Central West farmers asked to consider growing timber plantations

Data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences has revealed the number of trees grown in NSW has remained stagnant over the last 20 years.

But demand for timber is increasing, meaning the country is relying more on imported products.

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The NSW chief executive officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), James Jooste, said there is a decline in domestic softwood timber production.

This is occurring as supply remains the same, while demand is expected to nearly double by 2050.

"Softwood timber goes into 90 per cent of all the new timber houses and dwellings built in NSW, so it's a critical material when we talk about addressing the housing crisis," Mr Jooste said.

He said that, in order to meet future housing demand, Australia will need to increase the national plantation estate by half a million hectares by 2050.

"As we set some pretty ambitious targets around new houses, 1.2 million new houses that federal and state governments want to build in Australia in the next five years, and the demand long-term to make sure we address the housing supply long-term, means that there is a long-term supply gap in the softwood timber required in our housing and construction industry and across our economy as well," he said.

"This is a long-term structural problem; we just simply just don't have the trees in the ground today to make up the domestic timber production that will be required in the future."

There is an opportunity to change the trajectory, though, and it starts with farmers and landholders in the Central West.

The NSW AFPA will hold a carbon and forestry workshop in Oberon on Monday, October 23, 2023, to highlight the opportunities available.

Mr Jooste said, by growing plantations on their land, farmers can diversify their income and should see a good return on their investment.

"We're in the sweet spot now where there are dual incentives for landowners and farmers to seriously look at plantations on their properties, and the two reasons being, in the first instance, that long-term supply challenge that we've described," he said.

"There is just a long-term pipeline of demand that will happen for softwood timber and the Central Tablelands is a green centre, really, for softwood production.

"We grow more softwood trees in this Central Tablelands than they do in the entire state of Tasmania, so it is a great region with a lot of history and familiarity around growing softwood timber, and, of course, we've got significant timber processing businesses in the Central Tablelands."

In addition to the area already being a hub for timber production, there are further financial benefits available for farmers following changes to federal legislation around Australian carbon credit units.

Mr Jooste said, from June 1, 2024, farmers in the Central Tablelands will be able to tap into Australian carbon credit units when they start growing trees and timber plantations on their properties.

"It's a great way to diversify your income, earn carbon credits, and improve your operation's carbon footprint, and then of course there is the long-term demand that will be around softwood timber," he said.

Farmers and landholders can find out more by attending the upcoming workshop, which will be held at Oberon RSL Club and run from 4pm to 6pm on the day.

The workshop is free to attend and does not require registration in advance.

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