Forestry is now a mainstream enterprise in Ireland with an annual value of €2.2bn according to COFORD, the forestry advisory body to the Department. Forestry can no longer be referred to as an alternative enterprise. It is the best economic and environmental application in marginal agricultural land.

Mary Ryan and her Teagasc colleagues demonstrate the economic potential of forestry for farmers (pages 58 to 59). To summarise their findings, forestry is not an option for higher income farm systems but cattle and sheep farmers with marginal land capable of growing productive forests “stand to gain between €100/ha and €330/ha on average” annually over the forest rotation.

This means that sustainable forestry is an option for an additional land area of between 510,000ha and 650,000ha in Ireland, without negatively affecting agricultural production.

Farmers with marginal land are planting not just because of the necessary grants and premiums to provide an income during the transition to productivity, but also because they are confident that there will be a market for their produce.

The Irish timber processing industry has continued to maintain production – domestic and exports – despite the poor performance in construction and sterling fluctuation.

These are the reasons why Minister Doyle is confident about the future prospects of the sector when he states: “I firmly believe that forestry is a viable land use option either on its own or in combination with other farming enterprises.”

That said, there are numerous challenges in achieving a viable forestry programme as outlined in our vox pop feature (page 61).

Land availability is still an issue and the recent pilot scheme to plant some unenclosed land is welcome as it opens up the opportunity to add at least 200,000ha to the afforestation land bank. This needs to be rolled out rapidly.

We also need to create a good training and development infrastructure for forestry contractors. We are addressing this for harvesting contractors but training and support are also required for contractors involved in the establishment and maintenance of forests.

Many contributors to the feature believe that the time lag between grant applications, approvals and eventual payment is still too long and claim that potential forest owners drop out during this period.

An increasing number of farmers now view forestry as a wealth creating mainstream farming enterprise. Other benefits, including climate change mitigation, position forestry as a major national land use option.

As readers may be aware, responsibility for forestry was assigned to me earlier this year as part of my portfolio within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As a farmer based in Co Wicklow and as a former chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, I was already familiar with the forestry sector, including its development over the last number of decades.

Since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, I have added to this knowledge through meeting forest owners (both individually and collectively), forestry companies, contractors, sawmills and processors. I have also met people and attended meetings where concerns have been voiced about forestry, as it is equally important that I listen to and am aware of any and all such concerns.

I firmly believe that forestry is a viable land use option either on its own or in combination with other farming enterprises. A range of schemes are available under the current Forestry Programme 2014-2020, including afforestation, agro-forestry, forestry for fibre and native woodland establishment. Two of the key objectives of the programme are to increase forest cover and encourage the mobilisation of the timber currently growing in our forests, with the associated commitment of almost €0.5bn to facilitate almost 44,000ha of new forestry planting over the period of the programme.

The maintenance of the current forest estate and its increase through new forest planting is essential if we are to sustain the contribution that the Irish forest sector makes to the Irish economy, society and environment. The current programme also provides almost €28m towards the building of forest roads to assist forest owners in the harvesting of their timber crop.

This target of 44,000ha is to be achieved on a gradual incremental basis over the lifetime of the programme, starting with 6,000ha of new forests in year one, increasing to 8,290ha in 2020.

It is important, in view of concerns about the extent of forestry, to put this overall target into context. There is currently just less than 11% of the country under forestry and I note that the COFORD Land Availability Working Group has done significant work in identifying the potential land resource available for afforestation.

I also note the finding, in the report ‘‘Land Availability for Afforestation – Exploring opportunities for expanding Ireland’s forest resource’’ that “On lands classified as being ‘limited’ for agriculture, representing 1.8m ha, there is wider scope for afforestation. These lands have a higher proportion of difficult soils, often economically marginal for agriculture, with forestry presenting a viable alternative land use option.”

The availability of establishment grants for the initial planting of the forest and annual premium payments for 15 years, plus the returns from thinning and the eventual clear-fell, are all factors to be considered.

For those landowners who have already considered the option of forestry and have sought and been granted technical planting approval, I would like to draw their attention to my announcement at the recent National Ploughing Championships that those landowners who have already obtained valid technical planting approvals may now apply for financial approval under the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme. All registered foresters and forestry companies have been notified about the application procedure for this year, along with forms and general conditions. At a practical level, applicants need to be aware that there is a new application form for this year and that previous versions of the form will not be accepted. As regards the timeframe within which applications may be submitted, the end date for this application period will be determined by my Department and will have regard to the availability of funding, silvicultural and other policy considerations.

It is also essential that we maintain and manage our current forest resource. The mobilisation of the private timber resource – in other words, getting the timber from privately owned forests thinned or harvested and onto the market – is also an important objective.

Talking Timber events

In this context, I would like to commend the Forestry Development Department of Teagasc for organising the recent Talking Timber events, which took place in Letterkenny, Ennis and Tralee. I would also like to thank all those from the forestry sector who participated in the events. I attended the event in Ennis and I found it most informative about the timber sales process, what is involved in the process, and how to maximise the return from investment in forestry.

I recall that one of the factors identified in the Malone Report as affecting afforestation levels was the lack of a forest culture. He considered there to be a serious issue in relation to this as regards the management of private forests, especially as regards thinning and ensuring that the best economic return was achieved from the asset on maturity. I believe these events, as does the wide range of other events organised by Teagasc, address this issue.

The support given by the industry to the Talking Timber events is tangible evidence of the cohesion and unity of purpose within the forestry sector. There is a high degree of interdependence within the forestry sector ranging from forest nurseries to forest owners, foresters, forestry companies, sawmills, timber processors and the eventual end user.

I encourage landowners to avail of opportunities to learn about forestry and I encourage those with forestry to talk to other forest owners, to learn from their experience and to avail of the range of advice available. In the short term, I encourage those landowners with valid technical approvals to apply for financial approval and get started on their investment into the future.

Potential forest owners should be aware of, and factor in, the generous tax incentives for thinning and final harvesting. When all of the advantages and returns, both medium and long term, from forestry are taken into account, I believe that investment in forestry compares very favourably with investment in other enterprises.

There are, of course, as with any enterprise, challenges which arise in our sector, one of which was the extensive damage caused to our forests by the storms in 2014, especially Storm Darwin. I am therefore pleased that there is now a Windblow Reconstitution Scheme available to those private forest owners who suffered significant financial loss from those storms of 2014, both in terms of the value of timber lost and the cost in re-establishing the sites affected.

The State is making a financial contribution towards the cost of replanting these sites as a once-off measure for this specific weather event.

The scheme details, along with the application form, are available on my Department’s website with the closing date for receipt of applications on 24 February 2017.

In conclusion, a lot of us are aware of the returns from, and benefits of, forestry. However, we need to convey this to all landowners and encourage them to weigh it up. To this end, my Department is working in co-operation with Teagasc and an industry representative group on drafting a new promotion plan for the sector. This will involve a coordinated approach by the industry as a whole, the core message of which is that forestry is a good option for farmers and landowners, as well as bringing a wide range of benefits to our economy, society and environment.

As I mentioned, I am aware of concerns about forestry so I wish to reassure people that forestry can play an important part in the development of rural economies and that this can be achieved in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

My personal experience of forestry has been very positive and I would encourage all farmers and landowners to consider forestry as a viable farm enterprise and as an investment in the future.