Drive to improve woodland

SCOTTISH farmers, in the main, have been notoriously averse to working with trees and, as a result, there are many parcels of land on farms where woodland is lying unattended.

However, a pilot scheme in the North East between the Forestry Commission Scotland and farm co-operative Ringlink (Scotland) could see these neglected parcels brought into use.

Graham Bruce, managing director of Ringlink, said the idea was that any of his co-operative's 2,500 members who have trees and woodland that has not been actively managed could now get in professional help.

"There are a lot of areas of woodland which are lying doing nothing on farms. Some of these are of an age that they require clear felling, others need maintenance work, but - regardless - farmers do not need to be actively involved as we can get experts in to do the job."

By working in this co- operative way, farmers using the machinery ring avoid expensive capital costs associated with the purchase and maintenance of bespoke machinery and specialised labour.

Jim Dewar, Forestry Commission Scotland, said: "Trees can be valuable assets and complement core farm business. We are aware that many farmers already have potential revenue generating woodlands or have unproductive marginal land that is ideal for tree planting."