Correspondence

eAlert: 1 March 2023

Published 21 March 2023

Applies to England

• Publication for Northern Ireland
• Publication for Scotland
• Publication for Wales

1. Don’t miss out on Forestry Commission news

1.1 Remember to sign up to our new mailing list by 17 March 2023.

Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to our new mailing list. If you have not yet done so and would like to continue to receive news and updates from the Forestry Commission, it’s important that you update your details by subscribing to our new eAlert list.

We don’t want to see you go so please head over to resubscribe before the 17 March 2023.

Subscribe

2. New Tree Supply Report

2.1 Read our newly published report.

A new report from the Forestry Commission looking at Tree Supply across the nursery sector has been published today. The report was developed with 14 major forest nurseries, who have kindly contributed insights.

In summary, forest nurseries regard the past few seasons as very positive. Despite some weather-related issues and difficulty sourcing labour, their sales have generally been going up for a few years, thanks to the increased interest in tree planting.

The most pressing issues all nurseries are facing are:

1. seed procurement
2. shortage of labour
3. uncertainty about demand
4. difficulty sourcing seed from the required provenances

Find out more by reading the full report on GOV.UK: Tree Supply Report.

3. New guidance for red squirrels and forestry operations in England

3.1 Book onto our webinar and read the new guidance.

Today we have published new guidance: Red squirrels and forestry operations in England - operations note 65. The guidance sets out advice on how to plan and carry out forest operations in woodlands to minimise the possible impacts on red squirrels.

We are also offering a customer webinar is for anyone managing forests with or near red squirrel populations in England. This will cover the legal protection and ecology of red squirrels, how forest operations can have an impact and how, with good planning, those impacts can be avoided. There will be a presentation followed by a question and answer session.

Red squirrels and forestry operations in England webinar

• Tuesday 21 March 2023
• 10:30-11:30am
• book your place

4. Increased government funding to boost farming productivity

4.1 Find out about the grants available to farmers and land managers this year.

More than £168 million in grants will be available to farmers this year to drive innovation, support food production and forestry, improve animal health and welfare and protect the environment.

Speaking at the National Farmers’ Union conference in Birmingham last week, Farming Minister Mark Spencer set out how the grants will drive the development of new technology and innovative ways of farming, with a focus on practical solutions that advance food productivity and deliver significant environmental, forestry and animal welfare benefits.

The grants, delivered through the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) and Farming Investment Fund (FIF), will sit alongside the Environmental Land Management schemes which pay farmers for a diverse range of actions such as managing hedgerows for wildlife, planting nectar-rich wildflowers and managing crop pests without the use of insecticides.
It follows a series of significant announcements by the government on future farming policy in England.

4.2 New forestry items in the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2023

The Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) has reopened for 2023 and has been split into 2 themes:

• Productivity and Slurry items (Annex 3)
• Animal Health and Welfare items (Annex 4)

You can apply to either theme or both, for items that best suit your business. FETF 2023 grant is competitive, and you will not automatically get a grant.

The Productivity and Slurry theme includes an array of forestry equipment, including some new editions such as mulchers and tree planters so we’d encourage you to use the Productivity and Slurry portal to submit your application online. The Productivity and Slurry portal is open until midday on 4 April 2023.

Since the start of the year, the government has set out detailed plans for the nation’s farming sector, supporting farmers and land managers to be profitable and resilient as they produce food sustainably while creating woodland, improving animal health and welfare and the environment upon which farming depends. This included accelerating the rollout of the Sustainable Farming Incentive, with six new standards for 2023, and setting out detail on what farmers will be paid to deliver through our enhanced Countryside Stewardship scheme.

In his speech, Minister Spencer referenced the England Woodland Creation Offer becoming part of Countryside Stewardship from 2025, reassuring that if people get started planting trees now, the transition will be seamless.
To read the speech in full on GOV.UK: Farming Minister Mark Spencer: National Farmers Union Conference. For more information visit: Increased government funding to boost farming productivity.

To find out more about the England Woodland Creation Offer, visit GOV.UK: England Woodland Creation Offer.

5. Historic Environment support for England Woodland Creation Offer pilot extended

5.1 Application processing pilot extended until 31 March 2023.

 
To fully assess the impact of the EWCO historic environment processing pilot and to allow more EWCO applications to be involved in it, the Forestry Commission has decided to extend the pilot until the 31 March 2023.

As a reminder, the trial is for Forestry Commission Historic Environment Advisers to provide advice and information when a local historic environment service does not respond to an applicant or Forestry Commission notifications for a EWCO proposal within 28 days. Response times for applicants wishing to pursue a EWCO application should improve through the pilot.

Two key points of the pilot include:

• if an applicant does not receive a response from a local historic environment service within 28 days, they can submit their EWCO application. Evidence to show the local historic environment service has been contacted will be required

• a new template letter for use by applicants has been drafted. It is available to download from the EWCO application form webpage.

Feedback on the pilot can be sent to EWCO@forestrycommission.gov.uk.