Welcome to the Heartwoods Newsletter Sept 2014 and I hope that this run of favourable weather carries on well into the autumn, allowing unhindered work in the woods for as long as possible. A bit of dust is always preferable to mud!

Timber prices and strong demand are holding up, and in some cases continue to rise. Hardwood firewood lengths suitable for firewood processors are now being advertised nationally at £60/tonne at roadside. Standing conifer crops with good sawlog content are regularly fetching well over £30/tonne.

I think timber prices, the good weather and a general upsurge in activity explains the positive and buoyant mood evident amongst the majority of exhibitors and attendees at the recent APF demo event held at Ragley Estate in Warwickshire. The Small Woods Association had a stand at the show, in conjunction with the Deer Initiative, promoting the benefits of consuming more wild venison as a measure to help encourage deer control.

As an aside, if you hear of a life-size willow sculpture of a deer being offered for sale please let us know – someone stole it from our stand on the Friday evening, with witnesses even reporting they saw site staff helping to carry it on the understanding it had been purchased! Equally, if you hear anyone offering a second hand IW tipping trailer with cage sides please get in touch – we had one of these stolen from the Greenwood Centre a few weeks ago.

As a reaction to the growing risk of equipment theft the Arbtalk website has launched the industry’s first asset management and stolen equipment register. An intuitive user interface makes it possible for anyone to register and add any manner of equipment within minutes. The secure new website allows provision for managing business assets privately, as well as displaying your stolen assets publicly. Check it out: www.arbtalk.co.uk

I look forward to meeting many of you at our next event on October 24th or at the Wyre forest event on 17th October (see page 3). Please also remember we still have capacity to conduct woodland advisory visits so do get in touch with Will Tomkins or Harriet Wood on 01952 435860 if you would like to arrange a free visit.

Mike Bentley
Heartwoods Project Manager

Forestry Commission England are promoting free support to forestry businesses in relation to new grants within the new Rural Development Programme, set to start in 2015.

Details of future schemes are yet to be decided or announced but if arrangements are similar to the last programme, the most obvious interest for grant support might include kit (timber harvesting, extraction and primary processing equipment), but potentially also storage, tracks and hard standing, specialist timber and woodfuel haulage, venison processing, training, business support, and advisory services.

The Forestry Commission is offering free support to forestry businesses with an idea to expand their business but which struggle to pull the necessary paperwork together. This support, provided by a consortium of forestry initiatives and specialists throughout England, who will help with business planning, financial forecasting, legal agreements, identifying the right technical solutions and the best fit grant.

Experience from previous rounds of these European Rural Development Grants shows that it will be important for forestry businesses to have good quality “oven ready” applications in time for the official opening.

FCE are encouraging businesses to register their interest in receiving this support as soon as possible. Please choose from the appropriate regional contact below

• East England: Corinne Meakins corinne.meakins@forestry.gsi.gov.uk 01842 819089
• East Midlands: David Bole david.bole@forestry.gsi.gov.uk 07712 750549
• South East: Matthew Woodcock matthew.woodcock@forestry.gsi.gov.uk 01483 326210
• South West: Mark Prior mark.prior@forestry.gsi.gov.uk 01392 834260
• West Midlands: Simon West simon.west@forestry.gsi.gov.uk 01905 532212
• North West: Penny Oliver penny.oliver@forestry.gsi.gov.uk 01524 565805
• Yorkshire & the North East Richard Pow richard.pow@forestry.gsi.gov.uk 07831 216024

What’s your idea?

Grants for forestry in England (including the English Woodland Grant Scheme) are undergoing major restructuring, the details of which are yet to be announced. The aim of this event is to ensure that the forestry sector in the West Midlands is aware of recent developments and ready to make the most of new opportunities.

Topics include:
New Environmental Land Management Scheme—NELMS (Natural England)
Forestry and Farming Productivity Scheme—FFPS (Forestry Commission)
LEADER (Local Action Group)
Plant Health (Forestry Commission Plant Health)

For more information or to book your place please contact the Heartwoods office on
01952 435860 or alternatively email info@heartwoods.co.uk

YFC Centre, Shires Farm, Worcester WR3 7SG
Friday 24th October 2014
10.00am—3.00pm

The event costs £10.00 which includes refreshments and lunch and is targeted at woodland owners, contractors and managers within the West Midlands.

Woodland Grant Update

Welcome to our latest newsletter which contains plenty of interesting information about what we’ve been up to, what’s in the pipeline and updates on some wider   issues. We’ve been busy with the final site visits gathering information on the undermanaged woodland resource in the Marches. The resultant Ground Truthing Report was presented at our most recent event and set the scene for discussions on the Marches Woodland Enterprise Zone (MWEZ), and the activities it should pursue. The event saw us join forces with Confor again for a conference at Worcester racecourse on June 24^th.  Further information and a link to the final report is on page 2. In the run up to the start of the next RDP in 2015 we have been engaged in various meetings with Defra, FC, local Leader Groups and Local Enterprise Partnerships in order to make sure the forestry sector is represented. We hope this early-stage input at both national and local level will ensure that practical and effective measures will result. We will keep you informed as things emerge and we plan to provide a more detailed update of the four RDP schemes (NELMS, FFPS, Leader and Growth Fund) in the next Heartwoods Newsletter. Grown in Britain (GiB) is set to announce its eagerly anticipated licencing scheme which will allow UK woodland owners and timber businesses access to an affordable means of promoting the superb credentials of home grown timber. The scheme, which will be free to owners of small woodlands, sees retailers, trade suppliers,     processors, and woodland owners come together under a single logo which is proof of the timber’s origin and sustainability. It is a major step towards harnessing the strong desire to support well managed local woods.  More details in the next       newsletter but in the meantime keep an eye on www.growninbritain.org for news of how to be one of the first to apply for a licence. A quick reminder – we have a funded programme of advisory visits available.      Woodland related guidance relevant to tree health, wood-fuel, timber production, grants and licences is available through an initial visit from a Heartwoods officer. Please contact us if you would like to arrange a free visit. Finally, I look forward to seeing you at our next event on 18^th July, a practical day out in the woods with Toby Allen and Aly May of Say It With Wood – see page 3. Mike Bentley—Heartwoods Project Manager Read more….Heartwoods Newsletter June July 2014

The Marches Timber Study Ground Truthing Report provides confirmation of the extent and nature of the undermanaged woodland resource in the Marches and provides further information highlighting the potential for the creation of a Marches Woodland Enterprise Zone (MWEZ). There are an estimated 28,000ha of undermanaged woodlands in the Marches, they consist of mostly mature and over-mature broadleaved trees. The volume of standing timber contained in these woods is estimated to be in excess of five million cubic metres and most of it is ideally suited to meet the growing demand for woodfuel – the renewable, locally sourced, low carbon alternative to fossil fuel. An annual target to thin 5% of the undermanaged area amounts to 1400ha per year being brought into active management and this will produce an additional 77,700 cubic meters of timber per year. Barriers exist which prevent this potential being delivered. Most of the barriers are associated with the skills, knowledge and objectives of woodland owners. The other main barriers are access related, and the current capacity of the woodland management and timber harvesting sector to mobilise this additional quantity of timber.

This event will show how the conversion of timber into marketable products can add value to the raw material. Ranging from firewood to high end fencing and milled timber. Hosted by Toby and Aly at Say it With Wood. We will visit a working woodland and the yard where they pro-cess a range of products.
Toby and Aly have been coppicing and selling chestnut fencing products for many years. Their experience spans all aspects of woodland management and can show how adding value can lead to employment and business growth. We will also look at different systems of felling and extraction, and achieving maximum productivity from timber on a challenging site.

When? – Friday 18th July 2014— 10.00am – 15.00pm
Where? – Say It With Wood, Leighton Court Farm, Herefordshire, HR8 2UN

The majority of the event will take place outdoors so please ensure suitable clothing and footwear is worn.

The event costs £10.00 which includes refreshments and lunch and is targeted at woodland owners, managers and contractors within the West Midlands. Reservations will be given on a first come first served basis.

To book your place, contact Harriet Wood at Heartwoods on 01952 435860 or email harrietwood@smallwoods.org.uk

Managing Woodlands for Added Value – 18 July

Thank you to all who attended the conference on 24 June.  Your contributions will go towards informing the development of the Marches Woodland Enterprise Zone, which will hopefully be of benefit to the whole forestry sector in the region.

The papers from the conference are now available:

Mike Bentley – Ground Truthing the Marches Timber Study

Simon West – Marches Woodland Enterprise Zone

 Graham Taylor – Hardwood and Softwood Timber Markets

Barnaby Wylder – Plant Health Update

Stuart Goodall – Grown in Britain Update

Your chance to contribute to the development of this exciting new programme for the forestry sector in the Marches region.

Worcester Racecourse, Worcester, WR1 3EJ

For more information or to book a place email info@heartwoods.co.uk or call 01952 435860

Conference Programme

Available now:  Heartwoods Newsletter Spring 2014

How can managing woodland improve your shoot?

Managed woodland has a diverse understory, which creates better cover and holds more birds in the area.

Unmanaged woodlands have a sparse ground cover and soon become cold and draughty.

This event aims to provide information on how to manage your woodland without disrupting the shoot.

Alan Stephens at Countryside Training Ltd has been involved with shooting and woodland management for

many years. He has first-hand knowledge of managing woodland for the shoot and can demonstrate how he

manages the woodland for both firewood production and shooting.

Meeting arrangements for the event is as follows:-

Countryside Training Ltd

Blackheath Lane, Stafford ST18 0YB

Monday 14th April 2014

This event will take place outdoors so please

ensure suitable clothing and footwear is worn.

The event costs £10.00 which includes lunch and refreshments.

Reservations will be given on a first come first served basis.

This event is for woodland owners and managers in the West Midlands region.

For more information or to book your place please contact the Heartwoods office on

01952 435860 or alternatively email info@heartwoods.co.uk