Private opportunities growing

The economic and social value of forestry on private land continues to increase in NSW.

Wood products from private native forestry (PNF) in coastal areas of the State contribute to approximately half of the wood supplied to markets.

This represents millions of dollars of income for regional communities and is critical for the building and other industries.

The establishment and management of softwood (pine) and hardwood (mainly eucalypt) plantations continue to grow and provide resources for secondary industry.

In regions such as Tumut, forest industries are significant employers and play an important part in the communities.

Society also has increased expectations of other values generated in private forests.

With the introduction of the PNF code under the Native Vegetation Act (2003), biodiversity values are enhanced and land managers undertake significant planning and operations to protect areas such water crossings, habitat trees, old growth forests and rocky outcrops.

There are significant issues and opportunities for farmers in managing their land to meet these expectations and provide "non-wood" goods, such as increased biodiversity.

In this edition, Agriculture Today reports the factors that can ensure farmers will obtain the dual benefits of increased production and enhanced natural resources.

These include the importance to private native forestry of establishing the value of non-wood products, the potential for plantations to meet some of the wood markets, and how critical it is to plan tree plantings to assist in agricultural production via windbreaks and stock protection.

Underpinning these opportunities is essential information such as appropriate species selection and location and style of plantings across the landscape.

Increasing the knowledge and understanding of natural resources and management is one of the key issues the NSW Department of Primary Industries, in conjunction with other public and private service providers, will work to deliver to farmers in the next few years.

Large changes are occurring in the market, with the development of new opportunities for farmers from products such as bioenergy.

In these markets, the idea of tall straight trees may be replaced by species that are suited to specific conditions (eg. lower rainfall areas with larger temperature extremes) and a capacity to produce biomass that can be readily harvested.

Bioenergy production is an exciting and challenging opportunity for farm-based forestry in NSW and across Australia, forecasting, along with other developments in private forestry, some excellent opportunities in the next few years.

Visit www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pnf/index.htm for more details on the Private Native Forestry code.