Tom Hayes TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for forestry, today announced the launch of a new Seed Stand and Seed Orchard Scheme.  The Minister of State made the announcement during his keynote address to the National Conference on ‘What shall we do with our hardwoods’, organised by the Wood Marketing Federation and the Society of Irish Foresters, in Johnstown Castle Hotel, Enfield, Co. Meath.

Minister of States Hayes congratulated both organisations on organising the conference, the subject of which he noted as “very topical and follows logically from the subject of last year’s conference ‘What shall we do with our timber?”  He also noted that the results of the Second National Forest Inventory 2012 indicated that broadleaved forests represent 25.8% of the national forest cover and concluded that ‘it is fair to say that broadleaves, from which hardwood is derived, represents a very significant proportion of our forests, both in terms of area and potential value’.

The Minister of State added that the State has sought to encourage the planting of broadleaves in its various forestry programmes over the last few decades and that the current proportion of broadleaves is the outcome of those efforts. He also commented that “this focus is again reflected in the current Forestry Programme which runs to 2020.”

Noting that the quality and productivity of any forest plantation is dependent upon the genetic quality of the seed and reproductive material used during establishment, Minister of States Hayes continued: “in the longer term, Ireland needs to reduce its dependency on imported seed and increase the supply of superior home produced genetic material which is well-adapted and productive in the Irish environment. To this end, today’s event is the perfect opportunity for me to announce the launch of the new Seed Stand and Seed Orchard Scheme.”

The scheme, which is 100% state funded, will provide financial support for existing seed stands registered on the National List of Basic Material and the establishment of both indoor and outdoor seed orchards. While the main focus of the Scheme is to increase the resilience, productivity and quality of Irish forests, this new initiative also addresses the potential for forestry to meet the environmental and social needs of society. To this end, the Scheme provides support aimed at the conservation and protection of Ireland’s ancient oak woodlands by providing funding to increase acorn production from these forests. This material can then be used in the Native Woodland Scheme which is also supported under the Forestry Programme.  Further details regarding the Scheme are available on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s website.

NOTE FOR EDITORS:

Forestry Programme 2014-2020

The Forestry Programme 2014-2020 is 100% State funded and involves a total investment of €482 million over its lifetime. The Programme aims to facilitate the planting of 44,000 hectares of new forests and the construction of almost 700 kilometres of new forest roads. Under the redesigned Afforestation Scheme, both farmers and non farmers will be eligible for the same premium rate which is paid each year for 15 years. The full cost of establishing new forests is also covered by the grants provided. 

A specific initiative is the incorporation of the existing Native Woodlands Establishment Scheme into the main Afforestation Scheme to encourage the planting of native woodlands as part of more commercial forests. The national target for broadleaf planting is 30% which will be achieved through higher grant and premiums for broadleaf species. There is also a requirement to include 10% broadleaves (where site quality allows) within all new individual afforestation projects.

Seed Stand and Seed Orchard Scheme

The new Seed Stand and Seed Orchard Scheme was included in the package of measures under the new Forestry Programme 2014-2020. The main focus of the scheme is to increase the resilience, productivity and quality of Irish forests. The scheme provides support aimed at the conservation and protection of Ireland’s ancient oak woodlands by providing funding to increase acorn production from these forests. This material can then be used in the Native Woodland Scheme which also supported under the new forestry programme. 

The aim of the new Scheme is to increase the supply of superior home produced seed which can then be used in nurseries to grow genetically improved trees for new planting and reforestation.

Further details regarding the scheme can be found on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s website at:

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/grantsandpremiumschemes2015/

The primary objective of the Seed Stand and Seed Orchard Scheme is to:

a)       increase the resilience, productivity and quality of Irish forests;

b)      increase self sufficiency in tree seed production;

c)       provide for in-situ and ex-situ conservation of forest genetic resources;

d)      provide breeding populations of designated broadleaf species (e.g., birch, oak and sycamore).

The principal benefits of the Forest Genetic Resources Reproductive Material measure are:

a)       increased productivity in wood production with economic and environmental co-benefits;

b)      improved stem straightness and branching habit, and increased wood density, leading to higher timber recovery rates, better wood quality and a wider range of end product use; 

c)       better resilience to Irish climatic conditions and local pests and diseases as a result of capturing genetic adaptation in land races; 

d)      a likely reduction in  the risk of diseases being introduced to Ireland;

e)       in situ and ex situ conservation of genetic biodiversity; and

f)        enabling recurrent selection and improvement through linkages to tree improvement/breeding programmes.

Grant support for each of the three components of the scheme is as follows;

^*50% of establishment costs up to a maximum of €50,000 per application

 View Press Release as a PDF: DAFMPR 94/2015 (pdf 476Kb) 

Date Released: 27 May 2015