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Harvesting & Felling

Traditionally commercial crops are managed in a cycle which involves the following stages:

  • Planting
  • Rack Thinning
  • Matrix Thinning (two or three times depending on growth rate)
  • Clearfell
  • Restock

Harvesting is a vital step in managing your commercial woodland, with the intention of leaving the trees with best form until your final felling (clearfell).

Ahead of any felling taking place it is essential to apply for felling permission, felling in excess of 5m3/calendar quarter would be considered illegal felling and there are significant penalties in place to try and prevent this. Your felling permission will also give details of what and where you intend to restock with.

There are a range of options regarding felling, ranging from chainsaw felling, felling and extracting using winches or skidders all the way up to fully mechanised – harvester and forwarder.

Timber prices are the highest they have been in over a decade and this is helping to make smaller, or more challenging, sites more cost effective to harvest. As the crop is in a 40 year rotations it is important to manage the site as well as possible in order to consider the following:

  • Maximise income from timber
  • Prevent environmental damage
  • Site management to make restocking easier
  • Restructuring (monoculture) woodland to incorporate mixed species and open space

Felling Permission & Windblown Trees

Case Study: First Thinning at Myreton Farm

Diversifying with Forestry Machinery

Rural Payments: Forestry Grant Scheme

Soil impacts from harvesting in wet conditions

The Timber Crop Cycle

Thinning: transforming your woodland and finances

Webinar - Storm Arwen: Clearance of Windblown Trees

In the aftermath of Storm Arwen, many farmers and landowners across Scotland will be facing the daunting prospect of clearing significant volumes of windblown trees.

In this webinar, we hear guidance and updates from the Forestry Industry on all you need to know about clearing windblown trees, the safety considerations, and what permissions are required to fell/clear windblown trees legally in Scotland. Watch here >>

Webinar - Woodland Creation & Management: Part 3 - Managing existing woodlands

This is a recording of the third and final webinar in our Woodland Creation & Management series with a specific focus on managing existing woodlands. The topics discussed included: Harvesting farm woodland and getting the best value for your timber Managing your woodland to enhance its biodiversity benefits A case study of an Aberdeenshire farm where profitable thinning has been carried out and an FGS grant has been used to improve the woodland and farm access. Watch here >>

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