Options for farmers in forestry.

Abstract

The current private forest estate in Ireland is described and assessed, and the challenges facing farm forest owners are defined. Potential strategies are identified by which the private growing sector can meet these challenges. Services and organisational structures required for the future are identified. Important conclusions .can be drawn from this analysis and from the experiences of the Irish Timber Growers Association. Farm forestry owners must be well informed and well organised in the future in order to successfully meet the challenges outlined. It is vital that they have access to ongoing support services and that timber growers have a strong representative voice in the development of future forestry strategy, regulations and legislation. Experience in Scandinavia suggests that an effective way to achieve these objectives is to develop strong timber-growing organisations. These not only provide information and back-up services to their members but are also involved in the marketing, harvesting, haulage and even the processing of members' forest produce.