PFSQ has a team of experienced foresters who can deal with all forestry issues.  Assessments and valuations for Government resumed property, Taxation forestry issues and general financial advice regarding the value of standing timber and the projected growth data, is available. 

Please contact us if you have any queries regarding these matters. 

We currently have a number of large corporate clients who use our expertise in calculating carbon sequestration, carbon vegetation credits and auditing of plantations for the coming carbon trading economy. We utilize the only Government accredited Carbon Toolbox to interpret your data for the carbon future.

With the arrival of Gary Clarke, our new Operations Manager, PFSQ now has the capability, expertise and expanded field crew to advise, design, implement and establish plantations within the PFSQ region and beyond.  Gary has a list of extremely successful plantations which he has been established and currently maintains under the PFSQ banner.  Many landholders now understand the relationship of preserving their forest areas, revegetation of their degraded land and the many benefits, both commercial and environmental that this impacts upon.

We can devise a management plan for your property and we can either do the work for you or support you in doing the processes yourself.

Noosa-landcare-case-study.pdf

small-growers-guide-to-nursery-establishmentdoc.pdf

This article appeared in our Spring 2005 Edition of Southern Queensland Forestry News. It shows how active land management can deliver positive farming outcomes.

Agroforestry Improves Productivity

Native forest management on private land / establishment of plantations on private land; what are you legally able to do and what are the consequences?  A booklet is now available to answer these questions such as: Native forest management 

•  Can I manage native forest for timber?
•  Where can a plantation be established?
•  What is a forest practice?
•   What is an ongoing forestry business?
•   Is there a plantation code of practice?
•   Is there a code applying to a native forest practice? 
•   Do I have to notify DNR&M?
•   And much more

Many landholders find it difficult to come to an understanding of what constitutes a lawful pursuit in relation to sustainable forest management practices on freehold land.  In Queensland we have gone through some rapid changes in state legislation, i.e. the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (VMA). Recently there have also been amendments to the VMA that have resulted in further confusion for some. Often there is a question, ‘what are my rights and responsibilities’?  This guide is intended to inform landholders of the legal requirements, possible threats to future harvest rights and ways to reduce these threats. By no means has the objective of this publication been to try to encompass every aspect of the Vegetation Management Act, Integrated Planning Act, forestry practices, local government policy, or codes of practice. On the contrary, this guide is intended to dismiss some misinterpretations and give landholders the insight to want to know more in relation to their freehold land stewardship rights and responsibilities 

The 24 page booklet was produced by Private Forestry Southern Queensland.The booklet is available for the cost of $5.00, which includes postage and G.S.T.Orders from organisations for numbers greater than 100 will receive a 10% discount. To purchase a copy please call: 07 54836535 or email – pfsq@bigpond.com 

This publication was written by Ken Matthews, Southern Regional Manager (Private Forestry Southern Queensland) in response to a needed and timely demand from landholders.

Introduction

Plantations are variously susceptible to such risks as drought, pestilence, vermin, disease, fire, flood and wind as well as poor management and neglect. Even if they are well managed and grow well there are still market risks. Fortunately, farmers are well placed to minimise risk by reducing costs and carefully designing their forests so as to capture multiple benefits.  

Good design can provide real benefits in the short-term which make waiting for the trees to mature much more enjoyable and far less risky. Below are some of the ways farmers can ‘insure’ against risk associated with growing trees for timber – while saving on the premiums.

Network: Increase Your Knowledge

Develop and maintain knowledge about farm forestry in your area including the available markets. Learning from others allows you to adapt their experience to suit your own circumstances and ensures that you have a clear vision of what you are trying to produce. It also provides the opportunity to avoid making the same mistakes yourself.

 A useful means of exchanging information and discussing ideas with others is via agroforestry and farm forestry networks. Networks combine landholders, industry and government people interested in agroforestry. Collectively, networks produce and share information providing a link into what is happening in other areas. If your area doesn’t have a network, start one.

Select A Low Risk Site For Your Trees

Site selection includes considerations of soil type, climate, rainfall, topography, alternative land use options, adjacent land uses and access for harvesting. Clearly some sites, such as those close to roads or native forest, are at greater risk of fire than those surrounded by summer crops or grazed pastures.

Land with little or no value for agriculture may be quite suitable for trees. Alternatively, land fenced out from erosion control or shelterbelts may be ideal for timber production. Using such land reduces economic risk by reducing the opportunity costs of lost agricultural production. In fact, most farmers identify as much as 10% of their farms that can be planted to trees with no loss of agricultural production.

Roads and creek crossings required for extracting logs can be expensive. Small areas or mixed species planting are more expensive to harvest than large areas. The more expensive the harvesting costs the greater must be the value of the product if harvesting is to be viable. Log size is the key. Research suggests that small scale manual harvesting is only likely to be viable if tree diameters are large (say over 45 or 50 cm).

Use Your Agriculture To Reduce Your Forestry Risks

The simplest thing a farmer can do to reduce the fire risk is to graze in and around their plantations or grow summer crops beside them. By using (or adapting) their existing equipment, farmers can reduce the costs of establishing and managing their forests. Those farmers with employees may even find that forestry work provides an opportunity to keep their workers fully engaged during the quiet times or when waiting for other jobs to start.

Aim For A Quality Product Suited To Many Buyers

To attract market interest farmers must be able to differentiate their product from that available from native forests or industrial plantations. The most effective way is to ensure your trees best match the market specifications. For sawlogs this may mean minimising defects (knots, gum veins, bends, end splits and other timber distortions) and maximising log diameter – within limits.

High value logs can also be transported further. The costs of harvesting and transport can make a standing tree worthless for firewood, chip or pulp markets at more than 200 km from market whereas high quality sawlogs may still be valuable at more than 400 km. This opens up many more buyers and the opportunity for farmers to sell into more competitive markets.

Keep Your Options Open As Long As Possible

When starting out it is hard to predict which species or provenance is going to be the best for you and your site. This is especially important if the soil varies over the area or if little is known about which trees produce the best products. Rather than taking a stab and picking just one species or provenance it may be worth planting a mixture. When it is time to thin, you will be able to keep the best performers and cull the rest thereby putting off the tough decisions for 3 or 4 years.

Another way of keeping your options open is to aim to produce a product that is suited to more than one market. A forest managed for sawlogs can still be harvested for pulp but the reverse may not be so.

Keep An Eye On Your Trees And Good Management Records

Farmers are able to keep an eye on their trees. Problems caused by pests, wandering stock or disease can be spotted early. Written records documenting all stages of management will help verify past management and the quality of your stand when the time comes for marketing. Buyers may want to know the genetic origin or the trees or the thinning and pruning history. They may also have concerns about any hidden defects caused by fire, disease or nails. You can allay their fears by providing a documented history of the stand including dated photographs. The information will also allow you to learn from your own experience.

Treat Timber As A Bonus

What if there is no market when your trees are mature or the price being offered is too low? If your trees are providing other benefits it may not matter. As farmers we are able to capture a wide range of environmental, agricultural and aesthetic benefits from our trees. We also have sites on our farms where we need trees. Having built the fences and planted the trees the only additional cost required to make the trees commercial is the management. Compared to timber investors who are dependent on receiving a commercial return that pays for the land and all the management costs, farmers can avoid most of the risks by integrating their trees into their farms and ensuring they get a range of benefits along the way.

ORIGINAL SOURCE Stewart, A. 2003. Risk Management for Farm Forestry – Tips for farmers. Agroforestry News Autumn 2003 – Volume 12, Issue 1. For more information about the excellent periodical Agroforestry News, visit: http://www.agroforestrynews.com.au/

This article was printed in the Southern Queensland Forestry News magazine in Autumn 2005

Report by Ken Matthews E.O. PFSQ

The purpose of this article is to provide a better understanding of how native forest sawlog stumpage/royalty value is calculated. Additional information is then provided to assist in the interpretation of stumpage/royalty to achieve the best result for your situation.
 

Often a landholder is approached by one miller; they are given a price for their timber per cubic metre and then simply accept that price in the belief that is all they can achieve. In many cases this may be correct simply due to the lack of options available when marketing and selling their resource.

 Compulsory Grade Sawlog

Over the last 5 years especially, the timber industry has found it increasingly difficult to find reliable resource supplies. As a consequence the average stumpage rate and haulage distance of native sawlog has risen. Many landholders have more market options in the veneer, pole, and compulsory and salvage grades than before simply due to the fact mills are prepared to haul longer distances.
 Sawn/graded timber has a market value that is determined by resource costs, processing costs, marketing and delivery costs and profit margin. The market price for sawn timber is influenced by competition, demand and trends. In other words, it is extremely difficult for timber wholesalers to raise the sale price, so in order to achieve a higher profit margin; sawmiller’s seek to find efficiencies and savings.
 The basics of stumpage/royalty (The two terms have become synonymous in the private sector) is that a standing tree has a value determined by a number of factors such as species, wood quality, dimensions, distance to sawmill, quantity of resource in comparison to the scale of the property, property access and terrain i.e. rocky, steepness that impact upon cut and snig costs.
 Once theses factors have been taken into account and cost of extraction calculated, the mill offers a price.
So the basic formula for stumpage is (Mill gate price i.e. what the mill can afford to pay for log delivered to the mill yard – extraction costs = stumpage). In other words, to a certain degree the stumpage/royalty applicable to a resource is “site specific”. It is not advisable to hear of a stumpage price achieved by one landholder and automatically assume that the same price will be applicable to your timber. The variables/constraints applicable to your property may result in either a higher price or lower price per cubic metre.   

Apart from our workshops our staff can offer professional assistance on a fee for service basis. If you need a forest managament plan developed, a harvest managed, or professional advice the PFSQ team can assist. If you would like to take advantage of our consultancy services you can contact us during business hours or send us an email and we will be happy to assist.

So you’re getting down to planning you harvest. You have assessned the stand and now you need to find and contract and harvest contractor and buyer. How will you manage the agreements between yourself and the other parties? PFSQ Model contract s provide a guide for how parties involved in a native forst operation might draw up an agreeement.

PFSQ Model contract 3 provides for the situation where a landowner or independent third party sells standing timber to a purchaser on a royalty/stumpage basis and the purchaser also harvests the native forest.
To downland a Microsoft Word document that can be used as a template for developing your own agreement Click here