Forestry for Now... and the Future

We in Ireland have the most suitable land in Europe for growing trees.

The curious thing is however, that we also have the lowest percentage of all European countries under forestry.

Of even further significance is the fact that wood imports for the European community are second only to oil.

This has led to a concerted effort to reduce the massive timber import bill by offering farmers very attractive financial incentives to incorporate forestry as part of their enterprise mix.

This solid, long term support for farmer forestry fromwithin the decision making bodies of the EU has encouraged many Irish farmers to study the exciting potential returns, particularly the concept of earning a tax free income.

Farmer forestry is also receiving strong support from the Irish Government!

It has been predicted that within 20 years, forestry will be bigger than the beef industry is at present.

By 2010 the Agri sector will be required to reduce their emission of Greenhouse gases by an amount equivalent to a 10% reduction in the national herd.

Over 80 countries including Ireland have signed the Kyoto agreement to reduce green house gas emissions.

One option available to us to address the problem of green house gases is to plant trees!

In the current era of climate change we should not underestimate the significant role a new forest can play in sequestering carbon from our atmosphere.