IT'S the time of year when most people have already given up their resolution, but we're just making ours now. If 2022 was a good year for forestry – and we think it arguably was – then 2023 can be even better, but only if we embrace all of the sector's opportunities.
To help us do so, there are a few things we would change were we to wave a magic wand today.
Here are three of them – and one rather easy prediction – to kick off the first Forestry Latest News newsletter of the year.
1) More progressive dialogue around species selection
When Richard Stanford, the chief executive of the Forestry Commission, strode onto a stage in London last year and called for an end to the "dogma around conifers", he seemed to be triggering a drastic shift in tone from the organisation. It was certainly an encouraging one for many parts of the sector.
This came at a time when the public's renewed interest in trees – while welcome – too often strayed into the 'broadleaf good, conifer bad' diatribe. The same trap often catches out the nation's politicians, and a major debate in the Scottish Parliament in November saw many members call for the use of species such as Sitka spruce to be reduced.
But the fact the FC was now saying it wanted to stand up for conifers (where appropriate), seemed an important first step in changing the dialogue. Rather than being either or, a mixture is what we should be aiming for – and we shouldn't be afraid to argue for conifers when they bring with them their own benefits.
In a country which remains the world's second-largest net importer of timber in the world, being able to say so without fear of inciting the masses would be a welcome change this year.
2) Government promises to bear fruit
The last few months of 2022 saw so many changes at Defra and the wider British government that it would have been easier to keep track of Lord Lucan's movements than who was in power. The shortest-serving prime minister of all time, two environment secretaries (including one to share the infamy of Liz Truss' spell in a role), and a number of under secretaries came and went without forestry ever getting a mention.
At least there is now a minister for the sector in place – Trudy Harrison – and she is making all the right noises, with industry figures quietly confident of her having a tangible impact. Since taking on the role, she has promised to hit the tree-planting targets set out in 2019 and to take a chainsaw to planting time.
Doing either would be welcome, but there's also a feeling that some in forestry have heard it all before. Let's hope this will be different.
3) Electric machines to move a step closer
Last year saw the high-profile launch of Ponsse's EV1 hybrid forwarder. Running off a fully electric powertrain, which operates solely with battery energy, it requires a diesel engine to charge the generator. As always, the machine – which will be commercially available at a later date – drew a mixed response, with some believing it to be a first look at the future of forestry machines.
Others, however, took a less encouraging tone, suggesting such a concept would never work in the real world, and electric machines were a long way off (albeit the EV1, unlike Malwa's Electric Combi, isn't fully electric).
Whichever side of the fence you stand on, the reality is they are coming, and probably coming sooner than we might think. Other similar concepts are already in the works across the sector, including Net Zero Timhaul, which will see a battery-powered truck deliver timber in Scotland.
Hopefully 2023 is the year we take a tangible step closer to electric machines feeling more like a realistic prospect than a distant pipe dream.
Prediction: The UK will miss its tree-planting target
Maybe an easy one but very likely to come true. With planting levels at barely half of the promised target of 30,000 hectares per year, it would take a minor miracle for something to have changed in the 12 months between March 2022 and 2023.
One small note and apology from us. In Wednesday's newsletter (which you should also subscribe to if you don't yet), we mistakenly put Confor's Woodland Show down as taking place in June when, in fact, it isn't until September 21 and 22.
This piece is an extract from last week's Forestry Latest News newsletter, which is emailed out at 4PM every Friday with a round-up of the week's top stories.
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