Record number of seedlings and cuttings lifted at Forestry Corporation Nursery

A record of more than 10 million pine seedlings and cuttings is expected to be lifted at Forestry Corporation Blowing Nursery near Tumut this year.

Nursery manager Dean Page said the lifting started on 16 May and was due to finish in early September.

“We have the numbers and the pine are fantastic this year,” he said.

“With the bigger crop comes more jobs for people working in the nursery. This year in excess of 50 casual staff will be employed in addition to the nursery's permanent workforce.

“Plus there is the flow-on effect for the region as people are needed to prepare and plant this record crop.

“Ninety cent of the crop is sent out across NSW to be planted in State-owned plantations, while 10 per cent goes to external customers as far up as Grafton and southern Queensland, across to the ACT and down to northern Victoria and over to the NSW coast.

“It is a high-tech nursery with improved genetic stock and the demand for our seedlings and cuttings just keeps on growing.

“Everyone working at the nursery is putting in a huge effort to make sure we can meet the extra demand this year.”

Some of nursery's major customers include Willmott Forests, ACT Forests, Rothchilds Australia Group and Southern Tree Farm Forestry Network.

The Blowing Nursery, one of the largest Pinus radiata producers in Australia , is producing about 8.8 million pine seedlings and 1.2 million pine cuttings this year.

At the same time stock is being lifted at the nursery, almost two million cuttings have been established or ‘set' in stool beds for the 2006 crop.

“To ensure we grow the highest quality cuttings the nursery is currently undergoing a complete replanting of stool beds with the latest improved genetic material being sourced from New Zealand ,” Mr Page said.

He said maintaining the quality of the stock was crucial and seedlings and cuttings must be kept moist and cool as they were transported out by truck in containers for planting.

“It is essential to have the best material available as these seedlings and cuttings will become high-value logs further down the track,” Mr Page said.

Further information
Dean Page on (02) 6947 6210 or Sarah Chester on (02) 6036 2110