A fair and transparent timber measurement system at sawmills is needed to accurately measure log volumes for private growers, Padraig Stapleton, chair of the IFA farm forestry committee, has said.

An independently monitored volume measurement system is available to Coillte and the Irish Forestry Unit Trust but not private forest owners, mainly farmers, he said.

Stapleton has been supported by the Irish Timber Growers Association (ITGA), Irish Forest Owners (IFO), North East Forestry Group (NEFG) and private forestry companies including Arbor Ltd.

These are calling for a similar system that operates between Coillte and the Irish Timber Council (ITC), which represents Ireland’s sawmills.

“It’s vital that this is also made available to private growers,” said John Roche MD of Arbor. “The sawmills are selling the finished product in cubic metres, so it would be a much fairer system if they purchased from private growers in the same way.”

The Irish Farmers Journalreported last week that sawmills “would fully support the Coillte scheme of measurement at their weighbridges”.

This view has been disputed by Niall Grainger, chair of the ITC.

“My feedback from members is the preference to continue to purchase by weight for various reasons,” he said.

He cited reasons for maintaining the status quo as “60% of what mills sell is in weight, yard space, data ownership and system infrastructure, to name a few while any comparisons with the way timber is purchased by Coillte or in other jurisdictions is not a fair comparison”.

When it was put to Grainger that the Irish Farmers Journalquote was based on an understanding that a Coillte staff member or an independently trained person – funded by growers and/or the State – would monitor private log supply, he replied: “I would have to pose this question to the members at the next meeting but it’s not as simple of staffing.

“Ultimately it boils down to a matter of price and the seller’s concern about the loss of weight as [timber] sits on the roadside.”

“There are some major concerns facing us about the market and not the products we sell in cubic metres, but the residues and pulp, not to mention the issue of logistics which is well documented,” he said.

“Farmers with forests need an independently verified measurement system that’s fair to both parties, seller and buyer,” said Padraig Stapleton.

“Timber is drying out and hauliers are already seeing loads of timber which are three tonnes lighter than previously,” he said. “Growers are at a major disadvantage when using the current weight measurement system.”

“ITGA is calling for the sale of roundwood from private forests to be based on volume, rather than weight,” said Donal Whelan, technical director.

“Private growers are losing revenue as blown roundwood loses weight over the summer months,” he added. “ITGA proposes that the costs of an independent measuring system for private growers be covered by the State as part of a coordinated response to the current windblow crisis.”

John Sherlock, owner of Sherlock Warehousing and Trading Ltd outside Navan and a member of NEFG, said he wished to sell his windblown timber by volume, but “having engaged with an Irish harvesting company to do so, I was disappointed to be told that the sawmills were opposed to buying logs on this basis”.

He explored export outlets with Derek McCabe, chair IFO and NEFG. “My timber was duly harvested and is now awaiting collection,” he said. “The final payment is to be made this week when the final loads of timber will be removed for export,” he added.

“The storm has exposed faults in timber marketing and it does not put Irish timber processors in a very good light.

“I would wish to see weekly price quotes from sawmills along with minimum log diameter for each product to be publicly available similar to livestock and grain prices.”

Explainer: how timber is measured and priced

Timber is measured and priced by volume (m3) for Coillte and Irish Forestry Unit Trust sales and by weight for all other private growers.

ITC mills and Coillte share a measurement system that accurately converts tonnes (t) to m3 at sawmill weighbridges. Independently audited, it is also available to the trust, but not to other private growers and contractors.

The reason for the Coillte-ITC system is to allow for timber weight fluctuations which vary with species, seasonality of harvesting and how long timber is allowed to dry out if windblown or left at roadside for prolonged periods. The conversion rate varies for standing sales but a factor of 1.116 is not unusual. This means 1.0t of timber equals 1.116m3.

For example, the owner who is paid an average of €60/t for a clearfell receives €53.76/m3 using this conversion. In a clearfell of 410m3/ha (367t/ha) this would amount to €22,043/ha.

However, if this timber dries out and the actual conversion of 1.116 increases to 1.450 to reflect the loss of weight then the 410m3 weighs in at 283t.

Unless the new conversion is applied, the €60/t now falls from €53.76/m3 to €41.41/m3, which in a 410m3/ha clearfell translates to €16,980/ha or a loss of €5,063/ha.