A new private forestry partnership product, Coillte Premium Partners, will help landowners to bridge the financial gap between the end of their premium payments and realising their profits at clearfell.
Currently, landowners are limited in their options once premia expire and face a long wait until their forest is generating income from timber harvesting.
The innovative new scheme from Coillte, launched in April by Minister Michael Creed, fills that gap.
Aimed at mid-rotation, high-quality, Sitka Spruce plantations, the partnership is designed to align with existing forest premium payments.
Landowners receive annuities of €510/ha for a 20-year period (in the case of early harvesting, the full 20-year payments are paid).
At clearfell, profits are proportionally shared between Coillte and the landowner based on the level of crop productivity.
Until now, private forest owners have been faced with selling their crop and land to release equity at the mid-rotation phase.
Coillte Premium Partners aims to promote a forestry culture nationally and to contribute to local rural economies by ensuring that land ownership is retained where desired.
Benefits to landowners
Landowners benefit from Coillte Premium Partners in several ways.
Coillte undertake all aspects of forest management within the plantations, bringing their expertise and reputation as Ireland’s leading forestry company to the landowner’s doorstep, thus removing the burden and cost of management for private owners.
In addition, partnership plantations will be forest-certified thus improving market access. Coillte utilises an extensive sales channel to optimise the value of the partnership.
Following clearfell, Coillte replants the land and manages the second-rotation crop to free-growing stage before returning it to the landowner.
More information
Coillte Premium Partners is the first product of its kind to provide an annual income to the forest owner by bringing forward the clearfell revenues.
Coillte is excited by the opportunity to partner with forest owners throughout the country, helping to generate value for the forest industry in Ireland.
Further information can be found at: www.coillte.ie, by calling lo-call: 1890-800242 or emailing: [email protected] Click here for more information
