Farmers looking to diversify their business opportunities are being encouraged to consider the woodfuel market by the Forestry Commission.
More woodfuel boilers are being installed across the UK, which is increasing the demand for wood in the form of logs, pellets or chips.
Mark Prior, who is the Forestry Commission’s woodfuel officer for South West England, is working to develop its supply from forest to fuel, and he said:
“There are commercial opportunities for farmers all along the woodfuel supply chain, from managing woodlands, through to diversifying into turning some of the timber into a source of energy.
“More rural estates, farms and rural businesses are using woodfuel to heat their buildings, so there is a growing demand for locally-produced woodfuel. It provides a market for the lower quality produce, making the management of woodland more economically viable.
“Our regional woodfuel officers can advise you on the latest opportunities available locally, including training courses, grants for equipment and wood supply networks.”
Mark said farmer Tim Cox, who has a 700-acre mixed farm, near Exeter, was a good example of someone who was helping the local environment and its economy by joining the woodfuel supply chain.
The agricultural engineering business, set up 20 years ago, has expanded into woodfuel and now supplies the local National Trust property, Castle Drogo, with woodchips as a carbon-lean source of fuel.
Tim added:
“We’ve recently expanded into processing wood into fuel. It’s providing a sustainable business opportunity for us and will help both secure and create jobs.
“For example, tractor drivers are only needed on our local farms for about two months of the year but woodfuel supply is providing them with more work, over a longer period and in a sustainable environment.”
He explained that Tim Cox Engineering Services converted felled timber from the estate into the woodchips for the boiler. This involved taking the timber to be dried, chipped and stored before being delivering as fuel.
“Castle Drogo is currently using wood grown within a ten-mile radius, including an increasing amount of wood grown on the estate itself. Within two years, it is planned that the 600-acre estate will supply 100% of its own woodfuel.”
For more information about the FCE and support for woodfuel production and in England, Scotland and Wales go to: www.forestry.gov.uk/woodfuel
- NOTES TO EDITORS
National Woodfuel Policy - The UK Government is committed to combating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. In 2008, Government signed up to European targets to produce 15% of all energy produced in the UK from renewable sources and the recent Renewable Energy Strategy proposed that 30% of that renewable energy would come from bioenergy. Woodfuel is a sustainable and low carbon source of bioenergy that can make a substantial contribution to achieving these targets. For more information on national renewable energy and climate change policy visit the Department for Energy and Climate website.
Within the Forestry Commission, England, Scotland and Wales are working in partnership with many private and public sector organisations to help deliver these national bioenergy targets.
- Forestry Commission England is the government department responsible in England for protecting, expanding and promoting the sustainable management of woods and forests and increasing their value to society and the environment. Forestry makes a real contribution to sustainable development, providing social and environmental benefits arising from planting and managing attractive, as well as productive, woodlands. For further information visit www.forestry.gov.uk
- Forestry Commission England runs the English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) to support and promote the national and regional delivery of forestry policy, as set out in the Government's Rural Strategy. EWGS is part of the Defra family of environmental support. Further information about these schemes can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/schemes/es/default.htm. EWGS is a part of the Rural Development Plan for England (RDPE).
- MEDIA CONTACTS
Mark Prior (Woodland Officer), tel 01626 892871 or 07836607029
Chris Johnson, Press Officer, Forestry Commission England, tel 01223 346034, email chris.c.johnson@forestry.gov.uk