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25.01.2022 Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Senator Richard Colbeck co-chaired the Forest Industry Advisory Council (FIAC) meeting in Melbourne to ...discuss the implementation of the governments National Forest Industries Plan Growing a better Australia. The government has invested $20 million to the delivery of the National Forest Industries Plan and industry knows just how important it is to the growth of the renewable timber and wood-fibre industry, Minister Colbeck said. The National Forest Industries Plan provides the vision and certainty for Australia's sustainable forestry industries to invest and prepare for the future. A key theme which came up when developing the plan was the need for Australia to plant a billion new plantation trees over the next decade to meet demand out to 2050, particularly sawlogs for building and construction, with global demand projected to quadruple in that timeframe. It is clear there is much work ahead to support the sustainable forestry industries as long-term growth engines for regional Australia. It is important we work hand-in-glove with industry to implement the plan and take hold of the opportunities ahead.

23.01.2022 "..This project, an 80-acre plot of mostly red oak and poplar, is a large area to cover for a horse-logging outfit, Dehan Courtney said. The owner, Betty Gerber, wanted it done that way she feels horse logging has minimal impact and she enjoys having the horses there. The property has been logged numerous times over the decades, according to her son, David. Its just like a field of corn, he said. When its ripe, its time to harvest.

23.01.2022 FIREWOOD PERMIT GETS THE THUMBS UP The WA Government wants to introduce a license for people who sell firewood collected from their own properties. The Loc...al Government Association has endorsed the proposal which is in response to concerns about people illegally felling timber for commercial gain. So how do you source your firewood? And do you think the industry needs to be regulated with a permit?

23.01.2022 Hardwood mills Australia GT26 bandsaw mill bought in 2017. 14hp pull start kohler motor with low hours. Has 2m bed extension allowing logs up to 7m in Length.... Max diameter of log is 660mm. Comes with several blades, blade sharpener and various spares. Works great only selling to upgrade. Asking $3500 See more

22.01.2022 This small glass house inside the fenced off area of the Ludlow settlement, was built mid 1970s, and was commissioned with the extremely important task of deve...loping an improved strain of softwood to suit Western Australian soils, climate and conditions. This was at a time when the government of the day understood the importance of softwood production to the economy, and to relieve pressure on our hardwood forests. The project was driven by Forester Dr Frank McKinnell and aided by a small band of forest officers. The nursery was used to graft growing tips from elite trees, selected for their desired attributes and growing in WA plantations. The resulted grafted trees were planted in seed orchards in Collie, Tone River and Nannup arboreal, to provide a future seed source. This work carried out at Ludlow added to the work done by Ludlow school train Forrester Mr Dick Perry, who became a world authority on Pinaster pine. Unfortunately politics got in the way, driven by green ideals, and the soft wood plantation industry was abandoned during the 1980s. Today Western Australians rely on imported softwood, and indeed the majority of our wood fibre based products. Photo by Laurie Davies Travel Australia Tourist Directory Information by Des Donnelly

22.01.2022 Withoneseed, a program of the xpand Foundation, is very pleased to report that it has received a DFAT Friendship Grant to establish an Agroforestry and Permacul...ture Training Centre in Baguia, Timor-Leste. The training centre will provide training opportunities for subsistence farming communities in Baguia and surrounding districts. More information to follow. See more

21.01.2022 "The prefabricated shell segments were assembled in only 10 working days by a team of two craftsmen, without the usually required extensive scaffolding or formwork. after connecting all segments with removable bolts, a layer of EPDM foil was rolled over the pavilion in 8 strips to provide waterproofing. meanwhile, untreated larch façade plates provide the external cladding of the pavilion. as with the BUGA fibre pavilion, the wood pavilion is located on the summer island of the bundesgartenschau 2019 and opens to the public on april 17, 2019."

21.01.2022 A beautiful illustration on the effect of proper spacing on tree growth and timber production. Productive forests need thinning, timber is the best building ma...terial - it grows on trees. "..The experiment was carried out by planting trees in 10 degree radial increments forming 10 concentric circles of varying diameters. Part of what makes the crop circles so alluring are their concave shape, which was an unexpected result of the experiment that would suggest tree density does indeed affect growth. .."

17.01.2022 "..Forrest MHR Nola Marino announced the Ludlow Tuart Forest Restoration Group would receive a $50,000 grant the groups biggest boost to date through the Federal Governments National Land Care Environment Grants program. Group member Evelyn Taylor said the money would fund the planting of 75,000 tuart seedlings in a degraded area of the forest..."

15.01.2022 "In the past year, 11,200 hectares of new woodland have been planted in Scotland. That’s an incredible 22 million new trees 60,273 a day!"

14.01.2022 "..Members of the local Indigenous community agree the forest has changed since white settlement, and the thinning of saplings is now necessary to promote the growth of larger, healthy trees. Ngiyampaa man Mark Brettschneider used to work for the National Parks and Wildlife Service. "That forest was manipulated purely for logging, so there's red gum and stuff growing in areas that it shouldn't be growing," he said.... "That country down there needs to be rested and it needs that thinning trial, and we need to wait at least 10 years to see the result of the thinning trial."

12.01.2022 An interesting looking event for anyone looking for options for their timber.

12.01.2022 Our eucalypts are not just for sawlogs

10.01.2022 A 76-year-old man and his wife have transformed a barren Chinese mountain into a vast forest after spending the past 30 years planting trees.

10.01.2022 The Nannup Plywood Veneer Peeling Facility is one step closer to construction. This fantastic project will reinvigorate the local forest and timber industry and create 60 jobs in Nannup - a regional WA town of just 581 people. Great to announce with Member for Forrest Nola Marino MP.

09.01.2022 Black Sheoak (Allocasuarina littoralis) may be the only Australian tree species that grows from the south of Tasmania to the tip of Cape York. Yesterday I mille...d a small log I got from a nearby farm. It looks fantastic with prominent ray cells and great colour. We planted our first Black Sheoak at Bambra last spring; another local timber I should have planted 30 years ago. Save making your own mistakes: come along to the Bambra Agroforestry Farm Autumn tours and learn from ours (and our successes). We have been growing more than 50 specialty timbers, including other Sheoak species, for up to 32 years and are now harvesting, milling and drying furniture timber on the farm. LOCATION: Bambra Agroforestry Farm is 30min west of Geelong (90min from Melbourne) in southern Victoria. DATES: 17th March and 14th April. SEE: www.agroforestry.net.au for details.

08.01.2022 Our solar kiln is loaded with sawn timber from the large Messmate and Shining Gum we recently harvested, plus other trees. Today outside temperatures reached 42... degrees with a humidity of 14%. Had the timber been air drying outside it would have suffered cracking (checking) as the surface dried and shrunk faster than the core. Inside the kiln it was 50 degrees with a humidity of 38%. Heating the wood increases the rate at which water moves out from the core to the surface thereby reducing the moisture gradient. Tonight, as it cools, the humidity inside the kiln will increase (cool air cannot hold as much water), triggering the exhaust fans to harmlessly expel the moisture and causing condensation that will re-wet the surface of each board (relaxing the moisture gradient further). Water will also condense on the inside of the kiln and run out the bottom. When it heats up again tomorrow the cycle repeats, slowly extracting more than 3 tons of water from 10 cubic meters of timber to reduce the moisture content down to 12% for furniture, without the risk of degrade. Fans and computer run on mains power with a battery backup in case the power is cut. Skin has 3 layers: inside layer is black to absorb heat, 2 clear layers provide insulation. 12volt fans extract the heat from between the layers and into the chamber. Ends of kiln are also double layers inflated with air for insulation. The whole igloo is on wheels. When ready we'll push it along the slab (over the next load). Off-the-shelf mini-pro model 6m long from solarkilns.com . Www.agroforestry.net.au Www.solarkilns.com #solarkiln #agroforestry #farmforestry

08.01.2022 Starting at 1.30 on ABC Radio National 1269AM or online making money from trees including carbon sequestration.

08.01.2022 What a beautiful day it was for our Seed Planting Day today at Ludlow. About 150 children enjoyed planting their Tuart seeds and took them home to nurture into ...seedlings to be planted out next year. Approximately 500 people attended over the day, and much fun was had by all. The bee hotels were very popular, also the games, treasure hunts and the guided walks through the forest. Many thanks to the Lions Club for attending with their delicious grilled food, also the Two Fat Cows icecream van and the Coffee Combi. Special thanks to Cristal Mining for providing the seeds for today, Sabrina Hahn for supplying the pots for planting,and also to Boyanup Botanical Nursery for providing the potting mixture and Raelene's help on the day. And last but not least, a big thankyou to all our lovely members who have given up their time to organize this event and help out on the day. See more

08.01.2022 ".. foresters across southern WA are seeing a steady growth and consolidation in the hardwood plantation industry, with the total value of annual output estimated at $345 million for the region, providing employment for more than 6,000 people. Alongside more established agribusinesses, forestry has struggled to reverse a community perception that growing trees takes valuable farming country out of production and was initially an unreliable investment. But a report by Canberra... University researchers commissioned by Forest and Wood Products Australia indicated hardwood plantations now form a vital part of WA's economy that needs more investment to cash in on the growing world demand for blue gum pulpwood. It is 10 years since the spectacular collapse of the tax-driven Managed Investment Schemes (MIS) that saw the Australian blue gum plantation industry, and its hundreds of small and enterprise investors, thrown into financial turmoil. The rapid expansion of the nation's hardwood estate began in 1996, largely driven by tax incentives. The fledgling blue gum industry imploded when in 2008 the GFC, and then the tsunami that wiped out Japanese paper mills, delivered a double body blow to Australian investors and buyers. Farmers and mum-and-dad investors watched helplessly in 2009 as, one by one, the corporate forestry companies managing their investments went into administration and receivership, losing millions of dollars. In some regions, such as Esperance, unsaleable plantations were bulldozed and burnt, and many farmers were left with trees that were next to valueless. But a decade later, out of the ashes of the subsequent MIS corporate fire sale, the blue gum plantation industry on WA's south coast has regrouped and consolidated. Backed by new international investors, the hardwoods are now generating hundreds of jobs and millions of export dollars. The new managers have an inventory of more than 160,000 hectares of land planted with eucalyptus globulus, or blue gums..."

08.01.2022 Our Government is committed to supporting all Australias core industries, including forestry, resources and agriculture. Earlier today I announced new support for more forestry jobs with details of nine new regional forestry hubs across the country under our $20 million plan.

07.01.2022 "In the past year, 11,200 hectares of new woodland have been planted in Scotland. Thats an incredible 22 million new trees 60,273 a day!"

06.01.2022 Vanuatu women's Master TreeGrower course with the Australian Agroforestry Foundation, Sunshine Coast University, Vanuatu Forests Department, and Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

06.01.2022 Charles Massy's extraordinary book has been reprinted 8 times in Australia and has now been published in North America and the UK by Chelsea Green. The internat...ional edition retains the story of the Otway Agroforestry Network and the Master TreeGrower program and adds colour photos, including of Rowan harvesting his planted riparian forest. "The secret is that rather than trying to change the farmers, we have been working to change forestry to suit farmers" Credit for the success of the MTG goes to the 2000+ Master TreeGrowers across Australia and the many others who have supported the program. We're hoping state and federal governments will continue to recognise the value of the program which has spread from the Otway Ranges, around Australia and overseas to Africa, Indonesia, Timor Leste and Vanuatu.

05.01.2022 Good Luck in QLD to this WA Innovator.

04.01.2022 focused on the Warren Catchment, covering Manjimup, Nannup, Donnybrook, Boyup Brook, Balingup and Bridgetown.

04.01.2022 The reaction to the announcement of the end of native forest logging is as divided as the paradigm that led to the decision. We need to stop this simplistic dic...hotomy (lock it up OR chop it down) extending to forests and trees in the farming landscape. We have already seen retrospective rules that make any tree planted on any farm with any support of Landcare being sacred and monoculture exotic plantations being presented as the most environmental source of timber. Now is the time to show how growing and harvesting a native tree for timber CAN be an act of conservation. ABC Rural ABC Melbourne Australian Conservation Foundation Regenerative Forestry #agroforestry #farmforestry

04.01.2022 Happy #NationalEucalyptDay! Check out our revamped website for events in your area, and stay tuned to find out which #EucBeaut species claims the title of #EucalyptoftheYear for 2019! eucalyptaustralia.org.au

03.01.2022 #MtGambier's National Institute for #ForestProducts #Innovation will receive 3.3 Million in new research. These projects will play an important role in explo...ring and facilitating innovation in areas such as #forestmanagement, worker safety, advanced remote sensing, #forest water use and the application of advanced technologies, Minister Colbeck said. The second round of #grants will be opening soon. See more

03.01.2022 agroforestry is a widespread agricultural practice across the globe. Project Drawdown, a climate change mitigation think tank that ranks climate solutions, estimates that some 650 million hectares (1.6 billion acres) of land are currently in agroforestry systems; other groups put the number even higher. And the estimates for returns on those systems are also significant, according to proponents. Ernst Götsch, a leader in the regenerative agriculture world, estimates that agro...forestry systems can create eight times more profit than conventional agriculture. Harry Assenmacher, founder of the German company Forest Finance, which connects investors to sustainable forestry and agroforestry projects, said in a 2019 interview that he expects between 4% and 7% return on investments at least; his company had already paid out $7.5 million in gains to investors, with more income expected to be generated later. This has led to a wide variety of for-profit interest in agroforestry. There are small startups, such as Propagate, and small farmers, such as Martin Anderton and Jono Neiger, who raise chickens alongside new chestnut trees on a swath of land in western Massachusetts. In Mexico, Ronnie Cummins, co-founder and international director of the Organic Consumers Association, is courting investors for funds to support a new agave agroforestry project. Small coffee companies, such as Deans Beans, are using the farming method, as are larger farms, such as former U.S. vice president Al Gores Caney Fork Farms. Some of the largest chocolate companies in the world are investing in agroforestry.

02.01.2022 "animals, trees, and forages working in tandem to fill a dual purpose of regenerating soil and climate and creating a sustainable, financially viable farmbelies certain challenges. According to Steve Gabriel, silvopastures fundamentals are well understood, but a lot remains unknown about how it functions in multifarious climates and soils with different combinations of trees and animals.

01.01.2022 Four pilot hubs will be set up in northern Tasmania, NSW, Western Australia and across the South Australia and Victoria border. The government plans to add a billion trees to the national plantation industry in the next decade, to meet a growing demand for timber. Mr Morrison said 52,000 Australians are directly or indirectly employed in the forestry industry, which contributes more than $23 billion annually to the national economy. "Growing one billion new trees is a huge ...task," he said. "We need the infrastructure, labour and the region selected to achieve that target. We will talk to other forest communities around Australia to identify more sites." http://www.agriculture.gov.au//national-forest-industries-

01.01.2022 Some early Christmas cheer with the Parliamentary Friends of Forestry and a very structurally sound CLT Christmas tree! Thanks to Australian Forest Products Association for the REAL Christmas