring, as active weeds in the vegetation control programme.

66 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 CONFOR.ORG.UK SPRAYER OPERATOR CERTIFICATES

How to use the chart: The headings identify the certificate types, and critically, the dates on which they were obtained.

Tractor / ATV Handheld Handheld Handheld NPTC Certificate Held: PA2A (i) PA6A PA6 (2012 to Grandfather (iv) Date Certificate Granted: (1987 - 1994) (ii) (1987 - 2012) current date) (iii) 051 + 052

Will my certificate (above) allow the uses below?

Applicator to be Used Typical Use

Knapsack/Rotary Weed control Yes Yes PA6A required Yes Atomiser to land

Handlance from ATV Weed control Yes Yes PA6A required Yes

Knapsack/Rotary Weed control No No PA6AW required Yes Atomiser to or near water

Hand Held Mistblowers (v) Insect control No No PA9 required 051 + 054

Stem Injection (vii) Jap. Knotweed Yes Yes PA6INJ required Yes Hatchet + glyphosate Tree thinning

Granules to land Kerb Granules Yes Yes PA6G required Yes (Hand held) over transplant

Ecoplugs Tree/stump control Yes Yes PA6PP required Yes

Weedwiper (handheld) Weed control Yes Yes PA6MC required Yes Paintbrush Cut stump

Closed cabinet (vi) Hylobius No. PA12 only No. PA12 only PA12 required 051+ 054 (forest nursery) control

Notes: (i) PA2A pre 2012 also permits use of tractor / ATV mounted rotary Unit 051 is required by all “Grandfathers” even if they hold unit PA1. atomisers (CDA) & weedwipers Unit 053 is required for tractor / ATV / mounted boomsprayers, PA3A is required for tractor mounted mistblowers. mounted mistblowers, mounted granule applicators and (ii) In 1994 the ability of PA2A holders to use PA6A equipment ceased. mounted inter row sprayers. (iii) PA6 is not a qualification in its own right, but an umbrella for all v) Unit PA9 is required for the use of hand held mistblowers, or units the individual hand held application certificates. Units in brackets (..) 051 + 054 for “Grandfathers”. indicate those units available specifically for this task, but alone will vi) “Grandfathers” using closed cabinet applications require units 051+ not be able to be used for other tasks. ie. If PA6A was taken post 2012, 054. then this qualifies the operator for knapsack & rotary sprayers only, and vii) Glyphosate labels tend to call tree thinning by hatchet and spray or would disallow (for example) use of weedwipers or Ecoplugs. paintbrush “stem injection” so PA6INJ is required for post (iv) “Grandfathers” refers to operators born before 31st December 1964 2012 candidates. However, if a paintbrush is being used then PAMC will and using sprayers on their employers or own land only. be acceptable. PA6A qualification taken 2012 onwards are not acceptable for this task.

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CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 67 F&TN CLASSIFIEDS

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With a relevant qualification you will be a professional member of the WOODLAND MANAGEMENT Institute of Chartered Foresters or be working towards membership. You will have a sound technical forestry knowledge and understanding of business practice, legislation and relevant current issues. You will be able to work on your own initiative but also as an integral part of a Wood professional land management team. Processor The candidate will have good communication and computer skills, For the Biomass Boilers will undertake forestry and arboricultural management on a range which fits on a telehandler of properties which will include budgeting and operations planning, or a 36 excavator. contract organisation and supervision, tree surveys, amenity tree management and liaison with agencies, clients and client’s staff. Travel Can take up to 14” diameter to other offices within the UK may be required. and up to 12 foot long. All done from the cab. To apply please send your CV and covering letter to Philip Kirk Please contact John by email to [email protected] or to Savills, Exchange House, T: 07966285240 Petworth GU28 0BF. Applications should be received no later than Monday 1 January 2018. www.quickfencer.com

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Taking it to the limit

he 3.5t towing capacity is rapidly becoming combination mass (GCM), or gross train weight the industry standard for pickup trucks, with (GTW), which is the maximum amount that the vehi- Tthe current Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, Nissan cle and the trailer (and all of their contents) can weigh. Navara, Toyota Hilux and VW Amarok all boasting The reason why this is important is that the manu- about their 3.5t pulling capabilities. facturers will also state the payload in the brochure However, having spoken to a number of you at next to the towing capacity, but the gross combina- the Confor Woodland Show in September, there tion mass will indicate that there is no pickup truck seems to be a lot of confusion as to how that affects that can pull its full towing capacity and carry its the payload, and what other legal duties foresters Liam Campbel,, maximum payload at the same time. In fact, they are have when towing the full load. This article aims to editor of usually nowhere near. shine some light on the subject. Professional Pickup To give you an example, we’ll take a pickup truck and 4x4 magazine, with a gross combination mass (GCM) of 5.7 tonnes How are towing capacities calculated? (or 5700kg), which is the second figure shown on on towing weights Towing limits, like gross vehicle weights, have been the vehicle’s weight plate (usually located inside the devised to make sure each vehicle is safely oper- and the law driver’s door or engine bay). ating within its capabilities. Various aspects of the According to the technical specifications, this ve- vehicle are taken into consideration by the authori- hicle also has a payload of 1100kg, a towing capacity ties when rating the maximum towing capacity like of three tonnes (3000kg) and a kerbweight (a vehi- engine performance, braking force and suspension. cle without contents but driver, fuel and oil included) Vehicles that tow more than the legal limits will of 1900kg. take longer to stop in the case of an accident, they When towing a full load of three tonnes, this can become unstable and therefore are more likely restricts the maximum weight of the vehicle and to lose control and it causes excessive wear and tear all of its contents to 2.7 tonnes. Given the 1900kg on components such as the suspension, brakes and kerbweight, this leaves 800kg for payload, which is tyres. short of the 1100kg stated payload.

Gross combination mass (GCM) Golden rule One thing that the manufacturers rarely mention Towing a 3.5t load with a pickup breaks what many when they state their towing capacities is the gross believe is one of the ‘golden rules’ of towing which is that the trailer should never weigh more than the towing vehicle. This is especially true with pickups, which have a much longer overhang (usually over one metre) than SUVs. Although this is only a guideline, a fully laden 3.5t trailer can have a huge impact on handling, particularly during braking, even with modern technology like trailer sway control and weight distribution hitches.

@propickup4x4

CONFOR.ORG.UK FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • December 2017 69 Paul Vidgen How not to… Want to see your picture here? Clearfell site or forestry graveyard? When looking Forestry in Pictures is a new regular feature in FTN. at this scene, one can only wonder why the For every issue, we will select the most impacting photograph sent by a reader. If you have a photo Forest Machines Ltd operator would leave such high stumps and where FORESTRY IN the supervisor was at the time; or even how much you would like to see published here, please send income the owner left behind. You can imagine the your file to [email protected] before PICTURES headache the new manager now has to ground 11 September 2017. Please include your name, brief prep this area. Should he hand cut stumps to allow description of yourself and the picture and a credit. machinery in? Cut his losses and direct plant? Photos should relate to forestry and timber and Whatever the answer is, it will cost the owner be of high-quality (minimum resolution 300dpi). money. The alternative - employ quality managers! Exceptional pictures might be considered for the front cover of a future FTN issue. Photo: Tim Kirk, Forest Valuations By submitting a picture to Forestry in Pictures you give Confor permission to use the file for non-commercial purposes in Forestry and Timber News or the Confor website. Photos will always be credited.

Forest Keep, Watersplash Lane, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7QP Tel: 01344 873499 Email: [email protected] Web: www.pvfm.co.uk

Sole UK importers and dealers for; AHWI/Prinoth, Naturatec, Bruks Chippers, COMING If you would like to suggest an article for these features, please contact the editor before the the Christmas Trevi Benne Forestry break. And, of course, we will continue to keep you up to date on important current topics, such as Brexit UP IN and planting in the UK. Attachments, UOT FEBRUARY We encourage members to inform us on what is going on in their businesses or raise interesting points to Scarifiers & Mounders, – GET be discussed in future editions of Forestry and Timber News. King Kong Carbide INVOLVED Don’t forget that your opinion counts. If you would like to comment on any of the articles published in this issue, please don’t hesitate to send a letter to the editor. Across the magazine, there are also specific Tools opportunities for readers to participate: • Give us your feedback on how we communicate and update your e-mail address, using our simple online Dealers for; BerCon form (page 6 /www.confor.org.uk/FTNweb) Log Splitters, FTG • Not sure how the devolution of the Forestry Commission affects you? Get in touch with us (page 18) Baltic Trailers and And don’t forget there is additional information on topics throughout this issue – FTN web resources Cranes. are directly accessible from the Confor homepage. Watch out for the mouse icon in this magazine! www.confor.org.uk Paul Vidgen Forest Machines Ltd

Forest Keep, Watersplash Lane, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7QP Tel: 01344 873499 Email: [email protected] Web: www.pvfm.co.uk

Sole UK importers and dealers for; AHWI/Prinoth, Naturatec, Bruks Chippers, Trevi Benne Forestry Attachments, UOT Scarifiers & Mounders, King Kong Carbide Tools Dealers for; BerCon Log Splitters, FTG Baltic Trailers and Cranes.