There are markets for the trees knocked by storms Éowyn and Darragh and there are supports available to forest owners to get past the current challenges.

These were two of the standout messages from a forestry event held at Mountbellew, Co Galway, last week.

The event, which was organised by Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Service, focused on managing forestry storm damage, harvesting and marketing the salvaged timber and planning for forest restoration.

Teagasc forestry specialist Tom Houlihan said the mood among the 100 or so farmers who attended the Mountbellew event was “relatively positive” despite the current difficulties.

“People are really looking for information at this stage,” Houlihan said.

Positive message

“The positive message coming out of the Mountbellew event was that the vast majority of the timber in plantations impacted by the storms can still be harvested and made available to the market,” he pointed out.

The 5.7ha 27-year-old Coillte forest which hosted last week’s event was badly damaged by storm Éowyn, but the trees can still be harvested and there are markets for that timber, Houlihan explained.

There was also information for plantation owners on timber price trends, as well as harvesting and other costings, he said.

In addition, the benefits for forestry owners of working with other growers in their locality when negotiating harvesting charges or when marketing timber were outlined at the event.

Further events

Teagasc will host another post-storm forestry event in Castlerea on Tuesday 8 April, with its 'Talking Timber Conference' scheduled for the Clayton Hotel, Sligo, on Tuesday 15 April.

A key element of all of these events is demonstrating to plantation owners the supports that can be accessed, Houlihan said.

“Since the storms, we have been really busy, giving one-to-one support, and we’ve been working with forest owners’ groups,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, planting licenses for 220ha of forestry were issued last week.

“This is the single best performance in years and must serve as a benchmark against future results,” said industry body Social, Economic Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA).