Minister Andrew Doyle TD today launched the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine’s Felling Decision Tool for conifers. The tool provides guidance to forest owners on when to fell their forest to obtain the best return from their forest asset.

Speaking at the launch Minister Doyle said, “The importance of deciding when to clear-fell and its impact on returns should not be underestimated. This tool will assist forest owners in making a more informed decision on clear-felling. The tool clearly shows that rotation length has a very significant impact on the return a grower will get from his or her crop. It is vital that landowners have a positive experience from their forestry investments and that revenue from the first rotation facilitates reforestation to continue the forest cycle. “

The Minister went on to say “It is also important at a national level, from a roundwood supply and wood quality perspective that rotation lengths are of ample length to allow the production of sufficient quantities of valuable sawlog-sized material to support an expanding sawmill sector. By launching this tool today we are endeavouring to underpin this level of production in a sustainable way, by providing the best available information, to all those involved in managing forests and in providing advice to owners.”

The tool is available for use at http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/forestservice/forestservicegeneralinformation/foreststatisticsandmapping/fellingdecisiontool/ , with an accompanying COFORD Connects Note for guidance. For further details on the Felling Decision Tool please contact John Redmond (johnj.redmond@agriculture.gov.ie).

To view this Press Release as a PDF: DAFMPR 06/2017 (pdf 360Kb) 

Date Released: 19 January 2017