Forestry awards provide €15,000 in prizes

Details of the 2017 RDS–Forest Service Irish Forestry Awards have been announced. Forest owners interested in this year’s awards have until 14 July to enter their woodlands.

The scope of the award has been broadened in recent years to attract entries from forest owners with a wide range of management objectives. The awards are particularly suited to farmers with forests, which has been acknowledged again this year as Teagasc is supporting a specific award aimed at farmers with forests, but three of the following categories are open to farmers:

From August, a group of experienced foresters will pore through the entries before beginning a tour of the country to inspect and assess the shortlisted forests. Having the judges visit the woodlands is one of the benefits of entering the awards, as they discuss individual forest plans and are in a position to provide general advice.

The awards have gained in popularity, but many forest owners are reluctant to enter their forests as they believe that they are confined to large, mature woodlands managed to impossibly high standards. While the standards are high, they are not impossible to achieve and as we saw during the presentation of the 2016 awards, a range of forest sizes from a few hectares to large-scale forests received awards.

So what will the judges be looking for? They will first walk through the plantation so good access, including forest roads, is required depending on the age of the crop.

With good access, the forest can be assessed for stocking rates, yield, crop quality and how well it is managed and maintained. While well-established forests require low maintenance, they need continuous inspection and care. Maintenance is key to ensuring that plantations continue to perform well throughout the rotation. Fences, entrances, roads, drains and firelines – in fire-risk areas – should be regularly checked and maintained when necessary.

So, if you have a well-stocked, healthy forest, there is no reason why you shouldn’t enter the awards, according to Paul Farrelly, RDS agriculture manager. Prizes include high-prestige sculpted awards, medals and certificates. And if the honour and glory of winning an award is not sufficient enticement, the RDS has a €15,000 prize fund for the winners. For further details, contact Paul at the RDS office, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 (phone 01-2407215; email agriculture@rds.ie) or Google RDS-Forest Service Awards.

Minister of State Andrew Doyle recently met the staff of ECC Teoranta to celebrate the sawmill’s 25th year in business and to discuss the serious challenges facing the sawmilling sector as a result of Brexit.

Based in Corr na Móna, Co Galway, ECC is a long way from markets and management and staff are acutely aware of the production, transport and marketing challenges facing the mill at the best of times. However, these have been intensified during the uncertainty surrounding Brexit including weak sterling which has devalued all Irish exports to the UK.

ECC processes logs into quality timber products for construction, fencing and packaging markets in Ireland and the UK.

Under the leadership of chair PJ Fahy, the mill has grown to become one of the largest exporters of sawn timber in Ireland, providing 280 full-time jobs in the west of Ireland.

“We are delighted to introduce Minister Doyle to our team whose passion and commitment has helped drive the growth of the company to become a major player in Irish and European timber markets,” said PJ Fahy. “It also highlights the ability of family-owned Irish companies to compete on the international stage.

“The purchase and processing of Irish raw material, the numbers employed and the trading performance of this business all exemplify the contribution forestry makes to the economy and society,” said Minister Doyle, after receiving a tour of the plant showcasing the extensive investment and use of technology in precision sawing, scanning technology and X-ray density grading processes.

“The development of the plant at ECC, incorporating modern technology reflects the commitment, innovation and belief shown by the mill in the Irish forest sector,” said Minister Doyle. “The Government and I continue to do all we can to assist the sector through support for afforestation and initiatives to encourage and facilitate mobilisation of the private timber resource. I wish the Fahys and their staff well in the ongoing work and endeavours.”

Currency fluctuation

Despite Brexit and associated uncertainty such as currency fluctuation, ECC managing director Daryl Fahy was confident of prospects for the timber industry in the UK. He said that while the future trading climate may change, the fact remains that “the UK market is – and will remain – the largest timber market in the world per capita.”

He said it has to import over 70% to satisfy its timber requirements and ECC can grow this market. “This demand combined with our reputation for service and quality will safeguard our share of that market and we look forward to increased demand from both Irish and UK markets,” he said.

As pointed out last week, certification of Irish timber is a key to securing export markets. The two international certification bodies in Ireland are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC).

Major sawmills

All the major sawmills and Coillte – both forests and panel board mills – now have FSC chain of custody certification, while Coillte and ECC Teo have dual FSC and PEFC certification.

So far, certification is out of reach for small-scale forest owners whose average forest size is 7ha. Group certification is the way forward and this is being led by the Forest Owners Co-operative Society.

The Macroom-based co-op, under the chairmanship of Tim McCarthy, is proceeding to have its forests certified to the FSC standard by 2019.