Kilmaha

We (FCA now) have been working to get TTH more widely used and are making some headway. FE and FLS are using it on DP and NRW aren't far away. Hopefully it'll be adopted at scale.

Agreed and the demand for “white” timber whenever possible.

The other big challenge in terms of diversification of both species & silviculture, is that the Govt (due to lobbying from the Agri sector) regulates where we can grow timber, and it is usually on poor soils and often upland areas.

The timber needed to build homes like this ⬇️ comes from conifer plantations 🌲🌲🌲
Domestic availability of this timber is set for long term decline.
Area of conifer forestry in Scotland has grown by only 0.5% in the last 25 yrs.
Global demand for forest products will increase >100% in next 25 yrs

In UK (usually) timber harvesting companies buy standing timber from forest owners, then engage harvesting contractors and hauliers, and sell to sawmills.

People get paid when the timber gets to the mill and is weighed.

If timber is harvested & sat at roadside, then people haven’t been paid.

Oh and another correction @forestryjournal.bsky.social - contractors do not sell timber to sawmills, management companies do. When the timber is roadside a contractors job is done and their should be paid accordingly.

Also, small correction. I didnt say northern Scotland, I said the north and Scotland meaning all of Scotland and the north of England (Forest accent I guess). These are the areas worst hit but the problem is nationwide.

This is extremely important, alot of contractors are struggling - machines parked up or sold, inevitably we are going to lose some.
Sawmills unwilling to comment.

This needs resolving now. @forestsandwood, a matter of urgency, these mills are your members.

We are in a Nature AND Climate emergency, Rothbury would be a great opportunity to demonstrate a more resilient future for our uplands, and show how we can combine timber production AND regenerative farming AND nature conservation.

Mmm let's think about this.. @woodlandtrust and LINK have a huge PR budget (part of their business plan) and when it suits them the WT sit in the forestry sector... cuckoo, cuckoo. Other land uses dominate by virtue of scale... what do you expect?

See? I'm not the only one saying this

Bit of thoughtful reading, should you want it.....⬇️

I will always try and support the forestry industry on SM. Yes, I make my living from it but it means so much more to me than that. I care deeply about the job I do, the timber I provide and the habitats I manage.
So why should I have to put up with this utter tripe that is throw at me?

Look further down, you'll have seen i champion both photos you posted.

Why should you reach out? Because that's how you understand another point of view. Then we're all winning.

Offering an alternative is not rubbishing your point. My photo sits perfectly between both of yours and in an ideal world it is my belief thats what forestry should be. Unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world so we have to be pragmatic. All things to all men.

"Polarisation isn't constructive"

The thing about forestry is it is one of the few industries where we can have our cake and eat it.

#positiveforestry

Yes. Well managed it can be both can't it?
I think that photo is a cracking example of what forestry can look like given the correct care.

I mean, we could trade photos all day if you want?
There's wildlife there, might not be the same but it's there. I know because the amount of times I've had a delay or pause on a job because we've had to stop for a nesting bird for example!

I'm just saying posting a photo of an unthinned upland plantation isn't representative of all plantations. Forestry isn't black and white, it's nuanced. The photo on the right is as important as the photo on the left, the reasons are different that's all.

Or alternatively, this is a photo of another plantation. Looks like a forest doesn't it? Was planted in the 60's as 100% douglas fir and now its looks like this.

Forestry is a long game.

#positiveforestry

How To Save Our Forests and Rewild Our Planet YouTube video by WWF International

Disappointed to hear @craigbennett3.bsky.social scare mongering about the possibility of “intensive conifer plantations” on the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland on
the Today Programme. Maybe he should listen to Sir David Attenborough www.youtube.com/watch?app=de... especially at the 4 min mark.

#positiveforestry

Rotorua biofactory opens the way for a potential $50 billion economic gain Hopes are being pinned on a commercial-scale facility that will transform low-value wood, food waste and animal products into high-value ingredients.

Another great example of the role of sustainable forestry in supporting the transition to a lower carbon circular bioeconomy.

Sequester, store & substitute 🌲♻️

www.thepost.co.nz/business/360...

Oh well, we would all be better just giving up then!
I dispute the claim but even if it is correct we plant trees for a multitude of positive reasons not just one.
#positiveforestry

Mental Health in Forestry: Breaking the Silence

This is a difficult but worthwhile listen about stress in the job and mental health. 🌳🌲

Well done to @royalforestrysoc.bsky.social for promoting, and to @kilmaha.bsky.social Nick Adams , and Gillian from FISA for speaking so openly @forestryjournal.bsky.social

open.spotify.com/episode/4oI4...

This is a pretty uncomfortable listen, but not as uncomfortable as it was for me to talk about the issues faced by contractors in general and me personally.

We know what the issues are and the solutions. We just got to fucking do it.

#positiveforestry

Good stuff Alan. As a planter of trees and general forest pracitioner I appreciate the work you've done there although that must mean I'm equally uneducated. Which leaves me to feel a bit discombobulated (verb, to feel confused/disconcerted).

youtu.be/bwXEj2-8QHE?...

And just to drive home the point, here's the link to the video again.

It is incredibly disappointing that attempts at rational debate with a balanced opinion so often decend into insults. Not cool.

#Checkyourtone

@royalforestrysoc.bsky.social
@wtscotsocial.bsky.social

YouTube video by Royal Forestry Society Every Interaction Matters: Mental Health in Forestry

youtu.be/bwXEj2-8QHE?...

Please take 2 minutes to watch this video from The Royal Forestry Society, supported by forestry organisations throughout the UK.

Think about what your saying, then think about how you come across to others and how your comments are perceived.

#Checkyourtone

Yeah, the two guys interviewed on there really know there stuff. Definitely alot of knowledge on show. Education even.
You could definitely learn an awful lot of you were open-minded enough.

#positiveforestry