Western Australia Forestry Minister Dave Kelly has opened up grants for farmers and landowners interested in increasing Western Australia’s softwood resource by establishing pine plantations on their properties. Source: Timberbiz
The Farm Forestry Assist grants program, run through the Forest Products Commission, was launched by the McGowan Government in 2018. The program has so far enabled seven farmers from Augusta to Waroona plant 412,000 seedlings to help contribute to the State’s expanding softwood estate.
“The McGowan Government supports a strong sustainable forestry industry and is focused on growing Western Australia’s softwood supply to support WA forestry jobs,” Minister Kelly said.
“Planting trees on farms provides a range of environmental and on-farm benefits, and supports regional communities and the agriculture and forestry industries that underpin them.
“The McGowan Government has invested more than $22 million in new softwood plantations since being elected in 2017 to ensure the local forestry sector is a vibrant industry into the future.”
Farmers and landowners interested in establishing 20 to 50-hectare pine plantations on their properties are invited to apply for the third round of the grants program. Successful applicants will receive free high-quality radiata pine seedlings from the Forest Products Commission nursery.
Criteria addressing the location, scale, soil, access and management of the plantations are in place to ensure that any resulting plantings have the capacity to help support WA’s vibrant softwood industry.
Applications close at 5pm on Friday, March 27, 2020. For more information, visit http://www.fpc.wa.gov.au/farm-forestry-assist
