What shall we do with the timber?

The annual intake of logs by Irish timber processors has averaged 4.2m cubic metres in recent years.

Sawmills have claimed in the past that they can increase productivity by at least 50%, while wood-based panel (WBP) mills and biomass energy outlets have the capacity to increase output.

An overall rise of 40% in productivity would increase annual production to 5.9m cubic metres of timber which is 57% of the estimated 10.4m cubic metres of blown timber.

If 15-20% of the blown area has remaining vulnerable or leaning trees that could be harvested at a later date, then the forestry and forest products sector has an 18-month period to harvest the actual blown and shattered trees.

All this presupposes that Irish and European ­— mainly UK — markets are robust enough to absorb the increased volumes of processed timber.

Sawmills, WBP mills and energy outlets are interdependent, so while the sawmills may be able to increase their market share of sawnwood, they will also need to find markets for wood residue (wood chips, sawdust, bark).

For every 1m3 of sawlog purchased by a sawmill, 0.55m3 is processed and sold as sawn timber for construction, pallet and other sawn product markets.

The remaining 0.45m3 of residue is sold on to the WBP mills, horticulture and energy outlets, while some is used to power the mills’ own heating and wood-drying systems. So, even if the sawmill can secure increased domestic and export markets for its sawn wood, they need to find markets for the residue.

This production and marketing challenge was solved in the past when most timber in Ireland was sourced in Coillte forests. The mills purchased the sawlog material, while a ‘buyback’ or ‘retention’ clause — which still operates — allowed Coillte to retain its pulpwood material, mainly to supply its two Medite Smartply WBP mills.

As private log supply gradually increased over the years, it was easily absorbed by the sawmills, Coillte and Masonite WBP mills, wood energy outlets and pulpwood log exports.

Now, in addition to 4.89m cubic metres of Coillte blown timber, there is an extra 5.24m cubic metres of privately owned timber to be processed.

All this has to be achieved within an 18-month window for sawlog, while outlets such as energy can be extended, providing sufficient storage is available.

Wood for energy can be allowed to dry outdoors for a prolonged period, as it can dry to sufficiently low moisture content, thereby increasing its calorific value.

However, these different elements can only come together, if there is a team approach to windblow by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), growers, timber processors, contractors, forestry companies and foresters and Coillte, forestry organisations, Teagasc and other relevant stakeholders.

Strategy

It is now eight weeks since storm Éowyn, so a windblow strategy is overdue. It needs to acknowledge the high degree of interdependency among all forestry players in meeting the challenges of harvesting and processing dramatically increased log supply.

The strategy needs to respond to the sector’s strengths and weaknesses. Strengths lie in Ireland’s timber-processing industry and resilient forestry companies, while Coillte has a major role to play in meeting this challenge in collaboration with the other players.

There are weaknesses in implementing an effective strategy. Although Forest Industries Ireland provides a broad forest industry view, it mainly represents Coillte and the sawmills.

While the sawmills are strong individually, their representative group — the Irish Timber Council — doesn’t function as a working council capable of providing the basis for an industry strategy.

Contractors, who are vital in ensuring timber mobilisation, have no central voice at the taskforce capable of representing harvesters and hauliers. Growers are represented by the IFA, Irish Timber Growers Association and Irish Forest Owners.

Their success lies in their ability to convince DAFM, processors, contractors and Coillte that a team approach is vital to ensure that timber will be licensed, harvested and sold as quickly, safely and transparently as possible.

Bringing these disparate groups together in achieving a windblow strategy is now paramount.

This can be overseen at taskforce level by Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae but its implementation and day-to-day co-ordination have to be assigned to a windblow timber mobilisation manager, just as it was within days in Sweden after the disastrous 2005 storm Gudrun.