Find out more about woodfuel

[Andrew Tolfts]

A bit short notice but I have only just joined the forum.

The woodfuel market in the South East is growing and maturing with new large users looking for timber supplies. West Sussex County Council and the Forestry Commission are holding 3 evening meetings to look at the latest developments and opportunities. We hope that people living without mains gas, woodland owners, farmers and those working in the woods will come along. Topics for discussion include:

~   Market trends

~   the Renewable Heat Incentive

~   Sources of advice and grant support

~   Forestry apprenticeships

~   Long term opportunities

Details of the venues and times are in the attached flyer: Woodland%20Owners%20event_v3.pdf

 

We hope to see you at one of the meetings. Please let me know if you intend to come along and let your friends know about the meetings if they might be interested.

[Arthur Fairfax Noble Luxmoore]

Would you be able to add horse logging as it is a cost effective way of extracting timber from woods and forests without creating rutted extraction areas and access is easy in areas where forestry tractors need new roadways or tracks. It would also create jobs in the Southdowns as well as being tourist friendly.

[Andrew Tolfts]

I agree horse logging certainly has a place, particularly in sites that are very sensitive to disturbance and smaller, isolated woodlands where the cost of bringing machinery in is not justified by the amount of timber available. How widely adopted it becomes will depend on its cost effectiveness against other methods of extraction and more people becoming acquainted with its potential. There is only a limited number of horse loggers operating in the South East and the demand for wood fuel and other timber products is increasing. My feeling is that horse logging will remain a niche player in extraction, albeit an important one.

As the cost of timber extraction using horses is dependent on the distance the timber has to be moved there seems no way out of constructing new roads to access many undermanaged woods.