Forestry up 25% due to attractive annual premium
These figures, which cover the period from the beginning of Jan 2012 to the end of Oct 2012, highlight an increase of 25% in the number of forestry applications made when compared with the same time period in 2011.
This growth in interest in forestry means that by the end of Oct this year, forestry applications had been sent to the Forest Service in respect of over 34,000 acres of land.
John Roche of Cork-based forestry services specialist firm The Forestry Company, commented: “These figures come as no surprise to us as we have noticed a significant increase in interest in both planting and thinning.
“The growing interest in forestry is down to a number of factors, including the attractive annual forestry premium, the value of a forestry crop and the wet weather in Ireland, which makes farming on marginal land even more difficult,” Mr Roche added.
