Andrew Morgan Managing Director SFM.
For more than two decades, SFM has worked at the intersection of forestry, agriculture and investment. We’ve partnered with landowners, investors and industry to unlock the full potential of plantation forests across Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Our work is grounded in trust, built over decades through our deep understanding of agricultural landscapes and the strong relationships we’ve forged with farmers and agribusinesses.
Today, we manage more than 50,000 hectares of production forest across Australia. Like many in the sector, we’ve navigated long cycles, fluctuating commodity prices, and increasingly complex land-use decisions.
But something fundamental has changed. In recent years, we’ve witnessed a structural shift in what drives value in plantation development, and it’s been driven by something invisible, yet incredibly powerful: a real, regulated and recognised price on carbon.
The arrival of a carbon price has irrefutably reshaped the investment landscape for forestry in Australia.
Historically, the economic viability of new plantations was tied almost entirely to future timber prices and market access. Today, we’re seeing a credible alternative source of revenue, one that aligns commercial ambition with climate action.
A carbon price has brought forward investment. It’s unlocked projects that once seemed too risky or not viable. It’s helping landowners and investors think long-term and back sustainable, climate-positive land use.
In practice, that means a steep grazing paddock in northern Tasmania, or a marginal dryland property in the Green Triangle, can now support a viable plantation carbon project. These forests generate high-integrity Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and produce timber that stores carbon in homes and infrastructure for decades to come.
At SFM, we’ve now registered over 40 plantation projects with the Clean Energy Regulator — representing roughly 25% of all plantation carbon projects in the country. And we’re just getting started.
But this is about more than just credits on paper. A credible carbon price gives investors’ confidence – from family landholders to global institutions – to allocate capital into forestry. And it’s bringing diversity in that capital: investors seeking long-duration, nature-based assets with strong climate credentials; farmers looking to diversify income while improving land condition.
Crucially, this doesn’t replace the value of timber, nor should it. Instead, we now have a dual-income model that makes forestry more competitive with other land uses. It’s enabling reforestation at scale, supporting regional jobs, and enhancing the resilience of our agricultural landscapes.
Perhaps most importantly, it’s reframing the conversation. We’re no longer debating whether forestry can compete with agriculture. We’re exploring how forestry supported by carbon can work alongside agriculture to deliver integrated, landscape-scale outcomes that benefit climate, biodiversity and rural communities.
Of course, there’s work ahead: refining methodologies, ensuring integrity, and scaling responsibly. But the momentum is real, and the opportunity is here.
At SFM, we believe the carbon price is more than a market signal. It’s a signal of intent that Australia is serious about climate action, that our forests are critical climate infrastructure, and that smart, evidence-based plantation development will be central to a net-zero, nature-positive future.
Andrew Morgan is the managing director of SFM.
