NFUS wants balance between food production and forestry

NFU Scotland has told a major forestry conference that Scottish agriculture will continue to contribute towards Scottish Government targets of expanding woodland cover, but that policy priorities must focus on food production and having active farmers manage the land.

At the ‘Forestry in the Low Carbon Economy’ conference in Dunblane today (Wednesday, June 2), the Union’s president Jim McLaren said woodland creation does present opportunities for farmers by way of alternative income streams, biodiversity and improving a farm’s carbon balance. However, he added that farming and food production must remain at the forefront of policymakers’ minds when considering a future land use strategy for Scotland.

At the conference, Mr McLaren said:

“As an industry committed to quality food production, we are not convinced that the Scottish Government’s current objective of having a quarter of Scotland’s productive land under trees represents the best use of Scotland’s finite land resource.

“In fact, future land use should not be a choice between farming or forestry, renewables or conservation. All can be accommodated if the policy framework that drives land use decisions can be more coherent and more integrated.

“As we start to tease out a land use strategy for Scotland, we recognise that farming and forestry can be complementary activities but there needs to be clear ground rules on when and where planting should take place. We do not want to see planting of trees on prime arable land and planting on our carbon-rich peatlands will not be permitted. The result is that any drive for increased planting would be focussed on our hills and uplands - the very same land that is the engine room of Scotland’s crucial livestock sector.

“We do accept that there is an important role for forestry within Scottish farming, and woodlands can be integrated into agricultural land use without compromising the ability to produce livestock and crops or the significance of those activities to local economies, biodiversity and communities. The right trees in the right places can bring a host of benefits, not least in terms of meeting ambitious targets in relation to tackling climate change.

“From an individual farmer's perspective, small-scale woodlands can yield a range of management benefits and diversified income streams including timber production, livestock shelter, renewable energy and carbon offsetting. However, there is a danger that the Scottish Government’s forestry targets may only be met by the creation of large-scale standings seen too often in the past.

“We also need to recognise that encouragement for planting more trees is casting a shadow over those farming tenanted ground. We do not want to reach the stage where incentives for tree planting encourages landlords to invoke rules which permit them to take back land for non-agricultural use such as trees. Once again, the impact would be felt on our overall capacity to produce food.” Ends