The Confor communications manager summarises the industry insights shared in the seminar tent at APF 2024.

DESPITE the sun shining on Ragley Estate, many exhibitors and visitors found themselves under the shelter of the APF seminar tent, hosted by Confor and kindly sponsored by the Forestry Commission and Forest Research.

Managing woodlands to produce quality timber was the focus of conversation on Thursday, with topics ranging from tree breeding to pest control. The first of these talks was delivered by Alastair Boston, Forestry Commission deer officer, who covered the various methodologies to protect productive woodlands from mammal destruction.

Though several solutions including tree shelters, fencing and exclosure plots all have their benefits and some funding options exist, the scope of mitigating the damage from deer, squirrels, hares and even sheep calls for a holistic approach.

“Deer are not just a woodland issue, they’re a landscape issue. Stalkers alone don’t have the time, the opportunities, or the funding to do what they need to do,” Alastair explained. “And when we do get on top of the deer, the threat becomes grey squirrels. This year has been the worst in England for squirrel damage.”

Growing trees for timber within agroforestry systems was also discussed, with Jim O’Neill, agroforestry development manager for the FC, reiterating the need for situational management.

“There is a wide spectrum in agroforestry creation, from grazing-friendly shelter belts to coppicing,” he said. “As foresters we must be mindful of farmer and landowner objectives and respect requirements.”

Later in the day, Maelor Forest Nurseries’ Ben Goh represented the Conifer breeding co-operative to explain the work being done to improve the quality of British timber in the future.

He said: “Tree improvement is a very rewarding subject; it is one of the easiest ways to add value to the future of forestry.”

We also heard an update on the National Wood Strategy for England from the English Forest Industries Leadership Group, amidst some concerns in the sector that the recent change in government may stall the momentum on progress towards the strategic goals outlined in the report, not to mention other key projects like the Timber in Construction Roadmap.

Tom Barnes, managing director of Vastern Timber and co-author of the strategy, was optimistic but stressed the need for collaborative thinking.

“We need to wrestle back some of the control and get industry-wide, cross-party buy-in for these strategies and initiatives,” he said. “That way, there’s less inclination to upend the apple cart with every change of power. I think it’s possible.”

Encouragingly, a similar sentiment was shared by Ian Tubby, head of policy and advice at the FC, who took questions from Confor members as part of the organisation’s AGM. He stated: “We need to build on the work we’ve already done, rather than rehashing the same debates and discussions over again.”

The FC has expressed a desire to increase conifer planting in England to at least 30 per cent of the total.

Friday shifted topics towards industry standards and innovations to secure the future of forestry. The day started with a panel chaired by Rosanna Curtis, senior consultant at Reheat and project manager for the Northwoods Innovation Programme, which provides access to funding and expertise to support the growth and development of the forestry sector.

While Rosanna led an overview of several projects that have benefitted from the Northwoods suite of programmes, much of the discussion revolved around efforts to move on from the ‘blue book’ familiar to many in the industry and make information more easily accessible for new woodland owners and managers, namely through the ongoing development of myForest.

Sylva Foundation and CloudForest have also been working together to make timber for sale more visible for buyers on local, regional and national levels with the launch of a digital network.

However, Sylva’s Paul Orsi noted: “We need real collaboration with actual people to drive forward forestry.”

A ‘lunch and learn’ session headed by Daniel Iddon, Woodland Grow, and sponsored by Green-tech, furthered the innovation conversation with an update on research into ‘living soil’ and its applications for forestry. 

Commercial implications of innovative solutions were also a focus for Pierre Talpe, director of Rainbow Professional, who went into detail on the impact of different materials used in planting. He pointed out that while recycling tree shelters is a sensible, cost-effective route for businesses, there are still long-term logistic and environmental concerns.

“If you factor in that in 20 years’ time you will need to employ people to remove the plastic, that there’s a paperwork need to embed that in management plans, and you will need people to sort out the logistics, the hidden costs mean biodegradable products have lower lifetime costs.”

Confor would like to thank all speakers, audiences, and sponsors.