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Australian Agroforestry |
For more than 16 years Australian Agroforestry (formerly Agroforestry News) has provided practical and up-to-date information on all aspects of agroforestry and farm forestry to many thousands of tree growers and their supporters across Australia. The magazine is owned by a not-for-profit community group incorporated through the Victorian Farmers Federation Farm Trees and Landcare Association.
Next Edition Issue 66 Autumn 2010
In the next edition we have stories and ideas that could save your life.
Not many farmers are at the point of harvesting their trees and few have seriously considered how they might cut down a tree or pull out a sawlog. It’s so far into the future, why bother? Yet, if we get the species right, and we are successful in seedling establishment, we will end up with big trees one day. Harvesting trees for profit is a legitimate environmental management tool that can pay for the cost of planting trees for conservation whilst also enhancing the environmental values of the forest.
However, the history of timber harvesting on farms in Australia is not a good one. The use of inappropriate equipment by unskilled operators has caused damage to soils, waterways and retained trees, and resulted in unacceptable rates of death and injury. Harvesting contractors working in industrial plantations have overcome these problems by using huge expensive machines that have high re-locating costs and require large harvest volumes to be viable. Few farmers will be able to attract these contractors onto their farms, to do small jobs and may find they need to clearfell everything just to make it worthwhile.
If farm-scale, low-impact timber production is to taken seriously we need machines that are suited to small scale logging, better training of forest owners, access to specialised farm forestry contractors, a greater level of environmental care and a better safety record.
Scandinavia and Europe are clearly leading the way in the development of small scale harvesting systems and equipment. There is now a wide range of implements, log trailers and safety equipment that can be fitted to tractors. Some farmers are buying this equipment and becoming contractors themselves. Like cutting and bailing hay – the tractor equipment is getting bigger and more expensive all the time but it does allow a farmer to harvest how and when they want to and provides a means of generating paid work through off–farm contracting.
The concern I have is safety. We know that tractors and chainsaws are dangerous, and that logging already has the highest work-place death and injury rate in Australia. Should we be putting these things together and encouraging farmers to log their own forest? I see a lot of farmers using chainsaws but few have had any professional training and almost none wear a full set of safety gear. The promise of small scale forest harvesting is alluring – the risks are real. If we don’t take safety seriously there will be deaths amongst our community of tree growers.
32 pages, 17 stories, 32 colour pictures/figures and only 9 adverts - how do we do it? It's by tree growers for tree growers.
Last Edition Issue 65 Summer 2010
Trees on farms are an important part of a low carbon sustainable future for rural Australia but they must do more than provide a once-only offset to support out continued reliance on fossil fuels. This edition looks at trees on farms as part of a 3-pronged climate change strategy:
1. Amelioration of the impact of climate variability and extreme weather events on agricultural productivity and the resource base on which it depends;
2. Diversification of farming enterprises by producing products and services that are independent of traditional agricultural markets, produce fewer emissions and are less susceptible to climate change; and,
3. Sequestration of CO2 in living biomass, soils and woody products.
32 pages, 15 stories, 32 colour pictures/figures and only 6 small adverts.
How to get the magazine
Most readers obtain their magazine via membership of a regional agroforestry, landcare or farm forestry group. Not-for-profit groups are able to order and buy copies for just $2.75 (plus bulk postage) for distribution to their members. Contact details for your group will be added to the list of groups in the magazine. We even provide the magazine in a ready-to-post A4 envelope so that the group can add their own material to prior to posting.
Individual Subscriptions are available at $20/year (includes postage) for three editions. We will post the magazine directly to these subscribers.
Bulk sales are available to individuals and bisinesses who want to re-sell the magazine for profit (as ideal addition for the counter or a nursery for example). If you but 10 copies or more are able to provide the magazine for $4/copy (including postage) and you are able to sell it for up to $7 (cover price).
For subscriptions and orders contact Marianne Stewart: marianne.stewart@australianagroforestry.org.au or on 0407 332889
We want your tree stories for the magazine
We welcome your stories, letters, photos, research reports or information about future events. We can help you put a story together. We just need something that might be of interest to tree growers. Photos should be high quality JPEG files and provided as separate files.
Contact Rowan Reid (Editor): rowan.reid@agroforestry.net.au or on 0409609939
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For advertising contact Marianne Stewart: marianne.stewart@australianagroforestry.org.au or on 0407 332889