Huge forestry boost welcomed

THE €285 per acre "double" premium negotiated for many farmers by Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh is "so good, it's unbelievable", said one forestry promoter this week.

Nicholas Cotter of Mid Western Forestry Services predicted that farmers previously uninterested in trees will opt to plant in 2004, because forest can "put so much money in their pockets."

His company is urging farmers to immediately apply for forestry approval, so that they are at the top of the queue and can conclude their planting before the end of this year.