Think of customer first to make woods pay

Forestry Commission Chairman, woodland owner and investment adviser Sir Harry Studholme made a similar point to Keith Blacker, saying “producing what people want” had to be a primary consideration for all forest owners. He also stressed the importance of good professional advice, the right species choice and weed and pest control [as well as persistence and optimism], adding: “If you make mistakes, you will live with them for decades.” 

Sir Harry said the UK forestry sector had to be aware of the impact of global trends, especially the fact that China – already by far the world’s largest timber importer – would require more imports in future when logging in its national forests ends in 2017. “Inexorable demand will fuel an enormous demand for timber,” he said. 

Oliver Combe said firewood markets, which had been “fantastic” for the forestry sector before tailing off due to imports and cheap oil, showed signs of bouncing back.  Justin Mumford of Lockhart Garrett agreed, saying firewood had been a “fundamental game-changer for lowland forestry”, with prices rising from around £2 to £22 per tonne – but he warned against complacency as half of UK internet firewood buyers were supplied with wood from abroad. 

Mr Combe urged producers to diversify their markets and recover higher value from hardwood, not just “mash it up” into firewood. He added: “Quality is critical. If you have the quality, you can go up the value scale. Effective marketing is important; you need to understand what you are selling.” 

Justin Mumford thought woodland owners were becoming more savvy about marketing and said “a good quality brand and delivery to the end user allows you to gain a premium price”. However, he warned owners to invest early in the process to make woodlands pay - in mechanization, plant protection and especially infrastructure, which could save money further down the line on planting, maintenance and thinning. 

Despite the uncertainty of Brexit, Mr Mumford thought grants were here to stay in forestry, especially as the government was looking increasingly at the sector’s wider benefits, including flood alleviation, climate change mitigation, soil management and biodiversity. He also stressed the growing importance of deriving an income from trees when “standing and alive” via recreational opportunities (like Go Ape and paintball centres) and the Woodland Carbon Code, which placed a new value on timber.

Ruth Pybus of Bron Haul, near Abergele, described how her interest in hazel basket weaving developed into a small business, along with other emerging projects including sweet chestnut posts. She praised the Bill Hogarth Memorial Apprenticeship Trust, which provides training in traditional coppicing skills – and suggested there was a tremendous opportunity to link Trust apprentices with unmanaged and under-managed woodland. 

“These people can make a living out of completely neglected woodland but their big challenge is access to woodland in the first place. Perhaps Royal Forestry Society members could make use of the imagination and energy of the apprentices – and bring more woodland back into management as a result.”