There is growing concern that Northern Ireland’s (NI) private forestry sector could find itself without public support beyond the end of 2023.
Specifically, the Forestry Expansion Scheme (FES) runs its course at the end of this year. The measure has been the main support plank for NI’s private forestry sector since 2016.
Premier Woodlands managing director, John Hetherington, commented:
“The final application round for FES will be opened later this year. This will take account of forestry development projects that are undertaken during the 2023/2024 tree planting season.
“Beyond this, we are looking at a period of total uncertainty.
“A scheme to replace FES has yet to be finalised by Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs [DAERA].”
Support for forestry
The Premier Woodlands representative said that such a situation occurred previously when the forestry sector was left for a planting season without access to any form of tree planting support at all.
“I would strongly advise all farmers and landowners thinking about any form of woodland development project to submit an application under the final tranche of FES,” he continued.
“At the very least, this expression of interest will keep applicants in the loop, should there be a commitment on the part of Forest Service to introduce an enhanced planting grant scheme into the future.”
“The 2023/2024 FES application period is expected to open later this month.
However, questions remain unanswered regarding the future of the support measures that will be made available to the forestry sector.
Hetherington said he is aware that the Forest Service is actively gauging the views of stakeholders on this matter.
“It is vitally important that all relevant stakeholders are involved in this process. It must not be a case of Forest Service foisting a way forward on the sector without there being proper engagement with all interest groups,” he said.
“And these proposals must start with a discussion on the most pressing question of all – can Forest Service agree a way forward, in any sense, if a functioning Stormont Executive is not in place?
“In other words, do we need a farm minister to sign off on whatever future support measures for forestry are put forward?”
Underspend
The Premier Woodlands representative said he is open minded regarding the future format of the support grant that is made available to the private forestry sector.
“First and foremost, we want schemes that directly address the fact that tree cover levels in Northern Ireland are amongst the lowest in Europe,” he said.
“The previous DAERA minister agreed a target of an additional 9,000ha of new tree planting by 2030. This is around 900ha per year. This isn’t occurring, yet we enjoy the perfect climate, where the growing of trees is concerned.
“We also need schemes that actually encourage farmer participation, not discourage it,” he added.
“The current requirement to have all FES applicants pay their contractors in full prior to grant aid being made available, is a case in point.”
Hetherington said that very few small landowners have the £10,000 or £20,000 required in bank accounts to make this happen.
“Moreover, other farm investment schemes, operated by the Department of Agriculture, were specifically amended to remove such a stipulation,” he concluded.