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Farming for a Better Climate > Integrating Trees on Your Land

More and more farmers in Scottish agriculture are beginning to realise the benefits that trees can bring to their farming businesses.  Everything from providing shelter for livestock, improving productivity or diversifying income streams; to creating habitat for wildlife and reducing carbon footprint.

This network will host events for all farmers and crofters across Scotland and bring them together, along with experts to share their practical knowledge, experiences and advice about the processes, objectives, challenges and outcomes of planting trees.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see details of all our events and to book your free tickets.

Several windblown conifer trees that have landed on top of each other, with others lying at an angle that looks like they will fall further.

Read the Top 10 Tips for clearing and selling storm damaged trees, brought to you by Scottish Forestry, Confor and in consultation with NFUS and Scottish Land and Estates.

Come along and bring your questions and your ideas!

Useful Links

For full details about all upcoming events.

Integrating Tree Networks - Mains of Auchriachan

Farmer Andrew Duffus talks to ScotGov Rural about integrating trees into his existing farming business.

Find out more about the family here

Demo Hosts / Advice & Funding

Demonstrator pins in blue and sources of  advice and funding grey pins. Some of the organisation work nationwide not just where pin shown.

Scottish Forestry - Helping tenant farmers grow trees for their business

Scottish Forestry is working with the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association to demonstrate how tree planting can benefit all farm businesses. As part of this work, they have published a new woodland creation case study, based around a tenanted farm. The study aims to encourage more tenancy based businesses to consider growing trees.

Hear from Matthew Imrie, Hillhead Farm, about the potential benefits of integrating trees into your business.

Find out more about the Imrie Family & how they've integrated trees into their farm business.

Host farmer Andrew Adamson of Netherurd Home Farm, Peebleshire discusses the benefits that planting trees has brought to his business.

Find out more about Andrew Adamson of Messrs W Laird & Son and how they've integrated trees into their farm business.

Woodland Creation & Management - Frequently Asked Questions

In this podcast below brought to you by Scottish Forestry and the Scottish Farm Advisory Service, we hear from SAC Consulting's Forestry team as they answer ten of the most frequently asked questions around woodland creation.

Thrill of the Hill Podcast - Opportunities in Agroforestry

In this podcast is brought to you by the Scottish Farm Advisory Service. Agroforestry allows farmers, crofters and landowners the chance to maintain agricultural output, with options for woodland grazing and intercropping, meaning productive activity can be promoted at the same time as tree planting.

If you missed the event you can download presentation slides "Woodland creation for biodiversity: What needs to be considered?" by Colin Edwards, Environment Policy Adviser, Scottish Forestry.

We have also created a summary of the event  with key messages and points of discussion along with useful links - find it here.

Integrating Trees Network Event: Shelterbelts: What needs to be considered?

Download presentation slides "Shelterbelts" by Ben Law, Snr Forestry Consultant, covering why, location, design, species, porosity, size, shape, orientation and other consideration to meet your objectives.  These slides were used during the Integrating Trees Network Event  'Shelterbelts: What needs to be considered?', discussing real practical examples & benefits.

Knockbain Farm is just outside Dingwall in the Highlands. The farm extends to 250ha and has been in the Lockett family since 1971.
 
 
 
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The Whiteford family farm at Burnfoot Farm, Sanquhar. Which extends to 3500 acres, with 2500 acres being hill ground. The farm sits at 100m and hill rising to 400m above sea level, with average annual rainfall of 1000mm

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Andrew and Seonag Barbour, and their family farm Mains of Fincastle, Pitlochry. A 540 hectare (1,334-acre), organic hill farm, sitting at over 1000 feet above sea-level rising to 1300 feet.
 
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Andrew Adamson is a 4th generation farmer at Netherurd Home Farm, a farm of 570 acres, near West Linton, where the family have been since 1940’s. Andrews’s wife Jayne, their daughter Hazel, and son Jon, also live on the farm. Andrew is in partnership with his mother and Jayne helps out on the farm when required.
 
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The Imrie family have farmed at Hillhead farm in Torrance near Glasgow for 4 generations. This family-run farm comprises 400 acres owned, plus 100 acres rented.  It has an altitude of 40m down at Tower Farm, running up to 218m above sea level at the highest point - the trig point on Blairskaith Muir where the new forestry creation scheme will shortly be planted.
 
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Andrew and Debbie Duffus, and their sons, Sam, Ben and Max  farm at Mains of Auchriachan, Tomintoul. Sitting with in the Cairngorms National Park. They run a hill farm rented from Crown Estate and extends to 1,540 ha, sitting at 370m at home farm to 675m.
 
 
 
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Thinking about planting trees?

Scottish Forestry is making it easier for you to create new woodlands and reap the many benefits they bring. There’s plenty of advice and financial support through the Forestry Grant Scheme.

There are various grant options to help you get planting including support for conifers, broadleaves and small farm woodlands to name just a few – all which could meet your business objectives. The grants can help you establish a new woodland and maintain it in years to come.

There’s an easy to understand “walk through” guide to assist in the preparation of new woodland creation applications which you can view here.

Scottish Forestry has a network of woodland officers around the country in local offices. Please get in contact at an early stage to discuss your woodland creation proposals.

Forestry loan to help small scale woodland projects.  Under the scheme, half of the upfront costs associated with planting a new woodland, including buying trees, ground preparation or fencing, can now be paid in advance by Scottish Forestry. The aim is to remove any cash flow barriers that crofters, farmers, or any other small woodland owner might have when considering tree planting. The loan works alongside the existing main Forestry Grant Scheme and is aimed at woodland creation projects up to 20 hectares in size.

The Croft Woodlands Project offers free support to crofters, common grazing’s committees and smallholders within the crofting counties.

If you require extra income to make woodland creation viable and are eligible, consider the Woodland Carbon Code where you can sell on carbon credits from your new woodland.

Funding for a specialist adviser to help with woodland creation

If you are a farmer or crofter you can also apply for up to £1,000 funding through the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) to enlist the help of a specialist adviser to help with woodland creation.

The adviser will work with the land manager to add value to under productive land by reviewing farm-specific opportunities and financial incentives available to create or manage woodland. To apply or for more information, call 0300 323 0161 or email advice@fas.scot

Use the links below to see some of the Q & A's from previous events

Planning and design
Maintenance and management
Funding
Useful information

If you would like to be involved or have ideas about what you’d like  events to focus on, please do get in touch with us: Lyn.White@forestry.gov.scot and Hilary.Grant@gov.scot

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