Getting market ready
Log and timber quality was under the spotlight at this year’s Talking Timber events, writes Steven Meyen
FOREST owners need to have realistic expectations when selling timber. That was one of the key messages from last week’s Talking Timber events organised by Teagasc in co-operation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Irish Forest and Forest Products Association (IFFPA).
The events, in New Ross in Wexford and Mountbellew in Galway, combined a mini-conference and an outdoor timber demo with a large trade stand area.
Over 250 forest owners came to meet timber buyers and learn how to be market-ready and to take advantage of high timber prices being offered at present.
Log and timber quality was the focus during the outdoor log quality displays organised by IFFPA.
Sean Sheridan from Glennon Brothers and Aodán Kealey from Murray Timber Group stressed that from a timber buyer’s perspective, “it is important that forest owners’ expectations are realistic when it comes to selling timber”.
This means know what you are selling, especially the quality of your timber. Sawmills are looking for (very) straight quality logs. The prices offered to forest owners reflect this.
Sean and Aodán explained how logs become much more valuable as the forest matures. Thinning plays a crucial role here: it maximises timber value and promotes better forest health and stability.
The message from Aodán Kealey was that sawmills are ready and willing to buy quality timber.
“We recognise that in the future most timber will come from the private sector so forest owners need to become active and be prepared,” he said.
“Rest assured the sawmills won’t be found wanting when it comes to buying your timber.”
Talking Timber is all about networking between forest owners and the forest industry.
The presence of 28 industry stands reflected the success of the Talking Timber model.
The event programme was designed to give forest owners plenty of time to network with foresters, timber buyers, harvesting contractors and machinery suppliers as well as DAFM and Teagasc.
This element worked well with a great level of interaction between owners and the forestry professionals.
For the second year a number of forest research organisations including Teagasc, NUI Galway, Waterford Institute of Technology and UCD Forestry highlighted their on-going research projects and how this is contributing to our knowledge of forest management and timber utilisation.
Teagasc outlined the steps involved in preparing for harvest.
Thinning
At the Galway event, Teagasc Forestry development officer Noel Kennedy explained: “Teagasc research has proven that thinning is highly beneficial to most forests, resulting in a higher quality, higher value forest while also providing income before final harvest.”
Frances McHugh, also from Teagasc, told the attendees in New Ross: “Forest owners must be ‘market-ready’ to maximise the potential of their forest.”
She added: “Every forest is different so each owner should know their own forest and should base harvesting decisions on specific characteristics of their forest.”
Speakers from the DAFM encouraged owners to apply for felling licences early and include multiple harvesting operations to receive a 10-year licence.
Luke Middleton reminded the Wexford audience that planning and constructing a forest road sometimes requires a two-year lead-in time.
Jim Hurley, representing IFFPA, questioned why the actual harvest from private forests is falling well short of forecasted volumes.
He recommended that forest owners should seek professional advice on harvesting and marketing timber from people who are active in this area every day.
Forest owners Tom Hickey from Waterford and Con Keigher from Roscommon presented their own experiences of managing and harvesting their forests.
Mr Hickey said: “There is plenty of help available if you look for it – Teagasc, forest owner groups and from professional foresters.”
Mr Keigher stressed that “farmers are not foresters and we must understand how thinning works – above all plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time”.
Feedback from the event was positive from both forest owners and industry representatives.
Presentations will be made available on www.teagasc.ie/ forestry