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The extraordinary height of the world’s tallest tropical trees does not make them more vulnerable to drought than smaller trees, a new study has revealed. Source: Timberbiz The research overturns a widely held and untested scientific belief that the higher a tree grows, the harder it becomes to move water from the soil to its leaves – potentially increasing its vulnerability to drought stress. The international team, led by researchers at Cardiff University and the University of Exeter, studied five species of dipterocarps in the rainforests of Malaysian Borneo, observing how the trees adapted their woody anatomies as they grew to ensure a regulated water supply from root to leaf. Their findings, published in the Journal Science, reveal the tallest rainforest trees suffer no more than smaller trees during drought events, challenging decades of ecological theory which the team says must now be re-evaluated. Understanding tall trees is vital, because the tallest 1% store more than half of above-ground carbon in forests. These trees are therefore rare and play an important role in the planet’s rainforests capacity to combat climate change by storing and absorbing carbon. “As a tree becomes taller, keeping its leaves hydrated becomes more challenging. Existing predictions suggest an impaired hydraulic system places them at higher risk of dying due to drought. That prediction is included in some models of climate-change impacts, and our study suggests this may not be correct,” said lead author Dr Paulo Bittencourt from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Reaching heights of up to 100 metres tall, Dipterocarps dominate the rainforests of southeast Asia, storing vast amounts of carbon and helping to protect and shape their surrounding ecosystems. The researchers witnessed how these colossal trees protected themselves against the effects of drought by widening their internal water carrying vessels and adjusting their leaf physiology. “Trees contain lots of thin, hollow vessels and like drinking through a straw they draw water upwards by creating low pressure at the top,” said the study’s co-author Professor Lucy Rowland from the University of Exeter. “Unlike drinking straws, these vessels have evolved intricate adaptations that can maintain the water in liquid form, even under the extreme low pressures required to move it above 10 metres. “However, a widely accepted theory suggests that in tall trees, the sheer length of vessels and the effects of gravity limit water transport, photosynthesis and growth. “Our results challenge this by showing that the hydraulic systems of very tall Dipterocarp trees are perfectly evolved for their height and should not suffer more than small Dipterocarp trees exposed to the same drought conditions.” The researchers examined Dipterocarp trees ranging from 7 to 71 metres tall in Malaysian Borneo and measured a variety of characteristics at multiple positions along each tree. They found taller trees compensate for their height in various ways, including water-carrying vessels that grow wider nearer the ground and leaves which have adapted to withstand greater water stress before wilting. They also measured trunk growth rates before, during and after the strong El Niño drought period of 2023-2024. “As a Malaysian researcher co-authoring this study, showing that even the tallest of these trees are hydraulically resilient to drought is a finding I hope will strengthen the case for protecting these forests under a changing climate,” said co-author Palasiah Jotan, a Malaysian PhD student studying in The Czech University of Life Sciences. The research team included Sabah Forestry Department (Malaysia), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the University of Aberdeen, as well as institutions from the Czech Republic, Spain, Brazil and the USA. More research is now needed to investigate the hydraulic systems and drought resilience of other tall trees and so we are expanding this work to test its generality across the tropics, repeating, for example, in the giant Amazon trees.

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Over the centuries, Europe’s forests have been optimised for timber production. The result is often very orderly, uniform stands lacking old, decaying trees or natural clearings. This monotony can pose a problem for biodiversity. Source: Timberbiz Researchers from the Biocentre at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany, together with researchers from the Universities of Marburg and Munich and the Bavarian Forest National Park, have now investigated in the BETA FOR project how targeted interventions to restore a more varied forest structure affect the diversity of bats and birds. The results have been published in the journal Current Biology. The team led by forest ecologist Professor Jörg Müller shows that when humans create gaps in the forest canopy and leave deadwood lying on the forest floor, this increases the diversity of both species groups at the forest landscape level. However, birds and bats react differently to changes in their habitat. Birds behave like homebodies: they occupy fixed territories if they find everything they need there – from nesting sites to food. They benefit when their established forest area has a structure that is as complex as possible, with deadwood and gaps. Bats, on the other hand, are like commuters: in a single night they cover long distances, visiting various ‘specialist shops’ along the way. Sometimes they hunt insects in a dark, dense corner of the forest; at other times they use light-filled gaps as entry corridors. For them, it is important that the individual sections of forest differ spatially from one another. Which species appeared The Würzburg study shows how diversity increases through gaps in the canopy and deadwood. In the case of bats, an average of two new species were found in more disordered forests. “That sounds like a small number, but it is actually significant because there are only 25 bat species in Germany in total,” says PhD student Clara Wild, the study’s first author. The more structurally diverse forests attracted species such as the northern bat or the parti-coloured bat, for example. Both otherwise prefer open terrain and are rather rare in dense, uniform forests. Birds benefited particularly strongly from local interventions, such as artificially created forest gaps with deadwood. In their case, it was primarily so-called functional diversity that increased – that is, species with very distinct lifestyles were added – such as deadwood specialists like various endangered woodpecker species. The researchers conducted the study in six regions in Germany: near Lübeck, in the Saarland, in the University of Würzburg’s forest, near Passau, in the Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park and in the Bavarian Forest National Park. In total, they studied 234 precisely defined forest plots measuring 50 by 50 metres. There, they deliberately manipulated the forest to create more diverse structures: in some areas they created gaps in the canopy, in others they placed deadwood such as tree stumps or fallen trunks. They then studied how species diversity changed over the following four to seven years. To find out which animals live in the forest plots, the researchers used acoustic monitoring. At times when the animals are most active, recorders captured their calls or songs. These invisible spies monitored the forest over a three-month period without the animals being disturbed by human presence. In this way, the research team identified a total of 17 bat and 72 bird species. “Our results show that we can promote biodiversity even in previous monotonous, species-poor forests,” explains Clara Wild. “Through small interventions that increase structural diversity, we can create valuable niches. This makes the forest more diverse and attracts pest controllers such as birds and bats alike.” The new findings provide further guidance for the forestry sector. “A structurally rich forest is much more resilient to climate change thanks to its diversity,” says Jörg Müller. For forestry operations, this means having the courage to leave gaps. “Leaving deadwood in the forest may cost some timber yield in the short term, but it ensures the long-term stability of the entire ecosystem.” Publication: Restoring structural complexity in temperate forests increases bat and bird diversity. Current Biology, 20 May 2026, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.04.058

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Wildfires in recent years have ravaged millions of hectares of forest land, destroyed thousands of homes and claimed hundreds of victims. Globally, nearly all of the worst years for forest fires on record have occurred since 2020. Source: Timberbiz And fires are now the largest driver of forest loss around the world. Urgent and coordinated action is required to prevent further devastation, but with a number of factors fuelling the intensity of the fires – including climate change impacts and human activity – there is no one easy answer. But here’s what we do know: responsible forest management helps mitigate fire risks and protects communities and ecosystems from wildfires’ devastating impacts. FSC’s core principles require that forest managers assess risks related to natural hazards, including wildfires, and that they implement activities that help mitigate those risks. In practice, these activities may look different in each country, depending on the environmental conditions, risks and characteristics of each region. FSC’s national forest stewardship standards for different countries account for these differences. For example, in northern Spain, where the Devesa da Rogueira became the country’s first forest to receive FSC certification in 2020, community members who managed the forest regularly cleared vegetation that could fuel fires. Two years later, a large wildfire scorched more than 11,000 hectares in the area but left the Devesa da Rogueira forest largely untouched. In Guatemala, communities have invested in patrolling the boundaries of FSC-certified concessions, build and maintain fire gaps and consistently monitor the area through GPS technology and the use of drones. A 2018 study found the managed forest lands had practically no fire incidents over the span of a decade. Portugal’s 2017 wildfires, which scorched through more than 500,000 hectares and killed more than 120 people, also highlighted the critical need for enhanced forest management activities and led to a variety of management initiatives since then. In FSC-certified forests there, managers have for years proactively worked on responsible forest management, implementing actions to increase fire resistance and ecosystem resilience, including by controlling invasive species and promoting the regeneration of native species. Forest management practices around the world that can help prevent fires can also include procedures such as controlling visitor activities, removing trash, creating space that firefighters can use in the event of a rapid fire, and maintaining buffer zones between public roads. Across the world, FSC certification means that forests are managed in ways that protect ecosystems and enhance forest resilience – because healthier forests not only help reduce the risks of high-severity wildfires but also allow for ecosystems’ faster recovery.

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Swedish furniture company IKEA says it has ‘nothing to hide’ with its forestry operations and is proud of what it is doing in New Zealand. RNZ reported in December that rural communities were concerned about the extent of new forestry plantings in in Central Hawke’s Bay. Locals pointed to worries about fire risk and the loss of jobs and communities due to the land use change from farming to forestry.Source: RNZ Earlier this month, IKEA gave media and some farmers a tour of two forestry blocks. Ingka Investments Forestland country manager Kelvin Meredith told RNZ that IKEA was proud of its work in New Zealand. “You know, we’re doing something different. We’re doing large set asides, we’re passionate about biodiversity and different species. We’ve got nothing to hide. We’re an open book. “We don’t need to wave the flag how great we are, but we like to think we’re a good neighbour, and we communicate well,” Meredith said. He also addressed concerns about job and community losses, saying IKEA was employing locals for planting and pruning, and on many properties had subdivided off farmland and houses to keep people living in the area. Since August 2021, IKEA’s parent company Ingka Investments has been buying farmland to convert to forestry, and existing forestry blocks around New Zealand as part of IKEA’s sustainability strategy. IKEA owns 500,000 hectares of forests around the world, and 43,000 hectares in New Zealand. In Central Hawke’s Bay, IKEA has converted six farms into trees since 2021, which it believes makes it the largest forestry owner in the district. More than 1.8 million hectares of New Zealand is planted in pine trees with many farms having been converted since 2008 to earn carbon credits after the Emissions Trading Scheme was introduced. However, IKEA told RNZ none of its trees have been planted for carbon credits, although they may look at ‘some form of offsetting in the future’.   The first block on the tour is about 15 minutes from Waipukurau, where IKEA bought 850 hectares in 2025. The forestry site borders a large wetland swamp area, and forest manager Blake Jones told RNZ they were investing in the wetland and also creating a 10 hectare ‘setback’ of native trees. “The long-term vision is to have this whole wetland… planted on the boundaries right around it and have it as a beautiful wetland that serves as a bit of a bit of a sink for this whole catchment. “You’ve just got nutrients, sediment, water retention … the wetland serves as a bit of a filter for the environment,” he said. Further down the road is a 650-hectare block of two-year-old pine trees near Wallingford Station. Ingka Investments forestland country manager Kelvin Meredith said the company has subdivided off some of the best farmland and buildings. “We try and keep, in a lot of situations like this property, 100 hectares that the farm owner still owns. “Wallingford Station, he owned a big chunk of land and he’s still there, his family’s still there. “We’ve subdivided off and kept the houses, another young family’s moved in. Their kids are going to the local schools. “A lot of the angst that’s been created is that we shift the profile of the community – the rhetoric is we destroy the community. We don’t. We change a little bit of the dynamic,” he said. Ingka Investments forestland operations manager Dylan Foster said the company has invested in growing timber in New Zealand because it’s stable, safe and low corruption, and has well researched production capacity for commercial forestry. When asked if IKEA planned to convert more farmland to forestry, Foster said that was not its strategy as IKEA needed a variation of different tree ages in its portfolio. “I wouldn’t say there’s a plan to… I think if the right farm came up, we’d definitely look at, but I can say the focus is more actually on standing forests, just to mix our age class up,” he said. Of the 42,705 hectares of land bought by IKEA in New Zealand, 23,838 hectares was converted from farmland to forestry, while 17,175 hectares was existing forestry. And of the total estate, 31,500 is productive forestry and the rest is in set asides which include riparian, indigenous vegetation, and roading. Foster said 60% of the timber would end up on the export market to China, India or Korea, while the other 40% goes to domestic markets. ‘We are not anti-forestry’ There is no nationwide database showing who owns what land and if its use has changed, so several years ago Beef and Lamb New Zealand began monitoring whole farm sales for conversion to forestry. The organisation said at least 300,000 hectares of sheep and beef was sold to forestry interests since 2017. “Our big concerns are the scale and the pace of change,” Beef and Lamb spokesperson Julian Ashby said. “We are not anti-forestry. We really believe forestry has a legitimate place in New Zealand’s landscape, but that issue is we are seeing whole farm conversions really change the face of New Zealand at a dramatic pace. “You’re not just losing your farmland to grass, you are losing stock numbers, jobs, local spending, processing throughput, full roles, you know, rural services – everything is up for grabs in this kind of current policy incentives that we have.” IKEA said under its business model, that was not the case. Meredith told RNZ it employed 250 staff across its New Zealand forestry operations, but during planting programs that increased to about 800 people. “There’s obviously quite intense around planting for a few years. So planting, coming back to release them. There’s a little quiet period for about two years and then we start into a pruning phase. “We’ll be pruning for the next 10 to 12 years,” he said. The Climate Change Commission estimates another 900,000 hectares of New Zealand will be converted to forestry by 2050, which Beef and Lamb said will cull roughly 20% of current […]

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Mountain bike riders and adventure seekers can explore more of the best riding experiences in NSW through the launch of a new online MTB hub showcasing State forest trails. Source: Timberbiz Forestry Corporation has created a new online resource www.mtbliveshere.com.au promoting the extensive State forest mountain biking network. All trails and mountain bike parks, which operate under forest permits, are featured in the new MTB hub bringing together trail information, mapping and destination imagery to highlight world‑class mountain biking trails and infrastructure in NSW State forests. “NSW State forests are home to an incredibly diverse range of mountain bike experiences, from purpose‑built trail networks to scenic cross‑country rides through working forests,” Visitor Experience Manager Steve Pickering said. “This new hub puts all that information in one place, making it easier for riders to find trails that suit their style and skill level while showcasing the unique landscapes and communities that surround our forests.” The hub features trails and destinations right across the state, including popular riding areas such as Ourimbah State Forest on the Central Coast, the Watagan Mountains near Lake Macquarie and forest‑based trail networks in regional NSW that combine flowing singletrack in scenic natural settings.  Wherever you are, there is bound to be a mountain bike park near you Designed as both a planning tool and a source of inspiration, the MTB Hub helps riders explore the diversity of forest‑based trails from adrenaline‑fuelled descents to family‑friendly loops and long‑distance adventures. Visit NSW State Forests is also calling on the mountain biking community to help showcase these experiences by sharing images captured in State forests. Keen riders are encouraged to submit their photos to story@fcnsw.com.au with selected images featured to promote mountain biking destinations across the state.  

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Across the Mallee, rehabilitation works have now been completed at all major bushfire sites from the 2025–26 fire season, marking a key milestone in the region’s recovery. Source: Timberbiz More than 63,000 hectares burned across the district, including fires at Baring and Colignan, as well as across Wyperfeld National Park at North–South Track, Boinka and Freeway Track. While these fires were successfully contained, suppression efforts required extensive control lines to help stop the spread of fire and protect communities, infrastructure and environmental values. Control lines play a critical role during bushfire suppression, providing safe access and helping slow or stop fire spread. However, without rehabilitation, these temporary earthworks can leave lasting impacts on the landscape. In recent months, Forest Fire Management Victoria crews and contractors have completed rehabilitation works across all major firegrounds. In total, crews restored approximately 183 kilometres of control lines, including around 70 kilometres constructed during the Boinka fire alone. Rehabilitation is about more than tidying up after fire – it reduces long-term impacts and supports natural recovery. Works included reshaping disturbed ground, returning vegetation and organic material to the landscape and stabilising access points to reduce erosion and prevent unauthorised vehicle access. These activities help to: reduce erosion and dust limit the spread of weeds and pest animals protect cultural heritage values support regeneration of native vegetation.   This program was delivered through close collaboration between operational crews, planners, contractors and Traditional Owner representatives, ensuring works were completed safely, effectively and with respect for cultural heritage values. Completion of these works marks the transition from emergency response to long-term recovery, supporting restoration of fire-affected landscapes while reducing future risks.

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Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) is funding Australia’s first material-agnostic embodied carbon platform, measuring one million homes to prove timber can deliver 1.2 million new dwellings and 43% emissions cut. Source: Timberbiz Australia must build 1.2 million new homes by 2030 while cutting national greenhouse gas emissions by 43% and Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) is backing new research to prove timber can deliver both at once. The three-year project, titled Timber-Led Decarbonisation of Australian Housing: Evidence and Industry Translation, is funded through AFWI’s Centre for Sustainable Futures at the University of the Sunshine Coast. It will create Australia’s first integrated, material-agnostic platform capable of measuring and comparing the embodied carbon of residential buildings, using as-built data from approximately one million Australian homes built since 2019 rather than theoretical estimates. The project is led by Rhianna Robinson, National Research and Technical Manager at the Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association of Australia (FTMA), with project partner CarbonTrace. Mrs Robinson said the absence of transparent, comparable carbon data was a growing risk to timber’s market access. “We can’t manage what we can’t measure,” Mrs Robinson said. “Timber is uniquely positioned to support both housing delivery and decarbonisation through its low embodied emissions and stored biogenic carbon, but the industry currently lacks a centralised, credible and policy-aligned evidence base to quantify and communicate these benefits at scale.” Embodied carbon, the emissions generated in manufacturing and constructing a building, is climbing the industry’s agenda as homes become more efficient to run and construction materials account for a growing share of a dwelling’s lifetime carbon. Sustainability reporting and ESG requirements are pushing builders, developers and specifiers towards reliable, comparable data, yet no centralised system currently measures those emissions consistently across Australian housing. To close that gap, the project will feed detailed product-level timber data into the national housing database run by CarbonTrace, before building a freely accessible online tool allowing users to compare the carbon performance of competing materials on like-for-like Australian data. CarbonTrace co-founder Tom Petty, a builder and architect, said measurement was the precondition for any credible emissions cut. “Data is key to the decision-making around emissions reduction,” Mr Petty said. “This data needs to flow into design teams without friction and ideally in real-time.” More than 60 industry, government and research organisations co-designed the project, including CarbonTrace, FTMA, the Green Building Council of Australia, CSIRO, Master Builders Australia, Forest & Wood Products Australia, Timber Queensland, Hyne Group, MiTek, Multinail and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council. The work forms part of a wider AFWI push to connect the full forest-to-market value chain. AFWI Executive Director Dr Joseph Lawrence has described housing as one of the clearest areas where Australian timber can deliver immediate national benefits, giving the $23 billion industry a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to unite research, manufacturing and construction. “That’s where we see a real opportunity for Australian timber to be ramped up, for engineered wood to be ramped up, to be producing faster, safer and higher-quality housing, all made here,” Dr Lawrence said. “So, we can solve all the potential crises we are facing around shortages.” Over three years, researchers will assemble Australia’s most comprehensive embodied carbon dataset for residential construction, run scenario modelling comparing timber with conventional materials, and translate the findings into practical guidance, policy recommendations and education resources. Project partners estimate the education, and engagement work will reach more than 80,000 industry stakeholders through an online decision-support tool, technical reports, factsheets, webinars, workshops, case studies and a residential decarbonisation roadmap. Mrs Robinson said the long-term aim was to strengthen timber’s adoption, support net-zero housing pathways and secure timber as a preferred material in Australia’s residential market as the country chases its housing and emissions targets. For more information visit: Australian Forest and Wood Innovations: https://www.afwi.au/

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Time is running out to save two significant mills in Kaitāia from closure say Northland Regional Council (NRC), Far North District Council (FNDC) and Northland NZ (NNZ) who are calling on central government step in to limit job losses, as NNZ continues to work with potential investors. Source: Timberbiz Juken New Zealand, a Japanese-owned company, announced earlier this year it was seeking expressions of interests to buy its two mills in Kaitāia – Northland Mill and plant. That offer process closed at the end of May. Government investment would see good financial returns, jobs and capability retained in the region, and it would protect our forestry industry, while closing the Northland Mill and Triboard plant would devastate the Far North town and Te Tai Tokerau Northland, says Head of Investment at NNZ, Tui Rutherford. “Conservative modelling predicts that investing right now will generate a good return over five years on an initial government investment. Acting soon also avoids economic damage and disruption which will cost the government dearly in the long term,” Mr Rutherford said. Northland NZ understands that while no outright buyers were found for either mill before the offer deadline, the Triboard plant did receive an expression of interest in continuing its operation and an expression of interest was received for the Northern Mill site, from an experienced operator. Interest in the Northern Mill centres on site plans to upgrade equipment and modernise the operation to fulfil their target market. NRC, along with FNDC, is backing Northland NZ to facilitate discussions that firm up both deals, says Pita Tipene, Chair of NRC. “This includes working on a consortium of investors to back the commercial upgrade plans for the Northland Mill site. That model would require investment by the government,” Mr Tipene said. The proposed Northland Mill redevelopment would make use of skilled staff, the existing site, site permissions and some existing infrastructure. The opportunities presented by the Northland Mill site are underpinned by a strong and sustainable forestry resource, experienced workforce, and access to domestic and export markets, says Far North Mayor Moko Tepania. “There is a significant opportunity to build on these assets, which are supported by experienced operators and well-established infrastructure,” Mr Tepania said. Alongside the modernised mill, a second operation is proposed – turning the waste and low-grade wood into woody biomass biofuel. This operation is also expected to employ some of the existing workforce. Early government investment in both proposals would help secure a successful transition of the milling operations, retain jobs, and provide a financial return to the government, says Mr Rutherford. “The regional economic agency is working alongside the councils to ensure potential investors understand the strategic value of the operations within Northland’s wider forestry system, along with the robust returns forecast.” Investors interested in this project can contact Head of Investment at NNZ, Tui Rutherford directly at – tui.rutherford@northlandnz.com

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A recent community meeting in Bombala to address a growing concern of local farmland sales to corporate entities for carbon forestry projects (both environmental plantings and plantation forestry methods) featured guest speaker, forestry industry expert, Rob de Fegely. Source: Monaro Post Other speakers at the June meeting were local farmers John Murdoch, John Jeffreys and Ben Mooney. Together they spoke to the community about concerns relating to a loss of productive farmland, reduced rural employment, outside corporate involvement and uncertainty about long-term impacts. Mr de Fegely provided an insight into the regional forestry hubs established under the National Forestry Industry Plan 2018. Mr de Fegely is the manager of the South East Forestry Hub, which supports forestry industries in southern NSW and the ACT to help grow a positive future for the region’s communities and environment. He also sits on the board of Forestry Corporation NSW and chairs the Public Forest Agency in Tasmania. There are 11 regional forestry hubs across Australia. These hubs work with industry, state and local governments, and other key stakeholders to prepare and provide the government with strategic planning, technical assessments and analyses that aim to support growth in the forest industries in their region. Mr de Fegely began his career on the Monaro in 1980 growing radiata pine in the Coolangubra, Bucky Springs, Pericoe and Rockton areas. “In my time as a career forester over 40 years, the challenge between farming and forestry has been around for a long time and its history that we haven’t actually blended together,” he said. “In Scandinavian countries and parts of Europe, you’ll find that forestry and farming are very close neighbours and they work together really well.” He recalled however the years he spent in Bombala were productive and produced good outcomes. “In the eight-and-a-half years I was here, when we were planting blocks that were basically cleared as farmland under early development in the late 1800s and early 1900s and for a raft of reasons those farms had become quite marginal mainly due to rabbits, the first World War, the loss of a generation of farm workers and then the Depression and again the second World War … those poorer quality farms fell away and were purchased by a corporate entity from the Philippines. “That was an interesting process as when re-developing those old farms in the mid-80s – by clearing all the tea trees and wattles – it suddenly looked like a farm again, but it was all granite soil and very low nutrient, so turning it back into forest was probably a sensible land use decision. “I don’t think in the eight-and-a-half years I was here, anyone seriously said to me I shouldn’t be planting that pine. So pine and forestry and Bombala and farming had worked together really well in those early years,” he said. Mr de Fegely then pointed out challenges within the industry. “The challenge has always been, despite the fact Australia is the seventh most forested country in the world, it is a net importer of wood products,” he said. “We import more than $7 billion worth of wood products a year. A lot comes from New Zealand, particularly pine framing. We get hardwood, particularly from Malaysia and the tropical rain forest, and we import paper products as well because all our paper mills have shut.” He said there are two drivers pushing the carbon debate. The first is a demand to be self-sufficient and secondly, achieving net zero such as carbon credits and cheap wood. As South East NSW Forestry hub manager, Mr de Fegely said this government funded scheme is designed to improve wood production, as Australia is not producing enough. He said within the South East hub, 60% of the land is forest and 50% of those forests are in national parks, by international standards a very high percentage.

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Tasmanian farmers have reacted with anger and disbelief at the Federal Government’s decision to allow 22,000 hectares of prime dairy and beef country in the state’s north-east to be transformed into a pine plantation. Source: Timberbiz Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers last week announced the approval of the sale of Tasmania’s largest farm, Rushy Lagoon, to UK-based forestry investor Gresham House. The 22,000-hectare property will be converted from an agricultural estate into a $142 million pine plantation and carbon project. The Australian Forest Products Association has welcomed the sale, saying the plantation project will expand Australia’s sovereign capability in sustainable timber production. However, TasFarmers President Nathan Cox said the decision was a betrayal of Tasmanian agriculture and a breaking of the social contract between government and the Australian people by greenlighting the use of taxpayer money against Australian farmers. “This is a disgraceful outcome for Tasmania and for Australian food security,” Mr Cox said. He said the Federal Government had broken its covenant with the Australian people by agreeing to turn productive farmland into a monoculture pine plantation “so a foreign investment fund can tick a carbon abatement box”. Tasmanian Forest Products Association Chief Executive Officer Nick Steel said while there has been public debate surrounding the transaction and the Foreign Investment Review Board process, the conversation also provides an opportunity to recognise that agriculture and forestry are not mutually exclusive industries. “Tasmania’s future prosperity is dependent on evidence-based land use decisions that recognised the strengths of both industries,” Mr Steel said. “Agriculture and forestry are not competing land uses they are complementary industries that have successfully coexisted across Tasmania for generations.” “Farmers make practical decisions every day based on soil capability, rainfall, topography, market conditions and the long-term sustainability of their businesses. In many cases, integrating forestry into farming operations provides additional income, strengthens business resilience and ensures land is used according to its natural capability.” Mr Steel said the guiding principle should remain simple: the right tree, in the right place, at the right scale. “Highly productive agricultural land should continue producing food and fibre, with suitable areas supporting forestry without compromising agricultural output,” he said. “That balanced approach delivers multiple benefits, including regional employment, investment certainty, environmental outcomes and diversified income streams for landholders.” As a renewable industry, forestry also plays an increasingly important role in supplying sustainable timber products to meet growing demand for low-emissions building materials. “Our forestry sector is built on renewal where forests are grown, harvested and regrown, supporting a renewable biodegradable resource that’s increasingly important as markets shift toward lower emissions materials,” Mr Steel said. “The discussion surrounding Rushy Lagoon reinforced the need for balanced and informed land use policy. “A strong future for regional Tasmania depends on recognising that agriculture and forestry can coexist successfully. They operate side by side, supporting regional communities, creating jobs and contributing to the state’s long-term prosperity,” Mr Steel said. Rushy Lagoon, together with the neighbouring East Wyambi, spans almost 22,000 hectares between Gladstone and Musselroe Bay and has run dairy and beef cattle at a capacity of around 85,000 DSE, supported by 1,170 hectares of developed irrigation and more than 12,500 megalitres of water entitlements. Gresham House’s reported offer of more than $100 million sits well above TasFarmers’ own estimate of the property’s $70–80 million market value, a gap the organisation says points squarely to government-backed financing tilting the paddock in favour of a foreign buyer using everyday Australians ‘ money. “We have real, unanswered questions about why funding was committed to this deal before the sale and why a foreign forestry fund could outbid every Australian farmer at the table,” Mr Cox said. “The treasurer’s excuse relating to the classification of farmland holds no water, as highly productive dairies have operated on Rushy for many years; any good farmer knows that cannot happen on poor or second-rate land. These comments are a smoke screen for his poor decision-making. “TasFarmers has raised the glaring conflict at the heart of this process: the Clean Energy Finance Corporation stands to benefit financially from carbon plantations like this one, and a CEFC director sits on the very Foreign Investment Review Board that was supposed to assess it independently. Tasmanian farmers cannot compete against their own government. “Our community survey found 99 per cent of respondents opposed this sale. Dorset Council has warned it creates an unfair playing field for local farmers and puts regional dairy pick-up runs and beef processing jobs at risk. Coalition members from Senator Colbeck to Senator Askew to Shadow Agriculture Minister Darren Chester have all raised the alarm. The only people who seem untroubled by any of this are the ones who signed off on it.” Mr Cox said TasFarmers would now demand the public release of the full FIRB assessment and financing arrangements behind the sale, and called on the Government to explain what safeguards, if any, were applied. “Tasmanian farmers deserve transparency, not a sneaky decision snuck out the back door during the winter recess. We will be pursuing this through every avenue available, including calling for a parliamentary inquiry into how a foreign carbon-forestry fund was allowed to outbid Australian farmers for our largest and most productive farm.” “TasFarmers and local interested parties and politicians have reached out over and over again to our federal Agricultural Minister, FIRB, and the Treasurer only to be stonewalled by meaningless responses. “For something that is so important, these responses and today’s announcement demonstrate the Treasurer did not have the national interest at heart, and that ideology drove this decision”.

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