Drive to meet growing timber demand from the private sector

Forest owners have come together in 25 groups operating nationwide with the support of Teagasc.

These groups are seen as a solution for private forest sites disadvantaged in marketing timber due to their scale and location.

Few forest owners have inherited any knowledge of forest harvesting and timber marketing, and many privately owned forests are small, with poor road access, according to the Teagasc team who outlined economic prospects for agriculture at the recent Outlook 2012 conference.