Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Healy-Rae covered a wide range of forestry issues at his recent Senate presentation.
Specific topics included forestry licences, windblow, Ireland’s “paltry” afforestation programme, forestry and competing agricultural schemes, forestry and climate change, agroforestry, EU fines for missing planting targets, ash dieback and peatland forestry.
The full debate is worth reading. Both the minister’s contribution and the senators’ responses – positive and negative – provide a snapshot of where forestry is right now, which is not in a good place.
The media reaction to the debate is also interesting. Virtually all of the areas discussed, by the minister and senators, have been ignored as reaction has concentrated on peatland forestry.
When discussing, peatland afforestation in the Senate, it’s a pity that the minister hadn’t differentiated between the various peats that exist in Ireland, ranging from blanket bogs and raised bogs to shallower mainly grassland peats, including peaty podzols and peaty gleys.
He left himself open to criticism as an advocate for planting all peats regardless of their classification, which he clearly is not.
The criticism ignores the peatland differentiation, partly due to ignorance and partly due to opportunism.
Either way, education is required on clarifying peatland categorisation, including peats that need protection and peats that can be farmed and forested sustainably.
The options worth exploring from a forestry perspective include rewilding, but if Ireland is serious about displacing carbon-based fossil materials in construction and energy, commercial forestry has to be part of the debate on peatland forestry.
Clarification will require a study of all peats because despite comments that Ireland has a vastly depleted peatland resource, this is not the case, as last year’s Trinity College Dublin (TCD) study demonstrated. Under the guidance of lead author Dr Louis Gilet, the study estimates that “peat soils cover an area of 1.66m ha, which equates to over 23% of the country”.
The new data showed that “peat soils cover 13% more area than previous peat soil maps”. These are the areas that are worth exploring as a land use option for forestry.
Minister Healy-Rae’s Senate presentation is the beginning of a debate not only on peatland afforestation, but also reforestation of sites that were planted in early State planting programmes, mostly on peats. The minister is convinced of his case.
“That is why I and my officials in the Department will look at planting more peatland,” he told the Senate. “Farmers want to plant peatland.”
Even within the current constraints of planting peaty soils within the 30cm peat depth threshold, DAFM inspectors are missing opportunities to expand Irish forests on these sites (see panel).
“If we did not plant the peat soils before, we would have no forestry, timber or anything now,” the minister added.
He could have also added planting some unenclosed land, which is ideally suitable for forestry but has been virtually banned from the planting programme since 2012.
Limiting the amount of unenclosed land to 20% of an afforestation licence regardless of suitability – peat and non-peat – has effectively ruled out excellent sites.
Peatland afforestation solutions
Afforestation on peatland is restricted to sites where peat depth does not exceed 30cm on “mineral and organo-mineral soils” mostly in rough grazing. For modified fen peats and raised bogs in agricultural use, native woodland establishment is permitted providing no drainage is carried out.
Despite recent media reports, deep peats are no longer planted. The areas that have potential for forestry are shallow peaty mineral soils especially wet mineral soils such as peaty podzolised gleys, inter-Drumlin peats and peaty gleys.
DAFM forestry inspectors and ecologists examine these on a site-by-site basis to assess their suitability. Sites where peat depths range from 20cm to 40cm, but average less than 30cm, should be suitable for planting, but so far the areas over 30cm are mapped out and don't qualify for the afforestation grant.
For example, a farmer who wishes to plant a 10ha suckler grazing site which has an average peat depth of 30cm, comprising 2ha, with a peat depth of 30-40cm and 8ha with 20-30cm, will only qualify for grant aid on 8ha. A ‘common sense’ solution would be to plant the 8ha and retain the 2ha as an open unplanted biodiverse area, with the total 10ha qualifying for 20-year premium payments. Instead, the farmer is restricted to planting 8ha with 5.2ha of spruce (65% commercial) while the remaining 35% or 2.8ha needs to carry native species and open unplanted biodiverse ground.
The farmer can only plant 50% of the holding with a commercial crop, so reasonably rejects the forestry option and continues to carry a suckler herd on the site.
Even within the current constraints, the minister’s Department could provide an afforestation licence for all holdings such as this, which would be acceptable to farmers, foresters and environmentalists.
Windblow taskforce – still no strategy
It is now four months since storm Éowyn. The storm taskforce has still to produce a windblow strategy or appoint a storm director or coordinator. Within four months of storm Gudrun in Sweden in 2005, Dr Tomas Thuresson, storm coordinator, and his team had held hundreds of meetings to discuss, coordinate and direct harvesting, storage and transport as well as facilitating harvesters and hauliers from around Europe.
So far, the taskforce has held a handful of meetings. Private growers who are ill-prepared to deal with this disaster are left on their own. They are beginning to harvest and sell the blown timber on an ad-hoc basis, with some harvested lots being exported.
Issues such as timber measurement, especially volume-weight ratio have still to be addressed.
Sawmills interviewed by the Irish Farmers Journal say they would fully support the Coillte scheme of measurement at their weighbridges, but this has yet to materialise.
In this regard, the taskforce would benefit from a presentation on volume-weight measurement by Purser Tarleton Russell Ltd (PTRL) the company that monitors the Coillte measurement scheme and who is best positioned to oversee a similar project for private growers.
First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney MSP (second from right) opened the new €21 million timber frame construction facility at the Glennon Brothers Ltd (GBL)-owned Alexander Timber Design (ATD) plant in Irvine, North Ayrshire recently. With Minister Swinney are Pat Glennon, joint MD of GBL; Jim Patterson, MD of ATD; and Pat Glennon, joint MD of GBL.
Minister Swinney opens Glennon Bros timber plant
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney opened a new £18m (€21m) timber frame construction facility for Glennon Brothers Ltd (GBL) recently. Located in Irvine, North Ayrshire, the plant is operated by Alexander Timber Design (ATD), a company owned by GBL.
“The opening is a symbol of the kind of future Scotland is building with high-skilled, high-tech and environmentally responsible next generation industries,” said Minister Swinney.
“We are proud of this investment as its opening marks a significant leap forward in sustainable building practices and green manufacturing in the UK and Ireland,” said Mike Glennon, joint MD of GBL, with his brother Pat.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Healy-Rae covered a wide range of forestry issues at his recent Senate presentation.
Specific topics included forestry licences, windblow, Ireland’s “paltry” afforestation programme, forestry and competing agricultural schemes, forestry and climate change, agroforestry, EU fines for missing planting targets, ash dieback and peatland forestry.
The full debate is worth reading. Both the minister’s contribution and the senators’ responses – positive and negative – provide a snapshot of where forestry is right now, which is not in a good place.
The media reaction to the debate is also interesting. Virtually all of the areas discussed, by the minister and senators, have been ignored as reaction has concentrated on peatland forestry.
When discussing, peatland afforestation in the Senate, it’s a pity that the minister hadn’t differentiated between the various peats that exist in Ireland, ranging from blanket bogs and raised bogs to shallower mainly grassland peats, including peaty podzols and peaty gleys.
He left himself open to criticism as an advocate for planting all peats regardless of their classification, which he clearly is not.
The criticism ignores the peatland differentiation, partly due to ignorance and partly due to opportunism.
Either way, education is required on clarifying peatland categorisation, including peats that need protection and peats that can be farmed and forested sustainably.
The options worth exploring from a forestry perspective include rewilding, but if Ireland is serious about displacing carbon-based fossil materials in construction and energy, commercial forestry has to be part of the debate on peatland forestry.
Clarification will require a study of all peats because despite comments that Ireland has a vastly depleted peatland resource, this is not the case, as last year’s Trinity College Dublin (TCD) study demonstrated. Under the guidance of lead author Dr Louis Gilet, the study estimates that “peat soils cover an area of 1.66m ha, which equates to over 23% of the country”.
The new data showed that “peat soils cover 13% more area than previous peat soil maps”. These are the areas that are worth exploring as a land use option for forestry.
Minister Healy-Rae’s Senate presentation is the beginning of a debate not only on peatland afforestation, but also reforestation of sites that were planted in early State planting programmes, mostly on peats. The minister is convinced of his case.
“That is why I and my officials in the Department will look at planting more peatland,” he told the Senate. “Farmers want to plant peatland.”
Even within the current constraints of planting peaty soils within the 30cm peat depth threshold, DAFM inspectors are missing opportunities to expand Irish forests on these sites (see panel).
“If we did not plant the peat soils before, we would have no forestry, timber or anything now,” the minister added.
He could have also added planting some unenclosed land, which is ideally suitable for forestry but has been virtually banned from the planting programme since 2012.
Limiting the amount of unenclosed land to 20% of an afforestation licence regardless of suitability – peat and non-peat – has effectively ruled out excellent sites.
Peatland afforestation solutions
Afforestation on peatland is restricted to sites where peat depth does not exceed 30cm on “mineral and organo-mineral soils” mostly in rough grazing. For modified fen peats and raised bogs in agricultural use, native woodland establishment is permitted providing no drainage is carried out.
Despite recent media reports, deep peats are no longer planted. The areas that have potential for forestry are shallow peaty mineral soils especially wet mineral soils such as peaty podzolised gleys, inter-Drumlin peats and peaty gleys.
DAFM forestry inspectors and ecologists examine these on a site-by-site basis to assess their suitability. Sites where peat depths range from 20cm to 40cm, but average less than 30cm, should be suitable for planting, but so far the areas over 30cm are mapped out and don't qualify for the afforestation grant.
For example, a farmer who wishes to plant a 10ha suckler grazing site which has an average peat depth of 30cm, comprising 2ha, with a peat depth of 30-40cm and 8ha with 20-30cm, will only qualify for grant aid on 8ha. A ‘common sense’ solution would be to plant the 8ha and retain the 2ha as an open unplanted biodiverse area, with the total 10ha qualifying for 20-year premium payments. Instead, the farmer is restricted to planting 8ha with 5.2ha of spruce (65% commercial) while the remaining 35% or 2.8ha needs to carry native species and open unplanted biodiverse ground.
The farmer can only plant 50% of the holding with a commercial crop, so reasonably rejects the forestry option and continues to carry a suckler herd on the site.
Even within the current constraints, the minister’s Department could provide an afforestation licence for all holdings such as this, which would be acceptable to farmers, foresters and environmentalists.
Windblow taskforce – still no strategy
It is now four months since storm Éowyn. The storm taskforce has still to produce a windblow strategy or appoint a storm director or coordinator. Within four months of storm Gudrun in Sweden in 2005, Dr Tomas Thuresson, storm coordinator, and his team had held hundreds of meetings to discuss, coordinate and direct harvesting, storage and transport as well as facilitating harvesters and hauliers from around Europe.
So far, the taskforce has held a handful of meetings. Private growers who are ill-prepared to deal with this disaster are left on their own. They are beginning to harvest and sell the blown timber on an ad-hoc basis, with some harvested lots being exported.
Issues such as timber measurement, especially volume-weight ratio have still to be addressed.
Sawmills interviewed by the Irish Farmers Journal say they would fully support the Coillte scheme of measurement at their weighbridges, but this has yet to materialise.
In this regard, the taskforce would benefit from a presentation on volume-weight measurement by Purser Tarleton Russell Ltd (PTRL) the company that monitors the Coillte measurement scheme and who is best positioned to oversee a similar project for private growers.
First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney MSP (second from right) opened the new €21 million timber frame construction facility at the Glennon Brothers Ltd (GBL)-owned Alexander Timber Design (ATD) plant in Irvine, North Ayrshire recently. With Minister Swinney are Pat Glennon, joint MD of GBL; Jim Patterson, MD of ATD; and Pat Glennon, joint MD of GBL.
Minister Swinney opens Glennon Bros timber plant
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney opened a new £18m (€21m) timber frame construction facility for Glennon Brothers Ltd (GBL) recently. Located in Irvine, North Ayrshire, the plant is operated by Alexander Timber Design (ATD), a company owned by GBL.
“The opening is a symbol of the kind of future Scotland is building with high-skilled, high-tech and environmentally responsible next generation industries,” said Minister Swinney.
“We are proud of this investment as its opening marks a significant leap forward in sustainable building practices and green manufacturing in the UK and Ireland,” said Mike Glennon, joint MD of GBL, with his brother Pat.
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