Forest Products Industry

A lack of scientists specialised in plant breeding could lead to ‘dire’ food security implications in Australia, and around the world, according to new research conducted across three continents. Source: Timberbiz Plant breeding is a multidisciplinary science that underpins the global production of food, animal feed, fuel and fibre. A joint paper between Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, Lincoln University in New Zealand and McGill University in Canada to address the issue, has painted a concerning picture about future capacity in the plant breeding area. The paper found that to maintain our level of agrifood, fibre and feed production, we need to urgently address the skills shortage. Lead author and CSIRO scientist Dr Lucy Egan said the shortage has been building for some time and has the potential to impact agricultural production worldwide. “What we’re seeing is a whole generation of highly skilled plant breeding specialists who are now reaching retirement age, with a gap left as university graduates opt to focus on other areas of plant science including molecular biology,” Dr Egan said. “The implications of this shortage could be dire, including affecting global food security and the economies of different countries around the world, including Australia.” Lincoln University’s Dr Rainer Hofmann said the situation is much the same across the Tasman. “Agricultural production plays such a key role for our country, and so it’s really important we start looking at strategies to slow this skills shortage,” Dr Hofmann said. “Our research looked at the current state of plant breeding across tertiary, government and industry sectors and found that decreasing skills in plant breeding will have flow-on effects for a wide range of agrifood and fibre sectors.” The report has highlighted a number of responses to the skills shortage, including the need for a coordinated approach between the public and private sectors. McGill University’s Dr Valerio Hoyos-Villegas said one of the keys to addressing the shortage will be the establishment of dedicated training facilities in different countries. “We also need more focus on graduate programs in plant breeding, and increased private sec-tor involvement if we are to keep pace with emerging scientific and technological advances in the sector,” Dr Hoyos-Villega said. “Due to the long-term nature and the variety of agricultural industries plant breeding serves, it is important that funding and research become a matter of priority, with modernised plant breeding education top of mind.” The paper, Cultivating Success: Bridging the Gaps in Plant Breeding Training in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, was published in Crop Science.

Forestry has been in Jarrod Burn’s blood since he was a child working alongside his father on a forest harvesting operation. Source: Timberbiz “I’m a fifth-generation timber industry worker,” he said. Growing up on a family farm in the Liffey Valley, which included managed native forests, Mr Mr Burn’s was picking seeds for helicopter at the age of nine. His career has since taken him back to that helicopter for work. “I’ve been involved in the full cycle of forestry, including planning the harvesting of native forests that my dad felled about 20 years ago,” he said. With more than 20 years of forestry experience, Mr Burn is stepping into a new role at Private Forests Tasmania (PFT) with enthusiasm and a clear vision for the future. Mr Burn sees significant opportunities within private forestry in Tasmania, particularly in mitigating climate change through active native forest management. “Sustainable practices can enhance carbon sequestration and contribute to global climate goals,” he said. He also discussed the importance of changing perceptions about the value of trees in agricultural settings, a challenge lingering from the Managed Investment Scheme (MIS) days. Jarrod believes private forestry can play a crucial role in reducing the national trade deficit in wood products and strengthening Tasmania’s economic resilience. “Private forestry is at the forefront of promoting the management of a resource that can bolster our economy,” he said. Mr Burn’s journey in forestry has been extensive. After completing a technical traineeship, he spent several years in the private sector before returning to Forestry Tasmania (now Sustainable Timber Tasmania) His tenure as a planning coordinator at STT included completing an MBA, which helped to broaden his strategic thinking around forest management and promoting the sustainability and value of forests beyond just production. “Private forestry is incredibly broad, covering everything from environmental and remedial works to large-scale industrial plantation management,” he said. “The private estate in Tasmania has the most potential to expand and actively manage forests, addressing some of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. By leveraging this potential, we can ensure our forests continue to provide ecological, economic, and social benefits for generations to come.” Mr Burn’s vision for Private Forests Tasmania is clear: embrace sustainable practices, shift perceptions, and promote the economic value of well-managed forests. Mr Burns and the Operations Team can be contacted on admin@pft.tas.gov.au or call 1300 661 009.  

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced that Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit New Zealand later this week. Source: Timberbiz “I look forward to warmly welcoming Premier Li in New Zealand. The Premier’s visit is a valuable opportunity for exchanges on areas of cooperation between New Zealand and China,” Mr Luxon says. “China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner, with two-way trade worth almost $38 billion last year. From innovative agri-tech and high-quality food, to creative industries, and world class tourism and education, New Zealand has a lot to offer China. “I am confident that trade with China will continue to grow, supporting the Government’s goal to double the value of exports in the next decade.” Premier Li’s visit marks 10 years since the conclusion of the New Zealand China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner with around NZ$38 billion for the year ending March 2024 (Statistics New Zealand) but relationships have not always been ideal and this a way to get things back on track. When it comes to the timber trade more than half of all logs processed at China’s ports were from New Zealand. Statistics New Zealand also shows that 89% of radiata pine logs from New Zealand in April headed for China. “New Zealand and China engage where we have shared interests, and we speak frankly and constructively with each other where we have differences. Our relationship is significant, complex, and resilient,” Mr Luxon said. “The challenging global outlook makes it vital that we are sharing perspectives and engaging China on key issues that matter to New Zealand.” Premier Li will receive a ceremonial welcome in Wellington, followed by bilateral talks with the Prime Minister and an official dinner. Engagements in Wellington and Auckland will focus on important areas of cooperation including innovative business, agri-tech, education, and people-to-people connections. In a statement from China’s foreign ministry, it said Premier Li’s tour was at the invitation of the New Zealand Prime Minister but also of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and he was to co-chair the ninth China-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting. Australia has an annual timber trade with China that is worth more than $1.5 billion, it was temporarily halted due to ‘a regulatory measure’ as pests were found by China in Australian timber in 2020. Australia’s timber trade with China resumed in May last year.

A recent collaborative training exercise between CFA and Hancock Victorian Plantations (HVP) has been hailed as a success following an enforced break because of the pandemic. Source: Australian Rural & Regional News The Shelley Burn Camp is unique because it occurs in one of the highest locations in the state and is home to extensive pine plantations managed by HVP. There are about 17,500 hectares of continuous plantations, including approximately 5,000 hectares of native bush reserved for conservation. With such a large area, it is considered critically important that any fire related training (including mitigation and prevention activities), occurs collaboratively between HVP and CFA. Starting in 2014, the Shelley Burn Camp is organised by the North East Region Vegetation Management team in partnership with HVP. With more than 40 participants from HVP, CFA volunteers and staff plus a NSW Rural Fire Service member, the three-day camp provided excellent opportunities for hands-on learning by burning and a positive exchange of ideas between all participants. Five sites were burnt over the three days with a total of 25 hectares of fuel reduction burning achieved. “It was a fantastic opportunity for our forestry industry brigade members to work alongside the CFA as equals,” HVP North East Plantations Manager, Nikki Armstrong, said. “It provides opportunities us to showcase our skills and understanding of the plantation and share our knowledge. Shelley Burn Camp is not only a stunning backdrop but allows us, in a very controlled environment, to observe fire behaviour first hand. “Participants can step back and look at the effects of weather, fuel and topography in real time with no pressure or urgency to suppress,” she explained. The HVP Plantations field crew – Andrew Centre, Shane Riley, Tristan Boar and Kayla Nichol – thought the burn camp was a fantastic opportunity for a variety of firefighting agencies to come together and share knowledge and experience while working in a team environment. “Representing HVP, we felt very honoured to be invited and welcomed by everyone,” they agreed. “The mentors have a wealth of knowledge and were more than willing to share it.” Likewise, CFA volunteers also appreciated the opportunity provided by the burn camp. “It was a great time to learn and test yourself with others who want to do the same thing,” Bethanga brigade volunteer, Sean Farrar, said. “Yes, you learn about the planned burning process including the preparation, execution and follow-up but it’s also great to be able to test yourself in situations where there’s no fear of failing so that you can learn from mistakes. “It was a great opportunity to build teamwork with members from other brigades who you don’t know and work towards a common goal.”  

Timber framing accounted for 91.1% of all framing in houses approved in Victoria over the year-ended April 2024. The latest analysis of the most comprehensive data available in any Australian jurisdiction shows 30.972 house approvals included timber framing, with ‘no information’ coming in second (4.4%) and steel framing third (3.7%). Source: Industry Edge Over the same period, timber also framed 83.8% of townhouses and an aggregate 89.5% of all dwellings approved in Victoria, including apartments. IndustryEdge has laboriously reassembled the massive dataset available for Victoria, cleansing the entire data series back to 2009, to inform subscribers and clients of the trends in building materials use in the State’s dwellings. The data is updated monthly in the IndustryEdge database and a range of datasets are being provided to clients interested in timber framing, roofing materials, flooring materials, cladding types and other relevant features. One aspect of the data that has proved useful for clients is analysis of framing and roofing materials at the specific Council level, based on the floor area of every dwelling approved in the State since 2009. Analysis has pointed to some major trends and changes over the fifteen years for which data is available, especially for those areas where there has been extensive new building. One client has worked with IndustryEdge to extrapolate the trends to identify the likely number of dwellings requiring ‘timber solutions’ in an adjacent development area and worked through the expected average size of dwellings and therefore frame, truss and other materials needed over the next two to three years. For more information visit www.industryedge.com.au

  About 400 Victorians a day have been signing a petition calling on the Victorian Government to halt converting another 486,412ha of state forests into national parks, locking out hunters, firewood collectors, prospectors, horse and trail-bike riders, according to The Weekly Times. Sources: The Weekly Times, Timberbiz As of Tuesday, 11,346 people had signed the Bush Users Group United’s petition, 30 days after its launch. Group founder Bill Schulz told The Weekly Times that he hoped it would beat the all-time record for an e-petition of 27,545 by the time it closes on 8 August. Gaining more than 10,000 signatures automatically means the petition must be debated in parliament, rather than tabled. The petition states: “The Victorian government has shown disregard for the interests of bush user groups who participate in traditional recreational activities, which not only contribute to rural and regional jobs, but also have a positive impact on people’s wellbeing and the natural environment. “Locking up public forests increases the risk of bushfires, placing communities and the environment in greater peril. Neglecting public land leads to overgrown tracks, the proliferation of invasive weeds and feral pests, which degrade the environment and pose a threat to native flora and fauna.” The powerful Electrical Trades Union has also called on its 20,000-plus members to back the petition and urged other blue-collar unions to join the fight on retaining access to public land. “It’s of utmost importance that ETU members and every Victorian worker have the opportunity to explore our state’s magnificent bush, coast, and bays, engaging in the activities they cherish with their loved ones,” the union said in a recent Facebook post. The Liberal-Nationals Coalition has already promised to stop the creation of more parks if elected in 2026. The government is charging ahead with the formation of more parks, after terminating native forest timber harvesting across 1.8 million hectares on 1 January 2024. The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action’s Future Forests website states the timber industry’s demise means Victoria is now “home to an area of native forest that is protected from logging that is larger than the entire land mass of Tasmania”. The Weekly Times says the government has set up an eminent panel, chaired by former South Gippsland Labor branch president Karen Cain and Victorian Environmental Assessment Council chairwoman Melissa Wood, which in partnership with traditional owners: has recommended the government lock up 24,000ha of the Strathbogie Ranges in a Cultural Reserve, plus a small 420ha lot at Mirboo North into a Conservation Park, which would ban recreational hunting, firewood collection and prospecting. has overseen community consultation on the future use of 390,000ha of the Central Highlands state forests, with its report and recommendations due to be delivered to the government this month. Is due to oversee another round of community consultation on the future use of 72,000ha of East Gippsland, including the Errinundra and Kuark regions, plus Bonang, Yalmy, Murrungower, Club Terrace, Bemm, Cann Valley, Buldah, Drummer, Tamboon and Wingan state forests. Mr Schulz and Nationals Upper House MP Melina Bath told The Weekly Times they were both concerned about the independence of the panel, due to Ms Cain’s political background with Labor and Ms Wood’s role as chairwoman of VEAC, given the body’s long history of recommending the state government lock up more crown land in parks and reserves. The government failed to respond to questions on the panel’s independence, nor why it had failed to appoint any recreational forest users to the panel. Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos has instead responded to growing community concern over public land access by establishing a Great Outdoors Taskforce, chaired by former Labor Minister Lisa Neville and on which Ms Cain, Ms Wood and traditional owners sit, alongside Victorian Fisheries Authority chair Graham Dear and Destination Gippsland chief executive Terry Robinson. In launching the taskforce in April, Mr Dimopoulos said it would “investigate ways to support more Victorians and visitors to explore the great outdoors, protect biodiversity and create new recreation opportunities”. The minister, however, has given no indication of how the taskforce interacts with the work of the existing eminent panel. Ms Bath told The Weekly Times the taskforce appeared to be no more than an attempt to re-badge the process. “At the end of the day it’s just another con by the Victorian government to say it’s looking after the best interests of forest users, when it’s just doing the bidding of inner city voters,” Ms Bath said. Mr Schulz said the taskforce was nothing more than “smoke and mirrors”.