The Farm Forest

Jeremiah Ronayne, Lavally Upper, Mallow Co. Cork is a full time farmer, married with four children.

He is primarily, a dairy farmer with a 125,000 gallon quota, as well as having tillage and beef enterprises. Having first come across the idea of forestry through Teagasc courses and articles in The Farmers Journal, Jeremiah planted 8 hectares of unenclosed “raw mountain land” with a sycamore/lodgepole pine mix in 1997. The planting and maintenance were carried out by a self-assessment company. The annual tax-free premium payments and utilisation of poor ground were important considerations in deciding to plant.

Why Do the Planting Yourself?

In 2001, Jeremiah decided to plant 7 hectares of steep, low productive agricultural ground. Following consultations with an approved forester, he planted 20% Diverse conifers, sycamore and birch. Jeremiah feels the second plantation has a mainly landscape value, with the possibility of being an asset for an agri-tourism venture in the future. He regards the second plantation as more appealing to him because of the personal involvement, and he walks this site regularly to assess the failure rate and the need for vegetation control.

Future plans?
Jeremiah may soon plant a small oak plantation as a wildlife habitat - an amenity area for his family and future generations. Jeremiah feels that forestry is a good use of marginal land but thinks that the economic size of a plantation will be important in the future. He is confident that he can manage the plantations well, benefiting from the forestry support services provided by Teagasc, the Forest Service, farm organisations and the forestry sector as a whole.

“There was no other option”, claims Michael Cunningham, “it was time to sell off part of the farm, or be forced out of farming”.

Michael, a tillage and suckler cow farmer from Windgap, Kilkenny, was faced with this crisis in 1997. He had been planting corn, but found that he was using the subsidies to maintain the farm and while everyone else, including the tillage contractors, were making money, he was not.

Forestry as a viable land use
Michael put the land on the market, and found that the only interest was from people who wanted to buy it for forestry. This made him think about the option of planting the land himself and in 1997 he took the plunge and planted 60 hectares with a variety of broadleaf and conifer species. The land, which was situated 9 miles from his home, was suitable for agriculture, but farming it was very time-consuming. Forestry was the sensible solution. Now, Michael claims that only for the income from his plantation, which in some years subsidises the rest of his farming activities, he would be out of farming altogether – “a sad situation to be in”.

Did he encounter any negative reactions?
Before planting, Michael experienced a lot of negative attitudes from other farmers about his decision. These farmers are now openly supportive of his decisions, in light of the increasing pressures on agriculture. Michael employed a private forestry consultant to prepare all his plans but undertook much of the work himself. The rest he subcontracted out. He was very happy with the consultant and found the services to be very professional and efficient. Overall Michael said that he found very few negative aspects to setting up a forest enterprise, either with the work or the finances involved. He initially had some teething problems in the early management of the site, but with guidance from his consultant and from Teagasc forestry advisors, he is now able to manage the plantation successfully.

Long term view of forestry
Following the successful establishment of the plantation, Michael began to realise that not only was he receiving a good income from the annual premium payments, but that the real income would be realised upon his retirement. Now he views the plantation as his on-farm pension fund, which he has control over and can cash in as required, or leave to mature for his children. However, Michael has expressed some concern over the tax-free status of the premium payments, and whether or not there is a guarantee that they will remain as such in the future. Current guidelines indicate that once you have been approved and are receiving premium payments, your status is guaranteed and will remain unchanged for the duration of your 20-year contract.

Today, Michael can concentrate on developing the land close to his house, secure in the knowledge that the fields away from his home are sustaining an increasingly valuable crop and helping to finance development of his other farming activities. Michael is happy with his decision and has little hesitation in encouraging other farmers in similar circumstances to follow suit.

Tom Doocey from Deerpark, Lismore, Co. Waterford decided to plant part of his farm before retiring from farming.

Remembering childhood days and ‘the clash of the ash’, Tom decided that he wanted to plant 5 hectares of ash to replace the ‘sticks’ he broke.

But why did he consider planting before retirement?
Tom realised that his options for using the land after retirement were limited, and that once he retired from farming, he would no longer qualify for the full farmer rate of forest premium payments. Tom had leased some of the land previously, but realised that the income from this was not great, nor did it maintain or increase the value of his land. He then attended a Teagasc ‘Introduction to Forestry’ course and some forestry field days, and afterwards he was convinced that forestry and the long-term premium payments available, would provide him with a steady income that would please himself now, and his children in the future.

Tom has two daughters, Angela and Ciara, both married with young families, living and working away from the farm.. With this in mind, and preparing for retirement, he went ahead and planted in 2000. He anticipates that when his family inherit the farm, the farm forest will be a very good wealth-creating capital asset.

How does Tom feel now about his decision to plant?
Tom opted for a self-assessment company to develop his site, and found that as a result of the training he received from Teagasc, he was able to monitor the standards of work on his plantation. He believes that “trees should be treated like any other crop, using the right trees in the right fields”. Not all sites are suitable for commercial timber crops. Tom feels that as he receives tax-free payments, he has an obligation to see that the forest prospers and regularly walks the site monitoring potential problems. The environmental guidelines initially annoyed Tom, as he viewed the unplanted areas of his fields and alongside rivers as unproductive. But, since planting, he has come to appreciate the reasons for the guidelines, with the returning of large numbers of pheasants’ clutches on his farm, something he has not seen for more than 10 years.

Tom feels that forestry has been a good investment for him. In light of an expanding EU and possible reductions in overall subsidies to farming, he believes that many more farmers should consider forestry in the future.

Paddy Clarke is a drystock farmer from Bailieborough, Co.Cavan. He became involved in forestry in 1998.

Nestled among the drumlins of East Cavan and close to the town of Bailieborough, Paddy Clarke and his wife Ita farm two hundred acres. Paddy has scaled back his mainly drystock enterprise over the past few years. “

Reasons for planting
The family were all grown up and had no wish to go farming.” says Paddy. “ At my stage of life it was time to consider reducing the herd and cut down on the work”. With the prospect of surplus land now on his hands and lower income due to a smaller herd Paddy looked for an alternative enterprise that would reduce his workload and compensate for, if not improve, his farm income.

Paddy has had a lifelong love of trees and was aware that forestry was becoming an important farm enterprise on many farms in Cavan. “I knew that a lot of Cavan farmers were planting land and that there was a grant available but I knew nothing else about what was involved.” Paddy decided to make more serious enquiries and contacted Coillte. “With the cattle needing less grass I was thinking of planting some of the heavier wetter ground. The forester came to the farm and walked it and said it would be suitable. He explained the grants and premia which seemed to be very attractive – particularly the tax-free annual premium.” he says.

Partnership option
The forester explained the different ways of getting the job done and Paddy was particularly interested in the partnership scheme offered by Coillte. He decided to proceed with the planting through a partnership agreement with Coillte. “I knew little about growing trees and at my stage of life I was happier to leave the work and worry to the professionals especially as Coillte would have a vested interest in the timber crop.” says Paddy. “Coillte looked after the getting of the grant approval and I had very little to do.”

The planting was carried out in spring 1998 with a total of 12 hectares being planted. The main species planted were Norway spruce and ash on the drier parts with small areas of sycamore, birch and Japanese larch. “I never thought the larch would grow, but they have done brilliantly” says Paddy. “It was all prepared and planted in no time but it was a very well done job, especially the fencing. There was a lot of fencing and they put a rabbit fence around the ash.”

How did he fare with the maintenance of his forest?
“I would never have believed the amount of grass and weeds that grew after planting and I certainly don’t regret leaving the maintenance to Coillte.” Paddy says. “A good road runs through the plantation and that made the maintenance much more straightforward. It will be of great use in the future as well.”

The forest was recently approved for the maintenance grant and Paddy is more than satisfied with his trees. “I found the Coillte foresters extremely helpful and co-operative at all times and I am delighted with the progress of my trees.” says Paddy. “I look forward to walking through my forest for many years to come. I recently had the local Teagasc forestry adviser carry out an independent advisory visit and he subsequently brought out a group of farmers to walk the forest as part of a forestry training course.”

What would you say to someone thinking of planting?
“I would like to say: look into it seriously. The tax-free element of the premium payments is very important and it is good to know there is a cheque coming every year for 20 years if you are a farmer. The increase in the premium to the current level affected people like ourselves and was fully justified.” says Paddy. “If you are in any doubt that you have the time to organise and carry out the planting yourself leave it to a forestry company or professional forester. But get good independent advice beforehand from your Teagasc forestry adviser.”

Will you plant more?
“Yes” says Paddy emphatically. “In fact I am planting another 5 hectares this year in another Coillte partnership. I have been very pleased with my experience in forestry to date and have no qualms about doing more.”