Would anybody consider planting trees on their land?

[milkloss]

If the money was there I would seriously consider it..... can’t beat a bit of squizzer shooting.

 

[steveR]

I definitely wouldn’t, but just wondering if anybody would and if so why? Had a flyer through the post about it, which i felt was almost insulting as an arable farmer.

Not at fieldscale. Plenty of other enviro options before trees...

Might do an odd acre as copses for shooting, (for the next generation) but I simply would not feel right in sterilising a substantial area of land as regards income generation.

 

[Optimus]

I'd look at it.carbon capture is going to be worth a few quid.

 

[Clive]

i will plant what gives the best return

 

[Kiwi Pete]

It's all the rage for Environmental reasons but I would rather wait until someone decides to look properly into the carbon benefits of permanent pasture properly first. We put a man on the moon 50 odd years ago but they say that is complicated to work out, I don't buy that.
Maybe they know but don't want to announce that grazing livestock isn't so bad after all.

It isn't, but it doesn't mean you have to do one or the other... when you can do both!
Most of the species we are planting will be for fodder as well as bee/bird attractors - tree lucernes and various other legumes; poplar, weeping willow etc. etc. Some fruit and nut trees, some for firewood, but mainly for wildlife. No "timber varieties"


It's all food for livestock in a dry period, and cheaper than robbing cover off your pastures to keep a degree of conserved forage - just like they used to do in GB when the climate was more like what it's heading towards again now.

 

[Clive]

I'd look at it.carbon capture is going to be worth a few quid.

looks like carbon tax could be £75/t per year if the article last week by our chancellor is anything to go by

that makes a tree one hell off an asset if companies are allowed to offset it

 

[Optimus]

I don't know the ins an outs but the estate next to us is already well into it.an he said their making good money at.
A friend who works for the woodland trust said the same.the land that seemingly worth little has all of a sudden become very valuable.

 

[Farmer Roy]

Err, people generally just plant trees because they want to, for environmental reasons, for wildlife / birds / insect reasons & generally to improve their places . . .

 

[Sid]

Gardens help towns and cities beat countryside for tree cover

A survey of tree cover in England and Wales throws up a few surprises.

www.bbc.co.uk

Guess who the bad boys are again?

 

[Right-arm fast]

looks like carbon tax could be £75/t per year if the article last week by our chancellor is anything to go by

that makes a tree one hell off an asset if companies are allowed to offset it

once a field or area of land is planted with trees that land will always then be woodland. If government policy changes after a few decades, the land will still be woodland and wont receive any income. Looking at our areas of woodland planted under the woodland premium scheme after 20 years it won’t be possible to remove the trees due to cost as they will be 20-30 ft with trunks about 18” in dia, and also tree removal restrictions. I think you would have to think carefully before following government policy as they don’t think that far ahead, and what maybe the ‘fashion’ now maybe completely scrapped in favour of another cheaper and more fashionable idea once 1000s or even 100,000s of Ha of farm land have been irretrievably planted up. The planting of poplars is an example where some were planted with a use in mind and are now worthless due to changes since they were planted.

 

[Chasingmytail]

we have but as native species within the double fencing, corners etc but not covering farm land, replaced areas of fallen trees miles and miles of hedging. Where we've divided the fields back where they were originally too.

Gardens help towns and cities beat countryside for tree cover

A survey of tree cover in England and Wales throws up a few surprises.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Clive]

once a field or area of land is planted with trees that land will always then be woodland. If government policy changes after a few decades, the land will still be woodland and wont receive any income. Looking at our areas of woodland planted under the woodland premium scheme after 20 years it won’t be possible to remove the trees due to cost as they will be 20-30 ft with trunks about 18” in dia, and also tree removal restrictions. I think you would have to think carefully before following government policy as they don’t think that far ahead, and what maybe the ‘fashion’ now maybe completely scrapped in favour of another cheaper and more fashionable idea once 1000s or even 100,000s of Ha of farm land have been irretrievably planted up. The planting of poplars is an example where some were planted with a use in mind and are now worthless due to changes since they were planted.

half of one estate we farm was fruit trees 15 yrs ago it’s arable now and the areas that were trees is by FAR the best soils on that farm

 

[lloyd]

half of one estate we farm was fruit trees 15 yrs ago it’s arable now and the areas that were trees is by FAR the best soils on that farm

Someone else had spread alot of p&k?

 

[Clive]

Someone else had spread alot of p&k?

not as far as ii’m aware

i believe when the trees were removed they were chipped and spread

where they were is now 4 t plus wheat land, the rest of the farm isn’t

soil tests in that soil are a lot more biologically actuve and nutrients much better, most importantly SOM levels are much higher

this is one of several reasons why i’m actively looking at agroforestry options at the moment

 

[rollestonpark]

We had about 10 huge poplar trees leaning toward a house on the edge of our ground. The house owner asked if we would remove them as dangerous.
Due to the volume of wood involved we had to get a felling licence. Which was a bit of a nightmare. blah blah...
But when the forestry commision guy came to check the sitaution, he said:
yes fine, you can take them down.
What you going to plant?
I said, given the location, nothing.
We basically never (except in exceptional cases) allow clear fell without restocking.
So you can't remove the trees.
I said, OK I'll plant something then.

So I said: Once a tree, always a tree then?
"Basically yes" he said.

Since that day, any planting ideas I've had, have been binned.

 

[lloyd]

We had about 10 huge poplar trees leaning toward a house on the edge of our ground. The house owner asked if we would remove them as dangerous.
Due to the volume of wood involved we had to get a felling licence. Which was a bit of a nightmare. blah blah...
But when the forestry commision guy came to check the sitaution, he said:
yes fine, you can take them down.
What you going to plant?
I said, given the location, nothing.
We basically never (except in exceptional cases) allow clear fell without restocking.
So you can't remove the trees.
I said, OK I'll plant something then.

So I said: Once a tree, always a tree then?
"Basically yes" he said.

Since that day, any planting ideas I've had, have been binned.

I have something similar to deal with ,if I get any issues regarding this
I will demand by legal means if necessary from said authority to underwrite
the problem with their insurance.

 

[Clive]

We had about 10 huge poplar trees leaning toward a house on the edge of our ground. The house owner asked if we would remove them as dangerous.
Due to the volume of wood involved we had to get a felling licence. Which was a bit of a nightmare. blah blah...
But when the forestry commision guy came to check the sitaution, he said:
yes fine, you can take them down.
What you going to plant?
I said, given the location, nothing.
We basically never (except in exceptional cases) allow clear fell without restocking.
So you can't remove the trees.
I said, OK I'll plant something then.

So I said: Once a tree, always a tree then?
"Basically yes" he said.

Since that day, any planting ideas I've had, have been binned.

if a tree was worth £75/t per year i bet that would change our view ?

 

[lloyd]

if a tree was worth £75/t per year i bet that would change our view ?

Where are you getting these figure from?
That would only be for newly planted trees though?

 

[Clive]

Where are you getting these figure from?
That would only be for newly planted trees though?

£75/t was the price our chancellor put on a carbon tax last week in a Time article .......... basically getting us used to what he will announce next time we have a budget !!!

 

[lloyd]

£75/t was the price our chancellor put on a carbon tax last week in a Time article .......... basically getting us used to what he will announce next time we have a budget !!!

Sounds like farming could end up paying alot of extra tax.