UNLIKE THE situation in Europe, farming and forestry have never really mixed in this country – but a new survey of farmers in central Scotland has revealed what has been described as a 'latent interest' in planting and managing trees.

The work was carried out for the Tayforth Machinery Ring by SAOS, the parent body of farm co-operatives in Scotland, and it showed that four fifths of farmers already had woodland on their farms, while a number of those that did not were interested in new planting.

In addition, many of those with woodland admitted it was not being actively managed and they wanted help and advice in looking after their trees, as well as finding out how best to market the wood and how to go about new planting.

Tayforth Ring manager Bruce Hamilton said he was initially surprised at the acreage of land already in trees, with plantations ranging from one hectare up to 400 hectares being owned by ring members.

"But the really interesting result from the survey is the demand for help in managing woodland whether it is during the growing stages, or in the marketing."

Little more than a third of the acreage under the survey was 'actively managed' and of that acreage it was mostly the larger plantations that were being looked after.

More than 40% of the cooperative's members indicated their interest in increasing the amount of forestry on their land, but few of those knew the best way forward in achieving that aim.

Commenting on this aspect, Mr Hamilton said: "There is also potential in developing links with members in giving them advice in all aspects of planting."

Tayforth's initial interest in woodland had come through aiming to utilise on-farm wood for renewable energy projects. The cooperative has installed a wood burning boiler to provide heat for its offices as well as a neighbouring house, with all of the fuel coming from woodland within a mile of the premises.

It recently held an open day at Brucefield Estate, Alloa, where members saw how small seemingly uneconomic patches of woodland could provide business opportunities, such as fuel supplies in an era where wood fuel is increasingly valuable.

"The event was perfect for farmers to see first hand a practical demonstration of modern, efficient woodland management techniques," said Mr Hamilton. "We recognise that there are many unmanaged woods and this sort of event should encourage land managers to start bringing their woodlands into active management."

Most people are familiar with the extremely efficient but equally costly Forwarder harvesters but members at the open day saw inexpensive methods of harvesting being demonstrated.

Some Tayforth members already use some of their wood as fence posts and for construction projects but Mr Hamilton thought that members were now far more aware of the wider potential of their woodland and the contribution it could make to their businesses.